How To: Chevrolet 15 cwt build

[Mike K]

Forum has been quiet lately. Been doing some repairs on the 1940 Chev GS Van . It's really a Nth. American 1/2 Ton pickup chassis .

I have stripped down the vehicle to a bare chassis, the chassis has had some old accident repairs . I will have to fabricate a new length of chassis rail . It is only 1/8" steel so my plan is to buy some plate and weld up the peculiar shape.The old repair is slightly out of alignment , the rear RH corner of the chassis is 3/4" low.

The diff carrier has some scoring where the side spider gear bronze washer has been turning. I tried a bodge repair and it worked out well. I used a stone and carefully ground the surface flat .

I'm still looking for a decent cab. My 3 cabs are full of tin worm. I have another spare truck , but it's been out in the damp for years and it's badly rusted, too far gone to be of any use.

I was surprised to discover there is another example of this little truck close by, it is on the road. Presented in civilian livery

[Mike K]

During the disassembling of the diff, I discovered that the bearings are a rather different type to what I've seen previously.
GM used their own style of bearings. Most vehicles I have pulled apart use the ubiquitous Timken taper roller bearings .... but Chevrolet didn't.

I discovered that GM had their own roller bearing brand - HYATT.

Apparently Henry Ford was a friend of Henry Timken, so Ford used the better Timken bearings in his cars.

I don't know if The GM style Hyatt bearings were used in all of the wartime CMP trucks ? My C8 was based on civilian Chevrolet trucks and it has the Hyatt GM style hub bearings in the front hubs , these bearings resemble crude bicycle wheel bearings, with little round steel balls.

Reproduction new Hyatt bearings are available from specialist suppliers, i.e. Chevs of the 40s - Jim Carter - The Filling Station. And, in some cases, special Timken style bearings are available as replacements for the Hyatt bearings .