What makes a truck a Maple Leaf?

[Mike K]

easier to read ......

I just noticed the Maple Leaf was supplied in 170" odd wheelbase , the Chevy wasn't .

[cliff]

Mike thanks for the added info. It seems that Lionel needs to measure the wheelbase on his truck to see exactly which one it is but was he surmising that the truck was a Maple Leaf because of the AWM photo caption? I suspect it is a plain Chev as the photos you have put up of the truck show that the mudguards are not cut out and it has civilian type wheels. These were probably changed when it entered civilian life after the war due to a lack of 18inch tyres but with the guards not cut out it may never have been fitted with the 18inch wheels. Still quite a rare beast and well worth having regardless though.

[Mike K]

This a 1940 Holden assembled GMC .. these had a GMC motor ..not the 216 .

Its a 1 tonner I think. it is in QLD . it has GENERAL MOTORS TRUCK along the bonnet .

Mike

[Mike K]

AWM piccy .......the chap in foreground liked army food
053643

[jim sewell]

My understanding of Maple Leaf trucks is that they are h/duty chevs and to be able to quickly tell the difference other than the name and numbers (16 or 1600)
1. They have a different diff centre , with a ratio of 7.16 ( same as 3 ton blitz ) as apposed to 6.17 of a chev.
2. The m/ leaf has 5 wheel studs front and rear , with studs being of approx 5/8 or 3/4 diam ,where as the chev has 10 studs rear and 5 or 10 studs on the front and a smaller stud .

From about 1947 onwards they went away from the 216 engine and used the 235 splash feed one.
Regards
Jim S.
Picture of rolled over truck , coutesty of " Outback Corridor "by Allan Smith
The chap in the rolled over truck is wearing a gas mask as he was being towed on a very dusty road.

[cletrac (RIP)]

The blue truck is a Maple Leaf and the other is a Chev model 1533. The Chev is approx 120" wheelbase and the M-L is approx 150". The M-L had the same 6.17? rear end as my C15 (it's now in the C15) and the Chev has a 2-speed.The M-L has a factory reinforced frame. Both trucks have 5 bolt wheels on the front and 10 bolt on the rear. You can see the Maple Leaf grille has a different centre section to what the Chevs used.

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

Maple Leafs had 'MAPLE LEAF TRUCK. with a Maple Leaf in the middle and a different badge on the rad, plus slightly different rad grilles in some cases.

[mlombard]

Originally Posted by jim sewell

My understanding of Maple Leaf trucks is that they are h/duty chevs and to be able to quickly tell the difference other than the name and numbers (16 or 1600)
1. They have a different diff centre , with a ratio of 7.16 ( same as 3 ton blitz ) as apposed to 6.17 of a chev.
2. The m/ leaf has 5 wheel studs front and rear , with studs being of approx 5/8 or 3/4 diam ,where as the chev has 10 studs rear and 5 or 10 studs on the front and a smaller stud .

From about 1947 onwards they went away from the 216 engine and used the 235 splash feed one.
Regards
Jim S.
Picture of rolled over truck , coutesty of " Outback Corridor "by Allan Smith
The chap in the rolled over truck is wearing a gas mask as he was being towed on a very dusty road.

The rolled over truck appears to be a GMC model not a Maple Leaf model, as the grill looks to be GMC

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by mlombard

The rolled over truck appears to be a GMC model not a Maple Leaf model, as the grill looks to be GMC

Yes I agree . A club member had one in the mid 1970's , I think it was ex Brunswick council. It was used in the Sullivans TV series ( what happened to John Sullivan and Tom) .Ah yes, John ended up in Playschool .

We seem to be going round in circles with this Chev - Maple Leaf - GMC thing