How To: C15a Wire-3 restoration

[Ganmain Tony]

Missed that thread...

But invaluable info... many thanks Brian.

Was wondering what the little loopholes were for on the back wall of the Cab.
Now I know..

[Jordan Baker]

Well today I went for a bit of drive after following up on a lead from another MLU'er. This will really help with moving this Wire-3 project along. Its not mine, but just on loan to me so that I may make a copy.

The elusive Wire-3 Fitted For Wireless operators table.

[Bob Carriere]

Will the extensions open up enough to go from cargo side to cargo side on your 2C1......?

Given time should be easy to replicate.

Cheers

[Jordan Baker]

I believe after now looking over the table that the side extensions were simply to fit different radios. There is a variety of mounting holes on the table surface. There is a small pull out writing table. It would pull out towards whom ever was sitting in the seat.

[Robert Bergeron]

Extraordinary ! Well done ! Good for you !

[Niels V]

Would It be possible for you to make some drawings and details photos of it.
I am just about to finish the British version of the wireless table and this could be fun to make as well ?
Cheers Niels

[Jordan Baker]

I'll see what I can do but it's not the simplest of construction with how the pieces are all cut and welded together.


Well the plan for today was.....to go out and get all the steel for making the wireless table. However events transpired in keeping me from the shop till 1930hrs. I did manage to cut some parts to basics lengths and also made a few smaller bits. I also made up two of the pass through frames. These mount to the upper cab wall sheet metal.

[Jordan Baker]

Picked up about 87.5% of the steel needed for making a copy of the table. Yesterday I got most of the basic parts cut out. Today I finished making the pull out drawer. It's made from 4 pieces total all 18ga.

Next up will be the small pull out writing table.

[Jordan Baker]

Spent a couple hrs last night in the shop working on the the small pull out writing table. 4 pieces of angle iron all cut, notched and welded just as the original. The table surface is one piece of bent 16ga. I just have to weld on the pull handle and drill two small holes for pivot pins.

The yellow one is the original one I have made my copy from.

[Jordan Baker]

Ive been working away in my spare time on this table. It looks simple but trying to copy exactly how it was fabricated is time consuming. A lot of careful cutting and measuring....or is that measuring then measuring again and then cutting.

Anyway, since taking these two pictures I have got the basic side frames complete. I even tracked down the same kind of chain matching it to the size of the originals.

[Jordan Baker]

Well tonight I managed to finish off building the wireless table from the original I borrowed. I tried my best to copy all of the details of the original.

[Jordan Baker]

Some assembly required. I was extra careful to ensure everything was lined up before tacking the parts into position. It is amazing how parts can appear to be lined up, you clamp and measure and then measure again only to find its out by 1/4" Re clamp and re measure and then weld.

For the table top, after careful study of the hole pattern, there is three sets of holes for the various WS carriers. Some of the holes are 3/8" diameter. I chose to drill most of them only to 1/4" for now. I figured its a lot easier to drill them larger down the road vs having them too big now.

[Jordan Baker]

The two top rails provided me with a bit of work copying. Now if I had a huge press brake it would be simple. Buuut since I don't I needed to make these another way. I ended up using 1/8" angle iron and welding on a thin strip. I used some scrap pieces as a spacer and tacked it on the outside. I then upped the heat on the welder and did small sections along the inside. Once that was done, I ground down the inside to give it a radius bend. On the outside I ground down the excess angle iron. Finally I used a flap disk and worked the two outside corners to give them the profile of being bent on a brake. The first two pictures are my finished piece. The last two pictures are of the initial welding using a spacer pieces to give me the correct inside distance.

[Bob Carriere]

......and very creative problem solving.

Very nice job.

[Jordan Baker]

Well it's been a busy day of in and out of the shop. Loaded up the wireless table and the three top bows and dropped them off at the sandblasters. Right after leaving the sandblasters my phone rings. It's the sheet metal shop and they have my wire-3 box sides and main channels all ready for pickup. So drive over to get that stuff. While. At that shop the sandblaster phones to say my stuff is ready for pickup. Not bad for a Sunday afternoon. He had them done and ready in under an hour.

