Ford FAT Cab12 Restoration

[Alex van de Wetering]

Is that an orginal Dash jewel???

Hope the owner wants to parts with it.....lots of good bits.....lots of dash hardware, solid miror arms, one mirror, seat bases.....lots of stuff that is missing on most trucks including mine....... maybe even to good to use as a parts truck(?)

Alex

[RichCam]

Alex,

Please clarify what "an original Dash jewel" is and I will take a better picture of it. Yes, I agree, this vehicle has lots of good "bits" that usually end up $10, $20 and $50-er-ing me to death as I struggle to get the little things that really finish up a restoration project. I will find out how much the owner wants for it, you never know until you ask.

Cliff, thanks for the clarification - being from Canada, we call Chevs - GMC's but I make sure I use the proper references in the future.

I'll keep you guys posted.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Hi Richard,

A dash jewel is a small round badge that General Motors of Canada fitted to the dash of CMP chevs. Being a "jewel" it is usually missing on most surviving Chev's. I think I can see on on the truck just left of the small knobs.

I hope you can reach an agreement with the owner. Chevrolet and Ford cab 11's and 12's share a lot of parts in the cab area, so you should be able to use panels, doors, roof, seats, some electrical components etc. Dash knobs, vents, gauges, cab floor and doghouse and smaller bits are specific for Chevrolet and differ from the Ford ones.

Alex

[RichCam]

Alex,

I looked at my pictures again and you are correct. The "jewel" is there, I thought that it was something that someone just stuck on the dash as an ornament. I will definitely make it a point to talk to the owner this week. Thanks for the heads up. As you stated, the knobs, cranks, springs, seats and pedals are in good shape so this vehicle will help out not only on the Ford FAT Cab12 restoration but for other Chev Cab12 vehicles out there on MLU.

Thanks again for the advice.
Richard

[RichCam]

Alex,

I spoke to the owners of the Cab 12 Chev CMP and I explained to them the restoration work that our group has done to the Huntsville Legion Bren Carrier and the current CMP projects that I am working on. They agreed, in honour of one of the owner's fathers who served with the Canadian Forces in WWII, to donate the truck to the restoration effort. Their donation will be greatly appreciated in my efforts to restore more vehicles to working condition.

So, I went back to the Chev, sitting under the trees, and looked more closely at the dash. The "dash jewel" was there and I safely removed it. I will be going back for other components over the next couple of weeks and the truck chassis will be moved to my shop in the next month or two.

What is the safest way to clean the tarnish off of this decal? All of the lettering can be seen with the red background but it has turned brown. I don't want to take any chances dissolving the lettering so I'm open to suggestions. Should I clear coat it once it is cleaned up?

Let me know when you have a moment as well as any spare parts that you might be interested in. (The rad is gone, engine block is full of water, running gear is operational).

[Alex van de Wetering]

Donated? Well done Richard! Good to hear that the C15A is part of your stable now.

That's very, very kind of you and indeed I would be very interested in some parts if you can't use them for your Ford Gun Tractor. Large and heavy stuff like engines and suspension parts could be very costly to ship across the pond ( I am in The Netherlands), but I would be very interested in some of the smaller bits like dash light, switches, knobs, hinges and small panels,
I will find some time to take a closer look at your pictures and will contact you asap by PM.

I don't have any experience with cleaning up a Dash Jewel. I have a nice reproduction one, but I don't know if the material and techniques used to make them is the same as the original. Maybe others can help out here. You could also just leave it as it is....some Patina is always nice and just give it a good home in your Wire 5?

Alex