Above 1200 Sq/FT Zeph's Quasi WWII Era Shop

[zepher11]

Well, I've had this Command Car taking up room in the shop for a few years, and since I'm pretty much done with my Carryall, I thought I'd give it a motor pool restoration like the others.

I've actually completed a few little projects for the VC1 the past few years that I've posted about before. The replacement engine is completed. I've also rebuilt all of the gauges, the regulator, and the generator. I also have the restored grill stainless steel parts. Came with five new, but fairly old I would suspect, McCreary NDT's. Also and NOS radiator, so won't have to search for one or have the old one I have rebuilt. Probably the nicest piece I stashed away that is still in its original box is the NOS windshield frame, glass and rubber all ready to drop in. That'll save some headaches. Also came with a new wiring harness, so that saves a little dough and time.

I'm missing a few things and don't have a lot of knowledge regarding the VC's. Already have a lot of questions as I have been dinking around with it.

Here's what it looked like when it arrived a few years ago:



Oops, that's not it. I wish. Here it is:



The dogs were high fiving when it rolled off the trailer:





First thing I had to do was clean out the classic basket case to see what was all in there. Did this a couple of days ago:











Pulled the body this past weekend:



Re-employed the rotisserie for the body:












Time to start cleaning some parts...

 

[Grizz1963]

Sadly my adopted stray cat Molly got killed outside my house yesterday morning between 4-6 am when out hunting.
thats what cats do.
She was 100% mechanic, shadow and buddy.
I will miss her a lot.

 

[zepher11]

Sadly my adopted stray cat Molly got killed outside my house yesterday morning between 4-6 am when out hunting.
thats what cats do.
She was 100% mechanic, shadow and buddy.
I will miss her a lot.

Oh man, my heart goes out to you. So sorry to hear that.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

I went to a house recently where the guy had 2 command cars. Not in as good of shape as that one. Oddly enough he had a camel as well - a real live camel wandering around.

 

[slik560]

I did a little looking and found that there is an MVPA chapter here in the Kansas City Area. I plan on checking them out just to see who has what.

 

[zepher11]

I went to a house recently where the guy had 2 command cars. Not in as good of shape as that one. Oddly enough he had a camel as well - a real live camel wandering around.

Wow...Command Cars are somewhat rare, but a Camel? That's stepping it up a bit. lol

I did a little looking and found that there is an MVPA chapter here in the Kansas City Area. I plan on checking them out just to see who has what.

Right on. I bet in the Kansas City area there should be a pretty active group with a lot of great vehicles.

 

[zepher11]

Finished pulling all of the parts and pieces from the axle housings on the VC1. However there are some issues here and there I'll need to work on. Took some shots of the brake shoe locations, etc.., to remember which pad goes where. I can never recall which brake pads are the front or the rears based on the differing surface size:







The rear axle bearing that's pressed on the rear axle was a issue getting out of the housing. I tried a slide hammer, but that didn't work, and then was worried I'd ruin it somehow:



I finally put a large nut behind the axle nut and used an old flywheel to pound it out. Worked really well:







I was then able to pull the differential gear cases. Always looks like a knife fight occurred in the shop after that battle is over:



I couldn't get the yokes off the diffs. Out of the many pullers I have, I didn't have one that worked on the Detroit style yokes. Dodge used these yokes in 1940 then went to the Mechanic joints that I'm used to on the half-ton Dodge WC's, and then back to the Detroit style in 1942 for the 3/4 ton Dodge WC's I made a puller I thought might work which Rube Goldberg would have been proud, but they would not budge. I used a brass drift and tapped on it and that didn't work.

So, I took the gear sets to a local gear shop. They popped the yokes right off, but said they were super tight. The yokes looked brand new with nice shiny surfaces, and they said the bearings and spider gears look brand new, so that's nice.

