Chevrolet C8 1940 Cab 11 restoration, The Netherlands

[Alex van de Wetering]

Hello all, I think most of you will remember that I purchased a cab 11 Chevrolet C8 restoration project from Dirk Leegwater a few years ago....my first step from scale models to an actual 1:1 MV. It took a while before I actually started the project and I decided to have a go at a BSA folding bike first to gather some experience. The BSA still needs a few things done, but in the meantime I have started on the C8, and I figured that now would be a good time to start a restoration blog.

Attached you will find some pictures of when my truck was delivered by Dirk and Stefan.

The truck was brought from Canada a number of years ago, along with a few of it's C8 brothers and F8 cousins, after spending years in the Elliot Brothers yard in Ontario.

Alex



p.s. old thread: Oh no.....bought a CMP! Chev C8 cab 11

[Alex van de Wetering]

The real start of my project was to get the frame blasted. I still have to get used to this heavy stuff ( even though this is the smallest of CMP's), but with some creativity I was able to fit the frame inside our van, which saved me the trailer rental.....yes, I know...the Dutch way

I removed as much of the seperate fittings as possible and after blasting had the frame coated in a black primer.


Alex

Fellow C8 owner Nick Bullock helped me out with my frame by the way! thanks again Nick.

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Alex

Welcome to the wonderful world of restoring Chevy CMPs you've been reading and contributing to the MLU forum long enough to know the fun many of us have with these wonderful vehicles. The Pat 11 Cabs or really interesting as they are the beginning of the evolutionary development of the CMP as you work on and drive yours you will come to appreciate why they evolved.

Keep us posted on your restoration process.

Cheers Phil

[Mike K]

Thats a nice chassis. I had to replace the rear crossmember on mine . I Bolted it in

My first C8 was pranged ,the chassis was bent like a banana in a prang on the farm up at Yea. It could have been straightened in a jig with a lot of effort . MIKE

[Alex van de Wetering]

Phil, Mike, thanks for your comments. I will certainly try to enjoy every bit of the CMP restoration and keep you updated on the progress. I am already enjoying it by the way....especially when seeing the look on the faces of our neighbours when I tell them our garden ornament will drive again


The frame does look good on the pictures, but even though it wasn't banana shaped, it still needed some work every here and there. Before blasting I straightened the rear cross member, which actually was quite easy.
One of the other things that needed attention was one of the braces on the rear cross member. The left one was partially gone. The proper way would probably be to replace the whole brace, but I don't have the facilities to replace rivits and I didn't want to replace them with bolts. So, I choose to cut the remains, clean the corner and weld some fresh steel. A template was made from the right brace.
I still have to drill one hole in the new plate, which is used to bolt the body to the chassis, but I will do that when the other chassis jobs are done.

Alex

[Nick Bullock]

Hi Alex, Great to see that you have made a start on the C8,
The chassis that you have there I first came across 30 years ago when Ian Richardson was saving it 'just in case' some one else needed it, later it passed to Phil Jarvis in Doncaster who also kept it for years 'just in case' and finally to me, I couldn't help but keep it 'just in case', finally it passes to you and I'm delighted to have resisted the urge to dispose of it since it means another of these fabulous trucks will survive to drive another day, well done you.
Maybe we'll see Norma and yourself this year? I'll be in Normandy in a few weeks time if your down that way
with very best wishes
Nick

[Alex van de Wetering]

Good to hear from you Nick! Well...."just in case" happened in the end. The C8A and C15 chassis are also still available; they have moved to another MLU member and are stored "just in case" anyone ever needs them.

Do you remember where the chassis originally came from? Cab 11 or 12? Short box, lengthened short box or long box? I have some holes in the frame that I think are not original and need welding up.

Normandy? I am jealous....no holiday for Norma and me (again!) this year unfortunately. What about Wings and Wheels or Tanks in Town? It would be great to meet up with you and Gina again and finally catch up.

Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

Attached you will find a picture of the Crossmember that was under my truck when I bought it. The next two pictures show the corners of the replacement after the frame was blasted. I wasn't happy with the small rotted holes and decided to weld in some fresh steel and also replace the nuts and bolts.

