Dodge'40-'45

Battery carrier now mounted. Already did some miles to get the old fuel out of the tank. The tank is quite rusty inside, i was thinking about removing the tank and cleaning the rust through electrolysis. Has anyone tried this method before?

Thanks for the comments. We had another good day today, lots of tinkering (as usual )... we put on the front mudguards and assembled all of the front sheet metal. we're having a bit of a problem in finding a correct connection for the Oil gauge. It seems like a conical nut but it's not the same as the later models. Might be the same as a civillian pick up truck model? any ideas maybe?

Hi all, Had quite a busy week, so not much happened. But we did manage to test fit the seats and they fit quite nicely. hope to fit the mudguards tomorrow. Also found a couple more pictures of before the restoration.

Engine is ready, just needs wiring and it's good to go. Fitted the hood lacing today and put on the inner fenders and splashpanels. Connected the vacuum line for the windscreen wipers, just need to connect it to the newly reconditioned wiper motors now. Also fitted and adjusted the hood. It's quite a pain to allign these hoods correctly, theyre not very sturdy.

Had another good day today. We finished repainting the engine this week, all components also had a new layer of black. Temperature meter, speedometer, choke and throttle are now connected. so we were ready to put the nose back on. All went surprisingly well. it's back on and correctly aligned with the cab. newt step will be putting the splash panels on and the hood. then we can get the mudguards back on.

Today was a good day. Put the battery holder in primer, it was in worse state then i thought. Seems like the battery acid and weather conditions took it's toll on it. While i first drove it at home i noticed it was making alot of noise (yes, even for a 2 stroke engine :cheesy:). There also was smoke coming from the exhaust at the cilinder head. At the same place there also was markings of oil leaking. I loosened the exhaust nut to take a look and the copper seal was split in half. Luckily i found a replacement seal to fix it. During the test drive i also discovered there was another small hole in the exhaust. Once i'm done fixing the exhaust it'll run as quiet as an electric car... or atleast i hope so. :-D

Another day, work goes on. A couple of months ago we discovered some leaks in the brake hydraulics. Some of the connections hadn't been tightened yet and others had been tightened too hard so the cone on the hose has split. We shortened the hose a bit and made some new cones. Luckely the hose was still long enough. Brakes are leak free (touching wood...). We gave the firewall, chassis and front axle another layer of paint, should be the final layer. Hope to put the engine back together by next week and put the nose on during next weekend.

Gordon, it's not a caravan, it's a mobile Reconnaissance Map production Headquarter.

Hi all, Recently i bought a round cab hatch for a WW2 British / Canadian vehicle, i'm not sure where it came from but i suspect a Ford F15. I'm looking for some info on the Canvas that goes on it. Does anyone have some pictures of it? I'd like to know how it is fixed to the hatch and how it is tightened. The hatch has 3 brackets welded to it which look original. Any info would be greatly apreciated. Thanks, Niek

Been a while since last post, so here's an update: -Chrome trim has been installed - Engine is getting a fresh layer of coat - Engine parts have had a new layer of black - Radiator and nose have been assembled again This weekend we rubberized the inside of the front fenders and gave them a layer of OD. We also painted the inside of the hood which is now also ready for mounting.

Some more pictures of the DKW. Meanwhile a found a correct battery holder. It's quite rusty but should be ok when it's cleaned and put in primer. It's the short model battery holder so it should be ok for a 4V electrical system.

Hello Sjoerd, I'm still looking for the workshop book and parts manual. i'm also still looking for the battery holder, preferably short model. Regards, Niek

Hi Sjoerd, Thanks for the info. I've seen some RT98's fitted with a speedometer, was this a factory option? Although they might not have been military contract, the German army did definately use them including some Gelände types. Most of them might have been civillian captured vehicles, but others did get a military registration number. I believe these might have been the last RT98's produced?? I found this picture below, i don't know when it was taken but i do believe that the bikes which are used are DKW RT 98's. The rear carrier seems to have been adapted to fit saddlebags. Like you've mentioned it could have been late during the war. For now it will run as is, it's a well running bike which just needs some TLC. Regards, Niek

Hi all, Collected my latest project yesterday, it's a 1938 DKW Rt100 motorcycle. The 2-stroke engine has a capacity of 98cc which delivers an astonishing 3 HP. It has a 3 speed gearbox and can reach a speed of 65 km/h Max (= 41 MPH). It's not exactly a BMW R75 or a Zundapp KS750, nor does it run circles around a Harley Davidson...:-| But it does have a certain charm however, it was a very popular motorcycle. It was produced from 1935 untill early 1940. During that time 67 000 motorcycles were produced. Several motorcycles of this type were also used by the german forces. I'm planning on restoring it as a WH or LW motorcycle. It was also the motorcycle which provided the basis for the Royal Enfield Baby who's later offspring was the Flying Flea WD RE. The reason i bought it is because i am too young (19) to ride my BSA M20 and i need a motorcycle with a capacity less then 125cc to get my motorcycle license. The restoration will start once the Dodge VC3 is done. It just needs a fresh layer of paint and some minor details reworked. Wheels have been respoked and a fresh set of tyres mounted. Engine runs well. Will post some more pictures later. Regards, Niek