Had to make a little pulling tool out of some long bolts to get the pinion seals out. Those things are always a pain in the:





Had some new pinion seals:



Popped those in:



Ready to blast or strip the paint off these now:



Both axle housings are nice and all treated internally with that Glyptal coating. The only place the axles leaked were at all the seal, or lack of seal points:



After pulling the front axles, I could see that there was an axle seal in the front housing, however one can see how distorted it is from the installation. Like why it leaked I would suspect:





Now to blast the differentials and the axle housings and get those all primered and painted.

 

[zepher11]

Pulled out the inner front axle housing seals wit a little tool I made the last time I did this. It's a thick washer that I ground down to allow it to insert past the seal. Then use a slide hammer to bump out:

img]http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/data/4434/CC_3228.JPG[/img]



After that, I want to blast the axle housings and trying to figure out how to keep as much media out of the housing. Had a laminate board that looked like it might work if bolted down tight to keep the media out of the diff opening:





Cleaned up the yokes for the diffs:



Now starting to work over the brake wheel cylinders. They are actually in pretty good shape. I will re-hone them and go with:

 

[RickP]

Nice work on all those parts.
I'll bet they will look really good in a fresh coat of OD!

 

[zepher11]

Nice work on all those parts.
I'll bet they will look really good in a fresh coat of OD!

Thank you. I was just going to post an update. Did get a little painting in. I buttoned up the axle housings for blasting yesterday on the VC1. I found a nice rubber pipe plug for the rear housing at the ACE Hardware. Had to do a tiny bit of grinding on it to fit in the tube, but worked great. I shrink wrapped the knuckles on the front axle as I couldn't find anything that would work any better. I wanted to protect the bearings. Seemed to work well.

Anyway, all blasted now as well as the backing plates and the U-bolts for the leaf springs. Trying to determine if these leaf springs were dismantled and each leaf primed and painted, or if they just shot the outsides like some do. I'm thinking the latter. Really do not like dismantling the leaf packs and blasting each leaf. Takes for ever!







Some crazy welding went on during the housing assembly. Interesting how each housing is two pieces and sectioned together. A lot different than the WC axle housings:







Nice to get to the point of painting some of the small parts:

 

[csp]

It might have been covered earlier and I don't remember, but how are you blasting larger assemblies like the axle housings?

 

[NickH]

I love all of the WW2 stuff, wicked cool!

 

[zepher11]

It might have been covered earlier and I don't remember, but how are you blasting larger assemblies like the axle housings?

I have a little blasting pot that I purchase close to 30 years ago. It's had a lot of media go through it. I use coal slag and not sand which is pretty bad to use. I know a lot of people that do, but I worry about the silica. The coal slag has minimal silica. Works pretty good for me. Much better after I upgraded my compressor. Goes a lot faster as my compressor can keep up with the air demand now.

I love all of the WW2 stuff, wicked cool!

Thank you. Obviously I enjoy it too. lol

Continued on with the VC1 project yesterday. I found a 2" axle nut. Not an easy thing to do. Virtually no one sells them. I still had to modify it by grinding on the outside to allow it to enter inside the hub recess and still fit the nut. Really tight in there. Since I can't find any VC axle bendable locking washers, I'm going to repurpose these Jeep washers I saved. I knew there was a reason. I will have to grind around the outside to allow them to fit inside the housing as well. I think they will work



Cleaned up the differential cases and prepped them for paint. All ready to go once I install the yokes:



A little chilly out as the weather is cooling off now. Only like 85 degrees yesterday. Had to wear a sweat shirt as it was a bit cold in the morning:



Nothing like a fresh coat of primer after all the work to clean up the housings:



What's better than primer? OD of course!







I really enjoy finding these data tags. The one axle housing was rebuilt by the Fort Lewis Ordinance Motor Base. The T202 represents that it's a Dodge VC series axle housing. Rebuilt on December 16, 1942. Wow...79 years ago this December. Amazing it's still around. Also, I wonder why it had to be rebuilt two years into service. The other thing is the time it would have taken to drill for and install the rivets to attach the data plate. Now that's pride in one's work for sure:

 

[goingtoarizona]

Hi Zeph,
I just discovered your thread, fantastic workmanship. I'm lovin this stuff. Now to start at the beginning...

