restoration Dodge WC54

Whilst I have already made a couple of posts about the Dodge I though I would start again here with a couple of new pictures .

Shortly before we collected it - and by shortly I mean in the week after I agreed the purchase and before we drove down to pick it up - somebody jumped on the cab roof and put a bum sized dent in it . This has been bugging me ever since and today I have finally been able to get to have a look at it .

This afternoon I managed to get the roof lining partially removed and as an experiment , with the aid of a small hydraulic bottlejack and a length of timber , put a little pressure on the underside - I'd have been happier with something as a cushion between the timber and the metal but nothing came to hand so I just took it steady and after about an inch or so of lift the dent popped out with a satisfying boing and after exterior inspection I was quite happy with the result .

Having exposed the inside of the roof I'm debating whether or not to remove the blue lamp while I have the opportunity . What do you think ?

Here's a photo showing the cab interior with the roof lining down .

Another small job requiring attention - the glass in the passenger door quarterlight was broken . A not particularly well cut piece of laminated had cracked and the frame had been painted shut so I've removed the glass , freed off the hinges and scraped the excess paint off of the rubber . Tomorrow I'll take a pattern in and get a new piece ordered .

They did have a lamp in place on some wartime ones, but not blue. See the picture, easy enough to make up.

Might give that a go Tony - think yours is the only one I've seen like that .

Also realised that I only have trim/draught excluder around one doorframe so , if it is available I need to track down sufficient to re-trim one door opening .

Try the usual suspects. If you are talikng about the double stuf that clips over the door, modern trim works OK I've got to do Katy's brakes completly when I go over to Jersey for May 9th. Carol, who owns her has had heart trouble, now pray God fixed! That put katy off the road for eighteen months. Started her in October last year and the *****master cylinder blew! no point in just doing the master so will do wheel cylinders and flexis as well. Katy is ex Norwegian the light is as you see is hooded. I picked them up at BOAR in Belgium some years back.

Yes - it's the trim around the frame that is fixed behind the strips .

I'd also quite like to be able to open the windscreen - it's been bolted shut - and I imagine I'll need to renew the rubber seal if I tackle that .

I've read your tale of braking woe - good luck with getting them sorted .

Brakes aren't that bad actually. I've done the ones on my 51. Provided you go by the book, especially set them up with gauges, there no worse than a Land Rover. It's getting at the master without dismantling half the underside is the nightmare. And I've found the answer! :yay: Went into my local Halford's, they had a set of half moon proffesional rathchet spanners, special offer £20. Would have ben rude not to at that price! fantastic useful gadgts for odd corners. Only need 5 deg. of movement to work.

Not much progress to report . The cab headlining is back in place and yesterday I made a template using the front of the blue lamp to replicate that fitted to Tony's WC , although getting that done is not top of my list right now .

Took the template for the quarterlight glass in but the new glass is not back yet as the delivery is normally on a Friday and there isn't one this week due to the holiday !

Last week the stencils arrived from Axholme signs and I can't praise Tony Pearson enough for all the help and advice he has given me since I first contacted him about lettering up the Dodge . The service he has given me is nothing short of first class and I'd recommend or use him again without reservation . I'd hoped to get the stencils applied over the Easter break but hit a bit of a problem when I couldn't identify the paint shade of the main colour of the vehicle

There are two areas which have flaked off of the roof along with a few bits which need touching in and the odd place I'm not happy with from the paint job it had just prior to my purchase and I need to get those done before I start with the stencils . The previous owner mentioned that the paint came from Frank Burberry but I don't have any leftover paint or a code to identify it so contacted Frank and had a chat and his samples arrived yesterday . Now I'm even more at a loss as of all the samples he provided , the three nearest the vehicle colour aren't a match and I wonder if I'm now looking at completely repainting the vehicle .

On top of that I realised at the end of the day yesterday that despite regular checks and charging with the CTEK charger , the battery appears to have expired .

Time passing , an ever lengthening list of jobs and two steps backwards...............must be getting close to show season !

Fabricated a replica of Tony B's lamp this week and had a trial fitting this morning . Quite pleased with the result , needs a spot of adjustment yet but getting there . This afternoon I helped the old exhaust to fall off and fitted the new one I bought from Steve Rivers .

Lamp looks good. Have you thought of putting in electronic ignition? Makes life a lot easier.

Yes I have Tony - it's on the ' I want one of those ' list :-D

Haven't updated this for sooo long thought it was past time I did so .

Thanks to Tony Pearson for all his help and guidance with the stencils I now have the WC marked up .

My request on the forum last year for a set of stretcher hanging straps drew a blank and despite attempts to buy some from suppliers over here nobody was interested and I got nowhere so I eventually ordered a set from David Pizzoferrato in The States . He could not have been more helpful and they arrived here within a few days of me placing my order .

I would recommend his service to anyone looking to source vehicle canvas or webbing - have a look at the website - www.odcloth.com . I'll certainly be buying from his company again for my next project .

Just put them in yesterday afternoon whilst atttempting to sort out the ongoing braking problems and I'm pleased to tick another To Do off my list .