[Alex van de Wetering]

I first made a template from cardboard and than transferred it to steel. Forming the replacement bits was largely a matter of trial and error with a hammer and wooden blocks. The crossmember is slightly angled towards the front of the frame, so the replacement bits left and right are mirrored. I cleaned the inside of the crossmember as much as possible, treated it ith Fertan and coated it in primer, before welding the new bits in.

[Alex van de Wetering]

The cross member is bolted in position with four bolts on either side and two extra located on the bottom. I tag welded the replacement steel in place and testfitted the cross member to see if the holes lined up. Thankfully my measurements were correct and ould proceed with welding and bolting the thing back into position.

Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

I spent some time today to sort out all the holes in the frame. Some are pretty crudely placed and are civil probably post-war, a few others I think are not factory, but maybe added later on by the army, maybe also postwar. The ones on the left seem to match up with side fuel tank mounts, while the holes on the right show a different layout.

I marked the holes that I think are not correct for my 1940 Cab 11 short box and want to weld them up. Is there anyone who can back this up, so I am not filling up holes I am not supposed to? I plan on measuring the hole size and location before welding anyway, but I rather not redrill the holes later on. I marked the holes that I think are not correct with some green wire.

Alex

1st pic: Left hand rail between cab and box
2nd pic: Right hand rail between cab and box
3rd pic: left hand rear
4th pic: right hand rear

[cletrac (RIP)]

Here's the holes in my frame. I don't know for sure if any of them are add-ons but there's less than in your frame.

[Mike K]

Pics might help

[Mike K]

The black tag on the chassis rail in pic 1 is a chassis number , made up to get the vehicle registered

[Alex van de Wetering]

Dave, Mike, thanks a million guys! Your pictures are a great help and confirm my suspicions.

@ Dave, from what I can see on your picture, all holes in your frame match "original" holes in my frame.

@ Mike, Am I correct in assuming you used one of the "spare" holes in the right frame mamber to secure the tag?

Alex

[Private_collector]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

The black tag on the chassis rail in pic 1 is a chassis number , made up to get the vehicle registered

Firstly, you cheeky bugger

Secondly Mike, I don't see the chassis number plate! Where is it.
It's either out of shot or I have a detached retina again!

Where did you select the chassis number from?

T.

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Alex van de Wetering

@ Mike, Am I correct in assuming you used one of the "spare" holes in the right frame mamber to secure the tag?

Alex

Yes Alex

That tag hole was there already , it's original as far as I can tell . If you need any more pics, just ask .....Mike

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Private_collector

Firstly, you cheeky bugger

Secondly Mike, I don't see the chassis number plate! Where is it.
It's either out of shot or I have a detached retina again!

Where did you select the chassis number from?

T.

Tony
I couldn't find a chassis number anywhere on the chassis , even during sandblasting it . The data plate on the engine cover was missing

I used a C8 chassis number , in the sequence of numbers for a early C8 . It's only club rego, who cares .

I must repaint the vehicle and get it back on the road ........ one day

[Private_collector]

I have a fear that I will need to do something like that for my truck as well.

I don't recall the exact places people have told me to look, but despite looking over all those areas, I STILL can't find anything........anywhere.

Maybe after the sandblasting?!?!

I have a friend that managed to bluff the Transport Dept. that these vehicles didn't have a chassis number at all, and I think he got issued a VIN without problems.

Also heard of a fellow stamping his vehicle with the number that his engine had, and he also states to have gotten away with that.

Knowing my luck, i'll get a die hard CMP enthusiast!!!!!!!!

T.

[Alex van de Wetering]

With the info from Mike and Dave I started by wrapping the frame sections in paper and tracing all holes, so I always have a pattern as "backup" when it turns out I have welded up too much holes. Than it was basically a matter of welding the holes up and spending some time grinding everything smooth. The last bit took a wee bit longer than expected, because the weather suddenly improved and I didn't want to bother the BBQ-ing neighbours with my grinding. ....So i had to wait a few days for the temp to drop and everyone to go inside.


Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

last picture


In the meantime I have started up loosening several suspension bolts on the C8, because that will be my next step....getting the axles and leaves disassembled.

