Hi Richard,
Thanks for the lead, you never know they may have details on this particular build. Fingers crossed.
Regards
Keith
BTW, I've just purchased a set of 20mm barrel cleaning rods for her, all I need now is the barrel/gun !

Hi Keith,
Here is the link to the archives;
http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/heritage-...alist-vehicles

Hi Richard,
Thanks for the link, just had a quick look, may take a while to navigate, there is a lot of info there !
Thanks again
Keith

Just started on a mechanical check up of the C15, starting with the brakes. Attached is an image of the OSF back plate, which only has one coat of primer, in light grey, yet looking at the shock absorber and some of the chassis, it looks like it was originally painted black. Any thoughts ?
Also attached is an image of the polsten barrel cleaning rods, recently purchased.
Regards
Keith

Just returned from a spot of cross boarder raiding into England and spent a very enjoyable evening with Keith examining amongst other things his C15.
This is an exceptional truck in every respect not least in its originality and exceptional low mileage just a shade over 8K miles and it ticks over like a watch.
Keith has some exciting plans for the truck which he will no doubt be sharing here at some stage this is one to keep an eye out for here on MLU and on the show field when it appears.
Pete

Guys,
Spent a few days sanding down a couple of areas on the Chevy, and have found the following:
On the NS locker, the remains of an Allied star, with the words DRIVE SLOW painted on sideways. On the NS door the original Cencus No of Z5195155, applied on No 2 Brown, over what was Light Stone ?, both cracking colours, no intention of covering any of this up , as it's taken over 70 years to show this.
Back to the garage to see if I can find anymore....
Regards
Keith

Keith, great find!

It could well be (parts of) your C15 was painted Light Stone, and by the time it was finished it was designated to the shipped to the UK rather than the Middle East, and thus painted SCC 2.

Some parts of my Jan. '43 F15A also have a Light Stone base paint, and then consecutive layers of green.

Hi Hanno,
The cencus number on the drivers door is almost unreadable, which may explain why the last owner partially guessed at it's true census number, the last four digits coming from the chassis number.
Just had the master cylinder returned from being sleeved with a st/st liner, so that will be reassembled and re fitted soon. Rear lights and axle light now working (corroded / dirty contacts on chassis switch). Next job is to have a look at the rear brakes.
Regards
Keith

Guys,
Just had a reply back from Surrey History Centre, thanks to Richard for the heads up. From the Dennis Brothers Ltd Chassis Book, Nov 1927 to Jan 1944, it would appear that my Chevy arrived at the Dennis factory on 12/01/44, and departed on 03/02/44. Body and chassis numbers all tying in !The customer was COO Chilwell, order No 711, WO No was 10668. Sadly no other records have survived.
The hunt is still on for drawings of the body, I may try Vauxhall Motors next.
Keith

Sadly no other records? You are lucky to have any records on her at all! Combined with the Census number on the door and original data plates, it makes for a good deal of history known on this CMP - at least much more than on others :thup2:

Keep up the good work, cheers,

Hi Keith,
Glad to hear you had some success there.

regards, Richard

Hi Hanno and Richard,
Don't get me wrong, I'm well pleased that historical evidence is still available after 70 odd years, from an independent source . What is interesting is that she was manufactured in Nov 42 and was not converted to a 20mm polsten platform until early 44. I can only assume this was for the build up of vehicles for D.Day and beyond. It may also explain where the 15 cwt bodies were used after they were removed from their original mounts (see in the background Q&A's).
In the meantime, I'll keep digging !
Vehicle wise, both rear brakes have now been stripped and rebuilt, just need to bleed the system and I should have a working brake system. Next on the to do list is replace the diaphragm in the fuel pump to cope with unleaded fuel.
Regards
Keith

1st time out
 

Today, the C15 was shown for the first time in ages at a local Airshow, here in Oxfordshire. Everyone I spoke to could not believe the condition of her, all credit due to her last owner. Driving wise, she is a joy to drive, light on the steering, a decent set of brakes, and pulls with no hesitation, quite happy to cruise along at 40 MPH. Attached are a few pictures of her earlier today, enjoy.
Keith

Excellent Keith, we are glad that the little blitz is meeting all your expectations.

Regards R'n'J.