This afternoon I finished fitting a new pair of rear brake cylinders having already done the fronts and rebuilt the master cylinder but I know I made a complete pigs ear of bleeding the system and after a short road test I need to strip the front nearside again as it's locking on and the rear offside isn't pulling on as hard as it should .

very nice . :-)

The manual I have describes the brake as being pressure bleed. I modified a Gunson, some of the master cylinder tops have standard BSP threads which makes like so much easier. Remeber to leve a 1/8 inch gap at top of master cylinder. I set mine up by the book, then micro adjusted by spin and lock method. Worked fine. Hopefully once probate has been worked through, thats March, then I can get over to Jersey and sort Katy out to run on May 9th, then bring her back here. This is a useful site if you've not found it. http://med-dept.com/index.php

It looks amazing, I really love these ambulances. Had the chance to buy one cheap but didn't have the money then

Well Dave

Hats off to you, the Dodge looks very well, you have made a nice job. Looking forward to seeing you on the show circuit this year. Will you be

going to the show At Melford Hall in Long Melford, Its a great weekend show.

Cheers Howard

Thanks everybody . I'm afraid that this is proof that pictures can lie . I love the old girl to bits , even though it frequently drives me crazy,particularly with all the braking and other problems I've had over the last season and it does look good now but it is by no means one of the better ones - it's obviously had a very hard life and if money were no object I could spend an absolute fortune sorting out all the bits I'm unhappy with . For the moment it is useable and I can live with it .

Tony - I use a Gunson pressurised brake bleeder . I made an adaptor using a spare radiator bleed valve I had in my box of plumbing bits which is 1/2" BSP. I drilled and tapped the centre out to take the gunson fitting and it works really well . And I did fit the electronic ignition eventually along with a gel battery - I made up a fake battery a couple of weeks ago which covers and holds the small new battery in place.

Howard - yes , we hope to go back to Long Melford again this year , had the entry form just this week and the photo below I took at the show there last year . Next time we'll take a bit more camping gear so we won't freeze overnight in the tent !

Forgot to add last time next item on my list after paying off the accumulation of financial woes otherwise known as christmas , is to sort out some new tyres - much as I like the Vikings on the front they need replacing in the not too distant so I'll be on the lookout . Any suggestions / do's or don'ts welcomed .

Yeah I could do with a set as well. Either Clover leafs or the Michelin combats for choice.

Hi Dave,

The battery on my WC54 has given up the ghost, i would be interested to know more about the gel battery and also the "dummy battery".

Regards David.

Stunning work Dave!

Can you get it to A&E 2012 - would love to see an abulance in the line up and we don't have one. It would be very relevant.

1/2 a mile from our campsite is the Clay Pigeon - this was a US field hospital set up to take in the casualties off the invasion beaches - all came through Weymouth straight to the field hospital...

Hi David , always glad to help if I can .

I'm in the process of changing all my vehicles over to Optima batteries and finding it a worthwhile investment .

I bought an Optima Red Top RT S 2.1 from Tayna Batteries . They are not cheap by any means but I'd already tried a replacement traditional type battery which just wasn't up to the job.

Obviously , the Optima is some bit narrower than normal and I had difficulties keeping it clamped in place on the battery tray , my solution to which was to build a replica battery out of 9mm play , glued and pinned together- and the exact size of the Dodge battery carrier and about 12mm taller than the new battery . Once it was dry I machined an aperture in the top exactly the same size as the Optima and cut retaining slots in the bottom edge of both ends to locate the battery retaining lugs . After a little judicious sanding the box was a perfect fit over the top of the gel battery and leaving ventilation gaps all around inside . I then cleaned up the new 'battery' and gave it three or four coats of satin black stain . It's now been fitted for a month or two and I'm quite pleased with the result - it doesn't entirely disguise the new battery - although if I painted the top of the Red Top black then it probably would pretty much blend in completely - but it is no longer glaringly obvious and , more importantly , is securely held in place with the normal batteery clamp .

If I get a chance tomorrow I'll try to take a couple of photo;s and post them up here .

Here they are - Sorry if it's not too clear bit I didn't have time to take it out .

Stunning work Dave!

 

Can you get it to A&E 2012 - would love to see an abulance in the line up and we don't have one. It would be very relevant.

 

1/2 a mile from our campsite is the Clay Pigeon - this was a US field hospital set up to take in the casualties off the invasion beaches - all came through Weymouth straight to the field hospital...

I hope you're including me in that invitation !! (And I hope I'd be able to) It would be a nice place for Katy's fisrt outing.

Re : my braking problems.or the current one's anyway...........

Stupid , stupid , stupid .

Why did I not realise sooner that I have a collapsed flexible pipe ?

That'll be another phone call to that nice Mr . Rivers tomorrow then .

Re : my braking problems.or the current one's anyway...........

 

Stupid , stupid , stupid .

 

Why did I not realise sooner that I have a collapsed flexible pipe ?

 

That'll be another phone call to that nice Mr . Rivers tomorrow then .

REMEBER there are FOUR on a Dodge. One to rear axle, one each to front wheel cylinders, and one from under radiator to front axle. Those Optima do seem to be the answe, especially for 6 volt, they have a phenomnal cranking power and hold charge better.