 

[zepher11]

Hi Zeph,
I just discovered your thread, fantastic workmanship. I'm lovin this stuff. Now to start at the beginning...

Awesome! Welcome. Thank you and happy you have enjoyed it so far.

 

[zepher11]

Sourced some Speedi Sleeves for the VC1 front spindles. They had a bit of a groove, so thought I'd smooth the seal service out a bit:



I neglected to pay attention to height, so they stuck up a bit and wouldn't allow the bearing to seat if I didn't grind them down. Did that and then hand filed them. Should be good to go now:



Now I can start cleaning the small parts for the axle housings, and there are a lot:

Prepped the frame for primer and paint the other day, and yesterday was a perfect day to paint:

 

[ddawg16]

How did I not see this thread before?

Fantastic work.

Zeph...my BIL buys and sells war birds. A lot of his customers have period vehicles to match their war bird. Most common is the Willis jeep. I just found a MC for one customer....it was a bit 'rough'....it's getting restored now.

Do you sell your vehicles? Restore for other people?

 

[slik560]

"Do you sell your vehicles? Restore for other people?" Inquiring minds want to know.

Forget selling inventory, you could start a dang restoration school for vintage iron and make a fortune while at the same time teaching others how to carry on the tradition of Keep'em Rolling.

 

[zepher11]

How did I not see this thread before?

Fantastic work.

Zeph...my BIL buys and sells war birds. A lot of his customers have period vehicles to match their war bird. Most common is the Willis jeep. I just found a MC for one customer....it was a bit 'rough'....it's getting restored now.

Do you sell your vehicles? Restore for other people?

Welcome! Appreciate the kind comments. That has to be a great job selling Warbirds your BIL has. I've sold two vehicles that I've restored. A 1942 Ford GPW script Jeep, and a 1942 Dodge WC54 Ambulance. I didn't list them for sale. Just people who were persistent. One for about 8 years and the other guy pestered me for about a year. lol If the price is right, I guess everything is for sale, eh?

You mention that you found an MC? Not sure what that is. Maybe a Willys MB?

Thanks for stopping by!

"Do you sell your vehicles? Restore for other people?" Inquiring minds want to know.

Forget selling inventory, you could start a dang restoration school for vintage iron and make a fortune while at the same time teaching others how to carry on the tradition of Keep'em Rolling.

Appreciate the kind comments as well! I haven't restored any vehicles for others. I've helped with making a few small parts and canvas projects as well. I'm pretty motivated to just work on my own stuff at the moment.

Everything is for sale at the right price as I mentioned above. lol My wife would be very happy if I sold anything. She's on me all the time, but amazingly she's pretty tolerant. She asks me every evening, "what are your plans for tomorrow", and I always say nothing. She leaves for work and I'm in the shop. Always knock off at 4pm when she's home from work. I don't think I've ever worked past 4pm in the shop ever that I can recall. Of course, I'm up at about 4:30am everyday. Would love to sleep in, but that will never happen...

Thanks for stopping by, I enjoy the comments!

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Was moving fairly quickly with the project VC1, but now ordering parts which takes some time to arrive. Then after and order I realize I missed something. So just cleaning mostly. Really need a nice parts cleaner bin that circulates degreaser. Not sure if there are any good ones out there.

I received my speed bleeders for the brakes. Best thing going out there. Used these on the Carryall for the first time and bled the brakes by myself in like 10 minutes:



First assembled part on the VC1 frame! It was all I could do to install this spring hanger. lol



Rear springs still fit, so that's good. Was thinking about installing the axle housing tube on the springs. Then install the differential gear set, axles, seals, etc..., but I typically install everything on the housings while the are on the sawhorses. Then put the tires on and roll the whole unit over for install with the spring already attached to the housings.

