Jump to content

Dodge Half ton Command Car.


HWade

Recommended Posts

Well the work has now commenced on the full rebuild of a Dodge Half Ton Command Car. All the fuel lines, brake lines, engine, and other removable items have been stripped. The Body has been lifted from the chassis and the running gear also removed from the chassis. The chassis has been mounted in a Turn Table which I had fabricated by R.H.Barrell Engineering Ltd, and they have made a fantastic job to. The turn table made it a lot easier to blast and prime the chassis, and it will make it a lot easier for repair work, Its also designed to take adjustable rails so I can bolt on the bodt for repairs.. I have also had all of the brake cylinders and master cylinder relined by Past Parts. I have got most of the replacement parts now in stock, so the rebuild should move along a quite a nice pace. Although I still have the chevrolet C60s on the go but its a stop due to waiting for parts. Here are a few pictures of state of play on the C.Car and its arrival. Howard.

command car 005.JPG

command car 006.JPG

dodge half ton 002.JPG

dodge half ton 001.JPG

dodge half ton 007.JPG

dodge half ton 006.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well more work carried out today on the command car, both axles have now been blasted. I have also fitted new seal. A few other items have been blasted and primed like the radiator, surround and the front grill. Yes the turn table saves a lot of back ache, and bending over, dont know why I didnt get one years ago. I have fitted all new seals in the transfer box and the gear box. Howard.

dodge half ton 009.JPG

half ton 02 003.JPG

half ton 02 006.JPG

half ton 02 008.JPG

half ton 02 010.JPG

half ton 02 002.JPG

chevrolet 001.JPG

chevrolet 010.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi, yes it is a early with civy dash, the body is in quite nice shape. I tested the comprestion of all the cylinders and they were all very disappointing. I have removed the head and the valves and seats are to good i did the fluid test around the valves and most of them leaked, I have now ordered a full set of new valves, also going to get the valve seats reground then get the valves lapped in. I will update the blog as this is done. The chassis is now all painted and ready to come out of the turn table. Howard.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Well I have managed to get the body in the turntable, The body is bolted to rails that are telescopic both length and width ways so you can get it exactly right to mount on the stand. I have now got the underside blasted to allow the welding of new top hat section cross members. After the blasting there was a bit of rusting unearthed, but only on the passenger side, should not be to hard to get some more top hat section folded and cut out and replace. The turntable has certainly made the job a a lot easier. I have also ground down the old welds and metal near the fuel filler pipe on the body.

blasting 004.JPG

blasting 009.JPG

blasting 014.JPG

blasting 016.JPG

Edited by HWade
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I have got more done to the command car, the axles are now back on the chassis. I have also got the new valves fitted into the engine and lapped in. The engine has now been stripped down and has been painted. I have also made a start to rebuild it and it is now bolted back into the chassis. I have rebuilt the starter motor and fitted a new bendix. Just waiting to give it a coat of satin black before its fitted to the engine. I have refitted the flywheel and fitted a new clutch plate. Just waiting for a new clutch release bearing before i fit the gear box. I have fitted new seals to the transfer box and this has been refitted to the chassis. I have also blasted and painted the prop shafts. I have also fitted new oil seals to the end of the pinion shafts. The fuel tank has also been cleaned and painted, along with the brackets/ straps. Ihave also ordered a new exhaust system, due to be delivered any day. Heres a few pics.

dodge half ton 006.JPG

dodge half ton 007.JPG

dodge half ton 011.JPG

dodge half ton 022.JPG

dodge half ton 033.JPG

dodge half ton 031.JPG

dodge half ton 029.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Well more has been done to the command car, I have now made and fitted all the new copper brake lines, also fitted the flexi pipes. I have also fitted and made new copper fuel lines. I have also got all the parts for the engine fitted. New flexi oil pipes, I have also blasted and painted the oil filter housing and oil filler. I have fitted a new bendix to the starter motor and also repainted it. I have also made new HT Leads, new distributor cap, new plugs ect. I have also fitted all the relined brake shoes and brake cylinders. The radiator has also been fitted. I have also completed the welding repairs to the underside of the body. The body is now ready to meet the master blaster, then in for priming. I will add a few pics soon. Howard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well with the sun shining, I made an early start this morning and got the command car body blasted, then after clearing all the dust and wiping it down and moving it to the spray booth I set to and got it primed in Red Oxide primer. The blasting unearthed a few areas for repair but nothing really drastic. Heres a few pics.

Half ton body 001.JPG

Half ton body 002.JPG

Half ton body 003.JPG

Half ton body 005.JPG

Half ton body 004.JPG

Half ton body 012.JPG

Half ton body 014.JPG

Half ton body 016.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 weeks later...

Up date on the command car, well the body has now been painted and is in its olive drab coat. I have also been busy getting a lot of the smaller parts painted. I have also fitted all of the brake wheel cylinders and got the drums fitted. Still waiting for a fuel sender unit to arrive, I can then think about refitting the body. Regards the seats I have had a quote on leather hide and I think this is what we are going for.Are update with some more pics later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well today the body was mated back to the chassis.All went well and its all now back together, I also got the running boards fitted.I spent te rest of the day bolting on parts and prepping and painting other parts.

half ton 002.JPG

half ton 010.JPG

half ton 012.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well more done on the half ton command car. I had new canvas piping made and I have fitted the rear passenger mud guard/wing its all been bolted to the running board. I have also fitted the bonnet rubbing strip. I have also preped and painted various nuts and bolts. The tailgate has been prefitted and removed and painted its last coat of drab. Thats about it at the mo.

Command car PS.JPG

Command Car PS2.JPG

Command Car PS3.JPG

Command Car PS4.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well I have achieved a bit more work on the command car, the passenger side rear mud guard is all on, i have also got all the front vent fitted and linkages connected up. hand throttle cable and choke cable cut to size and fitted. The two cast front windscreen pillars are now in place. I have fitted a new rubber seal to the outside of the windscreen frame quite a time consuming job. Painted more various nuts and bolts, front grill now has all the correct bolt. The fuel filter is now bolted to the bulkhead and all plumbed in. The bonnet has had another coat of paint. Well thats about it to date.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Well the half ton is coming on, I have got most of the wiring in just some tidying up, all of the rear wiring is complete, just some at the front to complete for the front indicators ect. The rear tailgate is on and so is the pioneer rack. I have also got the tyres fitted to the correct wheels for the vehicle. I have also got some of the instruments fitted in the dash board. I have also fitted the new tin work to the seating, i just have the map box and table brackets to weld on and the seat can then go off for the upholstery. Well thats about it for now. Howard

command car 003.JPG

command car 001.JPG

Edited by HWade
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Well here is an update on the command Car. The bonnet has now been fitted after a lot of adjusting its finally on. I have also fitted the front wings and also fit the head light wiring looms along with the lights on the wings. The correct wheel have also been fitted. Are post some pics tomorrow.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...