As for the side panels I had the shop press break the main 4" channels. These run along the top edge of all three sides. They weren't able to press brake in one piece like the originals. This just means I'll have a whack of welding to do carefully to avoid as much warpage as possible.

[Jordan Baker]

Tonight I finished (not this late but much earlier) the welding of the top channels on the side and front panels for the box. It worked out to approximately 80" of weld for a butt joint. Other then taking a while as I had to wait for the each pass of welds to cool before moving on, it went really well. Many clamps were used to hold the panels down flat to the work bench. I then went back with a flap disk and cleaned down the welds and blended them into the surrounding metal.

Tomorrows (todays now due to the hour ) plan is to finish the front panel and start in on the sides.

[Jordan Baker]

So much welding.....but I'm getting closer and closer. The front panel for the box is completely finished. I was able to use the original tied down loops and hooks. For the side panels I'll be using the original hooks as well. I also was able to use the original top bows brackets. I have also used the original box to match up the weld pattern. I'm still amazed at just how much welding/fabrication was going into these things during wartime production.

One thing I have not done was do any painting on the inside of the top channels. I thought I would wait until nearly finished. My plan is to drill a hole in a spot that will be covered once welded to the box. Once I'm ready I'll use a small funnel and pour POR into the channel. Then I'll rotate it all around to cover and soak the inside. I did that with the doors and it worked rather well. This also means I won't be burning any off from welding.

Next up will be finishing the side channels and then welding them on. The bottoms of them are open so I'll be able to spray POR inside them once done.

[Phil Waterman]

Originally Posted by Jordan Baker

So much welding....hed. My plan is to drill a hole in a spot that will be covered once welded to the box. Once I'm ready I'll use a small funnel and pour POR into the channel. Then I'll rotate it all around to cover and soak the inside. I did that with the doors and it worked rather well. This also means I won't be burning any off from welding.

Next up will be finishing the side channels and then welding them on. The bottoms of them are open so I'll be able to spray POR inside them once done.

Hi Jordan

Which POR poduct are you planning on using? POR15 does not stick well to fresh steel, it just peals off. Also bare steel has coating that needs to be clean off before the steel is etched to get a good adhesion of the paint. If what you are planning to use is self etching then it should work well.

On box tube truck beds I've welded up over the years I followed a similar plan of drilling holes into any closed compartments and filling them with oil and then draining the oil out. Seamed to have worked, the body on my old plow truck is 30 years old. On the platform bed for my C60S did a similar thing but put plugs in holes, couple of years later went to renew the oil coating when unscrewed the first plug water ran out. One of my welds must have had a leak on the top side. Any way removed all the plugs blew out the closed sections, then filled the closed tube with oil again. Drained again an left the plugs out, since then every couple years use a compressed air syphon gun to blow oil through.

Great thread enjoyable to read.

Cheers Phil

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Phil Waterman

Hi Jordan

Which POR poduct are you planning on using? POR15 does not stick well to fresh steel, it just peals off. Also bare steel has coating that needs to be clean off before the steel is etched to get a good adhesion of the paint. If what you are planning to use is self etching then it should work well.

On box tube truck beds I've welded up over the years I followed a similar plan of drilling holes into any closed compartments and filling them with oil and then draining the oil out. Seamed to have worked, the body on my old plow truck is 30 years old. On the platform bed for my C60S did a similar thing but put plugs in holes, couple of years later went to renew the oil coating when unscrewed the first plug water ran out. One of my welds must have had a leak on the top side. Any way removed all the plugs blew out the closed sections, then filled the closed tube with oil again. Drained again an left the plugs out, since then every couple years use a compressed air syphon gun to blow oil through.

Great thread enjoyable to read.

