Handing it down

derk derin · #1 07-04-11, 07:48

Hi All,
I have a copy of this tape and watched all of it.I thought because my tape was a copy of a tape that was the reason of the poor quality sound.There must be alot of information discussed at this event that we all would enjoy to hear about.There was one fact discussed by a gentleman at the head table that said not too many people knew about but the Canadian Army had all brand new fighting vehicles for the Normandy invasion to use instead of vehicles that had already seen hard use up until then.I found that interesting and wish I could have heard more but was unable to hear the conversation clearly.I am currently trying to find the tape as I watched it last winter and haven't seen it since then.It is here and if nobody beats me to it,I will try and find it and pass it onto whoever is up to the challenge of working on it.
Regards,Derk.

Keith Webb · #2 07-04-11, 09:15

We have a full sound studio here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by derk derin

Hi All,
I have a copy of this tape and watched all of it.I thought because my tape was a copy of a tape that was the reason of the poor quality sound.There must be alot of information discussed at this event that we all would enjoy to hear about.There was one fact discussed by a gentleman at the head table that said not too many people knew about but the Canadian Army had all brand new fighting vehicles for the Normandy invasion to use instead of vehicles that had already seen hard use up until then.I found that interesting and wish I could have heard more but was unable to hear the conversation clearly.I am currently trying to find the tape as I watched it last winter and haven't seen it since then.It is here and if nobody beats me to it,I will try and find it and pass it onto whoever is up to the challenge of working on it.
Regards,Derk.

Larry Hayward · #3 14-04-11, 02:06

Bill Gregg was a great guy. I wrote to him in Canada in 1980 /81 and asked if there were any books available on Canadian vehicles in WW2 and by return he sent me a copy of Canada's Fighting Vehicles Europe 1943-45, with a note saying send me CAN$5 when you get a chance - what a trusting guy I thought! He certainly got his CAN$5 and I later had a few other off him in similar fashion.

I still have the above as a great reference book, and so far not it's not been matched for the amount of AFVs wheeled vehicles and trailers, even by Bart.

Quite a rare book now I think

Chris Ford · #4 21-04-11, 08:21

My name is Chris Ford, son of Peter Ford. (out of the blue, I know)

I recently was looking at Mapleleafup.org in an effort to contact some of my father's old CMP friends about what to do with his old '43 Ford 15 hwt. F15 A. Unfortunately I no longer have the space for it. I'm therefore looking for a new home for it. Museum? Local enthusiast? I was going to post on the site, but I was shocked and saddened to see the site was no longer there. Digging deeper, I found the site's new home as was quite relieved. Then I read about Geoff's passing, and was again shocked, saddened and sorry to hear about it. It seems my dad was one of very many who held him in high esteem.

While looking at the forum, I saw the thread about "handing it down" and recognized the title of the 'CMP 84 Seminar' tapes mentioned. I looked through my basement and found 3 reels of 5, on beta cassettes (betamax Keith, betamax! Does anyone else still have betamax? There are 5 tapes because they are all shorter than your typical VHS). I plugged them in and found the sound quality to be just fine. Tonight I managed to locate the other two reels. One of the tapes seemed to have some mic feedback and light hissing that rendered the speakers difficult to understand - though probably not for you guys - I just didn't know much about what he was discussing. Maybe any future formats should have subtitles for the difficult parts. I'm not sure what would be the most efficient way to get them out there for the interested world, but I'm looking to send them to Keith as he seems quite interested in working on them.

I feel pretty happy to still have these tapes and to be able to help out. A few years ago, when I was going through the 3000 or so beta tapes my dad had (that's right he didn't just collect military vehicles!), I made the decision to keep those tapes, though I didn't really know what they were. I figured, that someday I might get into the CMP world and if so, these tapes might be a good source of info to start me on my way. I decided to check out the first part of the first tape to get an idea of what the seminar was about and was really pleased and surprised to see my dad was a coordinator for it. It was really neat to see him as a 47 year old man and listen to his passionate introductory comments for the convention about the importance of the war efforts, including cmp production, to our history and culture.

After my dad died, I had wanted to get involved with infoex, maybe even continue updating and publishing it. But the task seems beyond my resources. In the ten years since his passing, life has just moved from one thing to another, my life has taken its own direction, and I don't really foresee too many "let's become a world expert on an entirely new hobby" moments opening-up anytime soon!! With one little boy and another on the way, my hands are nice and full. Both Elizabeth (my sister) and I feel discomfort that it has sat shelved for so long. We are proud of our dad's work and his knowledge in this field but we remain as unsure today as we did a decade ago, as to what we should do with it. She had talked to Marc Montgomery about it a long time ago, but then we never really moved on it. Any thoughts about what should be done with infoex? What would be of most benefit to cmp enthusiasts and to cmp history?

