Dodge'40-'45

Front wheel is back in place. Had a look at the brake linings, just some rivets needed replacing. Assembled the front brake with a new cable.

Test fitted the front license plate. Also painted some more parts including the seat and the footrests New exhaust arrived, alot heavier than the one that was on it. This one has 3 tubes inside it for surpressing the noise, should make a lot of difference. Footrest rubbers arrived together with tank transfers. Hope to fix the brakes tomorrow so we can put the wheels back on.

continued assembling. rear mudguard is back on. handlebars are back on. Also mounted the headlight and cleaned the headlight switch which is mounted on the handlebars. Starting to look like a motorcycle again. :cool2: A new exhaust and some other bits are on their way.

Put some decals on the tank today. Might not be a 100% original but i like it and atleast i won't ever forget the oil/fuel ratio. :cool2: Also painted the cilinder head with heat-proof paint, looks like a complete different engine now. Also assembled the throttle twist grip. Greased it well so it'll go nice and smooth. New rubber grips fitted on the handle bars. Just need to put the light switch on the handle bars.

Thought so, just planning on using the Atü markings and the oil mixture markings. Assembled the headlamp today, made new wires. Will look for a headlight cover.

Numberplates and decals arrived. Very pleased with them. Nice detail. Just need to get a couple of DKW tank transfers. I'm not really sure what the 36-1.22-55 means, i've seen it before on the front fenders of motorcycles. Still need to figure that out.

strange, mines are 2 pieces connected with spring steel tubes. had some more hours for the DKW: - Painted the air filter and kickstarter. - Painted the edges of the rims and inflated the tyres. - assembled the gear shift assembly at the tank. Maybe next week the decals and tank transfers will arrive.

Took a break from studying and started reassembling this afternoon. Cleaned the ball bearings of the front assembly, put a good amount of grease on them. Then assembled the front forks and suspension. The elastic rubber bands were in quite good shape so we put the same back on. Front mudguard is also in place, fits nicely. also painted the numbers on the gear shift bracket (with a toothpick). Once i get the time, i'll start assembling the handlebars.

The picture is just one i found on Google so go ahead.

We were there then too, believe the name of this rally was ''Operation Patterson'' in a domain called ''the valkaart'' at Oostkamp (near Bruges). It was an organisation of Patrick Thiersoone. We were there with a desert coloured Jeep and WC 54, my uncle was there with a Bedford MWR (wireless) and 10 cwt trailer. I remember the engine swap done in the field with an Austin Gantry or Coles crane (can't remember which one it was). Those were the days indeed... The GMC is a nice project which looks military. After all, the wrecking gear is also ex-military equipment. We're currently busy restoring a 1940 Dodge VC3 (have a blog under vehicle restoration).

Was looking for a foto of a ford F6 but they're hard to find. They were delivered to the belgian army in various body styles in the early 50's. a total of 1200 Fords were delivered including wreckers, artillery tractors, workshop bodys and cargo bodies. I believe the wrecking set was made by EFA ( a company in Hoboken, also quite know for it's tipper conversions). The problem was it could only lift 3 tons (1 ton sideways) which is why they weren't really popular. The front of the crane structure isn't mounted on the GMC. This piece (above the cab on the picture i posted earlier attached to the front bumper) served as counterweight for lifting. i guess they removed it because the longer wheelbase and tandem axle would act as support when lifting. This GMC came complete (as a short wheelbase with cargo body) from the yard of Edgard Desmet from Vlierzele (near Aalst). He was a quite known dealer for ex-military vehicles in Belgium.

Normally if i remember correctly (being from the early 80's) all his vehicles were bright red (he also had a chevrolet (also converted to a wrecker), ward la france,diamond, etc...), but i cannot recall if he ever painted this GMC red.

Hello, This vehicle was a normal GMC CCKW 352, changed post war by a garage owner from Ramskapelle near Nieuwpoort (Belgium). The wrecking gear comes from a ex-belgian army Ford F6 (see photo attached). The vehicle was also converted to 12 volt by the same owner. Sadly the truck never saw any service as a wrecker because the owner died not long after. If i recall correctly the name of the garage was Mortelez. It was a Peugeot dealership i believe. Hope this info helps. Regards, Niek

new footrest shafts arrived, they're a bit oversized to remove the play on the rear brake pedal. still looking for a pair of footrest rubbers, the ones that were on them were too big.

No wind today, about 6 °Celsuis and most important no rain! We used this rare oppertunity to paint the DKW. Now waiting untill the paint has fully dried then the reassembly starts. still need some smaller parts, nothing too hard to get. Also bought a set of decals to put on the tank. Quite satisfied of the color, also very good paint for spray painting.

