Aluminium markings
 

Q. What does this marking on the aluminium mean ?

I read AC 57 1/2 or AC 575 1/2

It was roll painted on all the bare aluminium sheets inside the box .

Waiting for a final word before applying the last coat of primer .

Cheers.

Robert

Likely just maker mark or type. Were these original panels or new skins?

markings on aluminium
 

Hi Chris,

All original aluminium from 1944.

I have seen similar maker markings on aircraft aluminium on military and civilian airplanes .

My theory for AC is : Aircraft .

Raw materials and aluminium were becoming more abundant in 1944 . Aluminium that was destined only to military aircraft production in the early years now was used for other purposes.

Robert

Might also just be the ID for the Aluminum Company of Canada.

David

markings
 

Chris/ David,

Good ideas both, thanks.

The pictures of the markings are posted for eternity so if someone needs to see them they are there.

On with a second coat of primer and then the insulation.

Insulation ? I didn't tell you this Wire 5 was going to be heated and air conditioned ?

I got the idea from no other than our own Phil Waterman's rig :eek:so if there are any critics for my distraction from original write Phil :cool:.Anyway the insulation won't show, it'll be under the wood panels.

Good nite Phil, :thup:



Robert

I will go with Aluminum Company of Canada / Alcan

markings
 

Then Alcan it will be !

Cheers.

Went for a ride in town
 

Friends,

Took a break from the restoration today and went for a ride in the countryside.

Here the Wire 5 is parked at the local truck stop were i had lunch with the hard working truckers of the logging and sawmill industry.

Feels nice to enjoy the road and scenery and get out of the primer fumes and smell the exhaust for a change.

Keeping you posted. Cheers.

Robert

a little paint can go a long way to improve looks
 

Friends,

Today i did a little painting on the outside of the truck. I do not know if it is truly , absolutely authentic for the North-West European campaign . I have seen a few time period pictures of freshly disembarked Jeeps in Normandy with the white paint at each end of the front bumper .The white and red wheel nuts i have seen on wartime pictures but in training in England.

Would someone on this frequency please turn the crank on the field phone and call in with some additional on the info on the subject please ?

Many thanks.


Robert

Hi red wheel nuts are deferentially mentioned in the war time drivers hand book for my Bedford MWR but i think the white wheel nuts could be post war as they are often seen in British national service type photos
Nick

The outer nuts were red from the factory, and for good reason. Those that don't know any better ask "why are those nuts red"? You can then tell them that it is because if you undo them before letting the air pressure out of the tube, you will be in for an unpleasant surprise.

The white nuts are not (to the best of my knowledge) factory. I am more used to seeing them on the odd vehicle that belonged to units who had a little too much time on their hands. If you look at some howitzers and field guns for instance you will see not only white wheel nuts, but even the wheel's lock ring (On rims of that design) along with the lunnette and a host of other oddities painted white. This is also on post war guns into the 60s.

Not sure about the white bars on the bumper. This was DEFINITELY common practise in England during the blackout, for both civilian vehicles and military to aid in night time visibility, but I cannot recall ever seeing a military vehicle in theatre with that paint arrangement.

David

paint on tools
 

Thank-you very much Nicholas, Rob and David. The red paint was there for a reason.The white paint of course is because it was saturday and the yard was already cleaned out of the leaves and the grass mown.Missus had no new tasks for me so i got carried away..

Speaking of paint. What colours if any were the tools stored in or on the trucks, or vehicules painted ? On the Wire 5 truck i have a spade and a pick axe. On the Mk 2 Carrier i have the same plus a heavy mining bar.

On US vehicules i have seen pretty much OD ( green ) as a colour but on British and some Canadian pictures i have seen mostly black on the metal and the wood left natural.

I enjoy your responses and insights greatly.I feel like i am part of a great community.

Cheers.

