C8 progress in Texas

[George McKenzie]

I just took a look at your site and it is much like alot of us . We buy a truck because we want it so bad and when we restore it ,it needs alot of work .The only C8 I know of in Alberta was sold to a fellow in ONT .It was a very nice original one that only needed a little work and a new paint job . If you want his address I can let you know where it is . I was in OK a few weeks ago and was going to go down your way but got snowed out .It was 10 deegrees warmer at home in northern AB .Keep up the good work George

[David DeWeese]

Hi,
Thanks Rob, Lynn and George for the encouragement! I need all I can get.
George, thanks for the offer about the information on the C8 owner you know about. Would like to see what he has.... And yes, we have had some very odd weather here in Texas this winter, with record low temperatures and snowfalls for the area.
Installed all the adapters and all but one of the C8 wheels today, and in spite of all the modifications I did, things went fairly smooth,(note that the cooling fins on the new brake drums are now removed, as they interfered with the 13" rims).
Added the longer wheel studs all around to accomodate the thicker mounting surfaces on the aluminum adapters.
Wheels and tires went on next, and I think it all doesn't look too shabby considering.....
I am glad to have this phase of the project behind me!
Thanks, David

[David DeWeese]

Was looking through my camera photos today, and thought someone might possibly enjoy this or find it useful:
Found out Saturday morning that the only 1/2" wheel studs long enough to use with the front adapters had splines too long and too large diameter to fit the stud holes in them.
Facing an entire weekend of good shop time wasted, another trip to the machine shop on Monday, and the thought of having to do lawn work or other badly-neglected household chores, I got desperate.... very desperate!
Chucked up the studs in my drill press, and placed a grinder in a vice with a horizontally adjustable base.
Worked like a charm, but....
Thanks, David

[David DeWeese]

Hi,
Spent part of the weekend trying to reproduce the fuel tank rails that support the two tanks behind the cab. Both rails had been cut by about 1/3 to mount only one tank under the right side of the truck.
Problem was that the original pieces have curved bends, where modern angle iron stock has sharp 90-degree bends.
Went to my scrap pile and found two Dodge military 1/2 ton WC fuel tank supports that surprisingly had the same gauge metal and curved angles as the C8 used.
Was able to use these to complete my support rails for my fuel tanks.
Now a question on the tanks:
From the photo, is this a left or right side tank?
Spent the rest of the weekend installing a new reproduction rear body on a friend's 1.5 ton Chevrolet. I installed an internally balanced 235 and CCKW five-speed transmission in it last year. No problem keeping up with traffic now he says..
Thanks, David
p.s. notice something odd about the right front tire?

[gordon]

All you really need to know to identify the tank is whether the fuel filler neck sits front or rear, but not got a clue. There must be an image out there somewhere that will tell you?

Gordon

[aj.lec]

Originally Posted by David DeWeese

Hi,
From the photo, is this a left or right side tank?

I would say left side (as you have it mounted in pic 2 )as the fillers are closer to the cab

[Bob Carriere]

Hi David

The gas tank shown in your picture #3 is for the Driver's side...right side.

The passenger side would be a mirror image...... the short filler is usually early cab 11 and the filler fits underneath the tool box cut out notch.

Do you have a close up of picture of the large oval plate on your tank....suitable to read the raised characters/letters... also is the oval plate steel or brass......

Thanks

Boob

[Grant Bowker]

Bob, are you sure?
If it were a normal CMP with the tanks mounted long axis along the truck's frame I would agree that it is the right hand tank. The photos of the C8 show the tank(s) mounted crosswise under the tire carrier. It appears that the tank with the offset that we normally associate with the left side is the right, not left tank on a C8. Unless the tanks and tire carrier are mounted turned 180 degress in the photo, it looks like the offset in the filler neck on the C8 is different as a guide to the tank position compared to most other CMPs.