I agree....the truck looks awesome.

Well I was unable to do a Christmas Day drive due to working, but I did take it out for a short Boxing Day 2020 drive.

The truck drove well until I hit some soft spots off the road under the snow then I felt the back end dig in. So I put it into 4 wheel drive and 1st gear and it pulled right out. Once I got back onto the road I found it very hard to get it out of 4 wheel drive. Nothing grinding, but the lever didn’t want to move back without some force. But then I did go back and I drove home just fine.

Frequentlly, a short reverse will relieve whatever windup in the drivetrain made the disengagement difficult.

That truck is a thing of beauty Jordan . I was about to suggest the same reverse trick .

Thanks for the tips. I’ll give it a try next time.

Thing of beauty......
 

...but where did you find the snow?????

We had torrential rain Xmas Eve and Xmas day.....resulting in NO snow left in the Ottawa area.

Is your canvass part of the repro batch that Stewart Loy got made a few years ago???

Mine is tightly folded and stored in a container at this time and I am trying to remember if it has the side and rear windows like yours.....

Also noticed D rings on the side for rolling up the canvass...... does the canvass have corresponding leather straps for tying up the sides???

I intend to secure some leather straps to the canvass allowing me to use the smaller brass thimbles on the sides of the 2B1 box..... as per cab 11 style.

Cargo box is now being rebuilt....taking 3 rusted boxes to make one....... it looks like all four corners and front head board and tailgate will need total reproduction....... the floor, underpinning and fender wells will be saved. Will detail the repro/repairs in the Hammond barn section next Year.

I will be trucking on New Year's morning snow or not.....

Stay healthy.

Cheers

Red and green Christmas tarp tie downs...very festive!

The snow came Christmas Eve. It can now go and bring spring weather. :whinge

Yes the canvas is one of the ones Stewart got made. No leather straps but it has web straps on the inside.

Yup red and green bungee cords. I’ve made up the proper rope to match the original ropes on my NOS canvas. However I still need to wax them before I install them on the canvas. I was surprised at just how much rope was used on one cover... over 50’

Its looking really lovely, Jordan.

David

Waxing so eloquently.....
 

Hi Jordan

Was the waxing process typical of that time??? I know the Navy used to pin tar the manila ropes to make them last in the wet environment.

How will you do yours....... rubbing or soaking in melted parrafin???

Cheers

I guess this is my first post of the year. It’s been a very busy fall/winter and early spring doing home renovations. But they are done and some shop time has returned. The shop need a huge cleanup as I created quite the mess from running saws and a plainer from the renos. Taking advantage of the summer like weather (sunny, 20deg) I pulled both vehicles out. Both started up without any issues and the shop looks a lot better for it.

Bob, I’ve yet to get to finishing my ropes. They are on my list. I’m thinking of setting up some kind of double boiler to melt the wax and then put the ropes through it.

Any chance they were using bees wax back then, Jordan?

David

Ever thought of lightly coating your ropes with linseed oil Jordan ? Great preservative .

The traditional preservative is Stockholm Tar, as used on rigging in the Age of Sail (and the (British) 34-ft steel vertical aerial stays) but it sticks to your hands and is fairly unpleasant unless you like that sort of thing. The problem with waxes and oils is that they're going to make the rope slippery, which you may not want.

(The other problem with Stockholm Tar is it may attract Ancient Mariners or the traditional wing of the local Yacht Club.) :D

Some people swear by it, others swear at it.

Chris.

Thanks to another MLU’er, I’ve now got a proper wartime Canadian contract Chorehorse generator to go with the truck. 1942 dated with a lot of the original khaki green #3 paint still on it.

Almost finished the restoration of the Chorehorse CH1-395-4. It’s basically been a cosmetic job as the mechanical components are fine. I also left as much in it’s original colour as possible. The data tag was refinished after about 3 hours of work.

Also a short video of how nicely this runs.

https://youtu.be/IuHDh7BIjGI

Well done Jordan! beautifull!!

An excellent job, very nice indeed.

Chris.

V ery well done , outstanding!

