Barn find question.

[jim lee]

Friend uncovered what looks like a WC12 in father in law's barn. Been buried in there for 40 years. He texted me pix this morning. Of course I was all spun up by this. But I noticed side marker lights in front of the cab doors. Wern't those only on civvie cabs? Is this possibly an open cab truck converted? The story I got was it was "Grand dad's" truck and it was sent to the farm by the government during the war, 'cause they needed a truck. I guess farming was important enough to get stuff like that.

Anyway, side marker lights?

Thanks!

-jim lee

[GoranWC51]

Hi Jim,

One answer: Photos, please. Impossible to say either without seeing the truck itself.

Great find, hope you'll be able to save it.

Goran N

[FISCH]

Other possibility is local statute or even just needed them and they were put on...photos

[jim lee]

Photos. I only got two. He had no idea as to what to take shots of. Knowing a bit of the backstory, I'm bet he took all day to dig it out. They's all been saying something was back there but he could never get close enough before to actually see it.

http://leftcoast.biz/justStuff/aaTruck/ ... ck/BF1.jpg

And the other picture..

http://leftcoast.biz/justStuff/aaTruck/ ... ck/BF2.jpg

The board won't let them post 'cause they are more than 1,200 pixels wide. So I put in the links.

Imagine these just showing up on your phone, out of the blue, with the message. "Look what we found! Can you tell us what it is?"

-jim lee

[gyknot]

Almost guaranteed that it was an open cab truck that was modified after the war with a civilian cab. Those are called "cowl lights".
Lots of other tell tale signs to look for but biggest would be the windshield opening system. If it has the crank in the center of the dash, its not a wc12 cab.

[krisinwa.st.]

The serial number on the left front frame rail will tell the story

[jim lee]

I have a hard time thinking these people would swap the cab out. But then, that was before my time, a long time ago. I'll get him to ask. Maybe he can uncover some of the backstory on the machine. It'll be awhile before I can get him to read a serial# off the frame rail. They don't go to the "family farm" all that often.

-jim lee

[Gordon_M]

Very common to take a WW2 open cab half ton weapon carrier and just drop a civilian cab on it - that's what you have there.

There is no difference between the open and closed cab half ton weapon carrier chassis at the part number or chassis number level, but the build card will probably say open cab. Assuming it still has the original bed you will find that the hole pattern down the bed side is for the transverse seats found on the open cab truck, rather than the longitudinal seats found on the closed cab.

Just to tie it up, there is a remote chance that the cab with cowl lights that is fitted was taken from a military half ton 4 x 2 truck, as those did have cowl lights.