Lend Lease Chev 1 1.5 ton

[Chevrolet 41]

Hi Phil,

Nice to hear from the US of A. Scary thought pulling the motor to ensure mounts are OK but again, make sense if loose, will throw the linkages out.

I think I'll go for taking the accelerator linkages out first and see how that fares.

The pessimism in me says if I get half more power on top of what's there now, I'll throw a valve or head gasket

I have the History Festival to drive in in march so will get stuck in after that.

Thanks all!

[Chevrolet 41]

Next question and I'm hoping an easy one...

Can anyone post a colour picture of what the 216 motor would have looked like 1940/41?

My motor rocker cover and the sides were red when I got her but the oil filter housing and bracket was an orange colour and no colour to the sump or starter motor. Would the oil bath air filter be painted anything particular?

The engine bay is a dull olive green (not surprising after 70 years).

Thanks in advance

Chris

[Lionelgee]

G'day Chris,

I have a 1940 Chev truck that was built by Holdens and was made with the colour plate of khaki. The cabin was made in Australia by Holdens before they were taken over by GMH. My truck is in the shed waiting restoration - its place in the queue was taken over by a Series 3 ex-army Fitted For Radio Land Rover.

I am not sure how original my truck's engine is I will take some photographs of the engine in the morning when the light is better.

Have you come across the excellent based USA site Stovebolt.com? It is a site especially for the restoration of old Chevrolet trucks. It has a gallery, Technical Tips section and a forum. http://www.stovebolt.com.

What are the wheel base dimensions of your truck by the way and the overall length and width of the tray? Was the 1.5 ton rating an Army rating or a civilian one? What is your truck's weight for registration or is it a club rego? Do you have a truck license to drive the vehicle? In Queensland it requires a Medium Rigid licence.

It is great to see the photographs of your truck, keep up the good work.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

G'day Chris,

I am not sure if my engine is original however it is a 216 engine. The previous owner put a tin cover that rests just over the top of the engine for some reason like a tent fly.

I took some photographs of the engine bay - the horn is not original as they were more like a long trumpet that were bolted to the manifold. Everything else is pretty stock standard. I also took some photographs of the truck's pivoting window - which I think some one asked me about a while ago.

I am not sure if the flash photographs give you a good idea of the colour of the motor. It was a farm truck for two generations on the same farm after it was sold by the army.

Let me know if you need any other shots.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

G'day Chris,

Here are some more photographs.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

Hello Chris & whomever asked me to post up some photographs of the windscreen,

I had to wait until the windscreen got nice and dusty to cut down the reflections before I could take photographs of it. Well that is my excuse anyway.

Photograph 009 shows the top hinge points and also shows the quarter vent window which identifies the truck as a Holdens built cabin as opposed to the single pane of glass for the Lend Lease side windows.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

G'day Chris,

The last photograph is the side vent that allows air to travel into the cabin near the driver and passenger's legs. This is the other sign of an Australian built cabin. I have a friend who has a fully civilian version of my truck which never saw service. His truck has been fitted with a Blue Flash 235 engine so it is not much use to you to take photographs of. My friend's truck has a fixed windscreen and the front mud guards travel further down to cover more of the wheels. My mud guards have been lifted and wire edged - given the bikini treatment. Not so much as the desert service vehicles which had their mud guards given the full Brazilian treatment.

Kind Regards
Lionel