C15A Restoration

Mike K · #1 07-12-08, 03:48

No John ..I'm not calling you a 'dip stick'.. that's what the second fitting is for.

It seems to be peculiar fitting to the Aust. sigs vans . You poke in a length of calibrated rectagular shaped masonite looking stuff .. its marked in gallons . Ive got one marked '12 cwt coupe ute' .. you can see the shaped hole in your pic .. for the dip stick.

thats my theory anyway ...

Mike

Keith Webb · #2 07-12-08, 05:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

It seems to be peculiar fitting to the Aust. sigs vans . You poke in a length of calibrated rectagular shaped masonite looking stuff .. its marked in gallons . Ive got one marked '12 cwt coupe ute' .. you can see the shaped hole in your pic .. for the dip stick.

You could well be right, Mike certainly looks the right shape for it.

jim sewell · #3 07-12-08, 11:43

John , Mike , Keith
From what I have seen of signal van ( aust ) fuel tanks they all appear to have provision for dip sticks .
I have not been able to find out why these models have it where as others do not .
On the one's I have were fitted with a PTO off the transmisson which may have driven a generator while parked up , there must have been a reason to measure the fuel in the tanks manually rather than use the gauge.
Perhaps the floats did not follow the fuel level down if the engine was using fuel but the vehicle not moving and no road viabration .

cliff · #4 07-12-08, 20:15

Another guess would be that fuel from the tanks could also have powered a seperate generator as well and the dipstick was used to measure fuel use so that the ignition did not have to be turned on to view the fuel guage.

Mike K · #5 08-12-08, 00:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by jim sewell

On the one's I have were fitted with a PTO off the transmisson which may have driven a generator while parked up , .

Jim

As far as I know, they never fitted the gearbox PTO generator to the trucks.. it definately was originally intended to be there .. but for some unknown reason, they decided not to go ahead with it ... documenatary evidence has revealed the generator model they were intending to fit . Instead, they used a stand alone Briggs and Stratton petrol gene.. Cliffs idea could be right ..that dip stick fitting has got to be connected with the gene somehow.

Have you found the correct distilled water container yet... ? We are looking for one - it is listed in the stowage diagram . This weekend, I'll be doing some measuring of the sigs van battery mount frame - during our club XMAS breakup at Narre Warren... there is a wreck out back with the internal wireless battery fittings still fitted . A fully kitted out van in Adelaide, has the working wireless sets ... the AT5/AR8 etc.
Mike

jim sewell · #6 08-12-08, 00:12

I have very little in the way of fittings for inside the van section , as it is going on Lang's Normandy trip I have left the rear so we can sleep in it .
Would appreciate any pictures of fittings etc as you come across them .
Regards
Jim S.

John Stokes · #7 09-12-08, 13:39

Hi All,
Has anyone any clues on how to fix or restore fuel sender units? John Stokes

Phil Waterman · #8 09-12-08, 14:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Stokes

Hi All,
Has anyone any clues on how to fix or restore fuel sender units? John Stokes

Hi John

Look around on some of the antique car parts suppliers I think you will find that new units which have the same head and bolt pattern as the CMP Chevy gas senders are available. I've seen both adjustable as well as standard style units. I used a one that the length of the float arm was wrong but by lengthening the arm and bending it a little I got it to read from the bottom of the tank to the top. One thing to watch for though if you find a NOS unit is the gasket, some of the old rubber gaskets don't like the alcohol that is added to a lot of gas (here in the States) and the gaskets soon leak.

Mike K · #9 10-12-08, 00:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Stokes

Hi All,
Has anyone any clues on how to fix or restore fuel sender units? John Stokes

John

In most cases the problem with them is : gunk or oxidisation on the wiper contacts .. Inside the sender unit, there is a length of fine coiled wire on which, a wiper arm runs over . Some types you can disassemble and clean .. drill out the rivets that hold the body together . One trick .. drill a small hole in the body and spray some electrical cleaner into it .. move the arm up and down .. this may clean it without having to pull it apart .

On some of them.. the moveable wiper is earthed through the spindle shaft in the body .. there has to be a good electrical contact between the spindle shaft and the body .

You can use a cheap multimeter .. and check the thing out .

They normally don't ' wear out' in the normal sense of the word .. it's nearly always a good clean that is required .. and it will work fine .

Make sure you use twin core wire , from the sender unit , to the gauge on the dash .. one wire is your earth return .. attach it to one of the sender unit mounting screws.. the other end you attach to an earth point on the instrument panel e.g., a mounting screw or similar .. this means you will always have a good solid earth for the system .

CMP's have a peculiar 90 degree corner in the float arm device from memory .

Mike