Thanks for your time, and for maintaining such a high quality and important website,
-Chris Ford

p.s. (and not a small p.s.) I would like to pass on a great big thank you to those who have been involved in CMP preservation. Not only because of the great service it does to Canada and the Commonwealth, but because of the people who inspired and shared a passion with my dad. It was one of his greatest joys to partake in conversations with this community. Further I would like to thank you for the heartwarming comments that were made shortly after his death. It truly helped to ease the pain to hear that he was so well appreciated and respected. Ten years later I am still thankful for your kindness and reading even today people commenting on him and his work, really makes my family and me proud.

Brian Gough · #5 21-04-11, 09:28

Hello Chris,

Welcome to the MLU Forum and thank you for your posting. It is nice to have contact with Peter's family.

Your father was one of the true pioneers of the CMP hobby and you have every reason to be proud of him. He was most helpful to me when I was first getting involved and I was trying to find a HUP to buy. We wrote and spoke many times and on 2 occasions he spent a day here in Oshawa with Barry Churcher and me. The last time was on the trip just before his death. I will try to locate some photos of him that were taken then.

He certainly had a love of history. On his last trip he was particularly interested in taking pictures of Camp 30, the WWII German prisoner of war camp in Bowmanville. He said he had thousands of photographs he had taken all across the country.

That is very good news about your locating the CMP 84 Seminar tapes and offering to share them with Keith.

Best regards to you and Elizabeth.

Brian

Keith Webb · #6 21-04-11, 10:29

Hi Chris and may I echo Brian's comments. We're very happy to have you here on MLU and of course even happier at the prospect we can help share some of your dad's enthusiasm for this, our favourite subject.

Welcome, and may you find your contact and involvement with the community fascinating and fruitful.

Phil Waterman · #7 21-04-11, 15:04

Hi Chris

It most certainly pleasant hearing from you, your father had many friends through this strange shared interest in CMPs. I first started corresponding with your dad not long after I discovered the history my HUP. He helped me with information about the CBC trucks and the recordings equipment. Your Dad had hoped that my HUP was actually one of the CBC trucks which had disappeared, but once we discussed the date of manufacture (to late) we knew it wasn't. I remember well your Dad coming down to Lowell Massachusetts in 1986 for the MVPV convention, we rode through the streets of the city in a parade, your Dad, my family and three young Canadians in my HUP we all had a grand time. It was also your Dad who contacted me about CMP 84 and urged me to attend, which I'm so grateful I did.

The tapes you have found are probably some of the closest to the original recording that are likely to be found. They probably offer the best chance to recover the history that was discussed at that conference.

As to information in InFoex, though some of the information will have changed, who owns what trucks, there is still a lot of information there that will help people date vehicles, which are missing the data plates. With the growth of the internet as a median of information exchange such MLU making that information available even as simple text files would be of interest.

May I extend our best wishes to you, your sister, and the entire Ford family.

Cheers Phil

Colin Macgregor Stevens · #8 23-04-11, 05:10

Chris - Finding a good home for a CMP such as your Dad's Mach KL is a challenge. Sadly CMPs are not treasured very much in Canada. I sold my old C15 (which your Dad drove on a visit to Burnaby, BC) to Brian Wood of Vancouver who later donated a bunch of his CMPs to the Canadian War Museum and RCA Museum in Shilo. Mine was one of those. You can check out the military museums in Saskatchewan, though they never have the money to purchase, but often can issue tax receipts. - Colin Stevens (formerly N. Battleford, SK) Richmond, BC seaforth72@gmail.com

Chris Ford · #9 28-04-11, 23:38

Thanks Keith, Brian, Alex, Hanno, Phil, and Colin for your replies. It really brought a smile to my face to hear from you. By the way Phil, I saw you in the CMP videos asking a question - it was nice to see the face that went along with the name - even if the image was 27 years old! Also, I saw your friends tribute page on your cmp site - thank you.

Colin, any sense of what my dad`s truck is worth - if a person sold it privately or donated it to a museum? Does the tax receipt match the approximate private sale value? The truck is still in good condition. I believe the master cylinder needed work or replacement (ideas where to get one or who to see to get`er fixed?) and as a result the brakes don`t work. As well the fan belt is too old and loose (again ideas on where to get a new one?).
Also Colin, I saw your tribute too. Whenever I wanted to show somebody what my dad and a CMP looked like - I would go to your site. Thanks for for the kind words and act.

Other than that I think she`s still a beaute! We used it in 2001 as the wedding party vehicle for my sister`s wedding - the first time I got to drive it. Wow, double clutching with no synchomesh, and gas pedal in the middle, not to mention its all backwards for right-hand driving. It was pretty fun!

Keith - where do you want me to send the tapes? I`m going to dub my dad`s opening remarks onto DVD for my family once I remember how to hook up the wires, and while I`m at it, I`ll probably do the whole five tapes as well, then send the originals to you. Betamax isn`t a problem for you right? If Australia is all out, I`ve still got 4 of my father`s former 11 kicking around - you know for parts!

