Ford Blitz Restoration/Rebuild

[Private_collector]

Hello Hanno!

I think you are correct. We Australians dont like to see an opportunity pass when it comes to acquiring the odd relic. Especially those amongst us who have the storage capacity and transportation to retrieve.

The wheels & axle are not an urgent need. They can wait until a later date.
I did enquire with a fellow I know who has contact that often imports shipping containers into Australia from USA. His usual cargo is American vehicles, but can certainly accomodate such an item, if needed. The deal killer is the initial transportation costs of the trailer from purchase site to shipping depot.

Many chaps here in Aus. have assisted me with parts already. Some have done so a number of times, and to those guys, I am truly grateful! A set of wheels & an axle should be easy enough to source locally to me. Just need to have patience and watch the auction sites and upcoming farm auctions. Slowly slowly, catchy monkey!

Later today, I will post regarding a wonderful piece televised last night, concerning the stories and recollections of a group of D Day veterans. I felt compelled to write to the television station this morning, to offer my thanks. As usual, the email turned into one of my 'Trilogy in 4 parts' scenarios.

[Private_collector]

As mentioned this morning, the following is a copy of a letter I sent to the ABC. Subject is self explanatory. Thought some here may have the same sentiments and could find it interesting. Hopefully I have remembered the details correctly.

Dear Four Corners Team,

I watched your presentation of Day of Days last night, and felt compelled to write and offer my thanks for showing this wonderful piece of history, which was also a great tribute to those that participated in Operation Overlord (D Day military designation). I watched with my Wife, often in tears, as the veterans described their experiences.*As a community health worker in Gympie, QLD, I have had the extreme honor of meeting two of the men who were among the may that stormed the beaches on that day. It is incredible that there are 2 of those fellows, living within 20 minutes of Gympie itself. One of these chaps has now passed away, and the other, now in his mid 90s, still lives with his wife on a rural property, just out of town. If I may, I would like to briefly tell you of these remarkable men.

Mr William Dodd was a British tank commander, who initially served in the 7th Armoured Division, fighting in the African desert under command of Bernard Montgomery, against the German tactical genious General Erwin Rommel. His stories, and collection of photographs, are absolutely amazing. To wage war and survive that hell of an environment is a remarkable feat itself, without his participation in the events to come. His, and many other tank crews, were recalled to Britain where he was then trained to operate a Top Secret development, known now as a 'D.D.' tank. The abbreviation stands for "Duplex Drive", and those tanks were able to be launched from an ocean going vessel several miles offshore from Normandy, where a pneumatic canvas skirt was raised to float the tank (weighing far more than 10 tons) which had a propellor in the rear that drove it forward. Mr Dodd came ashore on D Day, from the sea, driving one of these floating tanks! A number of the German defenders lost their lives simply because they were transfixed on the spectacle of tanks coming out of the water, and were so stunned by this that they stood staring, when they shood have been seeking cover. Mr Dodd is an EXTREMELY LUCKY man. Greater than half of all the D.D. tanks launched did not reach the beaches, as they were launched in open ocean*far from shore, and the ocean conditions were too rough for them to be operated without being swamped. Many men lost their lives when their tank sunk in deep ocean. A number of these 'craft' still lay on the ocean floor where they sank, and they still contain the remains of the brave men who crewed them. These tanks continue to defy belief*today! They are one example of a range of devices named collectively as Hobarts Funnies. The inventor was a gentleman by the name of Hobart. His other inventions are also remarkable, and are too numerous to speak of in detail here.

The second of the D Day veterans I mention, is Mr Stanley Fox, a Royal Marine who was amongst the first British troops to come ashore around dawn, on*6th June, 1944. Mr Fox was still a child when war broke out in 1939, and he was amongst the children who were evacuated from the major cities, to remove them from harms way. While I am not aware of the exact date of his enlistment, I do know that he joined the British army the day after his Mother was killed during a German air raid. Mr Fox told me he joined especially to "kill every German he could get his hands on" in retribution for his Mothers death. He then went on to assure me that he succeeded in that endeavour! At time of telling me this story, the anger and pain could still be heard in his voice, after some 65 years. Mr Fox was not a man to speak openly of this episode in his life, and it was only after I had known him several years that he recanted these events for me. Mr Fox's military unit were loaded into a landing barge off the French coast, in the hours before dawn, and they then made their way ashore, through high seas and eventual enemy shelling from the large artillery guns on the shore. As their barge made its journey, they were also at threat from the sea. As with Mr Dodd in his D.D. tank, the ocean was so rough that many men were violently ill through the voyage. It is now known that the weakened state these men arrived in, was a major contributor to their untimely deaths, as they had lost their physical strength and some stamina, decreasing their ability to fight. As Mr Fox spoke of what happened when the door of the landing barge was lowered, it was impossible not to feel moved and emotional. He spoke of the high spirits of the men as they travelled the final few hundred feet to the beach. He described how the men were expressing their desire to be the first off the barge, and how each man wanted to be the first to get at the Germans. The reality of what occured next would be vastly different from their expectations. The German defenders, aware of what 'sitting ducks' these vessels were, had trained their machine guns on the doors of the barges, and awaited their lowering. When the doors finally dropped, the men were cut to ribbons before they had a chance to reach dry land. Of the men on Mr Foxs barge, more than half died before reaching French soil. Seeing this happen, and knowing what fate awaited him, Mr Fox made the decision to jump over the side of the barge and take his chances in the still very deep water. As a result of the weight of his pack and fighting equipment, he almost drowned in the water, but was able to eventually make his way to the beach. May men were not this lucky. Many men drowned, or were over run by following barges. Some were shot in the water, or died as a result of enemy shelling of the barges. If there is a hell, what occured on the morning of June 6th must surely be a glimpse of that, and the events of the day continue to haunt the survivors, even after the decades which have rolled along since that time.

