Posted by Brian in Oregon on December 15, 1999 at 22:32:27:
In Reply to: Can some one help me?? posted by Chris on December 15, 1999 at 21:20:47:
Do you want a military or civilian "Power Wagon". That is, the militarized Dodge trucks or the true Power Wagons, the civilian models. If you want the the civilian Power Wagon, I'll defer to others on that. If you want a military, you have four basic choices. The pre-war 1/2 ton VC, which is rare and spendy. The early war 1941 1/2 ton WC, which came in:
closed cab pickup
open cab pickup (weapons carrier)
command car
carryall (the ORIGINAL SUV)
radio body (similar to the carryall)
ambulance (like the one on MASH)
telephone repair truck
maintc repair truck
In 1942, these vehicles were upgraded to the 3/4 ton WC series:
weapons Carrier (replaced the pickups)
command car
carryall
radio body
ambulance (similar to the Mash ambulance)
knock-down ambulance (a take-apart square ambulance body was put on the weapons carrier so it would be easier to ship).
V41 maintc truck
and a 1 1/2 ton 6x6 that was pretty much a stretched Weapons Carrier with an extra rear axle.
Postwar we have a handful of militarized civilian Power Wagons purchases in 1947 in both closed and open cab.
In the early 1950's the M37 series came out. Probably the best "light" trucks the military ever used. Built from 1950-1968. They came in:
M37 Cargo Truck (sometimes called a weapons carrier)
M42 command car (M37 with radio gear)
M43 Ambulance (different from 1/2 & 3/4 ton series)
M56 cab/chassis which was used for a 1 1/2 ton dump truck, a crane and a stretched version of the M37.
M201 repair truck
Out of all of these, the M37 is the easiest to get parts for (Jeeps being the easiest), and is the toughest of the series. however, it is not a WWII vehicle, and I think the most popular are the closed cab 1/2 ton pickup and the 3/4 ton weapons carrier. The command cars are spendy. I recommend a beginner get a nice, complete M37 and keep it original. Learn about it, and then dive into a project like a restoration of a WWII vehicle.
You can see pictures of these vehicles at:
Dodge Motor Pool http://enterprise.powerup.com.au/~djr/
(click the link below)
or
www.olive-drab.com