Posted by Photo Classified from 66.189.65.138 (138-65-189-66.wo.cpe.charter-ne.com) on Saturday, March 23, 2002 at 7:19PM :
1942 WC-53 3/4 ton Dodge Carryall $10,000
Dodge produced a little over 8,000 of these trucks in 1942 at their Mound Road facility in
Detroit.
The enclosed body was popular with the troops in bad weather, but the relatively high profile of the truck made the WC53 too
big of a target for much front line work. Because they were supposed to carry radio equipment, they were one of the few
WWII
Dodges to run 12 volt DC from the factory.
The truck has the original Dodge, flat head, six-cylinder engine. This engine only produces something like 90 hp, but has
tremendous low-end torque. It's made to climb over and through just about anything, it just doesn't do it very fast… placard
states 54 mph as top end… and while it will sustain that, in all honesty 45 to 50 mph is more reasonable.
This Carryall was at some point (I think from the factory) issued to the US Navy. I was unable to find any registration / hood
numbers (Army or Navy), so where it went and what it did between 1942 and 1946 is a bit of a mystery. But I did find a Navy
maintenance sticker on the dash, sun bleached and aged beyond legibility, which supports the history the seller gave me.
The truck was purchased surplus from the Navy in San Diego, CA by the seller's Uncle, Jack Mann, in the summer of 1946. It
had 136 miles on the odometer when he brought it up to his orange grove in Warner Springs, CA.
There it remained for the next 50 years, used mainly on the ranch and for weekend runs into town. In the 1980's Jack's
nephew bought his aging uncle a new pickup for the trips into town, but was surprised to find him driving the Carryall home
from town late one night. He asked why Jack was driving that old Carryall and not the new pickup. "The Carryall knows its
way home from the bar.", was Jack's reply.
Jack passed away in 1996 at the age of 86. The Carryall was still licensed, registered and used, with a little over 30,000 miles
to show for those 50 years. Jack's nephew kept the Carryall registered, but didn't use it much over the next 5 years, finally
selling it to me in 2000.
I restored it. Here's a link to a web site detailing day-by-day restoration progress with photos.
http://www.webworldinc.com/johnson/Wc53/index.htm
In brief, I unbolted and removed everything but the drive train and the main body section. I sent all the parts out for sand
blasting and striped the body myself.
I replaced the wooden rear floor with new wood. Primed, painted with matched WWII olive drab and re-assembled. Put in new
upper and lower wiring harness. Had the original front seats reupholstered in mil spec canvas. Went through the brake
system, replaced all flexible lines, rebuilt master and brake cylinders.
All windows and winding mechanisms are in place and work.
Issues:
Dash harness is still original and should be replaced… dash lights and voltmeter are not hooked up.
Battery isn't charging. Original generator and vibrating type regulator run that show… I'm not sure which is the culprit.
Rear seats are not original. They look right, and are upholstered in correct mil spec canvas, but they are not original. On a
related note, the original rear seats and radio table mounted in “keyed” slots in the floor. Because I wasn't putting original
seats
in, didn't put the associated hardware in the new floor. But I saved all this hardware from the old floor, and it will go with the
truck if you decide you want to put it in.
It uses oil. (Suspect ring blow by, although it doesn't smoke much.)
Speedometer still works… it is badly sun faded, but I think it shows around 50,000 miles. I think that's original.
The carburetor isn't correct for WWII. Works fine, but it's not correct for the year.
I take my kids with me in it all the time, so I added seat belts. Not original equipment, but you've got seats and belts for 7
persons.
Driver's side headlight is out… or at least that's what they told me at the parade last weekend.
Again, there are tons of photos and detailed explanation of my restoration at the web site:
http://www.webworldinc.com/johnson/Wc53/index.htm
Please email or call if you have any questions.
cdavis@webworldinc.com
714 715 6981
As for terms… Truck is located in Southern California and weighs nearly three tons. Buyer arranges and pays for shipping. I
need to be paid before the truck leaves my garage. It will need to leave the garage soon, but I'm willing to be flexible based on
your shipper's schedule. I'll accept bank or cashiers check, money order, or even good old cash.
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