I'm thinking for the rear housing, I'll install it on the springs now as it's fairly light, and then I'll install everything with the housing sitting within the frame. With the front axle housing, I will assemble it on the sawhorses and then attach the springs and wheels and roll it over to install on the frame. It's a little hard to roll sometimes as the knuckles rotate a bit while rolling:

 

[SRU1436]

I love military stuff and WW2 as well, if not more. I always stop in on this thread, your work is amazing.

 

[racer-john]

Looking good, Zeph.

 

[zepher11]

I love military stuff and WW2 as well, if not more. I always stop in on this thread, your work is amazing.

Thanks for letting me know you stopped by!

Looking good, Zeph.

Thank you RJ!

Still fumbling along on the Dodge VC1 project. I cleaned up a few more parts for the, and starting slowly getting a few little things installed. Hammered in the axle housing seals for the axles. Should keep the oil in a little better now that the housings have the rear axle seals:



Front axle seals installed as well:



Clamping the the rear housing in place. Leaving it a little loose until I can string the whole chassis to make sure all four wheels are in line:





Motor mounts are all good to go:



These front hubs are interesting. The whole outer bearing and race has to be pressed in from the inside then a snap ring is installed to keep it in place. When I removed them...there was no snap rings. Not sure what would happen leaving that snap ring out of there. I think I finally sourced a snap ring that will fit:



Had to press the outer bearing all the way though and then press the inner race out with the whole shabang. Really weird to have to do this just to grease the bearings:



Had to press on the bearing to push the races out. Look what fit perfectly:



The plates I made to keep the blasting media out of the axle housings worked well:



Bearings look good after cleaning them up:



I've been collecting Detroit style u-joint clamps over the past few years. I have enough to do both drivelines and the shaft between the transmission and the transfer case:



I pressed out the lug stud for the rear hubs in anticipation of getting some NOS rear drums that I ordered. Amazing they exist after 80 years:



Trying to figure out how the fuel tank straps work. I have some parts, but missing the straps. The ones here are incorrect. The bracket are correct:



Painting up some of the front axle housing knuckle parts:





Some blasting. Weather has been very cool in the 80's. Perfect for blasting:



Received the NOS rear brake drums. Marked for Dodge, so that's good:



Also some NOS axle housing vents. Pretty cool:



After painting the frame, I've realized that the frame is not supposed to be bent like this. Should be level like a standard frame. I had seen photos of two other VC's and their frame tips were bent just like this. Really odd:





Blasted a couple of front motor mount brackets. Always like that FLOATING POWER stamped in the brackets. I guess Dodge was proud of that:



Blasted and painted the Detroit style u-joint clamps and bolts:



Getting close to assembling the front axle knuckles. Sourced new studs for the bearing caps as well as tall nuts for the caps and the the differential studs:



Blasted more parts. Plus the wheels. I took in the already mounted tires that were on these wheels to be dismounted. I know one tube was leaking, so I decided to take them in and get all new tubes. That way I won't worry about it. While the tires are off, I decided to blast the wheels and repaint them in the 33070 paint code OD that I like vs. the darker that the truck likely came in:



As I was blasting the wheels, I noticed body filler under the paint in areas. Then I realized why. The wheels are pitted from rust in a lot of areas, so I guess the previous owner smoothed them out. Darn. That slowed me down. I figured I would do the same thing:



All the wheels are dated either January 1940 or February 1940. Pretty cool. Stamping is on the inside:



Body filler time for the pitting on the wheels:



Red oxide primer:





Awww...my favorite color....OD 33070:







Won't get much done tomorrow. Taking the Carryall to a local air and car show. Should be fun!

 

[racer-john]

"Body filler time for the pitting on the wheels:"

Zeph, why not High Build Primer?

 

[zepher11]

"Body filler time for the pitting on the wheels:"

Zeph, why not High Build Primer?

