Chevrolet C8 1940 Cab 11 restoration, The Netherlands

[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