Sadly, Mr Fox passed away last year. I attended his funeral, and was quite surprised and very honored to see that the photograph which adoned his casket was a photo I had taken of him on ANZAC Day a year prior, that showed him formally dressed and standing very dignified, wearing his military medals.*

In closing, allow me to once again express my gratitude to your airing of the story of the men of D Day. Despite what the participants have felt and voiced, I continue to believe they are ALL heroes, regardless of their part in the event, or their longevity since that day. I have watched and listened closely to media reporting, as D Day anniversary approaches each year, and I have always been dismayed to find very little (if any) mention or recognition of the significance of that day, despite it being the event which stands alone as the largest single human endeavour in history. For the anniversary to pass into obscurity would be a shameful blight against the sacrifice of those whose memories and nightmares can only be relieved by their own death.

Having watched your presentation, and while this remains fresh in my mind, I intend to make the time*today*to visit my one living link with D Day, to shake his hand and thank him once again for the sacrifice he has made to ensuring the world remained free from the nazi rampage of World War II.*

I eagerly await, and always appreciate, your stations coverage of ANZAC Day commemorations, and very much look forward to your program Ten Days to D Day, on the evening of this years anniversary of the event.

Yours humbly,

Tony Baker
Gympie, QLD

As a foot note, I did visit Mr Dodd, and he looks EXACTLY the same as I saw him last, some 6+ months ago. He still lives with his Wife, in their own home. He continues to display the same warmth of personality and sunny disposition! His Wife continues to provide him with her care and love, as she has done for over 60 years of marriage. They are both the epitome of youthful minds in aged bodies!

Hope you enjoyed the letter.

[Dinty]

Well said mate, I also watched the program last night, most of us could not imagine the anxiety / horror of what fate was awaiting on that morning.
My late father is a WW2 veteran Royal Engineers, but he was in Nth Africa, Sicily and Italy, my late Uncle Bert Harvey was with the Royal Engineers and went in on the beaches of Normandie at D-Day +24hours i.e. the next day, from what he told me it was not a pleasant place, cheers Dennis

[Private_collector]

Cheers Dennis. I see you and I are in the same line of work.

Don't forget to watch Ten Days to D Day, on 6th June.

Recently received 5 small bottles, each one containing about 7ml of sand from one of the landing beaches. When I get the chance, it is my intention to make a nice wall hanging piece once I settle on which photos to accompany the map, with each bottle above the applicable beach.

[Private_collector]

Its medal polishing time once again, and this year there are 4 sets instead of just the one.

I will wear my Fathers WWII campaign medals. My Wife will wear her Fathers nasho medal/s (not yet picked up, ? 1 or 2 medals), her Grandfathers WWI trio, and finally, her other Grandfathers medals.

I will be ill from the fumes of Silvo & Brasso.

Is anyone else having problems with uploading photo attachments to MLU at present?

Special thanks to Robert Pearce, for making parts available for me to finish the transfer case. There really are a lot of first class chaps here on MLU. Couldn't keep things going ahead without you!

Hope all the Aus & N.Z. guys have an enjoyable and memorable day tomorrow. Dont forget to set the alarm for ungodly early!

[Private_collector]

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Found this muffler for sale. Looks to be about as close as any I have seen so far.
The vendor is in USA, ......naturally.
Price is $100 USD? Another $115 USD to send.
I guess for that sort of postage it is coming by private chartered jet???
Costed a standard truck muffler locally, it was the right dimensions, but both ends were 2". That one was $170. Volvo ones that had been advised some time ago were cheaper again, but dont have the domed ends I want.

Come on tax return time!

[Lynn Eades]

Tony, With your skills (eg battery) you can make the domed ends (out of a heavy gauge steel) along with the rest of the muffler.
I think some muffler manufacturers use pressed ends still, but put them together the other way around.
Failing that, I reckon someone like Colin Jones would press the ends to your spec, in the wink of an eye.