C8 progress in Texas

David DeWeese · #1 09-04-11, 15:14

Hi David,
A helpful young man named Eric at Carroll Tire here in Dallas,(800-442-1629), managed to get a few of these into the US for me.
Probably a one-shot deal, but there are still eight of them in a warehouse in Georgia that I didn't buy.
Carroll Tire is a wholesale outlet, but if you could get a tire dealer in your area to inquire, I'm sure something could be worked out...
Thanks, David

David DeWeese · #2 18-04-11, 03:00

Hi,
Got back in the saddle this weekend on the C8 restoration and had a question about these storage boxes. They came down to Texas with the C8 along with a lot of cab 13 parts and a rusty 2B1 rear body. These boxes appear to fit under the rear of the 2B1 body.
Their inside dimensions are 13 1/4" long x 10 3/4 wide x 6 1/4 tall.
Would this be a purpose-built box to hold a 2 gallon POL can, or are they just generic storage boxes?
Thanks, David

Bob Carriere · #3 18-04-11, 03:09

Good boxes there David.

A bit of sand blasting or wire wheel and perfect. They were intended for one 2 gal. POW can each. I have heard some people refer to them as chain lockers but I think that is inaccurate.

Bob C.

David DeWeese · #4 18-04-11, 03:53

Thanks, Bob!
Now I can actually have two original pieces of CMP equipment installed on my rear body.
Will sandblast the pair and make a new door for the missing one, install them and proceed.
Thanks again for the info.
David

David DeWeese · #5 22-05-11, 16:38

Hi,
Had a free day to make the missing door, hinges and latch for one of my storage boxes.

Were small padlocks used on these to secure the doors, or some sort of pin/clip?

Thanks, David

gordon · #6 22-05-11, 16:52

These things always tended to be issued with padlocks, which probably walked within five minutes of them being issued.

Gordon

rob love · #7 22-05-11, 17:58

They were secured with padlocks, often the corbin brand. The US military still use a similar padlock today marked US.

I have seen padlocks still hanging on the bins of CMPs 60 years after they were released. I have also found the odd one under the fuel tanks of the Bren carriers. While I can't confirm or dispute Gordon's guess, I can tell you that even today, the padlocks are part of the equipment checklist of a vehicle, and when you are issued the vehicle, you are also issued the appropriate number of padlocks. I can also tell you that the army cuts thousands of them every year when guys forget the keys at home, or the guy with the key is off that day that they need to get into the vehicle lockers.