Not to be forgotten, I also appreciated the kind words on your web site about my pop. Writing this post - I hadn`t previously considered that three different individuals in three different countries had devoted a section of their websites to pay tribute to him. That`s really something to me.

-Chris Ford

Marc Montgomery · #10 29-04-11, 04:32

I believe a couple of photos of your sister's wedding were featured in Convoy magazine involving your Dads CMP.. dont have them handy where i am right now though. Perhaps someone else who does have them handy can tell you.

Colin Macgregor Stevens · #11 01-05-11, 08:47

Chris:

Best to get and keep the truck in good running order. Try Brian Asbury in Milton, Ontario. 519-853-1738. No storage space in Saskatchewan? I can't believe that! If you think its hard to find out there, try finding storage in the Vancouver, BC area! That is a key reason why I sold my Ferret Scout Car (a little armoured car).

Selling a truck that does not run is a big money losing proposition. If you donated it to a museum you would get a tax receipt for "Fair Market Value" i.e. the value it would sell for in an open market with a willing seller and knowledgeable buyer. Higher value if running! If tax receipt is from a regular non-profit society/museum, at tax time you could deduct it and the tax rules let you deduct about 27% of the value. If you donate it to to a Federal museum, their tax receipt will be good for 100%. Unfair to small museums but then Ottawa writes the rules. For appraisals under $1,000 a Curator can do it. If between $1,000 and $5,000 then a second appraiser is required. If over $5,000 then three appraisers are required. I could be one of those for you at no cost, in memory of your Dad. Could do it through photos. I have seen the truck, though years ago. Value is likely between $5,000 and $15,000. Sadly Canadian vehicles don't usually command high prices as the demand is strangely low. Canadian War Museum would not need it. They have lots of CMPs. There are some military museums in Sask. Also some collectors.

If you have a problem finding someone to convert Beta tapes to DVD, let me know. An acquaintance owns a company here in BC which does many types of conversions.

By the way, please keep your eyes open for a cassette tape of mine that I had loaned to your Dad. It was recordinjg of us firing (legally) a variety of machineguns, and riding in Mickey Zwack's Universal Carrier in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Unfortunately was the only copy and the gun laws have changed so we cannot repeat the sound effects.

Colin Stevens seaforth72@gmail.com

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Ford

Thanks Keith, Brian, Alex, Hanno, Phil, and Colin for your replies. ...

Colin, any sense of what my dad`s truck is worth - if a person sold it privately or donated it to a museum? Does the tax receipt match the approximate private sale value? The truck is still in good condition. I believe the master cylinder needed work or replacement (ideas where to get one or who to see to get`er fixed?) and as a result the brakes don`t work. As well the fan belt is too old and loose (again ideas on where to get a new one?).
Also Colin, I saw your tribute too. Whenever I wanted to show somebody what my dad and a CMP looked like - I would go to your site. Thanks for for the kind words and act.

Other than that I think she`s still a beaute! We used it in 2001 as the wedding party vehicle for my sister`s wedding - the first time I got to drive it. Wow, double clutching with no synchomesh, and gas pedal in the middle, not to mention its all backwards for right-hand driving. It was pretty fun!

Keith - where do you want me to send the tapes? I`m going to dub my dad`s opening remarks onto DVD for my family once I remember how to hook up the wires, and while I`m at it, I`ll probably do the whole five tapes as well, then send the originals to you. Betamax isn`t a problem for you right? If Australia is all out, I`ve still got 4 of my father`s former 11 kicking around - you know for parts!

Not to be forgotten, I also appreciated the kind words on your web site about my pop. Writing this post - I hadn`t previously considered that three different individuals in three different countries had devoted a section of their websites to pay tribute to him. That`s really something to me.

-Chris Ford

Hanno Spoelstra · #12 01-05-11, 16:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Ford

The truck is still in good condition. I believe the master cylinder needed work or replacement (ideas where to get one or who to see to get`er fixed?) and as a result the brakes don`t work. As well the fan belt is too old and loose (again ideas on where to get a new one?).
*snip*
Other than that I think she`s still a beaute! We used it in 2001 as the wedding party vehicle for my sister`s wedding - the first time I got to drive it. Wow, double clutching with no synchomesh, and gas pedal in the middle, not to mention its all backwards for right-hand driving. It was pretty fun!

Hello Chris,

Go to Modern part numbers for CMPs to look up the part no. for a Ford brake master cylinder. They are still a current item. If the master cylinder itself is still usable, you can buy a set of cups etc. off a WW2 Dodge WC-series truck as the innards of both master cylinders are the same.
As for fanbelts, check macsautoparts.com or any other retailer stocking Ford Flathead parts, they should be able to help you out.
But not too difficult jobs if you have some spanner twirling experience, otherwise it should not cost and arm an a leg to have someone else do it.

As others have said, if you do not need the cash and can arrange storage someplace, I think it is worth keeping the truck. Being in a very busy phase of your life, you could also consider loaning it to a museum. It will be on display and under cover, but you will keep it in the family.

Regards,
Hanno