1940s Dodge WC Crawler

Given the expensive nature of the other power wagon projects I wanted one I would feel better about using, especially off road. This is a function over form build, prioritizing cheap strong parts for heavy work. I’m lucky to have a great colleague/friend Rusty Baptist over at Baptist Fab Ranch in Wildomar doing the core of the chassis build. 

The story starts with the cab from a 40s WC from Facebook marketplace. It was a cab, fenders, grille, and some odd and ends. It started in rough shape, perfect for this kind of build.

Next up was parts, sourcing Super Duty axles from a 2012 F250 via B&R Auto Wrecking. I’ve bought a ton of swap parts from them before and knew they’d be good. I also picked up a TH400 and NP241 from a 1990 Chevy 3500 in anticipation of an LS power plant.

With axles in hand I knew I needed them built right. ARB air lockers were a great choice for a multi purpose rig. Barnes steering arms, rear truss, and hydro steering mount will pair with a full PSC steering setup. Powerstop hooked this build up with a full Z36 brake kit with drilled and slotted rotors, HD pads and new calipers. 

Rusty got the cab up on his frame table and got started. I needed some motivation so we started laying out parts. From the scrap heap I’ll be using Rubicon Express links front and rear, with an assortment of RE coil springs, G2 spring seats, and Procomp 2.5” VST shocks for the main components. 

Next a high mileage 5.3 from a 2002 Tahoe was bought on eBay, getting me a starting point for the build. We mounted that to the TH400 to start setting up scale. 

This truck needs to be capable of going anywhere so Mickey Thompson Baja Pro XS tires in 40×13.5×17 on KMC headlocks with Apex valve stems were in order. Motivation of course comes from seeing how it all looks. 

Using more leftover bushings from cutting up the Rubicon Express links we built a trans crossmember to square up the rear of the 2×6 box frame under the cab. 

With a crossmember in place we started the front structure, adding a kick and a hoop to set the frame square. We’ll be using the Rubicon Express links with large rebuildable joints as the core of a radius arm, using a bracket kit from Ruffstuff. 

Simple cab mounts will support the boat side and rock sliders straight from the frame. 

With the cab in place Rusty set to building out the rear frame, starting with a lower half cage and fuel cell plate, designed to through bolt the cab for removal.  

Rusty set his CNC plasma table to work for the rear frame with custom cut components designed to look like factory stake pockets. 

With the design done BFR made fast work of the rest of the “bed,” getting the reinforcements in place to allow coil towers and bump stops to all integrate in the strongest structure. You can also see the Barnes truss Rusty got welded on to the Sterling 10.5. 

Again, we had to see what it would all look like. This truck is going to sit low and should hopefully flex really well.

The rear structure let Rusty get started on the cab cage. With the B pillar outside the cab, this enabled more headroom in an already tight cab. BFR got the cage high and tight, tucking in perfectly along the A pillar and through the dash.

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