Bob

White trim paint
 

I have often wondered if the practice of painting the center of your rear differential when hotrodding in the 50's and 60's had anything to do with the wartime practice of painting the differentials white? I remember jacking up the rear ends on cars with a (?) leaf spring hanger extension, putting wide tires on and painting the center of the differential white, anybody else do those things or was it limited to the west coast?

red nut and white differentials
 

Hi Harry,

I am too young to have practiced that art.

But i found the reference on red nuts.

Cheers.

Bob

Harry.

Hate to admit it but I do remember that habit back in the day. Don't think it was a military connection at all, however, as I used to see white, black, yellow, red and even chromed diff covers. Think it was more a case of since the ass end of the car was up so high the diff could be easily seen so needed to be prettied up.

David

Getting prepared for winter
 

Friends,

The Wire 5 truck runs well. I prepared it for winter by installing a canvas "arctic" grill cover. As well as i was visiting a local farm supply shop , i picked up a good luck charm in the form of a real horseshoe.

The attendant, a really nice man asked what size (weight ) my horse was. I said 15 Cwt. I answered his query by saying it's not for a horse it's for my truck, it is for good luck .

We proceeded outside and he lent me a pair of pliers and a pair of cutter to affix said horseshoe to the grill with some fence wire.

He then said wait here a minute i will be back. Upon his return he handed me a Rosary and added : It was personaly blessed by the Cardinal , it will bring you real good luck.

We meet the nicest people riding a CMP around town, really.

The truck passed the safety inspection on the first attempt last week and it is now road licensed in Québec . It is a feat brought about by the excellent work Richard and his team have done.

I wil be starting the restoration of the inside of the box tomorrow. I will keep you posted .

Cheers.

Looks great! Glad you are now able to take it out and enjoy a drive through the countryside. Was the Quebec inspection process quite detailed? Do they put any special conditions on 70+ year old vehicles? Is it a one time inspection,or annual?

Inspection
 

Hello Wayne,

It is a one time inspection upon road registration. The irony in this is Richard in Huntsville Ontario had gone through the whole process already just a few months prior .

When you import a used vehicule in Québec , wether it came from Malaya or Ontario you have to go through the safety inspection to licence it in the province..

There are no exceptions in Québec statutes for antique vehicules . The only helpfull rule is that you have to have installed and in working condition all the safety equipment installed by the manufacturer at time of delivery. So in the specific case of a C-15 CMP , no seat belts , no turn lights but a working handbrake, windshield wipers and high low headlight beam for example. They do not accept the blackout headlight on the left side and a bridge plate in the right side headlight bucket. I do that AFTER the safety inspection and registration when it is all done ..

Richard and i chose to install turn signals , brake and back-up lights and that is a personal survival reason. Of course , if installed they have to work.

They check the braking performance, the undercarriage , suspension and muffler.

It is quite an involved inspection and took almost 1 hour and 40 minutes.

The inspector called the head office at least 5 times. He was asking about the ''plastic'' side windows, the absence of a safety glass logo in the windshield etc.. because it was all new to him but he was still interested on hearing my remarks on the technical aspects of wartime truck production in Canada.

He insisted on seing the gas tank gauge indicator move. I flipped the switch to left tank and nothing happened . My tanks were full. I flipped the switch to right tank and it moved , slowly . O. K. he said it moved. I explained there was a wooden dipststick in the tool kit that came with the truck to check fuel level and he bought it.

It is an adventure to put a 71 year old HMV through a safety inspection but if you are well prepared , documented and knowledgeable about your truck it should go well.

When it was all over and he handed me his inspection report he said i needed side reflectors front and back. Yellow in front and red in the back. He continued and said he had stickers for $3 each that could do the job very well and i answered '' sold '' . He left a litlle corner lifted on each one because he very well knew i would take them off as soon as i drove out of his garage.

He then took pictures for his file and the licensing authority and i suspect to show off to his kids and that was it.

All said , it is like an exam at college or
High school. It is a chore to prepare but you are happy proud and content when it is finished and you don't have to do it again.

