1942 Dodge WC-54 Ambulance Found

[rgus]

Looks like original covering to me.

[johnseidts]

I agree with Gus- looks just like mine.

[Goranwc51]

Zeph, that looks like the original material I've seen in original WC54's, i.e. un-bubbaized ones.

Goran N

[thidisbogus]

Zeph you never cease to amaze me at the finds you come across! Now please tell us how you "came across" these gems?

[tractor12]

There has been 3 sets on ebay not sure if he ended up buying on of those

[zepher11]

Zeph you never cease to amaze me at the finds you come across! Now please tell us how you "came across" these gems?

Yes, these went unsold on ebay, so I followed up and we worked out a mutually equitable deal. I don't think there is a lot of these out there, so I didn't want to let them get away from me.

[zepher11]

Looks like original covering to me.

I agree with Gus- looks just like mine.

Zeph, that looks like the original material I've seen in original WC54's, i.e. un-bubbaized ones.

Goran N

That is really awesome to hear. Now what to do? Preserve what is there, or recover them? I would like to preserve them if there are ways to repair the holes and tears. Of course the padding is not very soft. Must have been some very hardy souls back in the day.

[rgus]

The first 54 I bought had post war canvas covering; I parted it all out and kept what I needed to complete my second 54

The second has been redone but very well with thick padding


I would like to find the original material and recover them correctly.

[tractor12]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-x-10-Canvas- ... 6rk%3D1%26

I don't know how close this is but will see when it arrives next week. I ordered one to turn it into a tent. I have some original material from my WC 9s seats laying around and will compare

[zepher11]

The first 54 I bought had post war canvas covering; I parted it all out and kept what I needed to complete my second 54

Yes, that looks exactly like what I have. Great photo.

The second has been redone but very well with thick padding

That looks much more comfortable!

I would like to find the original material and recover them correctly.

I'll take that as a challenge. It's always good to be on the hunt for something. I would like to find a match for the original as well and add a little extra padding. Of course, nowadays one could find padding of the same depth as the WWII padding and have it much more comfortable. That's funny, it's likely that no one will ever ride in the back! Thanks again for the pictures!

[zepher11]

I don't know how close this is but will see when it arrives next week. I ordered one to turn it into a tent. I have some original material from my WC 9s seats laying around and will compare

The original material seems more like a naugahyde vs. canvas, but one never knows. Do you know if the WC-9's had the same type of rear bench seat covering material as the WC-54's? What you ordered would he a good alternative for seat covering material if it is close. That may be the way to go. Just thinking about pulling all of those original tacks out and redoing it gives me a headache.

[tractor12]

I will post a picture later what I had on mine. It looks to be identical with all the little tacks.

[F. R. Fox]

I would assume that ambulances especially were upholstered in naugahyde. If it is to be transporting bleeding patients, the seats will need to be protected from blood. Blood is acidic and will eat away cotton canvas, even if it is water resistant and mildew treated. Blood will also corode anything metal such as springs or staples.

[tractor12]

The seats are for walking wounded and not for strecher cases so it could be canvas. I know my front seats are imatation leather and they did come from a 54 origianally. Here is what came out of my 9s rear seats

[zepher11]

I couldn’t help mounting my “new” bench seats in the WC-54 today. I had a problem though. When I went to move it to the garage, the brake pedal went to the floor! No pressure whatsoever. I just drove it about two weeks ago and the brakes were fine. Not perfect, but they worked. As I’m new to these rigs, I located the master cylinder in the most inconvenient location imaginable. Then I discovered I could remove the floor panel on the driver’s side to gain limited access. The first thing I noticed is that the fill cap has an open hole in the top. It is not sealed. Is that normal? It seems that dirt and dust could get in there rather easily.

There are all kinds of fluids leaking from various components including the steering box directly above the master cylinder. I couldn’t tell if the moisture surrounding the master cylinder was brake fluid, oil or both. I added some brake fluid and begin bleeding the brakes by pumping the pedal and then holding down with a 2x4 between the pedal and the seat, since I never have anyone handy to help. Rather time consuming, but works. I eventually was able to get them to work. If I need a new master cylinder, I am not looking forward to replacing this one.

I did have a question. It is rather difficult to see, but is there only one brake line coming from the master cylinder?

I digressed a bit. Here are the photos of the cleaned up back compartment:







I found the driver and passenger interior door panels:



I also found four metal tube brackets that look familiar to me for some reason, but I can’t place them. They are marked US. Can anyone tell me what these are? Are they part of the WC-54's equipment?



One last thing, I had a link to a downloadable manual for the 3/4 ton Dodge, but I can’t for the life of me find the website now. I think it was like $12 and was maybe in France. Does anyone know of this website?

I appreciate any comments. Thanks!