1944 C-15A-Wire-5 Restoration

[David Dunlop]

Harry.

Hate to admit it but I do remember that habit back in the day. Don't think it was a military connection at all, however, as I used to see white, black, yellow, red and even chromed diff covers. Think it was more a case of since the ass end of the car was up so high the diff could be easily seen so needed to be prettied up.

David

[Robert Bergeron]

Friends,

The Wire 5 truck runs well. I prepared it for winter by installing a canvas "arctic" grill cover. As well as i was visiting a local farm supply shop , i picked up a good luck charm in the form of a real horseshoe.

The attendant, a really nice man asked what size (weight ) my horse was. I said 15 Cwt. I answered his query by saying it's not for a horse it's for my truck, it is for good luck .

We proceeded outside and he lent me a pair of pliers and a pair of cutter to affix said horseshoe to the grill with some fence wire.

He then said wait here a minute i will be back. Upon his return he handed me a Rosary and added : It was personaly blessed by the Cardinal , it will bring you real good luck.

We meet the nicest people riding a CMP around town, really.

The truck passed the safety inspection on the first attempt last week and it is now road licensed in Québec . It is a feat brought about by the excellent work Richard and his team have done.

I wil be starting the restoration of the inside of the box tomorrow. I will keep you posted .

Cheers.

[Wayne Hingley]

Looks great! Glad you are now able to take it out and enjoy a drive through the countryside. Was the Quebec inspection process quite detailed? Do they put any special conditions on 70+ year old vehicles? Is it a one time inspection,or annual?

[Robert Bergeron]

Hello Wayne,

It is a one time inspection upon road registration. The irony in this is Richard in Huntsville Ontario had gone through the whole process already just a few months prior .

When you import a used vehicule in Québec , wether it came from Malaya or Ontario you have to go through the safety inspection to licence it in the province..

There are no exceptions in Québec statutes for antique vehicules . The only helpfull rule is that you have to have installed and in working condition all the safety equipment installed by the manufacturer at time of delivery. So in the specific case of a C-15 CMP , no seat belts , no turn lights but a working handbrake, windshield wipers and high low headlight beam for example. They do not accept the blackout headlight on the left side and a bridge plate in the right side headlight bucket. I do that AFTER the safety inspection and registration when it is all done ..

Richard and i chose to install turn signals , brake and back-up lights and that is a personal survival reason. Of course , if installed they have to work.

They check the braking performance, the undercarriage , suspension and muffler.

It is quite an involved inspection and took almost 1 hour and 40 minutes.

The inspector called the head office at least 5 times. He was asking about the ''plastic'' side windows, the absence of a safety glass logo in the windshield etc.. because it was all new to him but he was still interested on hearing my remarks on the technical aspects of wartime truck production in Canada.

He insisted on seing the gas tank gauge indicator move. I flipped the switch to left tank and nothing happened . My tanks were full. I flipped the switch to right tank and it moved , slowly . O. K. he said it moved. I explained there was a wooden dipststick in the tool kit that came with the truck to check fuel level and he bought it.

It is an adventure to put a 71 year old HMV through a safety inspection but if you are well prepared , documented and knowledgeable about your truck it should go well.

When it was all over and he handed me his inspection report he said i needed side reflectors front and back. Yellow in front and red in the back. He continued and said he had stickers for $3 each that could do the job very well and i answered '' sold '' . He left a litlle corner lifted on each one because he very well knew i would take them off as soon as i drove out of his garage.

He then took pictures for his file and the licensing authority and i suspect to show off to his kids and that was it.

All said , it is like an exam at college or
High school. It is a chore to prepare but you are happy proud and content when it is finished and you don't have to do it again.

It is the final exam after a restoration and it says a lot about the quality of your work or as in my case of Richard's work.

I hope this detailed report will encourage you and other guys to go ahead
with your projects.

I have started the restoration of the inside of my box this morning . Everythig is cleaned out, the rusted old screws i have buffed away and the old plywood remaining i threw out.

Tomorrow the insulation and wednesday the new plywood.

It is a lot of fun and rewarding.

Cheers and good luck.

[Wayne Hingley]

Wow, that's an intense inspection Robert. I kind of suspected the process was like that though. I'm happy to see you can still meet the requirements without changing all of the original attributes of the vehicle. And you obviously had a good inspector who did his job, but was fair.

I will need to go through a similar process in Alberta with a jeep. I'm trying to make sure I cover off all the critical components as I go, so I can be as confident and successful as your experience. Your story helps me greatly. I heard some bad stories where guys restoring old "civilian" trucks had issues, but I think they were taking shortcuts (that's not my strategy).

Enjoy your awesome truck!

[RichCam]

Robert,

Can't wait to see pictures of the Radio Box interior renovation! Great work so far and it is pleasing to see that this project has continued to progress after our hand off. This truck is going to be a show stopper next spring!

Cheers!

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Robert

When they did the inspection how did they check the brakes or did they?

When I first had my HUP inspected years and years ago (37+) the inspection station wanted to pull the brake drums to inspect the brake shoes. I said fine go ahead then he said how do I do it. So I explained the process and he decided it really wasn't necessary. That was the last time I was even asked even with the two C60 trucks no inspection station has ever even tried to inspect them. All three trucks are totally exempt from inspection now here in New Hampshire because of their age. But what a lot of people with antique vehicle plates here don't realize is that they are still subject to inspection if an officer suspects defective equipment.

Good looking truck - lots of driving enjoyment ahead.

Cheers Phil

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by Wayne Hingley

Wow, that's an intense inspection Robert. I kind of suspected the process was like that though. I'm happy to see you can still meet the requirements without changing all of the original attributes of the vehicle. And you obviously had a good inspector who did his job, but was fair.

I will need to go through a similar process in Alberta with a jeep. I'm trying to make sure I cover off all the critical components as I go, so I can be as confident and successful as your experience. Your story helps me greatly. I heard some bad stories where guys restoring old "civilian" trucks had issues, but I think they were taking shortcuts (that's not my strategy).

Enjoy your awesome truck!

I bought an M151A2 from Alberta and had to submit to an inspection for plating in Ontario. The key is to find an understanding and knowledgible inspector. Mine is an ex-RCEME mechanic who has his own shop now. I spoke to him ahead of time to learn what he will look for, so that I could fix those things. Then I got a 10-day trip permit, and drove over to his shop. That was fun! Stopping with brakes that had little use for a couple of years. He found a few things to do, made some comments and gave me 10 days or two weeks to show my fixes. That included a two and three step wheel and tire rotation to get rid of ones with cracked sidewalls, removing the back seat (no seatbelts) and some hole filling. Once he was happy, he signed the inspection. I took it to the licence bureau and we're done! I keep a copy of that inspection with the registration.

[Robert Bergeron]

Thanks David for the nice details. I think you are right. 1/4 '' sounds logical but it was difficult to determine because of the deterioration.

I am using 1/2 ''for the reasons i said previously and it will mean small adjustments.The Choreshorse exhaust pipe hole i am going to move a bit , same for the generator cabinet itself .

As for water seepage , there isn't going to be any anymore . The next job after the ceiling will be the sealing (pun intended ) of the roof with silicone .

I will be applying so much silicone on all the screws and any cracks or holes that it is going to float inverted . Is it is going to sleep inside indefinitely. It certainly deserves it now after 71 years.

Finished the walls today, tomorrow the ceiling and gen cabinet.

Cheers.