Chev 6 Seater Utility

[Wayne Henderson]

The owner bought it from a car dealer, Olly Strang in Victoria Park, for 200 quid (no idea) in 1963. The car yard bought it from an army auction around 1960 and used it to ferry customers around.

Farmer took the back off and used it to string wire fencing.

The vehicle top coat of paint is deep bronze green (Post war) and the hand painted camo is clear under this layer.
The paint is the standard green but the other colour is not the usual yellow. It is a muddy light brown with a pink tinge.

Pulled the vehicle out of the shed and then changed a couple of tyres.
Found all of the rear body panels and crew doors, chucked them in the trailer and went home. Only part not found was the roof sheet metal.

[Mike K]

Pics of the ford version


I saw a chev like yours in QLD in 1979 at the Hughes museum at Caloundra .

Lucky you, its a rarity

[David Dunlop]

WOW! What a great looking vehicle! Any idea how many were built?

David

[aj.lec]

Nice find

[Wayne Henderson]

Not sure on production numbers and have only seen two others in WA, both with the rear sections long gone.

From studying photos I have found the war time crew doors were "suicide" and post war fitted the other way around.
also the Bren gun mounts in the rear section are fitted outside post war.

The mount is the same as fitted to Bren Gun Carriers.

Washed the truck and photographed everything.

[Wayne Henderson]

Decided to build the rear section first before I did anything else.
This would be the hardest job so why not get it out of the way first.

Done a couple of 13 cab Chevs before but i wanted to do this one as accurate as possible to the original as it was not the usual Chev.

Took an original timber sample to a wood expert who said is was Vic Ash,
never heard of it so he/we settled on Tassy Oak (Plantation Tasmanian Oak).

Had the main runners and supports cut to size from local Wandoo.
Wandoo is cut green and is bloody heavy and very hard.

Copied the original timbers exactly and was paranoid about getting everything square. Learnt alot about carpentry along the way, actually enjoyed working with wood for once.

[Wayne Henderson]

The fuel tanks are odd and took a bit of head scratching to sort out.

These are standard Chev 15cwt tanks but the cap and neck hole has been plated over with a soldered patch. The tanks are filled from the top where a screw cap has been added. To fill the tanks you need to open the rear door, open up a flap in the floor and insert a funnel.

All the original timbers on the tray were examined and compared with photos I got from Keith to nut out what went where.

The floor boards were cut and grooved as per the originals. Finding out that Tassy Oak is expensive so the old "measure twice cut once" mentality kicked in.

[Lionelgee]

Originally Posted by Wayne Henderson

Decided to build the rear section first before I did anything else.
This would be the hardest job so why not get it out of the way first.

Done a couple of 13 cab Chevs before but i wanted to do this one as accurate as possible to the original as it was not the usual Chev.

Took an original timber sample to a wood expert who said is was Vic Ash,
never heard of it so he/we settled on Tassy Oak (Plantation Tasmanian Oak).

Had the main runners and supports cut to size from local Wandoo.
Wandoo is cut green and is bloody heavy and very hard.

Copied the original timbers exactly and was paranoid about getting everything square. Learnt alot about carpentry along the way, actually enjoyed working with wood for once.

Hello Wayne,

I have a 1935 truck that is coach built and the timbers need replacing. They are good for templates and not much else. I would like to have the timbers in the cabin identified so I could replace them with the original species. The hardwood tray also needs replacing too!

The cabin was made in Australia and the truck came from America as a rolling chassis and firewall only.

I was thinking of visiting the latest guise of Queensland Forestry Department with some samples so they could identify it. Not that I am sure where in Australia the final truck was assembled as they might not be Queensland timbers.

I also have a 1940 Australian built Holden - Chevrolet ex-Army truck that needs its tray and sides replaced. It was made for the Army because its colour plate says "Khaki". Thankfully the cabin is all steel and in good condition. I will be getting the Chevrolet's timber for the tray identified as well.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

Originally Posted by Wayne Henderson

Took an original timber sample to a wood expert who said is was Vic Ash, never heard of it so he/we settled on Tassy Oak (Plantation Tasmanian Oak).

Hello Wayne,

There is nothing to watch on TV so I did some Internet surfing and I found a couple of Fact Sheets on Victorian Ash Accessed 28th November 2015 from, http://www.woodsolutions.com.au/Wood...Victorian-Ash/ the other one from Fenning Bairnsdale.

Victorian ash is the trade name of two large Australian hardwoods Eucalyptus delegatensis & Eucalyptus regnans .

Victorian Ash's Other Names: Alpine Ash, Tasmanian Oak, Mountain Ash, Gum-topped Stringybark, White-top, Blue-leaf

Scientific Name Eucalyptus delegatensis Its properties are described as "Alpine Ash has excellent dimensional stability and is ideal for interiors ranging from sophisticated retail spaces to elegant home interiors". "Low to moderate durability means it is best suited for interior applications such as flooring, panelling, high value joinery and furniture".

Scientific Name Eucalyptus regnans Its properties are described as: "Eucalyptus regnans Mountain Ash is one of the most important hardwoods of Australia, being widely use for interior and building construction." Accessed 28th November 2015 from, http://www.fenning.com.au/species

I had a look at your "local Wandoo" that you wrote about and it is a very interesting timber. Eucalyptus wandoo Accessed 28th November 2015 from, http://www.florabank.org.au/lucid/ke...tus_wandoo.htm.

Kind Regards
Lionel