1940 Chev C15, Cab 11 restoration in Holland

[jaap de wit]

here some more pictures of the transmission.

[jaap de wit]

Now the transmission is ready the engine is up next.
the engine was very dirty with an oil and dirt mix that hardend out like a coating, very difficult to remove. the engine is marked H-3-2 so that will be august -3 -1942, and engine no: MR 3843823. so the engine is placed later in the car , because the car is from may 1940. anyway when the engine dirt was removed I could open the engine up and see how the inside would look like, not bad, stuc, but good.
see also the other pictures.
cheers jaap

[centi521.]

wow

genius

i hope you make alot pics of the engine restoration :P

[jaap de wit]

when the head was of the enginebody I could see the pistons and it looked good, so I put thin oil on top the pistons and let it stand for a week.
after the week was past I try to turn it and it worked the engine is lose
I took the head and took it apart to clean the valves and springs and check for wear.

[cletrac (RIP)]

When you've got the head apart you might as well grind the valves and put in new valve seals.

[jaap de wit]

good idea david, after I took the valves and springs apart I checked the play of the valve guides and other messurements. I cleaned the valves and the head it self. there was only a small amount of carbon to clean.
I grinded the valves and seats and they fit fine now. the springs I checked and messured the length and after this it was time to putt everything
together again and get some paint on some parts. then the intake/exhauste manifolds where sand blasted and painted grey and heat resistend black.
and the spring of the heat control thermostat was replaced for a new one.
so now time for a

[jaap de wit]

now the enginehead is done I could start on the crankshaft. when I drained the oilpan there was some slutch in it, so that needs cleaning. I opened the rod bearing caps and took out all of the 6 pistons and checked them for wear.
as you can see the no 3 piston rod is bent a little ?
there was nothing else bent or damaged luckely. after the pistons were out it was the turn of the crankshaft to come out, so when it was out I could check it to and there was a little bit of wear on the main bearings so that means up to the machineshop with the shaft for some new bearings.so I took the flighwheel of the shaft after I marked the two first so I can put it back ad the same position. I found a machineshop near my house which could turn off the crankshaft to the new size. after some mesurements it was found that the shaft was still the standard size and have to be turned off to the size 010". so the next thing for me is to find some new bearings.
when I have them he can start the work on the shaft.
so up on the internet.
cheers jaap

[jaap de wit]

Now the crankshaft is at the machineshop I cleaned the oilpan and the oil nozzles in the pan. I had to weld some small holls in the pan.
The outside of the engine was cleaned of this thick coating of oil and dirt.
untill the crankshaft is back I started on the radiator. first I had to get all the rust / dirt out then to check if it is not leaking I filled it up with water and what I sow was no leaks for now.(mybe when the pump is pumping it starts leaking) I took it out of it's bracked and start cleaning.
cheers jaap

[Alex van de Wetering]

Nice work again, Jaap! For a moment I was thinking you would have it done for Arnhem


Alex

[jaap de wit]

well alex I am fast but I think it going to be arnhem 2010, I try for may 2010 but not shore if I make that date alex.
oke now some radiator stuff. all the louvers off the radiator neaded some bending and cleaning a time taking job. after this I neaded a new cap for the filling tube, the old one was rusted away. dirk leegwater ad a fuel cap and tube that after some work fits well and was soldered in place and look fine.
there was also a holl in the buttom of the cup witch was soldered closed to, but this was a difficulted job. the bracket was painted green and the radiator painted black.

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

It appears that the engine is from a 1942 MODEL C8 or just possibly C8A! The block casting date appears to be later than the engine number would suggest so could be a service replacement?

[jaap de wit]

thanks for youré reaction about the engine david.
the mark on the engine is H-3-2 (aug 3 1942) and the motor no: MR 3849823
and the GM 839253 number cast on the side of the engine block.
so now is my quiestion david by what nunber can I see that the engine is for a C8 or C8A ? I know the engine must have been placed in the truck on a later time as a replacement but thats it for me ?
I hope to learne more about this.
cheers jaap

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

The casting number 839253 appears to be a Canadian 1940-5 Block. I have so little information on the MR-prefixed series but it seems that they were fitted in C8s, but they stopped being assembled in late 1941. The C8A series in effect replaced, and the engine number appears to relate to a truck built around May 1942. This leads me to suggest that the engine is out of a C8A, and was transferred to a replacement block at some time. However, I may be totaly wrong!

