Chevrolet C8 1940 Cab 11 restoration, The Netherlands

[Alex van de Wetering]

I didn't get much done last week, but the front springs have been removed. The rearmost pins attaching the front springs to the chassis were nicely lubricated and in good condition (and could be screwed out by hand.....quite the contrary of the one I had to remove from the separate chassis earlier!). The front pin/bolt and rear lower pin however are very worn as can been seen in the picture. I really wonder if replacing the bushings and pins is enough here....

Also see the difference in my front sprins...the right front springs (bottom one in the pictures) has an extra leaf added and the clips lengtened.
Alex

[Bob Carriere]

HI Alex

Not sure if a spring shop is readily available in your area but I would be tempted to repalce the top two or three leafs with new one....with new bushing and new pins. You are going to have a hard time getting bushing to press into the existing eyelets of the old springs. Besides the top two or three leaves will be carrying the bulk of the weight..... I would be afraid the old ones might snap.

Around here it's about $125.00 per spring pack if you can salvage the shorter leaves and have new one fabricated. The old short leaves can be heated and re-arched.

The spring clips are easily fabricated using flat stock..... tubing for the botls and new bolts.... I made new ones for my spring.... takes a little time but easy enough to do.

Hang in there..... love to follow your progress.

Bob C.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your comments Bob; there is a spring specialist not too far from me and I will see if they can help out. I also talked about the subject with a few other people which led to some interesting ideas.

Progress on the springs and axles is slow at the moment as I need some parts to be able to rebuild them and because I was waiting for a new primer and paint. So, most of the past two weeks have been spent in the books and on the web to trace part numbers and to look for spares. Dirk and Stefan were able to help me out with a number of them, but I am still looking for some other parts. For instance....I managed to find replacement U-bolts for the rear axle here in Holland, but only the short ones.....I am still looking for the longer ones, which are also used to attach the arms for the shock links (that's why they are about 0.5inch longer). Does anyone know a source or a truck that uses U-bolts with the same measurements?

In the meantime I have started disassembling the nose of the truck in order to prepare the engine removal. What do you know.....I found another spot which was still covered in paint Next I want to remove the panels next to the radiator....the ones with the holes for the cab vents....I removed a number of nuts and bolts, but somehow they are still attached somewhere. Do I have to remove the fender supports first??? Any of the Alligator cab-crowd who can help out?

Alex

[Bob Carriere]

...some close up.....some of overall view....... then some underneath fenders, etc...... then take a few more....

Hi Alex

Yes you have to remove the fenders and the fender support....one bolt is hidden inside the support........which are bolted to the arches and through the upper sections...... all cheap stove bolts..... grind the heads off or over torque them to snap..... you will replace them all with new cheap bolts.......... finding the proper old style square nuts may be more difficult but we can help you..

Don't be afraid to use a propane torch to free up the rusted nuts if you want to save the caged nuts....... the caged nuts are also availalbe brand new....

You will need some canvass or rubber gasket material when you reassemble.

You will not doubt find some rust holes..... be prepared for some surgery.

.....and keep posting pictures for our enjoyment.

Just starting to reinstall the cab sheet metal on mine...... whole sections near the bolt holes will need to be replaced..... but it is all flat stock but will need to practice the fine art of butt welding to perfection.

On the U bolts most spring shops can make them from scratch in any lenght you need...... and get the proper large HD nuts and thick flat washers.

Let us know how you make out....

Bob C.

[cletrac (RIP)]

My C8s both had the diff covers painted white.

[Eduard Sorokin]

Dear Alex !

Here is very interesting restoration process !
I shall see for further work.

Please, check Your PM box.

Regards,
Armoured.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Thanks for your comments guys,

@Dave I have decided to keep the diff green for the moment as I can always paint it white later on.
@ Bob, thanks for the advise. Indeed I am taking hundreds of pics and that does help to solve most issues about location of bolts and things (and should also help when re-assembling!). So next I will have to remove the fender to reach that last bolt? I did see something what resembled a bolt, but I tought it was rather strange that this bolt is within the upper fender support. Not a clever idea it seems(?)

So the proper re-assembly order would be; assemble grille/rad section to arch bars first...than fender supports...than fenders....and than all panels between front section and windscreen/firewall???


Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

I get the idea that I am going backwards here....the frame started to show slight corrosion pits through the fresh paint...that black primer I used was really bad! So I decided to sand down some sections of the frame and apply a coat of my new friend....the heavy duty Red-oxide PU primer.

I did the same on the leaf spring blades and applied a coat of Khaki green next. I am waiting for the last few parts, so I can continue with the re-assembly of the springs. I assembled one already, but need to have another look as one of the blades is not positioned properly.




One thing that I wanted to ask you guys about is leaf Spring bushings. I have managed to get NOS spring pins and GM stamped bushings from LWD parts. However I thought the bushing should have a narrow fit to the spring eye and the pins should be moving freely in the bushing (with grease in between). In this case it's the other way round. The bushing "falls" into the spring eye and you have to force the pin into the bushing. Any ideas? Is there an easy way to "spread" the bushing??


Alex

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Alex

The bushings first..... You were lucky to find the pins..... I had mine done from drill rods blanks by a machine shop. The bushings I got form the spring shop that rebuilt my spring packs.

The bushing should be tight enough to require either a press fit or at least some slight tapping...... then once installed the bushings should be reamed a tiny bit to allow the new pins to fit in snug with some grease. If you bushings afalling out have the spring shop heat and reshape the spring eye tighter. If they are installed loose they will pound themselves to a sloppy fit very quickly. Keep in mind that the original pins need the original bolts which are no longer available today.

Now for the re-assembly sequence......

....according to what I have done/observed....... others can comment....

The cast steel nose support go first on the arch bars... rad horse collar that bolts tothe frame front cross member then the rad can be installed. Next the fender support need to be installed so you can reach the hidden bolt.

The top nose section can now be installed over the radiator.

Then the fenders which will fit under the side panels that bolts on each side of the cast steel support bolted to the arches.

The you can proceed to the inner side panel.... the inside panel is the one right over the driver's feet..... I beleive that panel has to be mated with the inner wheel well curved section as they share the same bolts .....

Then...... then...... my mind gets confused and I call Phil Waterman.

In any event it doesn't matter if you get the sequence wrong.... you will no doubt have to take it apart 2 or 3 times before everything fits properly.

And to think we do this for fun !!!!!

Bob C

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Alex van de Wetering

One thing that I wanted to ask you guys about is leaf Spring bushings. I have managed to get NOS spring pins and GM stamped bushings from LWD parts. However I thought the bushing should have a narrow fit to the spring eye and the pins should be moving freely in the bushing (with grease in between). In this case it's the other way round. The bushing "falls" into the spring eye and you have to force the pin into the bushing. Any ideas? Is there an easy way to "spread" the bushing??

Alex,

You could also fix the problem by having some new bushes machined up out of bronze , its a easy job . Just make them larger on the outside diameter and then bore or ream them to the required inside diameter . Mike