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My Former WC51 "Flying Control Dodge" - A New Chapter


Jessie The Jeep

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  • 2 weeks later...

Here's the Dodge with the paintwork dulled down. It still needs to get a bit more dust/dirt, but not a bad match. Also to do is add the 'L' section aluminium strip gutters above the rear doors and at the bottom of the rear doors to stop rain entering the tailgate. I have the ali, but it just needs etch priming and painting.

dli_feb1.jpg

dli_feb3.jpg

dli_feb8.jpg

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks for this idea goes to our local ARP Warden at the DLI Museum last week. I now have a heater for the back of the Dodge for those chilly days 'out on the airfield'.

This type of improvised heater was commonly used in garden air raid shelters, providing warmth on cold nights for very little expense. One or two candles are placed in the bottom plant pot to provide the heat source, while the clothes pegs provide an air gap for the top pot. The candles heat the clay pots which in turn give off heat.

I haven't had a chance to try it yet, but I won't be bringing the truck home for a while as there aren't any events in the next couple of months.

heater.jpg

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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Just been reading the replies about trouble starting up this year. I had trouble with my Ford WOT2 after its winter rest, which turned out to be a blockage in the fuel pump. Now OK and I can book it in for it's MoT next week.

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  • 1 month later...

It was meant to be a trip out for the Dodge this weekend, but the event was cancelled due to a waterlogged site. With 'wifey' and 'kidlet' away with her parents for Easter, and a good weather forecast, it did give me an ideal opportunity to give the Dodge its Spring service and check over. I did the Jeep a few weeks ago, and all went well, but I had a feeling the Dodge wouldn't be so easy.

I started with the easy stuff, engine oil change, checking the transmission, transfer case, diff oils etc. Greased and oiled everywhere, then came time to adjust the brakes. The truck was pulling right when braking, and the pedal was spongey first press, firming up when pressed again. I suspected air in there somewhere.

After resetting the front shoes, a quick test drive showed the truck braking straight, but the pedal even more spongey. A friend came over to help with the brake bleed, as it's not the easiest on your own! A full bleed didn't improve things which pointed to a leak. I know all Dodges have issues with their brakes at some point, so let's get it out of the way now!

We started with the master brake cylinder, and found fluid under the rubber seal around the plunger, so that was leaking. We didn't investigate any further, deciding to check out as many of the wheels as possible before Mike had to leave. I returned to remove the cylinder later in the evening.

Since the truck stopped and pulled right before, I guessed that at least the front right was ok, so we started at the rear. Rear right was a real mess, a definate dudd! The cylinder was removed to be stripped down later this evening. The rear left appears to be leaking, as there are signs of fluid around the outer edge of the hub, but we can't get the last of the screws out that holds the hub in place. We were running out of day, and Mike had to go, so we'll try again with an impact driver next week, when hopefully I'll have some new parts to re-fit.

So after something to eat, I stripped down the master and wheel cylinder. I already had three new seal kits that could be used on the wheels, but both the cylinders showed signs of the surface being pitted with rust spots/corrosion. Mike has a honing tool which could be used on the master, although I think I'll go for a complete new unit, and keep the refurbished one as a spare. With it being a single line system, I want to play safe, particularly as I want to take my wife and baby daughter out in the truck to events.

Hopefully one of the suppliers will be open tomorrow and I can order some parts. I also need to get the rear right wheel off again and clean up the mess on the inside of the hub. There are also a number of cosmetic jobs to get started on, such as continuing with the radio fit.

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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I managed with normal sockets and spanners, the bolt against the chassis rail being the hardest, plus of course the skid plate under the master cylinder, as half the screws were self tappers into the chassis, while the others were bolts with nuts. Of course you couldn't get at the nuts until the plate came off, and it wouldn't come off until the nuts were gone!

 

It was already bent somewhat, so I suspect the last time it was off, it was bent a little as each screw/bolt came out, allowing better access to the next one!

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The front left was the brakes that were sticking on. With the hub removed, there was no sign of any leaking, which was good.....

hub_front_left.jpg

With the shoes off and rubbers removed, it was clear why there was no leak, one piston was corroded solid; this was bad.

brakes_wheel_cylinder4.jpg

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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The rear right cylinder had been leaking badly, pouring fluid all over the hub and brake shoes. The shoes were left in a petrol bath for some time before being scrubbed with a toothbrush to make sure they were clean. They were then left on top of a heater to make sure there was no more fluid bleeding out of the brake lining. They were hot enough not to be able to touch the metal, with only slight weeping from the gap between the shoe and lining.

