|
|
Posted by Keith in Washington on Friday, February 13, 2009 at 13:20:34 :
In Reply to: Drivers side 'wrinkle' posted by RSBuc in Toronto on Friday, February 13, 2009 at 10:01:26 :
That is a WC53 3/4 ton Carryall.
That wrinkle in the running board is a indentation where the spare tire rests. The missing sheet metal in the rocker panel just below the door is a relief that allows the spare tire mount to get to the tire's location. The spare tire mount mounts to the frame just below the door. There is also an additional cross member in the frame at that point. It bolts between the frame rails and the spare tire mount also bolts to it. The frame rail is sandwiched between the cross member and the spare tire mount.
The drivers door was useless. Every door that I have seen from a 3/4 ton carryall as a dent where the door has been opened into the spare tire mount. The spare tire mount was removed from almost all trucks to allow the driver's door to be opened. The comment that it was put there to protect the driver is most likely not true. But it did afford some protection from flying objects such as bullets and scrapnel. However, I feel that it would tend to trap the drive in the carryall when they needed to get out quick.
Paul's comment that it looks like a second spare tire is possibly not correct. They moved the spare tire to the rear of the drivers door to allow it to be used. I did not know if there is a spare tire on the other side or not. The 1/2 carryall had the spare on the passenger side just behind the door. The 3/4 had the spare directly blocking the front door. I do agree that it looks like an additional gas tank.
I really checked the picture out carefully. My carryall, which has been in the area since 1956 at a minimum, had some old welds and bolt holes along the driver's side running board and the gas tank had been slightly altered. I wondered if that was my carryall earlier in its life. I decided that it was not as mine did not have any holes above the driver's door for the grab handle nor did it have mounting holes for the roof.
Follow Ups: