Gordon_M

I got Civilian Conservation Corps license plates painted up and fitted to the Dodge and trailer. Dodge has been making progress too, although difficult to see under five years of dust. Trailer still needs the taillight wiring when I decide to go with military or civilian pattern. I still have to do about half the wiring on the Dodge, and a couple of small plumbing jobs ( fuel tank drain plug, HEAT guage ) plus fan belt, wiper motor, etc. Looks like one of the original screen glass panes has started to de-laminate too so that will need changing.

There is a knack to it. It is almost impossible to make them small enough, so what you have to do is; 1. strip the backplate to the point where you can take the brake cylinder off, 2. fit the copper line to the hose end, in place, and tighten it, 3. screw the cylinder to the copper pipe end while it is sticking through the hole in the backplate and tighten till you have a solid pressure path, 4. push the cylinder back almost into place and then draw it up with the cylinder mounting bolts. 5. reassemble shoes, springs, etc Sounds complicated, isn't, works well. Of course the pipe has to be almost the right shape before you start of drawing it up will kink it past using, but once it is fitted the first time you can then generally remove and refit as it has been exactly the right shape once. Gordon been there, done that, sold the teeshirt

The Woody is a 48-up chassis cowl with a Woody body, probably by Campbell or the like. Someone has done half a job of converting it to right hand drive maybe? They are rare, and desirable, but that one seems to need a little work. I have not memory of them actually being bought by the military on a procurement contract though. Closest thing to military would be conversions of surplus VC 1 Command Cars to Woodies, which were quite nice. More here; http://www.oldwoodies.com/gallery-bus.htm

Hmm, thinking aloud here. If you are going for a cast hub and a laser-cut rim, why not get the rim laser-cut at full thickness including the finger-scallops, and then just turn it down outside and inside to give the desired profile ? Too heavy in steel for the rim though, any sort of Aluminium alloy they can laser cut at 1" thick, or maybe water-jet cut? If I see an original it's yours

You'll spend a pile of money casting one and it'll be perfect. Then you'll take the truck to a show and a 95-year-old local will come up and say; " I've got two of those hanging up at home you can have if you want, but they're not as nice as that one" Post the pic of the original again just to remind us what we are watching for? Gordon

Thanks Tony, that looks like it. Now, should I use it for my two ton rail trailer or keep it stock in case I ever find an M5? Gordon

Just picked this up. It was bought from Thomson and Doxey in Southport, north of England, about twenty years back and that owner couldn't find a use for it. ... it's about 18" long, 8" wide, and 7" high, weighs no less than 50lbs, maybe as much as 60. Mounts on four 3/4" holes on 4" by 4" centres, and has " ORD-D 76899 " cast onto the bottom ? face. I'd guess from the mounting lugs on the rear face that they slot into either very thick plate or armour. Only thing I could come up with would be for some sort of big towed artillery piece, but it could be for a plain trailer, so I'm posting this here. Any ideas?

The Dodges have been built by putting Chev gear on the back of half ton open cab pickups I think - not original. Notice how the width of the rear frame is much wider than the Dodge chassis. Ther is one real gem there. The Dodge COE Airflow Tanker is one of just a couple of hunderd built with either Airflow cabs, conventional Dodge cabs, or COE Dodge cabs. Gordon

I'm glad to see more progress and more photos, as always. A word about the paint though. I assume the colour is right, with your usual attention to detail, but should the surface of the paint be that hard, flat, and shiny? It looks like modern paint does on a lot of old components and vehicles, too deep, or is it just the effects of close-up photography and flash? Gordon

Thanks Monty, but it's a little far. The '39 Dodge is substantially diferent to the 1940 one, and they are both different to the 1941-47 trucks, which is what the other three seem to be. Cab looks the same, but if you look hard at it the door latch setup is completely different, dash pressing is different, stuff like that. If there is anyone down your way looking for 39 Dodge parts they'd be more than pleased to find it. This one is mine; http://www.gwim2.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/td20u.htm ... but I haven't updated it lately.

If you scroll back up to the shot of four 39-47 Dodge trucks, the second from right is a '39 model, identifiable by the unique grille trim for that year and DODGE badges on the side of the radiator top. I've got one in the garage, working on it today. :-D

Friends in the US who have them can pick up contents at garage sales quite easily, as most were standard telephone company stuff which was in use for 30 years or so from the 30's through to the 60's. Over here I'd have to buy it one piece at a time off E-Pay which would end up costing more than the trailer. As an aside, I managed to get the oil guage line hooked up on the Dodge tow truck, and the clutch and bellhousing covers on. I was relieved to find the engine turns quite freely as I had it rebuilt in 2005 and haven't been as religious as I could have been about turning it every few months.