It is the final exam after a restoration and it says a lot about the quality of your work or as in my case of Richard's work.

I hope this detailed report will encourage you and other guys to go ahead
with your projects.

I have started the restoration of the inside of my box this morning . Everythig is cleaned out, the rusted old screws i have buffed away and the old plywood remaining i threw out.

Tomorrow the insulation and wednesday the new plywood.

It is a lot of fun and rewarding.

Cheers and good luck.

Wow, that's an intense inspection Robert. I kind of suspected the process was like that though. I'm happy to see you can still meet the requirements without changing all of the original attributes of the vehicle. And you obviously had a good inspector who did his job, but was fair.

I will need to go through a similar process in Alberta with a jeep. I'm trying to make sure I cover off all the critical components as I go, so I can be as confident and successful as your experience. Your story helps me greatly. I heard some bad stories where guys restoring old "civilian" trucks had issues, but I think they were taking shortcuts (that's not my strategy).

Enjoy your awesome truck!

Interior Radio Box Woodwork
 

Robert,

Can't wait to see pictures of the Radio Box interior renovation! Great work so far and it is pleasing to see that this project has continued to progress after our hand off. This truck is going to be a show stopper next spring!

Cheers!

On the inspection did they check the brakes?
 

Hi Robert

When they did the inspection how did they check the brakes or did they?

When I first had my HUP inspected years and years ago (37+) the inspection station wanted to pull the brake drums to inspect the brake shoes. I said fine go ahead then he said how do I do it. So I explained the process and he decided it really wasn't necessary. That was the last time I was even asked even with the two C60 trucks no inspection station has ever even tried to inspect them. All three trucks are totally exempt from inspection now here in New Hampshire because of their age. But what a lot of people with antique vehicle plates here don't realize is that they are still subject to inspection if an officer suspects defective equipment.

Good looking truck - lots of driving enjoyment ahead.

Cheers Phil

Insulation and interior finishing
 

Thanks Richard and Phil.

To answer Phil's question :To check the brakes , The truck is mounted on a ramp with kinda of a slide on it. He asks you to apply the brakes and the slide moves or it doesn't . A reading is taken, Pass or fail.

Now back to the restoration. Today my friend Daniel and i managed to do a lot. We insulated the walls with styrofoam and a vapor barrier made of aluminium. The product is called Iso R. It is 3/4 '' thick and gives an insulation factor of R6 plus depending on how well it is sealed with the red Tuck tape . We then started trimming the 1/2 '' plywood and fixing it in place with metal screws on some of the walls ( pictures below ) .

I then reinstalled some of the original accessories back in their original place . Good progess was made. Good laughs were had. We had fun !

Tomorrow we should finish the walls and start with the ceiling. The day after that we plan on will attacking the generator compartment. We should be finished by next week end. I will wait till summer for the white paint. I will be doing it outside , it will be easier to vent the fumes.

Voilà, all in a day's work.

Curious about the plywood.
 

Bonjour Bob

The old plywood you removed was it 1/2 thick or very thin 1/8 door skin plywood?

.... and is the plywood for the ceiling the same thickness as the walls???

Nice job by the way.

Cheers

Restoring the interior of the box of the Wire 5 project
 

Hi Bob,

The plywood i removed from the box and kept as samples for placement of the accessories was around 3/8 '' thick all over , walls and ceiling . 1/8 '' would be paper thin and could not of supported the original shelves . My decision to go with 1/2 '' was based on durability , soundproofing and the ability to anchor heavier shelving if needed . Resistance to moisture was also a factor.

The plywood i removed was all wavy from the moisture, humidity and water seeping through from all the years it spent outside.

Going to 1/2'' instead of 3/8 '' should not detract too much from original and it will not show. Neither will the insulation.

What will detract from original is the floor . I will be putting in a 3/4 '' plywood floor instead of the original '' Decktread'' . I hate cold feet . I will paint it battleship gray. The floor that is . The walls will be white of course.

