any info on FWD's???

[Jenny Rator]

Hello! Im new, so I hope this is in the right place...If not, Im sure Mods will set me right.
We have ourselves the remains of an FWD HAR-1. All thats left is the chassais, and front end (less the cab, which has rotted away in the last few years)
We have had a scoot round the 'net, but we are struggling to find much info on them. Found a photo of an extract from a manual, which gives us info on turning circle, engine make, fording depth etc.

Just wondered if you guys would be able to help us a bit further.
Any information would be really helpful!
Thanks in advance!

[gordon]

There's a lot of similar stuff going about as chassis / cabs.

Many of the FWD's started off as snow-blowers, so they had short heavy chassis and no front bumpers to talk of.

In your position finding or manufacturing / altering a suitable wooden cargo body would be the thing. Cab would have to be made too as anything you can find will be in the same state as yours, unless it is mint / restored and expensive - which rather defeats the point.

First step would be to find other people with the same truck, and that might be where MLU could help - of course you don't really say where "up north" is.
North of England, North of Scotland, North of New Zealand, and so on.

GWB, site-maintainer extraordinaire, prefers real names too so we know who we are talking to...

Gordon , in Newcastle-upon-Tyne today

[Mike Timoshyk]

Hi Jenny

Is this what you are talking about?



Mike Timoshyk in cool cloudy Windsor Ontario....snow tomorrow

[Jenny Rator]

Originally Posted by gordon

There's a lot of similar stuff going about as chassis / cabs.

Many of the FWD's started off as snow-blowers, so they had short heavy chassis and no front bumpers to talk of.

In your position finding or manufacturing / altering a suitable wooden cargo body would be the thing. Cab would have to be made too as anything you can find will be in the same state as yours, unless it is mint / restored and expensive - which rather defeats the point.

First step would be to find other people with the same truck, and that might be where MLU could help

Ok. Didnt know they tended to start off as snowblowers, thats quite interesting! Did they make anything else for use during the war, or just snowblowers? Do you know where they were built, or how many were made? How old do you think it is?

Originally Posted by gordon

GWB, site-maintainer extraordinaire, prefers real names too so we know who we are talking to...

Ok, I'll alter it a bit

[Jenny Rator]

Originally Posted by Mike Timoshyk

Hi Jenny

Is this what you are talking about?



Mike Timoshyk in cool cloudy Windsor Ontario....snow tomorrow

no, that looks too old. Ours is a bit more like this:



although everything from/including the windscreen back the way is missing.
It used to live in a poly tunnel until a few years ago, when it was moved outdoors.

(We dont have any pics of ours the now, as our cameras playing up)

[Alex van de Wetering]

Jenny,

It sounds like forum-member Ben Rippingham might be able to help you out. Have a look here:

http://www.mapleleafup.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1341

Alex

[gordon]

.... it tells us a lot.

It looks like your trucks started off as a cargo truck with winch, and it looks to have the original winch and front bumper - although it's fairly similar to the same parts of a halftrack so can't be sure.

If it was an open cab cargo truck then all you are really missing is a wooden cargo body at the back and some work, which is a big improvement on where I thought you were.

You might keep an eye open for any old wooden council MACK bodies that are around, as I think they would be easiest to adapt to the back of your truck.

Gordon

[Jenny Rator]

Originally Posted by gordon

.... it tells us a lot.

It looks like your trucks started off as a cargo truck with winch, and it looks to have the original winch and front bumper - although it's fairly similar to the same parts of a halftrack so can't be sure.

I should say its not our photo, its one i knicked from the net, but ours is something similar. There appears to be no front bumper on ours. If we could find a plate with details on it, would this help? I think you find them on chassais, dont you?

Originally Posted by gordon

If it was an open cab cargo truck then all you are really missing is a wooden cargo body at the back and some work, which is a big improvement on where I thought you were.

You might keep an eye open for any old wooden council MACK bodies that are around, as I think they would be easiest to adapt to the back of your truck.

Gordon

How could we tell if its been cargo or not?

[gordon]

Well if yours has no front bumper it might have started off as a snow blower.

There would originally have been a plate on the dash, the chassis will just have a stamped number on it somewhere.