I haven't painted the outward facing part of the wheels with the body filler that I did yet. I was going to high-build primer the wheel faces tomorrow. I was thinking that the large pitting required body filler. They were pretty deep. I think I can take care of the rest of the pitting on the wheel faces with the high build primer. Just received a couple of gallons of high-build primer from Summit racing. A lot more sanding, however. ugg...

After I get all that sanded, I'll hit the wheels with the red oxide primer and then some OD. Then back to the tire shop to mount the tires where they will scratch up the paint and then I get to do it all over with the tires on. lol

Today, I goofed off and took the Carryall to an auto/air show. Fantastic weather and the amount of people there was amazing. An added plus was that the Wienermobile was on hand:

 

[zmotorsports]

Chassis is turning out fantastic. Great workmanship.

 

[zepher11]

Chassis is turning out fantastic. Great workmanship.

Thank you!

Received my knuckle gaskets, but they're too large. The half-ton Dodge WC knuckles are larger than the Dodge VC knuckles. My error:



Also need to stuff in the felt oil seals into the retainers. Not an easy task:



Decided to cut my own gaskets:





Felts are in:



Well, after cutting the paper gaskets for the knuckle retainers, I decided to cut cork gaskets as I learned that they were originally cork. Also cut some lower knuckle cap gaskets as well:



I've been shopping around for a way to get this hood ornament chromed. First quote was $1,500, second quote was $500, and today I received a quote of about $120. I'm in!



Wheels are prepped and ready to go:



Shot the high build primer on the wheels. A weird thing happened here in the last couple of days. There's this wet stuff coming from the sky. Haven't seen anything like it since last January. Weird, but nice. It does cut into my painting, however:



Shot the silver on the locking rings.



Finished cleaning up the pintle and installed the freshly painted fuel tank cross member:





Shot some Red Oxide over the high build primer after I sanded it down and then OD'd everything:



Finished up the hubs and NOS brake drums. Time to install those, but a little worried about the wheel studs as they are not serrated like all of the others I've dealt with. weird to be totally smooth:





One of the 10 wheel studs is loose. Now worried that it would spin and I'd never get the lug nut off. May need to tac weld it...maybe all of them...:

 

[slik560]

Chrome plating is a dying art. Thanks to the EPA and other influences. Hope your source does a good job. The price is definitely right.

 

[zepher11]

Chrome plating is a dying art. Thanks to the EPA and other influences. Hope your source does a good job. The price is definitely right.

I know. It killed the chrome shop here. Not sure if there are any others in CalifornIA. I doubt it. In any event, I sent the piece to the shop in Reno today. Hopefully, I don't get in trouble for sending it across state lines....

Today I picked up form the tire shop the installed tires on the reconditioned VC1 wheels. They only made a few stains and a few gouges in the new paint. Better than usual. Typically, there pretty rough with them:





Now if I can just find the right size snap rings for the front wheel hubs. Keep ordering them and they are either too large or too small. Just ordered two more sizes to try. Hopefully, I'm narrowing it down to a size that'll work.

 

[slik560]

Not to beat the dying horse, but there used to be a fairly sizeable chrome shop that was quartered with a truck repair/service place just of I-29 in Rockport, MO. I don't get up there that much, but now I'm curious enough to see if they are still operating.

 

[zepher11]

Not to beat the dying horse, but there used to be a fairly sizeable chrome shop that was quartered with a truck repair/service place just of I-29 in Rockport, MO. I don't get up there that much, but now I'm curious enough to see if they are still operating.

Probably still there. California is really hard on businesses. We're holding onto our last radiator shop, but I don't see that lasting too much longer. Reno will be the go to for anything one needs in the auto restoration hobby in the not too distant future.

 

[Grizz1963]

What beautiful work you continue to turn out.

I am always in awe.

 

[racer-john]

I'll SECOND that.

 

[zepher11]

What beautiful work you continue to turn out.

I am always in awe.

I'll SECOND that.

Thanks guys!

