797.1941 Dodge WC40 Truck BuildThis is an album showing how things were made and assembled during the rough build of this truck. First off, I'm not a pro builder and worked on this project in my spare time. It took over 13 years and somewhere close to 3000 hours to do. I may be slow but I don't give up!
I got into working with stainless steel out of my frustration with chrome. Paying what it costs and having it last a short time were the main problems. In making copies of parts I can control the quality and it WILL last. I've always liked figuring out how to make things and most would be surprised about how some of the things were made. It's the end product that matters!
When I started the planning of this project I wanted to use all Dodge. My wish list was to have V8 power and upgraded axles to handle bigger tires. Power steering and brakes to stop the thing were important as well. I spent over 1 month taking measurements from over 12 different trucks, 8 Dodges, 3 Chevys and one Ford. My Goal was to have as little of the frame hanging down when looking from the side. I wanted to make it look like it was made to be together and not some cobbled afterthought.
As much as I didn't want to, a 1978 Chevy 1 ton was by FAR the clear cut winner. To me, it looks more factory than the original frame as all the curves and lines lend themselves to just plain working better.
In the future I'm going to do 2 more trucks and they will be basically stock. I have another 1941 WC 1/2 ton closed cab 4x4 and a 1961 WM300 Power Wagon waiting in the wings.
