bobs1918

The tailgate was made up with welded angle iron surrounding 12 ga steel plate with a second piece of 1/4 plate in the center to support the mechanics vise carried on the truck. These rivets were counter sunk so the tailgate when lowered would be a flat work station for the driver.bob

Next came the four corner stiffeners and seat constructionAlways bolting into place before riveting. I should add that there was about 700 rivets used!! bob

next the nuts were replaced with 3/8 HOT rivets..... 2 man job. Under the bed of the truck and tucked under the transom we used a jack screw to hold the rivet in place while heating and setting it. bob

The pictures are artists renderings are the same as in the manual for the light repair truck. The reality was that both front and rears were the same on production trucks and on my original truck there are 7 lug wheels front and rear. .1 spare was carried on the side. The manual also states that only one size wheel/tire combination was to be used on the truck.

After the frame rails and transoms were fitted next step was to begin to fabricate the steel panels which would make up the body. It is 14 ga steel. I had a local steelyard with large enough equipment make these and provide the proper bending at the top of the 2 side panels. These panels will later be hot riveted together but for assembly I used nuts and bolts. bob

Gordon I do not think that once disc wheels were installed there was a return to the wood wheels.....Yes indeed discs were much more robust bob

Pictures taken in Pennsylvania showed me the details as to the framerail's relation to the chassis and to the transoms...very helpful.I would eventually need to fabricate the correct brackets to duplicate the original configuration. bob

Next step was as far as I got with the clone before locating the original m1918 truck.This was the addition of the frame rails and transoms which would bring the body of the truck level and raised above the rear differential.The manual specified these to be 2.5inch steel channel.I found this to be an obsolete size.Not to be discouraged I had 2.5 in square steel tubing cut to length and then I used a plasma cutter to turn tubing into channel. I followed with welding and grinding to true the rails and transoms and attached to the frame. I should add that I traveledbob

Hi First step clean up chassis. Remove gas tank brackets. Weld up holes. Find correct front and rear hubs to accept disc wheels...NOT EASY as these early Dodge vehicles almost all had wooden wheels with integral hubs, , restore chassis and fabricate splash shields on either side of frame....Roll it out for first rolling chassis picture.bob

Hi Mate The cowl find was DUMB LUCK...When I started on the project I asked a US Dodge Brothers supplier, Myers Dodge Parts, if perhaps he had one and yes there was one in his yard and for $175.00 it was mine. Seemed no one wanted it!! It is identical to the one on the original truck. Myers also provided me with the 1917 chassis. Here is the inside view of the cowl. The dash is also unusual as it is the type found on commercial open cab trucks or screensides.....I located that in California from another Dodge vendor

Gordon All of the US Army Dodge vehicles came with 7 lug Kelsey Hayes wooden wheels.The clone came with 6 lug Stanweld wheels which were passenger car type. Although most US vehicles stayed with the 7 lug wheels there are photos that show full metal disc types as were used by both the French and the Italians. I decided early on that if I could not get the unobtainable 7 lug wood wheels I would attempt to locate a set of discs.Dodge would not offer them on US vehicles until 1922 so these are actually 1922 era. The name plate inside the wheel reads Michelin-Budd wheel (the french connection). The Firestone NON-SKIDS are original to the period. They made them until ww2 and are not being reproduced. I now have NOS on front and rear.Here is a picture of disc wheels on US ww 1 vehicles which were retrofitted for a more durable wheel on rough terrain The discs are 24 inch the wooden artillery wheels are 25 inch which lowers the stance of the clone, bob

Thanks the build began with a 1917 Dodge chassis and a the cowl as used on Dodge custom bodied light civilian trucks.I would have preferred to use the commercial chassis but one was not available.Stripped the chassis, tossed out the the cracked engine and began the process to create a vehicle that had NEVER been cloned.The KEY to the build was finding a cowl.Without one the build is not possible. It is not simply the front sheet metal of a touring car.It is strictly for a commercial vehicle usage. bob

Tony picture of the staff car is a restored 1918 owned by a friend of mine. Very few if any ww 1 vehicle guys here in the US.The model 1918 Light Repair Truck was built on the Dodge commercial car chassis.Dodge provided the chassis to the US Army and the bodies were built by theInsley Company which was primarily a builder of heavy equipment. I built the cloned truck on a passenger car chassis which has fewer and slightly thinner leaf springs otherwise the same. For that reason the clone sits about 1.5 inches lower than the original. Both vehicles have the same flat head 4 cylinder engine rated at 35 horse power.For reliability on the clone I added an electric starter/generator and distributor while the originals have only a crank and magneto.

Much Thanks Mike

Hello 5 years ago I began the project to create a rare US Army model 1918 Light repair truck on a 1917 chassis. I would use the manual for the truck as supplied to US troops..There were only 3 or 4 known to exist of the 1100 or so made. 2 years into the project I had the chance to BUY one the the original remaining trucks I did so and restored it to original condition. Now back to what I call the clone..........I decided rather than to build an ambulance body on it I would continue to fabricate the clone. It has now come from the paint shop and I thought i would share it. If there is interest in the build process I have it fully documented and can begin with the chassis as found. The clone is without the canvas bob www.globalarray.net/user/bobspics/dblrtpair1.jpg

Hello Yes a nice package ..I too was offered them but the cost of shipping the three of them from the continent to the US scared me off...... Perhaps the price has come down a bit to enable their resurrection to take place. They were not , to my knowledge, first line ambulances. These were most exclusively Model T's. I believe that GMC's were used to transport patients to the larger facilities well behind the lines Good luck to someone!!! bob

Thank you for this information bob

Thanks Jack all good points. I can accept this is NOT a REO but is it known IF Reo's were used. Thanks

Hello gents Can anyone tell me what the truck platform for this British ambulance is. It has been possibly Id'd as a REO. I have an opportunity to buy a 1917 REO 3/4ton which I would restore as a British ambulance ONLY if they were so used during the Great War .Thanks bob

Jack If the Whites are of ww 1 era would you consider a sale of one or both of the vehicles??? You can send me a private message or email bob487thbg@aol.com Thanks bob in CT USA

Thought I would post a picture taken the the US great war Association event last November bob

OK then 55-65 Libertys 2 Autocars LET'S STAY WITH QUADS FOR NOW .Please provide known examples. bob

Hello the truck was found in Northern California where it had spent its whole life since being sold as surplus after WW 1. It was used as a farm tractor until the mid 1950s. It was then sold to a neighbor of the farmer for $150.00. He put it away and did less than 100 miles in the 50+ years he owned it. It was a solid body when I got it but had no dash , magneto, bad radiator, exhaust, rear end , canvas, cargo bed bows........But it took only 18 months to get it to what you now see. It has only 8000 miles on it which is I believe original.

Hello Gents I thought I would share with you a recent event in the States held on the property of the Great War Association. It is a semi annual reenactment of the Western Front in WW 1.For the first time I brought my 1918 repair truck to join with an original US Army 1917 Harley Davidson with side car. Hope you enjoy their return to duty.

Hi for those of us across the pond what is the vehicle pictured. I can't recall seeing that type before. Looks a lot like my US Army model 1918 light repair truck bob