Dodge WC54 Ambulance windscreen

[Great War truck]

Here is something that is troubling me. Does the Dodge WC54 Ambulance have flat glass in the windscreen. If not, is it possible to find replacement glass?

 

Thanks

 

Tim

[Bodge Deep]

Not 100% but i think it does

My mate had a 54 and the frame was rotten and when he dismantled it ti fix it i'm sure the plates were flat

[Gordon_M]

All the 39-47 pattern hard cab screens used the same flat glass, and you should be able to get 1/4" or 6mm laminate cut for it at about £20 per sheet. Get as good an edge as you can, and it is worth sealing the laminate edges with varnish before putting it in the frame to prevent water creeping up the laminate boundary when it is in the screen.

 

The screen frames tend to be weak, especially at the bottom edge inside. Just strip the screen and MIG up any holes, then cut back the glass slots with an angle grinder. You are liable to have trouble getting the frame sections apart. Don't be afraid to smash the glass out and roast the joists with a gas torch - even then you may have to drill the heads off some of the screws.

 

Do not use the flat rubber strip, per the manual, ( it tends to push the sides of the weakened screen frame apart ) and do not use windscreen sealant.

 

Get yourself down to your local dealer like Brown Brothers and get a tube of Bodyline black, semi-structural, panel sealant. Easy to use, sets hard, but not super rigid, can be removed and cleaned up if required. This is also the stuff for mounting back windows and side window panes in the runners and channels.

[Tony B]

Pleas Mr Gordon Sir!! Does the Bodyline stuff work a s a replacment bettween the frame and the cab? I'm not bothered if it doean't open.

[Tony B]

Thanks for that Delta! The WS10 is coming along and we are looking for various sealants for that. :iloveyou:

[Great War truck]

Thanks Gordon. That explains everything. I should have looked at the Dodge forum first.

 

Tim

[Gordon_M]

Please Mr Gordon Sir!! Does the Bodyline stuff work as a replacement between the frame and the cab? I'm not bothered if it doesn't open.

 

Actually it would, but it would be quite poor, and you would need a ton of it. Most of the historic screen rust you see on these Dodge screens is caused by condensation running down the inside of the glass and filling the rubber strip / metal gap on the bottom edge inside.

 

 

OK, here we go, Dodge hard cab windscreen to cab surround joint lecture.

 

There are three factors that will affect the sealing of your Dodge hard cab screen to the body surround.

 

1. Location. If your screen and seal are fitted correctly, then the outer edge of the seal will sit right on a pressed rib in the face of the screen surround. If it is sitting anywhere other than correctly, particularly if it is too high, the water will get between the seal and the body. The cure for almost everything here is to adjust the hinges and use spacer plates as necessary to get the line up exactly right.

 

2. Sealing rubber to screen seal. This rubber seal needs to be well attached and can be retained ( to the screen) by some of the black panel sealant referred to above. Position the seal, glue it in place, close the screen but not fully clamped down, leave to set. You can use some of the black panel sealant to seal the joint between the rubber and the screen metal, but just a smear wiped off with a suitable finger.

 

3. Condition of the rubber seal itself. You want the one piece continuous seal that is formed to the right shape, not the loose strip. Be aware that even if you fit a NOS seal and leave it in the garage for a year or two it will start to shrink and split - they are not very durable.

 

Something like a Dodge Carryall can be made absolutely weather tight if required. Apart from the windscreen seal, you need to fit the panel / Carryall roof correctly, put drain channels in the rear window boxes, extend the drain hoses down below the double panel joint (the factory left them short which lets water into the double panel where you can't get at it) and seal the rear windows (black panel sealant again) plus paint and seal the insides of the doors (except for suitable drain holes....)

 

Gordon

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

No commercial interest here, just suggesting a product - moderators feel free to remove if worried...

 

Bodyline product codes;

 

BDPBWWSB - black Wet on Wet Seam Sealer.

BDPBSCBS - grey Semi-Structural Car Body Sealer.

 

here, on the Sealers and Adhesives PDF file;

 

http://www.brownbrothers.com/

 

The grey stuff is also ideal if you have a side window that just clamps into a bottom channel using the spring / give that was in the channel when new, and your spring has sprung in the intervening 60 years. Just glue it in with this stuff. It won't move, but you can still carefully dig it out if you have to.

Edited January 6, 2010 by Gordon_M
Added links

[Tony B]

The usual mine of information. Thanks guys, another job to do! :iloveyou:

[Great War truck]

I have a friend who is looking at buying a Dodge WC54. Apart from the windscreen (which has already been nicely covered) are there any other potential areas that he should look at to ensure that there are not any major problems. basically, what can go wrong with a WC54?

 

Thanks

 

Tim

[Gordon_M]

The WC54 advice isn't complicated.

 

It's a 6 v Dodge 3/4 ton, so mechanical completeness isn't an issue. There are few mechanical parts which are specific to the ambulance - things like the rear prop shaft and springs / shocks, so you want them to be there. Missing engine, gearbox, transfer, most front end metal isn't a problem. From memory the hood / bonnet just fits Carryall and Ambulance, so that needs to be there.

 

The body was coachbuilt by Wayne Works ( no sniggering please ... ) and it is a very nice body, but with only two reservations;

 

1. If it is a pile of rust - forget it. Hugely complex to rebuild big sections of it.

 

2. Missing parts - many of the ambulance bits like the rear step were taken off those used as radio trucks in Norway, and EVERYBODY is looking for them. $$$ / £££

 

That's about it, Basically you need a good complete chassis and rear axle, plus a body that isn't rusty, and all the ambulance trivia like rear step and stretcher brackets. If you have that it is a winner even if the engine, gearbox and front axle are missing ....

[Great War truck]

OK thanks. Thats helpful. This one is ex Norweigan. We are going to have a look at it on Sunday (snow allowing) and see what the state of play is.

 

The insides are gutted, but i dont know about the rear step. I guess that could be reconstructed. I will let you know what i find.

[Gordon_M]

A rear step assembly from Midwest Military is currently $375, so reckon on that being £500 if you have to buy one and import it, see the link below.

 

http://www.midwestmil.com/dodgewc15.html

 

If it is ex-Norway, you can expect it to be fine, but shabby, and gutted.

 

Plan on buying a rear step, all interior fitments, five tyres, seat covers, and a lot of cleaning and painting. Only other point would be to expect Silicone brake fluid in it.

[N.O.S.]

Lynch? Lynch?

:argh::argh::argh::argh:

So why couldn't you have posted that little lot BEFORE I went and filled a vehicle up with the stuff?

:argh::argh::argh::argh:

:n00b:

:rofl:

[Gordon_M]

( Am I the only one old enough to remember Groats? )

 

It's good stuff, but a bit like Marmite - people either swear by it or at it. The Norwegian army went to using nothing but Silicone fluid in their trucks, so we know it works, and under arctic conditions no less.

 

The dividing line seems to be - are you building a complete new system or not?

 

If you are building a complete new system, with master cylinder, lines, hoses, slave cylinders, and you fill it with Silicone from new it SHOULD be fine.

 

If you are working on an installed system, and it has had ordinary brake fluid in it - forget about putting Silicone in.

 

It does seem to be able to creep past seals that aren't in perfect condition - that's true.

 

I only mentioned it as a warning to anyone buying an ex-Norway vehicle and not realising how important that fluid sticker was ....

[Tony B]

The only good bit aabout that is there are bog standard UK plumbers blanks and adapters that will fit the top of a Dodge master cylinder, so remote resovoirs , breathers etc are not a problem.