You need a cargo body and a front end then.

Gordon

[Mike K]

Hi Jenny

Over the years , I have seen a few of them in various states of disrepair here in OZ . The sawmills used them and you can imagine the state they in . There is a nice restored example here , owned by Glen Stones , he lives about 100 miles East of me . His truck appeared at Corowa a few times , ( ten years ago ? ) finished in a yellow livery , with US stars , beaut job he did.

I had the TM parts list for one .. it detailed the cargo body in some detail, with drawings , I sold it to a chap In Tasmania ( Graham Bussey ) who owns a HAR .

They featured a chain drive in the transfer case I think ? Permanent 4X4 maybe .

The AWM archive has a pic or two of them up in the islands .
Mike

[Mike K]

RAAF using a HAR on Morotai .OG 2002

And in the Phillipines with RAAF.OG 1882

Mike

[Mike K]

I suggest you contact this chap , I think he resides in the UK .

Ben Rippingham

QUOTE from the HMVF :

"i've just spent the best part of £15.000 and 4 years restoring my truck (fwd har-1)! i had to sell all other trucks n projects and use all my earnings to do it! To be honest i enjoyed the 4 years of hard work, now own a truck i couldn't have bought restored because it's only one of three left in the world , but won't be able to afford to own/restore anything else for a loooong time!!!!!!!! "

Mike

[Darrin Wright]

FWD trucks or the HAR-1 are a very tough rudded truck and they look good, one of my favourites. Out in Australia they were used to build the Adelaide Airport, what happened to them after that I am not sure. Many were used in Darwin for quarry work and civil construction, they were worn out and eventually scrapped. Many FWD trucks were converted to dump by lifting the tray and placing a hoist assemble between the tray and the chassis.
To my knowledge, all HAR-1 trucks were only produced in cargo version, I beleive that any other varients will be post war modified or modified by their Army owners ie: Snow blowers. I stand corrected if there were other varients, the manual only shows cargos and makes no mention of other trucks like other US manuals do.
I have included a scan out of my manual showing what the truck should look like.
Glen Stone in Sth Victoria does have a very nice and accurate truck painted in desert sand. He restored this vehicle when he lived in Rutherglenn and I beleive hed used 2 or 3 trucks to make his. There are several other trucks in Victoria, but they are hard to restore due to lack of parts (in Aust anyway).
There weak point was their diffs, the pinion gears sheared due to over laoding, in Australia it was common to place Chev blitz diffs under them, this may also have assisted with the gear rations and road speed. An unusual feature was the diff casings, they were cast square- saved on the production of U- bolts. Another point is the manual only shows the truck with one headlight, wether this was the photographed truck for the book or all trucks off the production, line I am not sure.
The T case was chain driven.
I hope this info helps.

[Jenny Rator]

I have just found out that when the sawmill got it, they converted to an artic, to pull a pole wagon. I have also found out it DID used to have a cargo style back, but this was taken off when the mill got it. We think the bumper may also have been removed by the mill.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Jenny Rator

although everything from/including the windscreen back the way is missing.

Hi Jenny,

I think the open cab is much like the GMC CCKW-series. Should be possible to find an open GMC cab. I believe a Half-Track bumper fits as well.

Good luck with your restoration!

Hanno

[Mike K]

MLUers : Jenny's real name is Alison ..... C'mon Alison .... we will still like you if you ' come out '. You have been caught .

How many HAR-1's are there Nth of Hadrians wall ?

Mike

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

MLUers : Jenny's real name is Alison ..... C'mon Alison .... we will still like you if you ' come out '. You have been caught .

Great detective work, Mike! (S)he's a.k.a. "alison_berrie" on the HMVF Forum.

Jenny/Alison, please step forward and rectify this. Otherwise you will be banned from this forum. It puts the PM's you sent me yesterday in a completely different light, doesn't it?!?

Hanno
MLU Forum Moderator

[Jenny Rator]

Like I said in a PM, alison is my proper name, but Jenny Rator is my normal Log-in on forums.
Whilst we are at it, GMC is my Dad and Sister (they share a PC at the mo)


Happy now???