1942 Dodge WC-54 Ambulance Found

[tractor12]

Zeph, very nice truck my friend. I don't know if you know about the insulation between the interior and exterior skin. It is made of very flammable cardboard that looks like honeycomb. Be very mindful about where you use a cut-off wheel on or weld.
A friend of mine burned his Ambulance to the ground when he used a cutting torch to remove some bubbafied add-ons. Once the insulation started to burn, it went fast. He told me he had his garden hose wide open but still lost the fight.

Dave is very correct on this. I had mine on fire when i cut the sides of my roof off. I had taken a piece of it out and put a torch to it and it smoldered so I thought I was good. So I took the plasma and the roof caught. I had wet towels and a garden hose in my dads hands standing next to me and we got it out quick but still burned a but of the paper no damage luckily.

I agree on wrong engine, spare set of boxes, and lack of vent windows. I personally repaired my back corners they looked like yours. Mine will look like it came out of the factory floor though. The rear step is available from John at Midwest Military hes the only one who makes them and others sell his. Your medic stuff looks post war.

[Goranwc51]

"one has to place the heel of their throttle foot on the transmission hump"- Welcome to the wonderful world of the "Dodge foot", i.e. the very cramped up right foot you get from driving a Dodge WC. Best way of alleviating the pain is to use the hand throttle as a 1940's cruise control

Goran N

[Sleeve]

Downshifts on a non syncronized transmissions are a bit trickier than upshifts. This is where matching the engine speed really becomes important. A lot of it comes down to practise and knowing the quirks of each vehicles transmission. My 45 Chevy is easier to shift than my 51 International. The International shifts much better than when I bought it because I figured out that it had the wrong weight gear oil in it causing too much drag but the Chevrolet still has it beat in the smooth shift dept.
It's a bit harder without a tach and becomes more of a seat of the pants kind of thing but you will need to learn how much to rev the engine while double clutching for downshifts into lower gears. This is what I mean by matching engine speed (to transmission speed) This comes with time and practice. These transmissions earned the nickname "Crash Box" for good reason and although a challange it's fun to master using them.

One of favorite things about watching movies on Turner Classics is listening (if the sound is'nt dubbed) to the old cars and trucks shifting up and down. Sometimes a grind or two, often smooth and grind free.When I was 16 I learned to drive on an automatic so It warms my heart to think that my Mom and Dad had to learn to drive in cars that had no syncros in the tranny as if learning to drive on a standard wasn't hard enough already

[zepher11]

Researched the front doors on the internet today and found that the Carryall doors look identical to the doors on a WC-54. Here is a good picture of a Carryall door:



I can’t tell the difference. However, after I came home this evening, I went through some boxes and found these. Two new vent window glass and the vent wing channels:



Pretty cool! And it appears that the doors have a tab that is made for the vent windows:



I think these are the components for the roof vent. Not sure about the ring:



This appears to be one of the two missing windshield wiper covers that go above the driver and passenger in the cab. The other one is AWOL:



The rear doors need a lot of work, but it appears all of, or most of, the hardware is there. I'm really interested in how the door windows are set into the doors. There is quite a gap there:



I think these pieces of wood go near the bottom inside the doors. I also found two covers that are rectangle and fit the up and down rectangle hole to the right in the photo:



I read a little tutorial on double clutching and put it to use tonight. It took me awhile, but I was eventually able to “almost” master downshifting from fourth to third. I also was able to upshift through all the gears a couple of times without, well maybe a nip, grinding. I hope this transmission is tough! Once I get cruising in fourth it’s actually not too uncomfortable. It’s definitely a cruiser. Once I get a few more double clutching lessons under my belt, it should be a lot more enjoyable to drive. I see why the throttle pedal is on the hump. With my size 13’s, I can put my heel on the brake and tow on the throttle with no problem. I also notice that when I put my toe on the starter, I can actually give it a little throttle at the same time. Pretty neat.

Sleeve, you are correct, it is fun learning how to shift these vehicles! Goran, I found the hand throttle which is laying loose and diconnected from the carb. Should be an easy fix I hope. I will post some photos of the carb and engine soon. I don't know if the carb is original since the engine is a 1942 Plymouth.

I really need to get a good technical manual. I saw that there is an early one dated December 1942 (SNL G502) and a later one dated in 1944 (TM9-808). I’m thinking I should get the early one. Anyone have a recommendation? One with a good diagram of the window components would be nice!

