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Dodge WC51 Weapons Carrier.


DFC1943Fl.Lt.

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Hi all, thought I would share my new baby with you. She starts and drives on the button. I am on the look out for spares for her, not that she needs them at the mo but who knows in the future.

That Dodge has had so much done to it it'l be good for years to come, but its alway advisable to carry usual spare ignition parts...just in case, its usually the modern repro electrical bits that can fail

Edited by Nick Johns
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A man of Equisite taste! ;) What's her chassis number?

Why thank you, she is a gem. I can't find the chassis No. it is more than likely there under all the paint. My good friend Mark Howes who has a 'Jimmy' GMC 353 is currently restoring a Dodge ambulance and we found her number, although faint, on the front near side outer chassis where the wheel arch would be. I assume this is where mine would be.

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Yes, that's were they are. Any rebuild plate or forign languge plates on the dynamo or such like? Yours looks to be an early one.

Hi Tony, this is my first US truck so still learning. Can you tell me how you can tell that my dodge may be an early one please as the logbook has it down as 1944.

cheers Steve.

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I owned your Dodge for a while a few years ago, found it in Linconshire, it had been a bit neglected. I think we decided it was probably ex Norweigan Army,

A Dodge chassis number is stamped on the vertical face of chassis just ahead of the N/S/F shock absorber, the number is also on the V5C reg doc

Edited by Nick Johns
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Well according to the logbook it has the chassis number down as 81766051. Anyone know what this number may relate to with regards to the date of manufacture. I think I am going to have to try and remove some of the paint and see if I can retrieve the number, hopefully it will still be readable.

Thanks Steve.

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Two obvious markers that yours MAY be early(Hedging bets as lots were rebuilt, so have bits from various vehicles) No gap between front of body and cab, no sides to the seats. The other thing is is the fuel filter reccesed, early or stick out later. Voltage is also a maybe, 6 volt tend to 12 volt later. The other give away is very early had a Dodge name plate on the front of the radiator cowl. Gordon's site the Dodge Forum has a list of know serial numbers against date of production. You may, there seems to be some confusion as to the state of the musuem at the moment, get a copy of the build card, or at least to a week, the date of production, cost $25 and produce proof of owner ship. Worth e mailing first and they wil tel you what records are there, then on payment they send you a copy. I'm lucky both mine have Chassis number to the day of production, again, but after 70 plus years a lot of rebuilds and service don't be suprised, in fact be very suprised , if all the numbers match. there should also be a body plate. What's important is that they are a hel of lot of fun to won, drive and show. You are priviliged to have in your care a pice of equipment that was built to serve the men who used them in action to the best of the ability of all the people who produced them. You never own a military vehicle, you are the current custodian of a historic pice. ENJOY her. :-D

 

Quick check, 817 puts her towards middle of 1944, so she has probably had a major rebuild somewhere in her life.

Edited by Tony B
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Two obvious markers that yours MAY be early(Hedging bets as lots were rebuilt, so have bits from various vehicles) No gap between front of body and cab, no sides to the seats. The other thing is is the fuel filter reccesed, early or stick out later. Voltage is also a maybe, 6 volt tend to 12 volt later. The other give away is very early had a Dodge name plate on the front of the radiator cowl. Gordon's site the Dodge Forum has a list of know serial numbers against date of production. You may, there seems to be some confusion as to the state of the musuem at the moment, get a copy of the build card, or at least to a week, the date of production, cost $25 and produce proof of owner ship. Worth e mailing first and they wil tel you what records are there, then on payment they send you a copy. I'm lucky both mine have Chassis number to the day of production, again, but after 70 plus years a lot of rebuilds and service don't be suprised, in fact be very suprised , if all the numbers match. there should also be a body plate. What's important is that they are a hel of lot of fun to won, drive and show. You are priviliged to have in your care a pice of equipment that was built to serve the men who used them in action to the best of the ability of all the people who produced them. You never own a military vehicle, you are the current custodian of a historic pice. ENJOY her. :-D

Thanks for that info Tony, much appreciated. I did hear somewhere that the museum that issues the build cards was closing, is this correct. I am in total agreement with you as regards to the ownership of these vehicles, we are indeed very lucky to be able to still drive these on our roads considering their lifespan was excepted to be at the very least a couple of years with what they went through. I know there are quite a few out there which are coming to the market but there must have been an awful lot of these built. Definitely a lot of fun to drive and made even better when in convoy with a load of other US trucks. We care for these truly awesome vehicles and pass them on to hopefully someone else who will look after them with the same passion as we do.

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My 51 was rebuilt in Norwegian service, and they put the later 'access body' on with the earlier short step. It also has the metal cargo floor. It has the Dodge badge on the radiator grill, but that was added by the last owner.