I finally was able to harvest a running board frame bracket from the boneyard. With the dryness, I didn't want to start a fire called the Dodge complex! We have rain now, so was able to grind the rivets to get the frame bracket:



Not quite as nice as the other cleaned up running board brackets:



Time to dial in the correct bearing preload. Driver's side too me forever to get the correct thickness of shims. Pretty quick on the passenger sdie:



Grease up everything well beforehand:





Knuckles dialed in, and the felts installed. Super tight with the felts installed:



Time to get the differential gears ready for install:



Both ring gears stamped July 1941. Just a smidge over 80 years old:



Installed the yokes. Sealed the splines before installing:



Tomorrow hope to install the diffs.

 

[Boosted1]

Nice work as usual.
How is the new storage building coming along?

 

[zepher11]

Nice work as usual.
How is the new storage building coming along?

Well, the pad's getting some nice rain on it this weekend to pack it nicely while it waits for the concrete. Even with the crazy building boom that's been going on here for the past three or four years, I think they will still be able to start construction in March 2022.

They say it takes 15 days to knock it out. Lots of buildings in front of me. Had I not taken that couple of weeks to think about it when I first met with the builder in March this year, I would have the shop started already. That couple of weeks cost me six months. Good thing I didn't wait another week. Probably would have been push out into 2023 according to the builder. Now with all this heavy rain, I still might get pushed! Would love to have it right now for sure. Don't feel up to doing it myself any longer. Plus, I doubt I could find one person that would/could help me.

 

[mybigwarwagon]

I am just glad you are getting rain out there. I couldn't handle living where the world catches on fire every year.

 

[zepher11]

I am just glad you are getting rain out there. I couldn't handle living where the world catches on fire every year.

Yeah, it's always been hot and dry here in the summers. Lived here all my life (59 years), but never had fires like these. Lots set by arsonists, and the lack of forest management is the primary reason. Forest are choked, but not allowed to clear. The state cracked down on co-gen that used to burn the cleared forest debris. Funny how the have outlawed gas lawn mowers and chainsaws, etc... But the fires this last year probably put more pollutants in the air than every gas fired yard equipment produced in the history of the world.

The rain is nice. It's been feast or famine on moisture here my whole life as well. Sadly, no one can manage it. Water storage is a big no no...

 

[slik560]

"Sadly, no one can manage it. Water storage is a big no no..."

Do I understand correctly that in CA you are not ALLOWED to store water on your own property? Do they WANT the whole state to burn??

 

[zepher11]

"Sadly, no one can manage it. Water storage is a big no no..."

Do I understand correctly that in CA you are not ALLOWED to store water on your own property? Do they WANT the whole state to burn??

I was being a little facetious. I was actually referring to water storage on a state-wide level for drinking and use by humans as well as agricultural use. I looked it up, and in 1976 when I was in high school we had the worst drought ever. 20 million people in California at that time. Virtually no dams built since then. A number have been removed, however. Then the states invited another 20 million people in to make it 40 million, and they have not increased the water storage. Totally insane. They would rather that they restrict one's water use to less than 50 gallons a day than add storage to correct the situation.

But to answer your question, I think one can collect rainwater in a barrel...maybe. However, if you collect any runoff from a creek or divert any waterway, you would be up on charges greater than murder in this state.

In my opinion. If the state would take the gazillions of dollars on the useless bullet train and put it in water infrastructure, this state would be lousy with money and be able to rebuild every road and bridge. But that's never going to happen.

 

[ZRX61]

"Sadly, no one can manage it. Water storage is a big no no..."

Do I understand correctly that in CA you are not ALLOWED to store water on your own property? Do they WANT the whole state to burn??

Pretty much no restrictions on barrels to collect rainwater, you could even connect a few 5000gal tanks to collect it.... might take a while to fill though... but like Zeph said, the regulations are designed to prevent people from diverting or damming creeks etc... bit difficult to track if ya just throw 2 or 3 basketball size rocks in a small creek every month... under a particular tree... .. but the State does use satellite surveillance to compare creeks & ponds etc from one month to the next.