[ILikePlanesToo]

Wow. It is in excellent shape Zeph!! Great find!

Michael

[AZ Jeff]

Zeph,

Pay attention to the trim strips that retain the inner sheet metal panels when you decide to remove the corragated cardboard insulation. In order to access the sheet metal screws under those strips you have to pull out the thin sheet steel cover. That's the easy part... The hard part is finding thin sheet steel to replace it with caus' it'll probably be toast after it's pulled. A guy in Tucson that restored a show-winning WC-54 in the early 90s told me the secret: tape measure steel .

Good luck with your project!

Jeff Q.
AZ

[Goranwc51]

Great finds Zeph! I think you hit the gold here with this WC54. I know of several WC54's where friends had to spend months searching for all the parts that you have.

I'd get hold of both an early and a late TM for your Dodge.

Your right leg will thank you once the hand throttle has been installed

Goran N

[zepher11]

Wow. It is in excellent shape Zeph!! Great find!

Michael

Thanks, Michael.

Zeph,

Pay attention to the trim strips that retain the inner sheet metal panels when you decide to remove the corragated cardboard insulation. In order to access the sheet metal screws under those strips you have to pull out the thin sheet steel cover. That's the easy part... The hard part is finding thin sheet steel to replace it with caus' it'll probably be toast after it's pulled. A guy in Tucson that restored a show-winning WC-54 in the early 90s told me the secret: tape measure steel .

Good luck with your project!

Jeff Q.
AZ

Jeff, when you say inner sheet metal panels, do you mean that they are sandwiched between the interior wood panel and the exterior steel panel? I guess I will run into them anyway you slice it. I will keep my eye out. That is a good tip on the tape measure tape. I think one can get tape measures at Harbor Freight for like a buck or two. Thanks!

Great finds Zeph! I think you hit the gold here with this WC54. I know of several WC54's where friends had to spend months searching for all the parts that you have.

I'd get hold of both an early and a late TM for your Dodge.

Your right leg will thank you once the hand throttle has been installed

Goran N

Yes, very happy to have all the original parts that are there. Especially the window regulators ect... I'm not holding out much hope for the items in the rear compartment that I am missing, but I will keep my eyes peeled. Do you know if that ring in the picture is part of the roof vent? I guess I will figure that out when I get the manuals

[ng19delta]

Great find!
The P23 shows it is out of a 1952 Plymouth. http://www.t137.com/registry/help/other ... gines.html
I do beleive it should be a T214 stamping on the motor.

That is correct- My 1942 WC-51 came with the same engine! But, it had the internals for a T-214 in it! Essentially the same engine, just the pistons or crank throw was different to increase the CI to 230 from 217..

Scott

[tractor12]

I would get Army Motors 81 82 83 which are the WC ambulance issues

[Frank USMC]

I just went and looked at the pictures of my old Carry All, I owned it for over 15 years. Yep. same doors.....getting old sucks.
Good friends do not let friends drink and post.
One of the few, Frank USMC RET

[zepher11]

I would get Army Motors 81 82 83 which are the WC ambulance issues

Oh, that's a good idea. Thanks for letting me know, Mark.

I just went and looked at the pictures of my old Carry All, I owned it for over 15 years. Yep. same doors.....getting old sucks.
Good friends do not let friends drink and post.
One of the few, Frank USMC RET

I bet they are identical with the exception of the tab in the photo above.

I would like to get the windows figured out in the rear doors of the WC-54. I found one decent photo of the back doors and can see a rubber seal and the extrerior glass. Is there another set of windows on the inside of the doors like a dual pane window? I guess I could get a good glass shop to provide the rubber seal and glass.

Thanks,

[tractor12]

Vintage sells the rubber its 1 piece for each door and runs 100 or so for both doors. Its 1 pane not double

[F. R. Fox]

Here is the "steel tape" that Jeff mentioned. You have to find a tape measure with the rounded edges.


Here, also, is a complete fan assy.


Check this thread out for some more visual tid bits.viewtopic.php?f=66&t=181899&hilit=recovery&start=15

[zepher11]

Vintage sells the rubber its 1 piece for each door and runs 100 or so for both doors. Its 1 pane not double

Excellent, thanks!