I’ve finished the restoration of the Chorehorse and it’s now mounted on the removable tray. There was also a “quick release” ground strap hookup point on the cab frame. I used an NOS 36” long Chorehorse ground strap. Once hooked up to the charging panel the Chorehorse fires right up.

Wow! That little sub-project turned out very well, Jordan.. Congratulations.

When I first heard one of those running, all properly muffled, I was surprised how quiet it was. More so than the average gas lawn mower I think, and it gets a bit quieter when under a charging load it seems as well, if I recall correctly.

Nice find for the chorehorse ground strap by the way. Hard to tell if it is early or late pattern under the wing nut. Early ones simply had the end flattened and solder dipped, with a hole drilled into it. I suspect that caused a few wing nuts to get lost, having to completely remove them, which negated the ‘quick release’ concept somewhat as well. Later straps had an an angled slot cut into them rather than just a hole, and I think some makers may have added a small square of folded over sheet metal slotted at an angle as well. These allowed a simple loosening of the wing nut rather than complete removal.

You are going to be on the road and on the air with your WIRE-3 in no time, Sir!

David

Thanks David

I’m quite pleased with how it turned out

As for the ground strap it must be one of early ones with the solid flattened end and hole drilled through. No slot to be found.

Lovely work again Jordan! I should be pickung up another Chore horse for my C8 in a week.....no idea of condition though!

Tonight I decided to pull out my Cnd 10cwt trailer and get some pictures of the two together. I also finally installed the new T plate. Interestingly both the trailer and the Wire3 box were made by Brantford Coach and Body.

I had to pull the Chorehorse out the other day. It was leaking gasoline badly between the fuel tank and engine. In my rush to get it done I thought it was fine. However it wasn’t and it’s not something i would consider as safe. So apart it came. This also made me realize the fuel tank wasn’t as clean as I thought. There was a good layer of gummy and hardened fuel coating the entire tank. The fresh gasoline had softened it quite a bit. This was flushed out and some very hot water was put in then I poured in a bunch of the POR15 cleaner degreaser (formerly Marine Clean). I also put in a small fish tank heater and pump. This way I’m keeping everything warm and moving. After about 4 hours the tank was nearly spotless. It got a good hose down with a hot water hose.

I’ll be reusing the original gasket along with a skimming of No2 Form A Gasket. This will also be applied to the bolt threads as they are open holes into the fuel tank. The fuel check valve was also soaked in the cleaner and it good to go.

Good thing to find soon, Jordan.

David

Small stuff being worked on. The 6v battery for the truck finally had its cover installed. I made up a wooden block to help hold the battery in place as it is a smaller battery then what the tray was designed for. I also put in a sheet of neoprene so that the positive terminal wouldn’t short hot on the cover. The battery box cover was an original item that got a fresh coat of paint. I copied the original inked on part number. Lastly the cab buzzer wiring was installed. Thanks to John Sek for the original buzzer block.

Nice to see a Buzzer Assembly back in a WIRE Cab again. Been a long time.

A number of years back, I recall somebody in the USA selling new batteries for 1930’s and 1940’s Fords and Chevrolets. What I cannot recall is if these were fully functional batteries, or shells designed to have a more modern, smaller battery dropped into them and thereby disguised.

David

Thanks. It’s got a good buzz to it. I ran the wiring for it from the dash following the main harness then across the bottom side of the cab frame following the left fuel tank wiring. It then comes up into the rear box via the wiring hole in the floor. I’ve terminated it just under the charging board for now. This will have a disconnect before heading up to the roof level before the pull switch. My reasoning is that the Wire3 setup was to be removable from the cargo box for a remote setup. No idea if that’s how it was done but that’s what I’m doing. The wiring then doubles back on itself to the buzzer with single wiring going to the hot terminal. The return hookup on the buzzer uses the braided wire shielding with the common ground being the vehicle itself. It’s very simple and uses half the wire.

As for the 6v truck battery. I thought about that but with the sheet metal box cover I don’t plan on taking the battery out unless needed. The battery only supplies the needs of the enging, horn and lights. And with using LED bulbs there is hardly any drain. The starter is hooked up to a 12v battery in the Wire3 box. It is tied into the charging panel and the Chorehorse. The truck starts very well and fast since the coil gets the full 6v.