Willanthry Chev Blitz C60L Restoration

[Willanthry]

G'day Euan,

I acquired a spare engine along with this Blitz, and it was running - when it was placed under a tarp out in the open 50 years ago. Of course, when i found the engine, the tarp was long since rotted away and it was also seized. However, it will be much easier to repair then the other one, which has had some real damage done to it.

Not sure what you mean by the "235 option"; i'm not a mechanic, just an enthusiast, ha ha! I'm learning loads as i work on the truck, however.

[BCBlitz]

Hello Toby from Canada and welcome !

Nice find, looks like the motor is definetly toast, but the rest looks fixable, either way you will do the right thing and another CMP saved from the great Chinese scrap pile.

I have not been here long either, you guys down under seem to have a great network of owners so IM sure many will help when called upon .

Have fun and post more pics when you can.

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Willanthry

G'day Euan,

I acquired a spare engine along with this Blitz, and it was running - when it was placed under a tarp out in the open 50 years ago. Of course, when i found the engine, the tarp was long since rotted away and it was also seized. However, it will be much easier to repair then the other one, which has had some real damage done to it.

Not sure what you mean by the "235 option"; i'm not a mechanic, just an enthusiast, ha ha! I'm learning loads as i work on the truck, however.

Will The original engine from the Factory was a 216 Cubic inch with slinger oil distribution in the engine..The 235 option refers to a Chev 235 Cubic inch engine with an pressure oil system and much better horse power and ease of repair and maintenance..more reliable..
And they are available ,having been used in Chevs for many years after the war..
Some mods are required but the problems and "How to's" can be found right here ..especially welcome are Phil's home page and web site....Phil Waterman that is..
Enjoy and go for the 235...you are miles ahead and will be a very happy camper..

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Toby

There are various engine options for Chevy CMPs - it all depends on how and where you will be driving. Don't be scared of rebuilding one of the original 216 engines these are still an amazingly tough engine. The one in my HUP has been running good for over 30 years that I've had it and it has never even had the the oil pan dropped. Yes they leak oil but so what. The only real problem with the 216 is if you are going to drive your C60L long distances or heavily loaded they are under powered by modern standards.

The standing joke in our club that my C60S with radio box would do 0-60 mph on flat ground in about 12 minutes. After driving my C60S with its stock 216 engine for 18 years I converted it over to a 261 engine which has about twice the horse power there have been several good threads on MLU about the conversions. The nice thing about the 216 conversion to 235 or 261 is that they are all the same size and with the correct mix of parts are pretty much a bolt up engine swap. The are extremely close in appearance as well which make it a good restoration engine choice.

Depending on your engine skills an local engine shop services getting one of the 216 engines you have running may be the quickest and easiest choice, then you get the truck running under its own power and concentrate on the rest of the truck. Get it running and enjoy driving it, then if every thing else is sound and you want to up the power and acceleration then look into a 235. I don't know if the 261s were ever used in large numbers in Australia.

I've got both a C60S and C60L one point that I would make about a more powerful engine it doesn't really change the top speed of a CMP they really don't like going faster than an indicated 50mph. Beyond that speed the rest of the drive train really starts getting uncomfortable, and noisy.

[Tony Smith]

Toby, the 235 engine is widely known in Aus as the Blue Flame motor, as I mentioned in the other thread. The 261 is very uncommon, well much less common than the 235 Blue Flame. Then again, you could ask Euan what the number 292 means??

[Keith Webb]

Originally Posted by Tony Smith

Then again, you could ask Euan what the number 292 means??

I theenk, señor eet means broken engine mounts.

[Willanthry]

The Blue Flame does look like a good option in the long run, but i think i will concentrate on simply getting it going first. I've gotten the engine mounting bolts undone, and am simply waiting for a free day for my dad and myself to get it out with a tripod and endless chain. Then i'll be able to get to work scraping all the grease and caked oil off the rest of the front end of the truck. After that, it's simply a matter of getting one of my two engines running, acquiring a six-volt battery and sorting out the electrics. I'll worry about the cosmetics when i have the time and money!

One thing i have been wondering about is the doors on this truck. According to one of the blokes helping me with this restoration, it was modified to have full canvas doors, and may never have had the original solid doors on it. Of course, it doesn't have the canvas doors anymore. I've been tossing up about whether to remove the modifications and get some original doors for it, or get some full canvas doors made for it. What do you people think?

[Keith Webb]

Originally Posted by Willanthry

One thing i have been wondering about is the doors on this truck. According to one of the blokes helping me with this restoration, it was modified to have full canvas doors, and may never have had the original solid doors on it. Of course, it doesn't have the canvas doors anymore. I've been tossing up about whether to remove the modifications and get some original doors for it, or get some full canvas doors made for it. What do you people think?

I'd be inclined to go with the canvas doors for several reasons.

1. They are relatively easy to make

2. No modifications necessary to your vehicle

3.Originality ultimately increases the intrinsic worth of the vehicle

4. Good steel doors are very hard to find