1942 WC versus 1951 B3PW...Big surprise to me!


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Posted by Severe Duty [99.120.34.172] on Friday, April 20, 2012 at 23:59:44 :

I have owned both for some time, and I decided recently to sell the '42 due to its overall condition over the 1951 which has all original parts in great condtion, low mileage, and lived in the desert for the last 35 years, so it has no rust. Unfortunately, it has no bed at all.

Anyway, I've been getting the '51 up to speed over the course of the last two years with all new brake and fuel lines, but the engine and trans seem to be without issue, and needed only cursory maintenence, it seems. Very few fluid leaks, nice compression, and a rebuilt carb and new secondary ignition parts fired it right up beautifully! I rewired it completely this fall. But it's always been a noisy thing to drive around, and seems to have low gearing and I've got to be just right with the shifting. It doesn't go very fast, but it seems like a pretty solid truck.

The 1942 WC languished, as it became the stepchild, even though it was the first truck purchased. It has a lot of rust, is missing a few things, the driver's door won't stay shut, the windshield frame is rotted, broken windows, etc. The throttle linkage is rough and it sounded like it had a bad knock in the engine. The poor thing really needs a lot of work, not to mention really scary wiring!

Anyway, I got the '42 ready to sell, which meant trying to make the brakes work, etc. I finally got it dialed in enough to drive it around town. Guess what? It's a lot easier to drive than the 1951! It shifts easier, gets right up to speed and it has great compression. The knock went away when I disengage the clutch, so that's better news than a loose crank or rod, right?!

But now I'm mystifed, elated and troubled. I'm mystifed as to why the 42 is easier to handle and drive than the 51, elated that it seems like a good runner and troubled about whether I should really sell it, and also troubled because maybe the 51 has deeper issues than I think....although I can't put my finger on it. Maybe its just heavier and slower?

If anyone here would like to offer their personal experiences between the WC model and the B3PW or similar, I would sure appreciate reading your comments!



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