1944 C-15A-Wire-5 Restoration

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Dennis, are you the Dennis Cardy that lived in Ontario in the mid 1970's and attended the first military vehicle show in Ontario at Paisley?

If so, you had a C15A wireless truck that I bought from you (or some other Dennis Cardy) around about 1976 for $1500...I think I still have the receipt.

That C15A wireless truck was serial number 484440001. I sold it to the Oshawa group in about 1986.

If you are one and the same Dennis Cardy then the truck you were looking at in Oshawa was the one you owned 40 years ago.

Attached is a pic of it getting a brake job shortly after I got it along with my first ever MV, CDLV505 MB serial 155792. I wonder if it too is still driving about somewhere.

Originally Posted by Dennis Cardy

Bob,
Have been following this thread since day one.

A Tip O' the Hat to what you and the MLU gang have achieved.

Visited Oshawa last summer…and saw this..It seems to very similar to yours.

Can you tell me just how close it is production wise.

The dash plates show
C-15A
June 19-44 Cab 13
Chassis serial 48444 00001

CDLV 2571

on the smaller metal tag is stamped

C-60L-03
MB-02
C-60-1481


Can you tell me what all those numbers mean..?

[Dennis Cardy]

Guilty as charged your honour…LOL..

Nice to know it found a good home at Oshawa.

Their radio installation may not be as advanced as Bob's …but it's sure a good start….

Have some "as-found" shots of it somewhere..Think I paid $250 for it.
Had been parked after the engine had died…Did a compression test…pulled the head and after a valve job ..and a new fuel pump
soon got things going.

From a Gear-Head point of view.. prefer the Ford flathead..But hard to beat the simplicity of that Chevy 6.

Just like Bob's…the radio box was missing..But a search of local wrecking yards soon turned up the correct one..Fifty bucks for that..
Aah…the good old days..

Dennis.

[David Dunlop]

Robert.

Short hex head lag bolts are used to anchor all the roof safety rails and brush guards. Can either be flanged, or plain, used with a flat washer. They will need good, solid 1/4-inch plywood directly underneath the outer aluminum sheet metal roof skin to work at all. Once water gets into that upper layer of roof plywood and the rot process starts, nothing you bolt or screw down up there will stay in place very long. The box simply flexes too much when the vehicle is on the road.

If you cannot get any hardware to grab when trying to mount those fittings, you have a problem.

David

[Dennis Cardy]

Robert..
A Plus 1 on what David has said about mounting the various roof ladders.
Good advice for sure.

He is absolutely correct..if water leaks in past the mounting bolts..the wooden structure underneath can and will disintegrate in a matter of months..

Not joking when I say if you have a friend who is into boats…he will immediately recognize what you are facing and recommend the ladder mounting flanges be properly "bedded" in a flexible caulking compound..

Thus preventing any water getting in.

Dennis.

[Dennis Cardy]

Bruce Parker,
Thanks for that colour photo of the Wireless Van…and that update.
Always wondered where it ended up…

Here it is at the Bruce County farmhouse shortly before it was passed on to you.

May I ask a few questions…??

You talked about doing a brake job..
How were the front brakes when you got it.?
Probably toast by that time..Was it a total brake rebuild…?

To be honest..cough…cough….when you are running on original Run Flat tires that are flat..you don't really need a lot of help from the brakes to slow you down…cough cough.

Dennis.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Dennis Cardy

Bruce Parker,
Thanks for that colour photo of the Wireless Van…and that update.
Always wondered where it ended up…

Here it is at the Bruce County farmhouse shortly before it was passed on to you.

May I ask a few questions…??

You talked about doing a brake job..
How were the front brakes when you got it.?
Probably toast by that time..Was it a total brake rebuild…?

To be honest..cough…cough….when you are running on original Run Flat tires that are flat..you don't really need a lot of help from the brakes to slow you down…cough cough.

Dennis.

Thanks for the retro pic. We've crossed the line back in time to black and white I see.

How were the brakes? (don't worry, I shan't be coming after you for a refund after all these years...) Yes a total rebuild, my first ever. The bright side was that because the brakes were so bad I became an expert in down shifting.

Here's another pic from my late 1970's album showing the 15cwt's original number. The MB went to a guy in Manitoba (Robert Rosteki?) in trade for an 11 cab Ford 15cwt.

[Robert Bergeron]

Hey Bruce. I can't find the proper hardware to clamp down the handrails and guards on the roof . Any suggestions my friend ? Thanks .

[Dennis Cardy]

Bruce,
Processed and printed my own B&W film back then..Jeez…who could afford colour..

Very nice to see the 83-385 on the door of the radio van. Going to follow up on that for sure.

Never discovered that as I had done a quick repaint of the whole vehicle after the valve job...using Duck Hunters Brown paint purchased at the Canadian Tire store in Port Elgin. A surprisingly close match and semi-matt to boot.

The box was a bit Tatty after being rescued from a wrecking yard..and the cab and chassis was post war glossy green. So the quick repaint really tied things together.

Now it can be told…the paint was still wet the next morning for the Paisley Rally and Parade.

Here it is as found..about a half hour drive from Paisley. Parked out the back of a man's place.. after the engine died.

He told me it had come out of a Borden auction. He had thrown away the useless radio box and substituted a more useful one from a pick-up truck.
Plywood sides for hauling firewood and sections of galvanized culvert for rear fenders..

Totally stock ..still had the original tires and side curtains.. but the round canvas roof hatch cover was long gone.

That little boy is now in his mid 40's…and the father of two..

God help us.

Wonder where your jeep ended up.

Dennis.