[jaap de wit]

thanks to explain this to me david. while I wait on the crankshaft to be ready I want to find out everything about the engine and the hole car infact and do the smaller things on the car, like the radiator, the batterybox , ect, ect.
when the radiator was putt together I started on the batterybox, the lit neaded some new hinges. dos anyone know where the holes in the lit are for ,
was there a sort of padding screwed in the lit ?
the floor plates where sandblasted and painted to, what a differents.
this is very rewording work when you see everything come together like new.
cheers jaap

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally Posted by jaap de wit

thanks to explain this to me david. while I wait on the crankshaft to be ready I want to find out everything about the engine and the hole car infact and do the smaller things on the car, like the radiator, the batterybox , ect, ect.
when the radiator was putt together I started on the batterybox, the lit neaded some new hinges. dos anyone know where the holes in the lit are for ,
was there a sort of padding screwed in the lit ?
the floor plates where sandblasted and painted to, what a differents.
this is very rewording work when you see everything come together like new.
cheers jaap

Jaap..
You are doing really nice work...The "Checker plate" floor is the "Dot and dash" pattern..very rare and used in the early trucks..Every square inch of that should be saved//..to patch holes and what not,,
Throw nothing away...nice work.
Alex

[jaap de wit]

thanks alex i am saving every bit of the floorpanels.
here are some more pictures 2 of the driveshaft wich was easy to do.
the front window I took apart witch took some time to get the screws undone. there where a some wholes in the bottom corners to weld, but overall the window was good except for the glass.
luckely dirk leegwater had some nice windowclass for me, thanks dirk.
the window is now ready to a samble, but first the engine again because the crankshaft is back from the machineshop
so finely I can start on the engine to put it together jeeee.

[jaap de wit]

first i want to wish everybody a happy new year and good luck on all the restorations that going to be done this year.

now it is very cold in holland so you can't do much, but i try anyway so I put the front window together. for the rubbers around the glass I used the same ones for the jeep, I used soap to get them in the frame and this works fine.
after some work the window was together again. after this I start with the engine crankshaft and bolted the flywheel on to it (watching my marks I made) and then placed it in the engine on it's new bearings.
I fastend the cups and it turns nicely. I also placed new expantion plugs in the side of the engine. I also putt the oilpomp and lines back in place and a new oil screen form dirk (it was still in it's original paper).
cheers jaap

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Great job and Happy new year to you too..
Just a little info on the proper tecnique on bearing adjustment..
You probably have done all this a thousand times but just a refresher in case you forgot something from too many Christmas Heinikens..
Alex

http://www.ehow.com/how_2142943_use-...learances.html
#
If you are going to measure a crankshaft, assemble the engine together with the crankshaft installed with the new bearing inserts in the block and main caps. Make sure all the caps are numbered, in order and installed properly with the arrows pointing forward. All fasteners/bolts will need to be torqued to specification.
#
Step 2
Loosen the bolts of the bearing cap that you want to check clearance on. Remove the bolts and the cap. Wipe assembly oil off of the surface of the crankshaft where you want to check for clearance, use a clean lint free paper towel or cloth.
#
Step 3
Tear off a piece of plastigage. You will need to open the paper to remove the plastigage, place the plastigage across the surface of crankshaft. Try to position the plastigage in the center of the journal surface. Install the bearing cap and torque bolts to specification, remove the bolts and the bearing cap. You will see the crushed plastigage on the journal.
#
Step 4
Using the paper that came with the plastigage, use the scale on the side of the wrapper to measure the crushed plastigage. Compare your measurement to the clearance specification, if you are within range then you are ok to assemble. If the measurement falls between two sizes then you can estimate what the size in between is.

[Keith Brooker]

Hello Yaap,
Have a Good NEW YEAR as well.
Keith & Nel

Well done with the truck. Anything going on May the 5th in Holland?.

[jaap de wit]

thanks for the info alex. the guy's at the machineshop took care of that so thats easy for me. keith I send you a list as soon as possible.
about the engine now, I putt in the pistons very carefulley and connected them to the crankshaft then it was time to putt the oilpan in place, for this I made the gasgets my self, out off cork. then it was painting time grey this time. after it was dry I placed the head on the block and torgued the bolts and placed the valve rod's back in place.
I ajusted the valve rocker play, a little bit more open than by the book (cold engine) and ajust this later (warm engine). so thats that for now back inside and have a
cheers jaap

[cletrac (RIP)]

Jaap, if you installed the pistons yourself, you'd need to set the rod bearing clearance yourself by putting in the proper amount of shims between the connecting rod and the cap. If the shop didn't assemble it, there's no way they could tell what the rod bearing clearance would be. Did you just get the main journals ground or the connecting rod journals too?