Mine was restored by Mike Gillman, this is the gent I purchased her from. She has a Norwegian dater plate on the glove box. The cargo floor in the back is still the original wooden floor with metal runners and the side storage boxes are original as well. Mine also has the 'walk through' body by the spare wheel. Agreed, it must be very difficult to actually know for certain when a WW2 vehicle was built unless it has true provenance due to the amount of rebuilds that must have happed to some of these trucks.

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Mine was restored by Mike Gillman, this is the gent I purchased her from. She has a Norwegian dater plate on the glove box. The cargo floor in the back is still the original wooden floor with metal runners and the side storage boxes are original as well. Mine also has the 'walk through' body by the spare wheel. Agreed, it must be very difficult to actually know for certain when a WW2 vehicle was built unless it has true provenance due to the amount of rebuilds that must have happed to some of these trucks.

 

I think there are few few WW2 trucks that have genuine known histories. An awful lot of them have stories attached to them by owners which are not much more than wishful thinking.

 

As Nick says, we believe it was ex-Norwegian and also thought it might have a been a 70's film prop as there was sand paint among the many layers of green. Certainly it has had so much work done to it over the years that it just has to be taken as found. Nothing on it could be used to reliably date it other than the chassis no.

 

Glad you're enjoying it and it looks great with the markings.

 

Regards - MG

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I think there are few few WW2 trucks that have genuine known histories. An awful lot of them have stories attached to them by owners which are not much more than wishful thinking.

 

As Nick says, we believe it was ex-Norwegian and also thought it might have a been a 70's film prop as there was sand paint among the many layers of green. Certainly it has had so much work done to it over the years that it just has to be taken as found. Nothing on it could be used to reliably date it other than the chassis no.

 

Glad you're enjoying it and it looks great with the markings.

 

Regards - MG

You and Vince have done a grand job on her. All of the lads that have seen her have all said what a beaut she is. Hope you and the family are well and have you found your 'Jimmy' yet.

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Both mine are ex Norwegian, the WC51 has a Norwegian Data plate of the Dynamo dated 1963 (Horrible modern rubbish) and chassis date of 24th October 1944, the WC54 chassis date 4th February 1944, has a 1953 rebuild plate from Germany, and Norwegian service plates.

 

Theres a Youtube film on Pacific theatre US vehicle being rebuilt in New Zealand which shows WC 51 and 52 being rebuilt, but I've lost the ^&*** link!

 

Had a mates Dynamo suddenly give up the ghost in about 2006, on stripping a collapsed bearing was found. Date on the bearing case was 1945. We thought it probably to late to make a warranty claim.

Edited by Tony B
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I still have nightmares about changing the fuel tank on that vehicle! Laying on a pallet to keep me above the water line of the muddy puddle that had formed under it, subsequent to removing the old one...

 

Interestingly the fault with the old one was it would run out of fuel going up hills, with 1/2 a tank of petrol. We found the issue to be a hole in the tank pick up pipe, which we only uncovered after cutting open the old tank. Some prior, poorly implemented repair would seem to be the cause of the hole. We ran it off a jerry can for a while, and it got me all the way from Mikes to the middle of a large, muddy puddle at Beltring before running out...showed my MPG calculation for that trip was spot on!

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I still have nightmares about changing the fuel tank on that vehicle! Laying on a pallet to keep me above the water line of the muddy puddle that had formed under it, subsequent to removing the old one...

 

Interestingly the fault with the old one was it would run out of fuel going up hills, with 1/2 a tank of petrol. We found the issue to be a hole in the tank pick up pipe, which we only uncovered after cutting open the old tank. Some prior, poorly implemented repair would seem to be the cause of the hole. We ran it off a jerry can for a while, and it got me all the way from Mikes to the middle of a large, muddy puddle at Beltring before running out...showed my MPG calculation for that trip was spot on!

 

Ah the joys of old vehicles? Tales to tell the Grandkids mate! :-D

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You are correct that the Chrysler Museum is closed. But they say that after the 1st of next year they will start issuing the build cards again, but don't hold your breath.

 

I hope I'm wrong. If you'll send me a PM with your email address I'll send you the forms in a PDF file that I got from them when I got my build card.

Edited by tankdriver
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  • 6 months later...
You are going to have a lot of fun. Has she dumped water in your lap yet?

 

Ha Ha Ha not in my lap but down the back of my neck. Have learnt to check the top of the canvas now if she has been out in the rain. Also had a tip to cover the bonnet when stood in rain to stop the water getting through the hinge on the bonnet and filling up the plug depressions in the cyl. head. Been nearly a year now and have been out in her when ever possible. As you say, having a whole lot of fun and can't wait for next Sunday when we set off with 3 vehicles loaded up for the W&P Show.:cool2:

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