Willanthry Chev Blitz C60L Restoration

[Willanthry]

Thanks very much Lionel; it's a great feeling alright! (Half a year down, 9 and a half to go...)

Here are a few photos of Tuesday; the little tractor's heart was in the right place, but it couldn't quite move the Blitz out of it's hole, so we commandeered another truck to pull it out. The Blitz is now sitting on the clay pan at Barwonnie Station, Mossgiel, ready for me to collect it. This, however, has suddenly become next to impossible for me to do myself, as a change of plan from my mate means that he's going out there with his lowloader on Sunday, the day I board the plane for Sydney. So I won't be able to get it home myself, but at least it'll be back!

[Willanthry]

G'day everyone, sorry it's been a while since I last posted, but i've been away from home basically all year with my RAN officer training. I'm currently posted to HMAS MANOORA, at Fleet Base East in Sydney.

Consequently, nothing has been able to advance on the Blitz restoration front. I organised to have the wheels from the ford sandblasted and painted, but the primer either didn't go on quick enough or it wasn't enough, because they've started to rust already. That'll be solved soon enough though.

I'm looking forward to Christmas leave so that i can get some serious work done. The Chev is still top priority, but i'll try and get the Ford running at some stage as well. Also, myself, my father and John Mackie attended a clearing sale in Lake Cargelligo last weekend, where the steal of the day (in my opinion) was an old Bedford truck, which was a firetruck and came with a tank, which went for $500. There was a Ford Blitz there as well which went for a bit over $600. I walked away with a toolbox for my Ford, and John acquired several starter motors. All in all, a day of bargains!

[ozm29c]

Toby,
I can well appreciate the difficulties in trying to restore a vehicle and enjoy the hobby whilst serving at sea. Use your spare time for research, parts purchasing etc etc. There are plenty of things that you can do to compliment your restoration whilst at sea. It took me ten years to restore an Amphibious Jeep when I was in the Navy. I was also amazed at what Naval Stores still carried in stock for Jeeps (not sure now of course). I still have the list of DSN's somewhere. The other thing was how many Amphibious jeep parts (Engine, gearbox, T'case radiators etc etc) that I could fit into a Patrol Boat
Rest assured the time will come when you will get some work done on the Chev. Perhaps a posting to Navy Office.
Anyway enjoy your sea time
Cheers
John Wilson
(Ex CPOMT)

[Willanthry]

G'day all! Time to get down to some serious restoration now that i'm home for christmas. Most of my efforts since i got home last week have been concentrated on cleaning up the Blitz (the spiders have moved in something chronic) and waiting for the rain to stop, but with some time on my hands I'm looking to make some serious inroads into restoring the truck.
First thing on the agenda is finishing off the basic functionality of the old girl, which i'll begin with looking for bits for the handbrake. Someone's robbed a bit of gear off my truck, and it looks like a few vital pieces are missing from the handbrake assembly around where it bolts on to the side of the gearbox.
G'day to you Chief Wilson! Good to see there's some more Navy restorers out here!

[Willanthry]

Did a bit of work on cleaning up the Blitzes yesterday, particular the Ford. Found the number 3G 6926284F on the engine; considering my lack of information on the truck, I wondered if this would help to shed some more light on the truck's history? It also appears as if the truck may have been painted in desert camouflage at one stage or another, which further muddies the waters.

Another interesting feature of this truck is that both the seats can fold down. Was this a common thing for Ford Blitzes at any stage, or could these seats have been pinched from an ambulance or something?

[Keith Webb]

The 3G indicates a 1942 model. The folding seats are usually found in cab 12s but may also have been fitted to the early cab 13s.
If you were to go to the War Memorial and painstakingly trawl through the AWM 126 series of books you will find your engine number matched to a particular ARN which will tell you details of it's body type and often when and to whom it was sold after service. But it really is a needle in a haystack exercise because the vehicles are listed in ARN number and the engines are FAR from sequential.
EDIT: Just had another look at the pics on the previous page and now remember it was a Canadian import with the GS-6 body. With an approximate ARN it should be easy for you to track down.

Originally Posted by Willanthry

Did a bit of work on cleaning up the Blitzes yesterday, particular the Ford. Found the number 3G 6926284F on the engine; considering my lack of information on the truck, I wondered if this would help to shed some more light on the truck's history? It also appears as if the truck may have been painted in desert camouflage at one stage or another, which further muddies the waters.

Another interesting feature of this truck is that both the seats can fold down. Was this a common thing for Ford Blitzes at any stage, or could these seats have been pinched from an ambulance or something?

[Willanthry]

G'day all!

Well, after a solid morning's work, the Ford is now running. After borrowing a few parts off John Mackie (as well as his expertise), the big V8 roared into life, firing albeit on 7 cylinders. The engine has suffered some water damage; the original carby had to be swapped out as it bore the brunt of the water, but no doubt saved the engine from the bulk of the water. Two valves were stiff and sore, but with continued oiling and hand-cranking the engine, we managed to limber them up a bit.

We took her for a drive around the property, and she behaved superbly for a vehicle that hasn't run for so long. So now I own two running Blitzes, and indeed may need them running, if the water which is lapping at the tops of the river banks keeps rising!

EDIT: Photos added.