[jaap de wit]

david thanks for your technical info and tips. the machine shop have done the main journals only, the connecting rod journals didn't need any work accept some polishing. so I could use the same rod's and shims for each bearing. I checked them anyway, as is stated in the manual.
I took the distributor apart to, it neaded cleaning and new springs inside.
after this I placed it back on the engine making sure the timing mark is on the 5 degree point on the flywheel and the distributor rotor is pointing to the 1 cilinder position mark i made before i took it out ( see the manual).
this has to be done right to make sure the sparkplug's get there spark on the right time, but you know this allready. thats it for now
cheers jaap

[Phil Waterman]

Hi

Before you install the distributor, be sure to check that there is no play between the shaft and the gear. Common on Stovebolt 6 after 50 years.

Hold the bottom of the shaft and try to move the gear back and forth.

I've had one pin break on the road, replaced with a roll pin as a temporary fix. If the pin is loose you many find that it has worn both pin and shaft. If you have to replace the pin be sure to get a good tight fit on gear and shaft for the pin.

I'll attach a picture as soon as the manage attachments is working.

[jaap de wit]

thanks phil for the tip, I took the distributor out again and checked the gear and placed it backin again. everything is ready on the engine for now and the big moment is there, the engine go's back in the frame again after a year of waiting.
what a great moment to see the engine back on it's place now I can start to bolt on all the other parts and then try to start her up hopefully one day.
cheers jaap

[jaap de wit]

now the engine is in place the generator and starter have to be installed.
the generator i took apart for cleaning and replaced the bearings, reconnect the wireing it was in big nead of this. for the starter I did the same.
the fuel pump, I cleaned to and gave it a new membrain, gasket and installed it in it's place. the waterpump was next it was in nead of a new bearing and gasket I used a press to install the new bearing and put the pump together and placed it on the engineblock I used liquit gasket so it (I hope) will not leak. the intake and exhaust manifolds were bolted on useing new gaskets and rings in the intake ports. there is a new thermo spring on the thermovalve in the exhaust (hot spot).
it starts to look like a engine again, but will it start ???
cheers jaap

[jaap de wit]

now it is time to put the oil filter in it's place, but where ?
on the civillion truck it was placed on the intake manifold, but on a cab 11 you not have that room under the hood. so I have to think of a other place that is cloose to the engine and I came up with this (see pictures).
on the bellhouse there are 2 wholes with tread that I could use to attach
the filter bracket. I had to ajust the filter a little bit so it is cloose to the engine. there is a 3 way block on the engine to house the oilline and the oil gauge line, this was difficult to get. for the bracket I used a angle iron to keap it simple and I am happy with this, easy to get to the filter.
cheers jaap

[Ganmain Tony]

Very, very neat work Jap

I reckon there is a real talent in being able to make modifications look like original.

You've certainly done that

Great effort

[Phil Waterman]

First very neat work, but before you go much further be sure to mount the exhaust pipe and check for clearance. If your exhaust header pipe is the one that curves forward then back you should be fine. You may also find that you need to put a heat shield on your rubber lines.

The air flow is very restricted in the Pattern 11 and 12 Chevys and the passenger side engine cover is very tight to the exhaust manifold. The result is when the truck is run at load it gets real hot in this area.

I've got to find the link but there was an earlier thread about the later location of the military filters which was at the rear of the engine above the intake and exhaust not a convenient location for the Pattern 11 or 12.

Also I'll dig out some photos of the clearance issues on my Pat 12 C60L. The original filter location is in the left hand frame rail on it's side a really nasty place to drain clean and replace. Plus the oil lines run close to the exhaust.

Cheers Phil

[jaap de wit]

thanks phil for the info on the filter.
I think that to place the filter at the back of the intake manifold will not fit because the engine panel (speedo gauge) is to cloose to the engine so the filter will not fit I think. and I see the picture of the filter place on it's side in the frame rail, but I don't like that overthere.
the oillines are about 5 inches clear of the exhaust pipe, but a heat shield is not a bad thing I think, thanks phil.
so I hope the filter is not getting to hot on this place I will keep an eye on it.
thanks jaap

[Phil Waterman]

From the pictures it looks like you had already check the exhaust pipe clearance. Very good detail work it is a lot easier to work these things out before the entire body is mounted.

Is your exhaust new or a good used one? Is there a source for Chevy pipes in your neck of the woods?

Enjoy watching the progress.

Cheers Phil