C15A Restoration

[John Stokes]

Hello again to all,
Too long since my last entry into forum but the house reno/extension has got in the way,So today i dedicated a couple of hours after family sunday drive to install the transfer case.I don't know if it is because it is a Ford or a two speed case replacing a single speed but i had to drill new holes on a 92mm centre spacing. Any way it all went in well with a little help from the excavator and a couple of slings.Hope to borrow a few more hours very soon to get her moving again ?

Be in touch John Stokes.

[Keith Webb]

Originally Posted by John Stokes

Hello again to all,
Too long since my last entry into forum but the house reno/extension has got in the way,So today i dedicated a couple of hours after family sunday drive to install the transfer case.I don't know if it is because it is a Ford or a two speed case replacing a single speed but i had to drill new holes on a 92mm centre spacing. Any way it all went in well with a little help from the excavator and a couple of slings.Hope to borrow a few more hours very soon to get her moving again ?

Be in touch John Stokes.

Nice work John. The reason for the different spacing is it's a two speed transfer case. I can see you've done a lot of work on the house too.

[John Stokes]

Hi All ,
Today i did get some time to purchase and install new universal joints into two of the tail shafts.The main shaft from the gear box to the transfer was just a simple clean up and uni replacement, but the winch shaft as you can see in the lathe all shiny had to be custom sized from a front shaft because of the 500mm or so extension to the chasis.Oh well just another mod needed to get the old girl up and running. John Stokes

[John Stokes]

Hi All, Still getting some time to work on the Chev but not enough.Rust repairs are always a pain but we need to do them or our toys will fall apart.Just a couple of happy snaps of the cab base being prepared for paint.Because this cab base was used on a rear and forward steer crane we had to rework the LH side wheel arch as it was bashed in to fit a seat.Hours of fun.

[Euan McDonald]

Hey John, now wounder its taking so long, if you had to empty the beer keg for the cab to sitting on.

[John Stokes]

I don't call them happy snaps for no good reason!

[John Stokes]

Hi all,
Still into repair but came across a question.Why does my fuel tank have 2 fillers and one outlet.The plate inside the tank is a baffle not a divider.And some more cab repair shots etc.John Stokes

[John Stokes]

The guy in the photo is a mate of mine and just so happens he has a spray painting and restoration business.When he comes around for a coffee out comes the list and he is sent to the shed.Marty seems to think the reason i was having problems with my paint being too shiny is i am using gunwash to thin it not 2K thinner we will try the proper stuff and let you know.But in the mean time if someone could let me know about the filler neck on my sig van tank it will solve the question is it a quick fill?

[Keith Webb]

Will see what I can discover, John. Does it have two fuel pipes?

[John Stokes]

No Keith the tank only has one fuel outlet.

[Keith Webb]

No logical explanation by anyone I've spoken to. It doesn't seem to make sense.

[Mike K]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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

[Phil Waterman]

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]

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

[John Stokes]

Hi all,
Thanks for the advise on the sender,i have got one working by cleaning the contacts but the other needs more work.I had the front sandblasted today and fixed the rust in it no filler required all metal dont know what the red is in the photo looks like fibreglass filler but its not all primed and ready to final rub etc.Still too busy with work to get a good run on it but holidays are coming so look out Blitz.

[Bob Carriere]

John

Around here we have a discount Auto Princess that sells a generic sender unit that has the same universal bolt pattern as the CMP..... they are made in China....but then what isn't.

Massey Ferguson tractor dealers sell a similar unit.... a few $$ more... may be made in India..... they are also identical....... most of the universal units have an adjustable arm for the depth of the tank and a bendable float arm for specific adjustment.

Good luck.

Boob

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Bob Carriere

John

Around here we have a discount Auto Princess that sells a generic sender unit that has the same universal bolt pattern as the CMP..... they are made in China....but then what isn't.

Massey Ferguson tractor dealers sell a similar unit.... a few $$ more... may be made in India..... they are also identical....... most of the universal units have an adjustable arm for the depth of the tank and a bendable float arm for specific adjustment.

Good luck.

Boob

Bob .. the sender unit has to be matched to the gauge ... this is important if you want it to function. The sender resistance range must be 'tuned' to work with certain gauges .... e.g., with a 6v or 12 volt systems ... You cannot swap senders and gauges around willy nilly and expect it to work. It's a 'tuned' or 'balanced' system that you cannot fiddle with.


WW2 Jeeps and Dodges have a sender unit that is opposite to Chevs in terms of resistance .. low ohms at the full end .. whereas the Chevs are high ohms at the full end ... or vice versa !

Fords have a system all their own, bi-metal arms that heat up and contact points at each end ... very different , unconventional compared to other makes.

Many of the parts vendors don't have a clue ..they'll sell you anything that looks similar .

Mike

[John Stokes]

Hi All I am chasing the small filler cap for my C15a sig van tank.I have posted a picture of the tank on previous post it is actually the dipstick neck for the fuel level.If you have any ideas on where to get one let me know please.I will post pics of progress soon.

[jim sewell]

John
Try a car wrecking yard and check out the oil filler caps I think some of the Holden models use a similar sized cap .
Regards
Jim S.

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by jim sewell

John
I think some of the Holden models use a similar sized cap .
Regards
Jim S.

That makes sense .. a Holden part for a Holden body .
Mike

[John Stokes]

Hi All, I am now chasing a set of tower linkages suited for winch set up.If you have a set lying around let me know it will save me making them and a day or two work.I would like an original petrol tank cap for the small neck not a current day one thanks all the same. John Stokes

[John Stokes]

Hi all,Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.I have managed to get the shift tower all hooked up and working thanks to Euen and Keith.I still had to make the support brackets, winch linkage and modify the gate plate inside the tower but the dummy assy is all working fine.I will strip it apart ready for painting tomorrow and turn up some pins for the clevis.A couple of night ago we took the old Blitz down to a mates new dam down the road, that explains what it is doing in the photo,Beer and silly mates cause this.

[Keith Webb]

Originally Posted by John Stokes

Hi all,Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.I have managed to get the shift tower all hooked up and working thanks to Euen and Keith.I still had to make the support brackets, winch linkage and modify the gate plate inside the tower but the dummy assy is all working fine.I will strip it apart ready for painting tomorrow and turn up some pins for the clevis.A couple of night ago we took the old Blitz down to a mates new dam down the road, that explains what it is doing in the photo,Beer and silly mates cause this.

Glad to be able to help, John.

I was wondering how you'd mount the front drive declutch mechanism.

[John Stokes]

Hopefuly that is as close to original as possibe Keith.By the way have you any decent seat frames or complete seats to suit the chev?