Sheesh, and here was me cross-posting the link from the WW2 Dodge forum as I thought GWT might know someone who was interested. Day late and Dollar short, that's me. Gordon GWT, why not post a shot of a Republic truck just so we know what we're missing? Gordon

Final coat of white paint on the interior today; Pressing up three license plates, two for the towing vehicle and one for the trailer; ... and fitted a set of tie-down rings to the 1939 TD 20 towing vehicle; (Up to about the end of 1940 they used tie down rings rather than hooks) Gordon

Very nice, as usual, I've been missing the Dennis updates but then I've been in the garage working too. If you happen to have won the lottery recently and are looking for another American challenge; http://ww2dodge.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=6953 Two WW1 Republic trucks in North Carolina looking for a home Gordon

Oh, you can open the lid if you want to; The bracket on the lid doubles up as a handle, retainer for the Dietz Lantern, and mount for the lantern guard. You can see that spacing the bracket off the lid allows the bevel on the lantern to slide underneath and be positively retained, whether or not the guard is on it. I have the original 1941 bracket, a 1988 NOS US Military Dietz Little Wizard No 1 Lantern, and a reproduction of the lantern guard as there is only one original known to exist. The whole trailer locks up with one padlock on a swinging hasp. The hasp locks the lid down, and a protrusion on the hasp locks the lantern and guard in position. The lower rear storage hatch on the trailer is secured by a spring loaded locking bar internally, so if the lid is locked shut the rear hatch is too. Tyres are 4.00 x 18 motorcycle type. The originals were Firestone, which are still available as modern reproduction but at about £150 each, so I went with Malaysian current production road legal motocross types which are very like the ones shown on the parts list illustrations. I'm just back from putting the final coat of white on the interior, but still need to wire the taillight and fit the license plate.

I got the 1941 Highway Trailer Model -S / K-38 Cable Splicer trailer just about finished and hooked it onto the back of the 1939 Dodge TD-20 one ton pickup; I still need to put another coat of white inside the trailer and wire the taillight, but that's about it. I may even restart work on the pickup that will tow it, as all the hard / expensive stuff has been done, it just needs plumbing, wiring, and tinkering with till it is right.

Pillow blocks can go west at the worst times, usually taking the transfer case and rear axle diff with them, so worth a check. Give it a good rattle, check it is full of grease and correctly adjusted. As far as I know you can't over-grease a pillow block ...

Assuming it is in a series, and looking at the small amount of debris from previous blasts, plus the section thickness of the stay ropes for it, - looks like a fuel / air blast or gas / air mix blast in something maybe 45 gallon drum sized ? Gordon

I don't have a figure here for the maximum diameter, unfortunately, but I know there isn't a lot that can be taken off. I'd start with a by-the-book service and adjustment, checking wheel bearings / track rod ends and so on first, and then bottom / top of shoes. The order of adjustment is important Gordon

Tucker Sno-Cat, 1953, type 443, in US Navy markings from around the time of Operation Deep Freeze in the Antarctic, marginally before four larger versions crossed Antarctica with Fuchs and Hillary. Basically it is a one ton Dodge with permanent 4 x 4 and triangular wheels. Construction is more light aircraft than truck, but the track system plus the Dodge flathead six allows it to tow all four of my Saginaw M-19 ski / wheel trailers dollied up. Anyway, thanks for the paint help.

I tried one of these companies by phone, and when I told them where I was they were able to point me at a small independent company in Falkirk that was quite happy to deal cash. Apparently they have been in business for about 15 years and they are only two miles from my house, but I'd never heard of them. £33 bought me two litres of primer, one of white gloss ( for the interior) and a litre of thinners - all compatible with the OD green I had on the shelf. Spent the rest of the day priming and painting, sitting here quite happy but with hands a mixture of pink, grey and OD. Next week I hope to finish cleaning down the interior compartments and put the white paint inside and in the lower rear compartment. Thanks again for the help. Gordon ( scrubbing paint off hands any minute now )

All noted, thank you. I'm going to do the rounds of the local paint supply places today and see if I can persuade any of them to sell for cash, failing which you have given me several alternatives. thanks again Gordon

I use a lot of OD green paint on my projects, and I generally get it from Steve Rivers in one litre cans. I have a new project here to paint, and fortunately I have plenty of OD green, but ... I used to buy primer, thinners, and the like from Brown Brothers, but since I last dealt with them they have gone 'trade only' and won't even supply to me through my own company - basically if you are not a car / commercial vehicle paint company they dont want to know. Can you lot suggest any suppliers of vehicle paint and primer that will deal with the general public, preferably with branches in Scotland that I can get to? I'm only looking for two one litre cans of primer and a litre of flat white ( for the inside of my K-38 Cable Splicer trailer. Any suggestions? I don't fancy trying Halford rattle cans for a whole trailer. Gordon

Hello, you will find this lot very welcoming. I don't know anyone with spares for this truck, especially in your area, but can I suggest you also get on board the Maple Leaf Up Forum, as there are many members of that in the ANZAC area, and someone there may be able to point you at a source. Gordon