Chevrolet C60L ARN 89131

[Richard Seymour]

Moderator's note: split off from Australian CMP spare tyre carrier and merged with Chev Blitz tipper?

Originally Posted by Mike Cecil

Hi Darrin,

89134 - Truck, 3 ton, Stores (Unbinned), Chevrolet C60L, chassis number 38443S61287. Taken on charge in NSW. I see it had an engine change over as late as 1960.

I'm curious to learn what led you to conclude that your truck is a 'late 44 early 45' build, as I know you do research into the history of your vehicles. Two reasons I ask: firstly, the delivery year for your truck, and indeed the entire group of ARNs it falls into, is listed as 1943. Secondly, the prefix '3' on the chassis number indicates a 1943 build, according to the Dept of Defence Identification document, page 10, Chevrolet War Dept : 'The first digit represents the last figure of year of manufacture'.

In any event, the MGO Equipment Memorandum for December 1943 is quite specific regarding the introduction of the 'Ladder, Tyre (Aust)'. Like everything, though, things are not rigid: there may be any number of reasons why an individual vehicle at the time of its disposal had the earlier style carrier: using up excess stock at time of manufacture, changeover during service, etc etc.

Mike

The C60L I have just purchased has a chassis serial number 3-8443-61278, so is 9 units before Darrin Wright's truck.
It has a build date of 27/10/44 stamped on the plate.
Going by that, his quite well could be a 1944 truck.
Or am I wrong??

[Matt Austin]

Good to see that Old Junee is has joined Ganmain as the spreading Blitz zone of the Riverina! Regardless, I'm glad that it's growing in an easterly direction; at that rate it should reach me in Junee soon!

All the best with your resto, Richard.

Cheers,
Matt

[Richard Seymour]

Probably not going to be a restoration, more a "fix what is broken to get it on the road"
and not far from you now lol

[Mike Cecil]

Hi Richard,

Good that your truck has the build plate (Darrin's did/does not), which helps with the possibilities.

Your truck is possibly 89131 from the same batch of Stores (Unbinned) taken on charge in NSW. The chassis numbers have a gap - 3844361278 is one of them, but given the sequence around it, 89131 with engine PR3946239, is the best possibility. Your vehicle was disposed of in 1962. (The other is 89127).

So, the possibility is that the batch of chassis arrived in 1943 and were assembled out of their boxes from Canada and stamped in late 1943, (even early 1944), but assembly of the complete truck with its special body wasn't completed until Oct 1944, when the plate was fixed onto the dash (it's almost the last thing to happen).

Given the wind-down in requirements for CMPs from 1943 onwards, and that this is a specialist vehicle, possibly with a lower delivery priority (each different body type had a delivery priority), this might well be the case. It's a theory, anyway, that accounts for a 1943-stamped chassis with a build date well into 1944!

Mike

[Richard Seymour]

Engine PR3946239 is what is on the plate, but not sure if that is the engine in the truck now.
The 89131 you refer to... what number is that, or what does it indicate?

[Mike Cecil]

89131 is the Australian Commonwealth registration number, commonly referred to as the Army Registration Number or 'ARN'. It is the number painted in white numerals on the flats below the windscreen, either side of the bonnet, and on the rear tail gate.

Glad I picked it correctly - it was the most likely, and the engine number on the plate is the link we needed to confirm its Army identity.

Mike

[Howard]

Originally Posted by Richard Seymour

The C60L I have just purchased has a chassis serial number 3-8443-61278, so is 9 units before Darrin Wright's truck.
It has a build date of 27/10/44 stamped on the plate.
Going by that, his quite well could be a 1944 truck.
Or am I wrong??

Good to see you on board here, Fingers!
Ask questions, and usually the answer comes.
Good luck with your truck. See you (and it) at Corowa!
Cheers
H
And to answer your question when we spoke on the phone the other night, "What is Corowa"?
Vids by our own Keefy

Sorry to hijack your thread, Ken... Fingers your truck has been discussed before HERE