This picture shows the cylinder as removed.

brakes_wheel_cylinder1.jpg

and here's the lining after cleaning.

brakes_shoes1.jpg

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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The front right side looked good, and it was the only one I knew worked, because that's the way the truck pulled when braking! While this is working fine, it makes sense to replace the seals in the cylinder while it's apart.

hub_front_right.jpg

The rear left couldn't be accessed due to one of the hub screws being solid. I tried a cup fashioned out of plastercine with a release agent in it and left the screw to soak. I came back after a while but it still wouldn't shift. Drilling it out is my next option, as the head is chewed.

hub_rear_left.jpg

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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With as much stripped down as I could, and needing parts, I started one of the other jobs before the heat of the day was gone. For a while now, the roof has leaked in the rain at the joints in the wooden sheeting. To fix this, I opted for a similar method as used on the wooden de Havilland Mosquito. Some thin fabric was stretched over the roof, and glued down to form a waterproof skin. Once painted over, this will hopefully add to the waterproofing.

roof_skinning1.jpg

roof_skinning2.jpg

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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Taking my Dodge out after the winter lay up, I also have a slightly spongey brake pedal !! No obivious leaks but am intending to further investigate next week. I am guessing leaky master cylinder, as the wheel cylinders where checked a couple of years ago and were fine.

 

Where did you get your new master cylinder and seal kits ???

 

I have recently had the Chevy M6 wheel and master cylinder lined in stainless by Past Parts and may go down this route with the Dodge if there is signs of corrosion.

 

Good luck on sorting the brakes!!

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I had three seal kits from Rupert that came with the Dodge. The other bits are coming from Dallas Autos.

 

My brakes were spongey at the first press of the pedal, but firmed up at the second press and were fine after that until the next time they were needed, when they were soft again.

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It was another bright sunny day this morning, so to make the most of the suns heat, I started work on the roof. Last night after the fabric had been applied, it was just dry and it started to rain! I rushed out and spread the canvas roof over to protect the PVA as it wasn't fully cured.

This morning it seemed to have survived the rain and so was given a second coat of thinned PVA. Once that was dry, the next coat was an exterior white. Even with the sun all day, it was going to take a long time for that to harden, so I moved onto the remaining wheel hub.

roof_skinning4.jpg-

+I returned to the roof at the end of the day to apply the black checkers with a quick drying emulsion.

roof_skinning5.jpg

roof_skinning6.jpg

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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I posted my troubles with the stubborn screw on a Dodge forum. Someone suggested welding a bolt to the screw and using a spanner to get it out. Sounded better than drilling it out, and after being very careful not to weld the screw into the hole, out it came, with very little effort.

The hardest part was jigging the bolt up against the screw to allow welding. I ended up with the bolt in mole grips, the mole grips in a large vice, and the vice positioned so as to hold the bolt at the correct height and angle against the screw.

With the hub removed, there were signs of leaking. The 'C' clips that hold the base of the brake shoes onto their pivots were missing, and a novel alternative was found in their place.

hub_rear_left2.jpg

hub_rear_left5.jpg

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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Another small job done today was to make a mount for one of the BC-348 radios. I wanted the two BC-348's stacked one above the other. One will sit on the green radio table, the other will be mounted in this tray above it. The metal mounts that I'm making for the radios will bolt to this tray. The design is based on a type used in the radio room of B-17 Fortresses.

radio_tray1.jpg

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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When Rupert first painted the checkers, he started a full square on each side of the front of the rear body. Because of the different lengths of each side of the rear body, it means the checkers don't line up when extended over the roof. Rupert used two black lines to separate the checkers which can be seen in the photo where the roof was first covered in material. I wasn't keen on this, so left the centre white with the airfield identity letters painted on, TA being Thorpe Abbotts.

roof_skinning7.jpg

roof_skinning8.jpg

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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Another small job was to add some guttering on and over the doors. The larger 'L' section aluminium was fastened to the bottom of the doors to stop rain from running down the doors and inside the tail gate. The smaller 'L' section was fitted above the doors to stop water entering the top edge. Small self tapping screws held the pre-drilled aluminium angles in place.

gutters1.jpg

gutters2.jpg

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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The radio tray made yesterday was fitted into the back of the truck today. Four aluminium angle brackets were bolted to the tray, and they were then bolted to 1/2 inch ply strips fastened up the side of the truck. They were bolted to the green radio table at the bottom, and the horizontal cross member above, allowing the side windows to still hinge down if needed.

The tray was mounted allowing just enough height below and above for each BC-348 receiver to have its metal mount fitted once made.

radio_tray2.jpg

The large space to the left is for the BC-375 transmitter when I get around to making it.

radio_tray4.jpg

Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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