Dodge WC16 Radio Command Car - Project

[superdave]

Sounds good. Love your thread, That's a lot of body work you are doing and I do not know that I would have the patience to do that much to one vehicle. keep the pictures coming

[zepher11]

Sounds good. Love your thread, That's a lot of body work you are doing and I do not know that I would have the patience to do that much to one vehicle. keep the pictures coming

It is a lot of body work, but it has been enjoyable work. However, I have just about had my fill for now. In any event, thank goodness the bulk of the body work is below the floor where no one will be able to see it. I now need to determine some type of undercoating underneath the floor as originally applied. That'll hopefully cover up my beautiful welding job!

Take care,

[zepher11]

It would be interesting to know all these old vehicles went through over the years. The sides of the CC were a little "curved" in places:



Tried to get the same camera angle of the result. Took me a bit to figure out how to straighten. I didn't want to buckle the side panel. Not perfect, but better:



Not as good as the passenger side, but a little better:



Knocked out a little more rust repair:









Also had a bit of a hole in one of he wheel wells:









Patched up the passenger side quarter hat channel:



Some minor floor repair:





I muffed it and accidentally cut the gusset which was okay:





Lower section:



Top plate:



I've been avoiding the floor repair, but looks like it is inevitable. I guess someone has to do it. I needed to document the locations of the power conduit clip studs welded to the floor. At least there are two still there for reference:



However, in the nick of time I discovered another little project to delay the floor work. I had snapped off three of the instrument gauge studs that needed repair. Phil H gave me a good heads up on a fix, so did this yesterday:



I ended up drilling from the inside. I wanted to make sure I was able to get them in the exact location. It was a little tricky, but after a little adjustment it went well. First hole:



Smoothed out the welds:



Good to go:



Now I'm trying to figure out the holes that need to be welded closed. I don't know what holes will be need for an antenna mount. The large hole to the left is a keeper. All of the others have to go I think:



I have the antenna, but no mount for it. Likely I will need to build my own mount sooner than later;



Maybe something like this mount:

[timsresort]

Interesting that the antenna mount holes aren't tilted back. I've been looking for a MP37 for a while, and there it is. Nice. I hadn't noticed the protector for the cow pie insulator, they probably got tired of breaking it. I was thinking if I ever got one, I would make a resin copy because I would be terrified of snapping it off on something after a few beers. The red-circled holes are probably your rear door lift the dots. Tim

[krisinwa.st.]

Hey Zeph ,
Looking sharp !!! , Sure will be rock solid when running down the road ,
Question ; Do you know what or which radio setup is in the archive picture
you posted ? , the reason I ask is , that I've been collecting military radios
and associated communication gear for about 30 years or so , ranging from
WW 2 thru Vietnam , and the top box in the picture sure looks familiar to me .

Kris

[zepher11]

Interesting that the antenna mount holes aren't tilted back. I've been looking for a MP37 for a while, and there it is. Nice. I hadn't noticed the protector for the cow pie insulator, they probably got tired of breaking it. I was thinking if I ever got one, I would make a resin copy because I would be terrified of snapping it off on something after a few beers. The red-circled holes are probably your rear door lift the dots. Tim

Hi Tim,

I can tell that the only hole that this WC16 came with from the factory is the large hole on the left not circled. I thought that it was odd that the four holes around this large hole were not angled rearward. I think I will be welding closed all of the holes with the exception of the large hole that isn't circled. And yes, the red circled items are the lift dots which someone tried to solder on for some reason and made a mess.

[zepher11]

Hey Zeph ,
Looking sharp !!! , Sure will be rock solid when running down the road ,
Question ; Do you know what or which radio setup is in the archive picture
you posted ? , the reason I ask is , that I've been collecting military radios
and associated communication gear for about 30 years or so , ranging from
WW 2 thru Vietnam , and the top box in the picture sure looks familiar to me .

Kris

I Kris, Thank you. Yes it is the SCR-193 set up. It typically includes the BC-191 transmitter, BC-312 receiver and BD-77 dynamotor. I have the receiver and the dynamotor, but need the BC-191 transmitter. And the MP-46 mount as well. Here are the specific details. If you have a BC-191 you would like to part with...let me know.

[krisinwa.st.]

Zeph , I haven't gone through all of my radio gear yet ( still getting
organized after our move ) will look to see what all I have , although
it may be awhile , when do you anticipate to be rolling ?

[zepher11]

Zeph , I haven't gone through all of my radio gear yet ( still getting
organized after our move ) will look to see what all I have , although
it may be awhile , when do you anticipate to be rolling ?

No hurry at all. It'll be a while until she's on the road. Plus the radios can be added anytime after restoration. Let me know when you can.

Merry Christmas!

[krisinwa.st.]

No hurry at all. It'll be a while until she's on the road. Plus the radios can be added anytime after restoration. Let me know when you can.

Merry Christmas![/quote]

Sounds good, I'll post a few pictures if I Have what your looking for.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to you and yours. Kris

[zepher11]

Started the replacement of a section of the floor today. Using 14 gauge sheet metal which is pretty thick....and heavy:



The original floor has some beads in it for strength. I wanted to duplicate them, but not really set up for competing such a task. I thought I would give it a try anyway. I cut a cement stake to the size I wanted:



I used the driveway as my form holder. It worked a little, but there was quite a bit of distortion to the sheet metal. I tried heat first and then just brute force:





Cut the original out trying to be careful to maintain the main body supports/mount:







Fitting the lower hat channel:

[krisinwa.st.]

Hey Zeph .
Here are some pictures of the transmitter tuning unit I have , as you can see
it's not complete , some parts missing inside (I'm not a radio tech.) not sure
what all is missing... plus the top and bottom panels and the outer box enclosure
are gone , also a "dial lock" screw / button is not there . Have a Happy New Year .
Kris

[zepher11]

Hey Zeph .
Here are some pictures of the transmitter tuning unit I have , as you can see
it's not complete , some parts missing inside (I'm not a radio tech.) not sure
what all is missing... plus the top and bottom panels and the outer box enclosure
are gone , also a "dial lock" screw / button is not there . Have a Happy New Year .
Kris

Hi Kris, yes that is one of the tuners for the BC-191 transmitter. There were like five or six of those units and they were switched out based on the frequency desired. That is why they won't have any surrounding panels. It usually sits in the BC-191. I think there is a TU-5B on ebay for like $20, but there is the whole set of five/six tuners for the BC-191 for like $300! Likely, if I ever do find a BC-191 it will come with all of the tuners.

[zepher11]

Will I decided to supersize the floor project as the section in the rear compartment was a little thinner than I had anticipated, so I scrapped the initial floor panel. The trunk area is in nice shape and solid, so this will replace the entire passenger area. I also went to like five industrial welding and metal shops in our area just to see about bead rolling the floor. As I suspected, that isn't something that can be completed in our area. I have come up with another stiffening idea:



Thought I should add a little support:



Cutting all of this out was fun...NOT!





Cutting all of this area out really allowed for a more complete replacement of the cross floor support hat channels:



Shaping the area around the spare tire indent:



A lot of hole punching going on:







Finally fitting the panel:



Taking a look for fit and feel:



Had to get creative to hold the sheet metal tight against the hat channels along the sides. Paint can filled with concrete with a fulcrum arrangement. That chunk or train rail always comes in handy for things like this as well:



A double hanger for some extra uummfff:



Now a little sandblasting and final welding is in order for the new year! Happy New Year everyone!

[Florence]

Magnificent work and great documentation. Have read most of the thread first time today - love the detailed body work. Sure you will have a Happy 2016 with this Radio CC! Sylvia