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Posted by Paul Cook in Kempner, Texas on Thursday, December 27, 2007 at 16:59:22 :
I have always been older than any Power Wagon ever built. And let's throw in all the VC and WC Dodge 4x4's that came before them. Today I celebrate the beginning of my seventy-first year. I want to share my views on what I enjoy about collecting and driving these great old trucks.
I am fascinated by the miracle of their design. These trucks were neither "created" nor invented. They have no single design feature that is unique to them. On my web site, I describe them as being the result of parts room engineering - the process of taking existing components and adapting them in combination with other adapted components to build the end product that has all the specified capabilities. These trucks were intended to be used as tools. Their development is no more and no less miraculous than the development of the hand axe.
The half-ton WC's were nothing more than existing civilian trucks which were adapted for military use, primarily by adding four-wheel drive. When the half-ton WC's were found to lack the required ruggedness, they were up graded to three-quarter-ton trucks, not by increasing the power of their engines, but by increasing the size of drive line components and changing the gearing as necessary to get the job done. Along the way, other vehicle components were resized as necessary.
This is the same as the cave man adding a handle to a shark rock and then making improvements in the cutting edge by replacing the rock with bronze, then iron, and then steel. The handles also were improved as those who used these tools learned to make them more suitable for various jobs.
Even though these trucks were designed for military use, "killing" and "destroying" was never their purpose. They were there to help the soldiers by moving "stuff" where it was needed and by carrying soldiers. The military ambulance is an example of the "nice" things the WC's did.
When The War ended, folks saw that they needed trucks that could do these "nice" things for them in the civilian world. So these trucks were once again adapted and became the famous Power Wagons.
I am intrigued by seeing that these old trucks were totally refined to do the intended job many years ago. Strip my new Power Wagon down to the frame and park it next to my WDX stripped down to the frame. The three-year old truck has the same mechanical configuration as the one that is sixty years old. From front to back - winch, motor, front drive axle, steering gear, transmission, transfer case, rear drive axle, and some miscellaneous drive shafts. Admittedly, many of these components do their thing more quietly and more efficiently. Oh yes! The newer truck gets 14 miles per $2.81 gallon and the old truck got eight miles per $0.19 gallon.
It would be useless to modify the hand axe by putting the axe head in the middle and have the handle extending out in opposite directions - unless it is a "spoke shave" you are actually designing. It also seems useless to take a truck that was intended to be a tool for helping folks get their jobs done in a rugged environment in an expeditious manner and try to convert it into a race car.
Someone asked, "How many modifications before it is no longer a Power Wagon?" One answer might be that it is no longer a Power Wagon when it cannot do the things a Power Wagon was designed to do. My answer is it is no longer a Power Wagon when you lose the satisfaction of knowing you have been able to head down a barely defined trail with the same truck someone else drove many years ago and see if you can still get to the end of the trail.
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