Hi all, Made some progress on the DKW today. All parts are now in primer. Hope to paint the parts in wehrmacht grey next year (Which is hopefully saturday if the weather permits ). Ordered a set of number plates, will post pictures when they arrive. Cleaned the air filter by letting it soak in degreaser. Next thing should be disassembling and cleaning the carb. Happy new year, Niek

Nice work Lex, Found someone in Poland who also seems to make quite nice repro's ,(plates, stamped and numbered) and sells them through Ebay. They're quite reasonably priced might buy a set from him. Work Continues on the DKW: reinforced the rear mudguard since it was quite thin at the back end. Both mudguards are ready. Air filter cleaned, will dismount the carb later, The carburettor is a Bing 1/14/7. I believe only Amal and Graetzin Carburettors were originally fitted to the DKW rt 100. But the engine ran nice with this carburettor so it'll stay on it. Through some internet research i found out these carburettors where fitted to NSU quick 100cc motorcycles. Degreased / polished the engine looks shiny and new now. Also made a new spark plug wire for the engine. Wheels are cleaned and ready for painting. Most of the motorbike is ready to get painted. Looking for a new muffler since the internals of the on it have been removed. Doing this to keep the neighbours happy . I'm also looking for pictures of how the front license plate is attached to the mudguard.

Another good day today. Coated the tank, as good as new now hope to put it in primer next week. One of the clips of the fuel cap broke off during cleaning, luckily my father is quite good at welding. Will make a new seal for the Fuel cap later on. While at it he also welded some holes in the rear mudguard and a crack caused by the chain that got loose. Later on we'll also reinforce the ends of the mudguards. My grandfather cleaned the front forks and headlight, they're in quite good shape. The rubbers for the suspension are as good as new. Ordered new Clutch, Brake and throttle cables and a pair of new handgrips. I'm looking for a new rear stand since it broke and was welded quite badly. The holes of the stand weren't centered and that caused wear.

Dodge'40-'45

Removed some brackets on the frame which where used to fit footrests for a pillion seat. Fuel tank is derusted and ready for coating. Rear mudguard will need some holes welded up. Quite puzzeled on how the electrical wiring is attached to the rear mudguard, i believe it's done with clips? Paint has been ordered, should arrive on monday. I'd like to make a couple of replica german army plates, does anyone happen to have the dimensions for them?

Part 2 of today's work: Fully disassembled the DKW (accept for the engine which is in quite good shape). Mudguards need some attention. Stand seems to have broken and rewelded during some time. the clip that holds the stand seems to be missing. a spring was installed instead. wiring needs to be redone. The front brake cable is also in quite bad condition. The rear brake pedal is also quite worn but will try to make a sleeve for it. Seems like the elastics for the suspension are new. Made a small list of all things i need for the restoration: set of handgrips set of footrest rubbers Brakelinings for the front and the back. set of decals (some original decals on the mudguard are still visible). Now the work starts.

Since work on the VC3 slowed down a bit (waiting for some parts to arrive), i had some time for the DKW. Started this morning setting up the tank, filled it with soda and water. connected the car battery and after some hours there was already a result. The loosened rust particles floated on top of the water. It works quite well and after 10 hours the tank has already improved. Quite some rust is gone already. Will continue for some hours tomorrow and will post some pictures of the end result. Then will degrease the tank with vinegar and put a coating on.

Tank removed today, there is brown paint underneath the black layer. Hope to test out the electrolysis rust removal this weekend. The plan is to make a mix of water and soda then fill the tank with it. Then connect the negative of a 12 volt car battery to the tank and the positive to a piece of iron. Already made an anode out of a piece of thread and fitted it on a wooden piece then put it in the tank ( without making contact to it). the salt makes the water conductive and a current should flow. Most of the rust should be removed and attracted by the positive anode. I've never tried this method before, found it on the internet. Fingers crossed

another DKW rt 98 for sale on ebay: http://www.ebay.de/itm/DKW-RT-3PS-100-cm-Scheunenfund-/261654857294?pt=Motorr%C3%A4der&hash=item3cebd8464e seems like a gelände type but the taillight and pack carrier seem kinda odd.

Found a complete oil line at Vintage Power Wagon. 2 steel lines connected with an oil hose. Also found a right hand side mirror arm (i know it's not original, since they only came with 1 on the drivers side but it's for safety purposes :-)) Cab interior is on it's way.