Removed the old pulley with our home-made crankshaft pulley extractor, new pulley installed. Hope this one is good, this is the third... First one had been machined to a smaller size and used with on oversize oilseal. We did not know this and used a standard oilseal which caused excessive oil leakage. Front sheetmetal got a new layer of primer yesterday, hope to put it in OD tomorrow. Fitted the chrome trim to see how it looks, very pleased with it. Just need to paint the frame around Dodge in an orange like colour, we found this when stripping paint from the old trim.

Removed the front sheet metal this week. Also put the new crankshaft pulley and the brushguard rods in primer. Hope to get the pulley in place next week. The holes in the grille where the rods go through were damaged because the grille had stood loose for quite a while. We welded the damaged parts of the grille and grinded it back in shape. Also had to weld 2 small cracks which we missed last time. Trim arrived from chrome shop, now just waiting for the spoiler, 25'' rims and subwoofers to arrive :cool2: Just joking, wouldn't know how to mount a spoiler on a pick-up truck... I'm looking for the special bolts and nuts which go on the trim, the ones which were on it were broken. Hope to give the front sheet metal another layer of primer next week.

Back from Souchez and work continues. Finally got to adjusting the brushguard rods, we had to shorten them quite a bit. When the VC3 arrived the brushguard was mounted backwards, the rods were bent to fit the holes in the brushguard. We had to make cuts in them so we could bend them at the right angle. Once they were at the correct angle, we had to redrill the mounting holes. Then welded all the cuts and previous holes. Once done we gave them a more nicer round shape since they looked very crude. The front of the chassis is a lot sturdier now with these rods attached.

Windscreen now installed and sliding arms are in place!:cool2: Went quite well actually, was expecting worse. We've done some closed cabs before and know fitting the rubber seal can be quite a pain. Also fitted the rear light brackets. Haven't found correct lenses yet. Removed front fenders to start adjusting the brushguard rods, i'll include a picture to show how much adjusting they need... Once they're done we can remove the nose, paint it OD and put the trim on it. We'll also have to swap the crankshaft pulley because the one that's on it has play and this would cause the belt to wear quickly. Now in the weekend off to the Pas-de-Calais tour in Souchez (Bethune, France), we've earned it! :-D

Windscreen painted today and some other little bits. hope to adjust the brushguard rods next week, will be more difficult then i thought... Oh well, keeps us busy.

Hi all, Front fenders are now in primer again. Now looking to adapt the brushguard rods. Also going to change the crankshaft pulley. So we'll have to remove the front sheet metal again.

Hi Gordon, yep, it had all the features of the rebuilt ( except for the WC transmission i think). I do believe it had a long service time, the T223 engine is an engine we sourced, there was a D42 passenger car engine installed which looked in rather bad condition. I do believe it was with the army untill the end of the war. The First post war owner was enlisted in the 109th Field artillery during 1943. I believe he bought this truck as army surplus for his roofing and sheet metal company after the war.

Hi Bart, Thanks for the pictures. Ernie O. gave me some pictures of VC's which appear to have the same bar shaped rods. He thought that the round ones where factory ones and later on where replaced by sturdier bar ones. He thought this was because the brushguard still vibrated when driving at higher speeds or off road which led to cracks. I'm not sure yet if we're going to make a new pair or keep the ones that where on them. Under the several layers of paint on the bars, i did manage to find OD paint, meaning they must have been adapted during it's service time.

Well, didn't do much last week. Went to the war and peace revival for a couple of days. But work goes on, here are some pictures of the seat, ready to install but waiting for the cab liner to arrive. Once that arrives we'll be able to complete the interior of the Dodge. Front fenders are also almost ready. Another thing which must be done is fitting and adapting the brushguard rods.

Started to assemble the dashboard, gauges are all in place. Although not connected yet, just was anxious to see how they would look :-) ... Windshield wiper motors are also in place. Also put the tailgate in primer and fitted it. Gordon, do you happen to have any idea on the Date of Delivery of this VC3 or a guess according the VC list maybe?

replaced the bearings. Luckily only had to replace left side bearings. Other side was in quite good shape (but very low on grease..) which is why it made noise. Getting the tyres removed off the rims. will get them sandblasted & painted during one of these weeks. Fresh set of tyres is waiting to be put on.