[Alex van de Wetering]

One of the last things to do on the chassis was to remove the "threaded pin" used to secure the left front leaf spring. According to the manual it was just a matter of "unscrew the pin", but after 70 years this was not as easy. As the pin taper towards the ends, it is very hard to grab it with any kind of tool, so after several attempts I used heat to get it going. I heated up the casting and it was actually pretty easy to remove the pin and the bushing (which has actually merged into one after all these years) with slight tapping with a hammer.

I measured the chassis points according to the MB-C1 manual, and even though the C8 is not covered in this manual, the technique is the same. One measurement was slightly off, so I decided to use a strap and see what happened. It only took a few minutes and the chassis was completely within tolerance.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Removing the shock absorbers from the C8 was pretty easy. They even have good resistance when I move the arms up and down, but I have to figure out what to do with one of the links, as the end is broken off.....and will also have to source new rubbers as most dried out.

The wheel nuts prove to be a real pain. I figured it would be wise to loosen them up at this stage in stead of when the axles were removed from the truck. At least I could now benefit from the weight of the truck.
The nuts from three wheels were easily removed, but the left rear wheel was a different case. I used penetrating fluid, heat and a long arm to get 5 of them undone, but that last one.... Well, one of the pictures show a few of the tools I wrecked in the process....a breaker bar was successfull with the first few nuts, but with that last one.....well...what's in a name...it broke. I welded it again and tried, but no luck. In the end I ground down the end and used it as bar to use with another tool and so on, and so on. French army spanner broke. In the end I used the angle grinder to cut the nut of and than finally I could get the wheel off.

The chassis was initially sprayed in a black primer after sand blasting and I brushed another few coats on afterwards and after all repairs. Now all work was done, I sanded down the chassis, removing all paint streaks, hairs of the paint brush etc. I than sprayed on a coat of primer, waited a week or so and than applied a first coat of Khaki Green nr. 3. I hope I can spray a second coat tomorrow.

Alex

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Looking good Alex, I see one of the Generals came round for a brief inspection

H.

[Mike K]

Alex

Those threaded shackle pins and bushes are found on chevy passenger ( solid beam axle ) and light commercial vehicles of that era .... easy peasy to buy new ... they turn up on EPAY too .

Mike

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SPRING-SH...item19b518b90c

[Alex van de Wetering]

@ Hanno. Thanks......Canadian Camp 2014?
Yes, Monty was quite interested.....not Patton, he was more interested in a mid-day nap.

@ Mike. Thanks Mike. I did indeed find the pins with a few suppliers, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Some other things prove to be more difficult, like rubbers for the shock links, the link itself and clips for the leaf springs.

Yesterday was an ideal day for spraypainting....warm, dry and only a little wind. I turned the frame upside down and found few spots that needed a little attention and a thin coat of primer, before I did another run of Khaki Green. I also managed to remove the rear axle with help of axle stands, a jack and a few straps. Somewhere this week I hope I can take off the rear springs. I recon next weekend will be spent cleaning up several parts and giving them a coat of primer.


Alex

[Phil Waterman]

Originally Posted by Alex van de Wetering

...... Some other things prove to be more difficult, like rubbers for the shock links, the link itself and clips for the leaf springs.......


Alex

Hi Alex

If you can not find the rubber parts you are looking for give these people a try http://steelerubber.com/ I've used them when I could not find a bit of rubber anywhere else. Not always the cheapest source.

Cheers Phil

[Alex van de Wetering]

Thanks for the tip, Phil! Sometimes rubbers are so simple in design....finding a company that makes them is the hard bit!

Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

Attached are a few pics of last weeks progress. Removing the axle was done with the help of two axle stands and two straps as mentioned before. I used a strap to support the drive shaft so it wouldn't drop on the ground when it came loose.
It seems part of the brake lines were replaced at some stage as I have both steel and copper-ish pipes on the rear axle.

Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

The weather has been terrible here over the past two weeks, so I spent most time in the garage cleaning up smaller parts. One of these is the exhaust support, definately not something I need today or tomorrow, but I removed it to get more access to the two rails behind the cab, which are also used to attach part of the brake system. Anyway, I had a go at straightening the support and it just feels good to bolt a freshly painted part to the chassis.
I also removed the rear springs and tried to investgate which parts can be reused and which have to be replaced. I think I need at least two new U-bolts, new centre bolts and bolts for the spring clips. I only have the remain of one "spacer" as used between the spring cips....is this just a piece of pipe?

Alex