WC9, 18 or 27

[WillWagner]

Gotta check the S/N to see what it is. This truck has been around. The paperwork shows lots of paint and brake work. This was a back up truck for M.A.S.H. back in the 70s-80s, I think it has screen time. It was pulled from the display area last summer to give it a make over by volunteers, summer ended and work stopped, there will hopefully be a crew this summer to finish it up.on the steering wheel there was a note, no start, no run, no brakes. A father/son volunteer team was looking at the no start issue, fixed some ugly grounds and went through the starter, but have not been in for a while, so I suggester to Craig that in anticipation of finishing the body work/paint, we should make it run and stop before new paint is applied.

Did a spark check, it had spark. Pulled the fuel supply from the tank, installed a day tank and an electric fuel pump. No fuel delivered when pumping the accelerator. Figured maybe a hard accelerator pump, it is leather, so I put gas down the throat and tried it, it started and ran 10 seconds, then died. Pulled the top of the carb off, OMG, ug- ly. Pulled the carb and cleaned it. All gaskets were good so I just re used them, the accelerator pump was OK, the whole carb was full of the growth that ethanol laced gas grows. It was a PITA to get it all out of the passages, put it back together, installed it and it lit right off. Had a little oil smoke, but it cleared. I read the noted the guys made when they were last looking at it, the did a dry and wet compression test.

Video of it running....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrEd_yqsmm8

 

[WillWagner]

After making it run, it was time to figure out the brakes. Moved it from the far bay to my tool box, under it's own power! Popped the MC top off, it was wet, but no fluid in it, hmmm, maybe just dry? Decided to try and do a fill and bleed. I was able to bleed the hydrovac with no issues, but could get nothing out of two of the wheel cyls. Got a second body and used the traditional bleed method. We were able to get three cylinders bled, but the last wheel had brake fluid running out of the drum. Time to pull the drums. The right side wheels also showed signs of leakage after a bit of sitting. Raised the right side, pulled the wheels, axle/drive flange and drums. Good thing we didn't try and drive it. The bloom was horrible! Pulled the wheel cylinders and disassembled them. Surprisingly, the bores were clean! Gave them a hone, cleaned the pistons and spring, they looked new. We were out of cups, so I bagged things and got parts ordered.

Parts came in on my days off, monday...well my monday, I reassembled the two right cylinders and installed them. Put the right side back together, raised the left side and pulled it apart.The left side was WAY worse than the right. The pistons were stuck, wouldn't budge. I went to the parts trailer and found a rear wheel cylinder, no fronts. These are stepped cylinders, rears have a 1 1/4 and 1 3/8 bore , fronts have 1 1/4 and 1 1/8. No fronts at all. Decided to drill the larger piston and use a slide hammer to pull it out and push the smaller cup/piston out. To replace the larger piston in the front cylinder, I did the same to the stuck rear and used the 1 1/4 piston in the front larger bore. The cylinders didn't look so good.

I have been watching YouTube a lot a, there is nothing on TV and I don't sit too long. YouTube allows me to watch what I want and stop when I want. I have subscribed to a channel, "Hand Tool Restoration". The guy uses some stuff called Evapo-Rust. He puts some ugly stuff in the soup and a day later, takes it out and it looks almost new. Well, I came across some and I decided to try it out on the front wheel cylinder. The next day, I pulled it out of the mixture, rinsed it off and the thing looked almost new! The bores were clean, no rust/corrosion and the outside was like raw cast iron. Gave the cylinder a hone, it was perfect! That stuff is amazing!

I painted and re assembled the front cylinder with new cups, disassembled the NOS rear cylinder and put new cups in it, re assembled the truck, bled the brakes, filled the day tank and took it for a spin around the compound. Drives like a dream.
I am actually looking at getting another MV, a DOdge WC series truck MIGHT be in the running!

 

[WillWagner]

Looked up numbers today, WC9