Thanks for your comments. I am open to ideas , this is an ongoing process.

Cheers and good night.

Bob
 

Factory original, from WilsonTruck Bodies, these wireless boxes were fitted throughout with 1/4 inch plywood. The ceiling is the first to be panelled and then the two end walls. Sides last. This way, the wall plywood adds support to the ceiling edges. As the vehicle moves, the roof will flex and there are dozens of screw holes up there just eating for water to leak in. Since the exterior roof is curved, water flows out to the sides where it could collect on the exposed ply edges, if the walls had gone in first. With the ceiling ply in place first, the water flows completely off the ceiling ply and down the backside of the walls. This prevents the ceiling edge from falling apart, or at least getting too warpy looking over time.

The plywood was made with animal glues back then and with time and exposure to dampness, the glues dissolve and the ply delaminates in situ. You end up with wavy crap as Robert described, very difficult to get a good measure from because some sections swell and others shrink.

Robert,

If you are going 1/2-inch on the plywood, you are going to encounter fitting problems with the ceiling light channels and copper bus bar at the very least. The Gen Box is also going to end up misaligned with the exhaust port in the floor.


David

I bought an M151A2 from Alberta and had to submit to an inspection for plating in Ontario. The key is to find an understanding and knowledgible inspector. Mine is an ex-RCEME mechanic who has his own shop now. I spoke to him ahead of time to learn what he will look for, so that I could fix those things. Then I got a 10-day trip permit, and drove over to his shop. That was fun! Stopping with brakes that had little use for a couple of years. He found a few things to do, made some comments and gave me 10 days or two weeks to show my fixes. That included a two and three step wheel and tire rotation to get rid of ones with cracked sidewalls, removing the back seat (no seatbelts) and some hole filling. Once he was happy, he signed the inspection. I took it to the licence bureau and we're done! I keep a copy of that inspection with the registration.

Restoring the interior of the box of the Wire 5 project
 

Thanks David for the nice details. I think you are right. 1/4 '' sounds logical but it was difficult to determine because of the deterioration.

I am using 1/2 ''for the reasons i said previously and it will mean small adjustments.The Choreshorse exhaust pipe hole i am going to move a bit , same for the generator cabinet itself .

As for water seepage , there isn't going to be any anymore . The next job after the ceiling will be the sealing (pun intended ) of the roof with silicone .

I will be applying so much silicone on all the screws and any cracks or holes that it is going to float inverted . Is it is going to sleep inside indefinitely. It certainly deserves it now after 71 years.

Finished the walls today, tomorrow the ceiling and gen cabinet.

Cheers.

shelve
 

Friends , here is a picture of a finished wall with some of the accessories.

On the right upper wall between the windows there is a small shelve and two footman loops each holding a canvas strap. Anyone know what was stored there ?
The shelf is rather thin metal and the scews small. Can't be a heavy item that goes there. Between and below the windows will go the No 5 Cdn Charging panel, the lighting switch and all the battery wires coming from the gen sets. On the floor just below the left window , the batteries .

Comments ?.

On the front wall just to the left ,we see one of two microphone and earphone holders for the 19 set.On the lower right the generator compartment venting door.

On the bottom the wheel well on the right of wich there will be a wood shelve for the rifle butts for the rifles stored standing on the exterior of the gen compartment.

Restoring the interior of the box of the Wire 5 project
 

More pictures.

On the left front wall , again a mike and phone holder for the 19 set.Here will go the table for the 19 set .

On the left sidewall again the little shelf, the fire extinguisher bracket and the file or message holder underneath the field phone connections and ground post.

There is a little telephone and message table that will be going here tomorrow.

It is the cypher clerk position. He was sitting sideways as can be seen by the holes for the seat base in the metal floor .

On the right rear backwall nothing yet. Metal storage shelves will go here eventually when i find or fabricate them.

On the left backwall the generator cabinet venting doors. This is where the gen cabinet will go tomorrow.