Cheers Phil

I think the risk with oil is that it may leak out and form a nice dark stain on your matt paint (unless you use semi or gloss). Filling and shaking with POR would fix this. I wonder why there is no POR type paint that will take a final coat. You'd think the manufacturers would expect much of their market would want to do exactly that.

[Jordan Baker]

Thanks for the suggestion on using oil. However I'm not keen on doing that for the reasons Bruce brought up. With the bottom edge of the top channel only stich welded there is a number of minor gaps were the oil would leak out and stain everything. My plan is to wash out the channels with the marine wash and then etch with the metal prep. Any POR that seeps out will get wiped away or covered up when doing the final painting.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Jordan Baker

Thanks for the suggestion on using oil. However I'm not keen on doing that for the reasons Bruce brought up. With the bottom edge of the top channel only stich welded there is a number of minor gaps were the oil would leak out and stain everything. My plan is to wash out the channels with the marine wash and then etch with the metal prep. Any POR that seeps out will get wiped away or covered up when doing the final painting.

POR inside the doors, POR inside the gas tanks, POR smooshed into the hard to reach places the sandblaster can't get to. POR at $85 a quart has become a significant expense in vehicle restorations. The last time I did a gas tank some of the POR leaked out onto my asphalt lane way and that spot has been doing better than the tar blacktop I usually use. It may be expensive to POR the whole lane but maybe worth it as it will never need to be done again...

[Jordan Baker]

Got a couple of hrs in tonight in the shop. They were spent carefully cutting the channels for the side panels. I had bent them up previously. Once I had the angles down it was pretty straight forward to cut them out using a zip disk. Tomorrow I plan on cutting out the other three and then working out how to do the indentation and getting everything welded up on the sides.

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Jordan

Yoiu might want to check the recent postings on cargo box construction under the Hammond barn .......

[Jordan Baker]

Yesterday afternoons progress. I got three of the side channels done and welded them onto the right side panel.

I plan to use a bit of a JB Weld product to smooth out some of the imperfections on the inserts.

[Bob Carriere]

With a coat of POR and the sandable Tie Coat ++++ the OD green no one will be able to tell..............

Good Job.

[Jordan Baker]

Today the other side was finished including the three inserts. These ones turned out nicer looking then my first three. I found after I had bent the partially cut piece, I was left with a large gap to try and weld. Today I scrounged up some thin metal rod and used it as a gap filler. It worked really well. It meant less welding and less grinding. I used the original top bow brackets too. Once sandblasted and painted they will look new.

I also washed out the insides of the channels with the usual POR steps and tomorrow I plan to flow in some POR to seal up the insides. Since Im done the majority of welding burn off wont be an issue.

I also went at removing the original side and front panels on the box. Using a combination of a both angle grinder and air hammer chisel I was able to get the majority off. Swarms of mosquitos convinced me to finish it off tomorrow.

Just for fun before putting everything away I also tried out one of my new panels on the box. I can't wait until I've got it all back together.

[Jordan Baker]

Spent the day getting the frame all prepped for sandblasting. I have to say, those war time welders sure did a fantastic job of welding these boxes. I've never gone through so many Zip disks and flap disks. I also put my air chisel to good use. Loaded it by hand onto my trailer and it's off to the blasters in the morning.

I also painted the inside of the side panel channels. They should be good and sealed for many many years to come.

[Jordan Baker]

Last Friday morning I dropped off the wire-3 box floor/frame and my three new sides at the sandblasters. This was at 0900. At 1230 he called to say everything was done and ready for pickup. As usual, he does a fantastic job.

So most of Saturday from 1000 to 1630hrs was spent doing the POR pre paint steps and then painting. Today I also finished POR'ing the topside of the box floor/frame.

Tomorrow I will start welding in the various bits I had to cut out with the new parts I had made.

[Jordan Baker]

Does anyone have any recommendations for helping to smooth out some of the top side floor pitting?

[Peter Duggan]

Jordan,

That's not pitting, it's patina. Great job on rebuilding the body.

Peter