Willanthry Chev Blitz C60L Restoration

[Willanthry]

Thanks to Mr John Brill of Griffith, I now have a pair of Blitz seats that look (to me) as nice as they must have looked when they come out of the factory. Of course, they're too good to put in the truck until I've got the canvas doors, side windows and the windscreen fixed to seal the cabin, but at least i'll have something to sit on when i get the truck going!

As you can see from the photos, the seats have come a long way from what they were!

Thanks for that info as well Phil, that'll be a great help when I get up to it!

[Willanthry]

Well, after acquiring my Chev Blitz back early in 2009, and a fair bit of hard work since then, our efforts were finally rewarded today. Myself, my dad and John Mackie put in two days of work on the Blitz to get her running, and I'm thrilled to announce that after sitting dead for around about 50 years, my Blitz today went for a drive!

It wasn't much of a drive, admittedly, as there's still a few small issues that need to be ironed out, but the old girl astonished me with her virtually thoroughbred quality! After a bit of initial hesitation that we diagnosed as a blocked fuel line, the engine was running magnificently, with the merest waft of the hand over the starter and a touch on the throttle. What an amazing experience it is to bring such a thing back to life!

Thanks very much to you Phil for providing that site about the modified accelerator linkages; that helped us get around the problem of the water pump, quite literally!

As soon as I get the right nuts for the rear left-hand axle, and a missing transfer case shaft to stop the oil leaking out, then we'll be able to take the truck on a much more long-distance drive, which will be awesome!

[Willanthry]

Spent this morning completing the treatement of the two fuel tanks. As you might imagine, both tanks have been accumulating rubbish inside for the last 50 years, and one of the tanks had more holes than a sieve. On John Mackie's recommendation, we turned to the Permanent Painted Coatings kit to clean 'em out and make them useable again. I applied the tank sealant this morning, so the tanks should be ready for use by Saturday. Eventually, we'll strip the tanks back and paint them, and they'll be ready to put back on the Blitz.

[hrpearce]

Toby if your transfur case looks like photo 1 then I will post whats in photo 2.

[Willanthry]

Yeah Robert, that's what it looks like. As i said to you on the phone, I'd say that along with everything else the old Fire Brigade did to the old girl, they've given the transfer case a wallop with something, and taken all the missing bits off and either sent 'em off for repairs and never got around to re-installing them or filed them under "broken" in the junkyard down at "Willanthry".

[hrpearce]

OK Toby the parts have been packaged. There were no shims present only a gasket so I included it as a reference to thickness. Good luck with the start of a new career. the package should be on the workbench when you get your first leave.

[Willanthry]

Thank Goodness for the Easter Long Weekend! I'm home for the first time since i left to start my New Entry Officer Course at HMAS "Creswell" in January, and i can catch up with you all.

John Mackie, Dad and myself went for a drive out to Mossgiel today following up rumours of a Ford Blitz out there. Sure enough, there is one, and quite a nice one as well. The bloke whose property it is on says they start it up every so often, and when John inserted the crank handle, the engine turned over with ease. However, I cannot locate a legible ARN number on it, but it's been an army truck, as you'll be able to tell from the photos. Eminently acquirable, but as with everything, there's a hurdle. This Blitz was sold to a chap over 5 years ago, and he never came to get it. The former owner hasn't heard from him for years, and frustratingly, he's lost the contact details of the buyer. So that Blitz, although extremely tempting, will have to sit on the backburner for a while.

My Chev Blitz is going great guns. Thanks very much to Robert Pearce for providing that almost pristine part; the transfer case is now ready to receive the front shaft and to be run without losing all the oil. Apart from that, I haven't had time to do much else with the big girl. Officer training is quite hectic, and weekend leave isn't enough time to get home and back again. But I certainly look forward to getting it to Corowa one of these years!

Anyway, great to catch up with MLU again!