Chevrolet C60L ARN 89131

[Richard Seymour]

Gday all, I thought I should start a thread on my truck rather than continue the hijack of another members thread.

http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=22899

And

http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/sh...ight=combaning

Now that I have the ARN,
A) how do I go about finding where and to whom it was stationed?
B) how it was originally specified (ie. did it have any special equipment, colour scheme, did it have the canvas canopy on the back, etc.)


Thanks to Mike Cecil, he has helped a lot.

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

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Last edited by Mike Cecil; 29-05-15 at 22:53.

Then

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

And Howard Holgate has also been helpful, even though he is give me a hard time about it being a Chevrolet....

Thanks in advance

[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

[hrpearce]

I'm fairly shore Howard has a Chev in his stable.

[Keith Webb]

The info Mike has provided is about as much as is available - the AWM 126 series of vehicle registration records are pretty light on for detail unfortunately and usually only show the ARN, engine and chassis number, wheel size, body type, where taken on charge, sometimes engine number changes, and often disposal dates and where they were disposed and to whom. Actually that's quite a bit but there is nothing there of their actual service life.

[Richard Seymour]

Ok, so without knowing how this particular truck was specified, what would be the most likely/common colour and equipment?
Was the canvas canopy standard on a General Service body?

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Richard Seymour

Gday all, I thought I should start a thread on my truck rather than continue the hijack of another members thread.

Hello Richard,

I have now split off the relevant postings from Australian CMP spare tyre carrier and merged with the Chev Blitz tipper? thread in an effort to keep everything pertaining your truck in one thread.

HTH,
Hanno

[Mike Cecil]

Keith said 'The info Mike has provided is about as much as is available - the AWM 126 series of vehicle registration records are pretty light on for detail unfortunately and usually only show the ARN, engine and chassis number, wheel size, body type, where taken on charge, sometimes engine number changes, and often disposal dates and where they were disposed and to whom." which is all true, of course.

When the ARN is not visible, the hard part is matching an engine or chassis number to the ARN - they are not in any particular order in the registers. This time, thanks to knowing 89134's details from previous posts, it made it easier, but that's mostly not the case. It's usually like looking for a needle in a haystack (and it is a very big haystack!) Beyond that, finding an individual history on a particular vehicle is almost impossible.

Your truck was also a 'Stores Unbinned', so a GS-type steel base body with hood bows and a cyclone-wire 'cage', all covered with a canvas canopy. Overall colour at time of issue would have been Khaki Green No.3 (Gas Resisting), possibly with a single or double disruptive colour applied, and since it continued to serve post-war, was probably overpainted (when it needed a paint job), with Deep Bronze Green with a gloss finish. Be nice to see a 'Stores Unbinned' restored as such.

Mike

[motto]

I can add nothing technical to the conversation but will pass on a story that may raise a chuckle.
I worked with a fellow who had been regular army for many years, everyone knew him as the sar major. On one occasion he was involved in a drive past in revue and he and several others were placed in the back of a truck inside a wire cage (sounds very much like a 'stores unbinned') As they drove past the saluting base some of the fellows hung from the wire and hooted like monkeys.
There was hell to pay after the parade.

David

[Mike Cecil]

Now that 'vision' gave me quite a chuckle! Good one Davo!

Mike

[Richard Seymour]

Thanks Hanno for the reorganisation.

Mike, I don't plan on doing a full restoration on it, but it does need some things attended to.

I do like the idea of putting some of the missing equipment back on it, like the tail gate, the canopy (now I know it should have one), the canvas doors and windows, etc.

[Matt Austin]

Ah, it all makes sense. Glad to see that Terry's Blitz has found a good home. All the best with it.

I put it to the Minister for War and Finance a year ago that it would've made a great investment but she told me to finish my Inter first! Wise words, really...

Fancy meeting up sometime? I reckon a catchup of all the local MV people would be good fun.

Cheers,
Matt

[Richard Seymour]

Yes, a get together would be good.

[Ganmain Tony]

Originally Posted by Richard Seymour

Yes, a get together would be good.

Nice truck by the way Richard - glad it went to someone keen. Great to have another in the district.

[Ganmain Tony]

Originally Posted by Matt Austin

Fancy meeting up sometime? I reckon a catchup of all the local MV people would be good fun.

Cheers,
Matt

Fella's

Wagga V&V have a rally on at Downside this June long weekend. Main day is Sunday - Ill be taking my truck over.

Just letting you know if you want to say Gday.

[Matt Austin]

Beauty, I'll be there. Thanks Tony!

Cheers,
Matt