Hi Rick & Jill,
Best regards to you both,
Cracking truck to drive, so different to the C30, mind you, it's a lot lighter. The hunt for polsten parts still continues, although I now have a de-activated barrel, tool roll, 4 snail drums, loading rachets, cleaning kit, so it's coming together bit by bit.
Regards
Keith

Excellent Keith, good to see her out & about! :thup2:

2l1
 

Hi Keith,

I know Hanno pointed out the CDN 20mm mounting was the 2L1 body, but do you have the extract from the CDN bodybook giving the detailed description and side drawing of that body? They look very similar to your truck's bodywork so may be of help?

If you don't have those pages, I can scan and send. PM me your email address if interested.

I agree with you about the 4x2's performance. Had an F15 GS many years ago. Went like a train. Reasonable steering, good staying power with the rebuilt V8 and a higher speed diff centre (crown wheel & pinion from a White M3A1 scout car).

Mike

Hi Mike,
Thanks for the offer of the rear body drawings, I already have them, what I am after is a set of drawings / dimensions for the polsten set up.
Regards
Keith

As Keith continues to complete his AA truck, here is a picture I found on the internet recently.

Note the credit, but I thought it was good to share here, as it shows how original this C15 really is.

Enjoy,
Hanno

Attachment 100483

Nice one Hanno, I don't recognise the location ?
Anyhow, the Chevy now has the correct trailer to accompany her. It's a 10 cwt GS trailer which needs finishing, see picture. Manufactured by SS Cars Ltd, needs wiring, and timber to finish. I have a list of the contents of the trailer when being used behind the Chevy, so I'm also working on that as well.
Best regards
Keith

Slowly, slowly
 

Quick update,
Just managed to purchase a pair of cushions for the rear ammo lockers on the Chevy, see attached picture. It still amazes me what is still out there to be discovered and reunited after all these years. The cushions were pictured in the latest edition of MVT mag Windscreen and came from a non military enthusiast who wanted to know what they came from. After a few e.mails to various senior members of the MVT, I made contact with the owner, and secured them.. So, another piece of the jigsaw completed
Regards
Keith

Cushions
 

Keith,

That’s an amazing find! :thup2:

Hi Hanno,
The best bit is they are stencilled with "Cushion 20mm Universal Mounting", Date of manufacture is 1944.
Sadly the covers are marked with some rust which I need to carefully remove, any ideas ?
Regards
Keith

The 10 cwt trailer is finally coming together, see attached picture of the tailgate and sides. Next task is to finish off the mudguards, and then onto painting.
Regards
Keith

Hello Keith.

Best bet for cleaning the cushions would be to get in touch with any shop in your area that sells pure wool area rugs, like British India or Persian, and ask them what cleaners they have available and recommend. The longer the company has been in business, the better the help you will get..

Modern carpet cleaners for synthetic fibre carpets are far too aggressive for natural fibres like wool, cotton and linen. It is typically a long process of soak and blotting up with paper towel, so stockpiling a lot of the paper towel is a good idea. Air drying between sessions is also helps you see your progress as wet stains always look worse than when they have dried. Any hot air blowers will set the stains. You may not get 100% out, but should be able to carefully, dramatically, reduce the visible amount of stain.

Cheers,

David

Citric acid. The "old wives remedy" for "iron mould" (i.e. rust stains) was to apply lemon juice to the marks, leave it for a while (converts insoluble ferrous oxide to soluble ferrous citrate without affecting fabrics) and then wash. Repeated applications may be necessary to get all the stains out.

Do NOT use stronger (mineral) acids as they will damage the fabric and can also change the colours of stencilled lettering from black to red by attacking the dyestuffs used.

There are probably commercial stain removal products available, but use with caution.

Best regards,
Chris.

Some other thoughts to consider in THIS THREAD

Guys,
Many thanks for the tips on cleaning the rust marks off the old canvas. Looks like , Slowly , slowly does it with very mild washing. A very good friend of mine, has been involved with supplying and fitting carpets ( and cleaning carpets for many years), I'll have a word with him, and let you know how I get on.
Thanks again
Keith

In between carefully cleaning the cushions , I'm now onto marking the 10 cwt GS trailer with it's census number (s).
Question is, was the census number applied to both sides near the front, OR only on the tailgate ?, as I have seen both census numbers on the side and not the tailgate, or, on the tailgate and not on the sides. HELP !!!
As always, thanks in advance.
Keith

My understanding when I did my trailer last year is that the number was on the tailgate and offside of the trailer. Not a result of any definitive research but from discussions with other trailer owners.