Chevrolet C8 1940 Cab 11 restoration, The Netherlands

[Stefan Leegwater]

Hi Alex,

They fit our C8 cab 12, so probably your cab 11 too!

Ciao,

Stefan

[Alex van de Wetering]

Thanks Stefan! I have another good picture for your current project by the way......will send you an email.


The section of brake line that goes underneath the Radiator was originally secured with two spring type clips on my C8 . I found replacements for these at the filling station, but sadly one of them broke while trying to get it into the small holes of the crossmember. After fitting another I still wasn't very happy....the clips were a bit crooked and weren't really holding the brake line as they should. I presume GM used these spring type clips to allow some movement of the brake line while driving through terrain (P-clips and bolts were used on other locations), so I decided the way to go was a P-clip with a rubber insert to allow for some movement. I wasn't able to find any clips to my liking at the local parts store, so in the end I made some clips of my own.

I found some rubber hose at a Motorcycle parts shop that would just fit around the brake line, and cut this into sections of about 6cm. I cut strips from some 0,7mm sheet and used the vise, a chisel and a metal rod of the correct size to form the clips.


Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

Here is a question for the Cab 11 and 12 owners....

There seems to be a considerable gap between the inner footwell side panel and the arch bars (cab frame) on cab11/12s. This gap gathers all sorts of junk and moist and in case of my C8 this has resulted in partly rotten panels and pitting on the arch bars.
I intend to work on these inner panels soon, but I am trying to figure out what is original.........panel on top of the angle steel piece (with the door catch) and rubber or anti-squeak to fill the gap between the panel and arch bar?

Most of the restored and original examples I have seen show the configuration as in the pictures attached....panel on top of the angle steel piece (with the door catch), but I have also seen two trucks where restorers have placed the panel between the arch bar and the angle steel.....this actually gives a better fit, even though I think the original configuration is on top...as shown in the pictures. Any ideas?


Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

Now for the holes in the floor, as mentioned above we managed to find some Ford floor sections in the scrap pile, so the next step was a trick already shown by the Hammond crew a few years ago......fill the holes with a matching piece of thread plate!

I know it has been discussed on the forum before that the “dot-dash” thread pattern on Ford and Chevrolet was supposedly slightly different, but (at least in this case) I found that they are exactly the same. The only thing I did notice is that there is a difference in size in West-East to North-south....so in one direction the dots are closer to eachother. So, basically I had to check orientation of the replacement sheets and find a section of plate matching in pattern and amount of rust pitting.

I cut a small template from cardboard and used some spray paint to mark the section to be cut. After cutting and trimming I tack-welded the replacement piece from the top, than welded the other side in small sections. Than I used the angle grinder to cut a V-shaped groove in the top, weld it....and than lots of carefull grinding with a angle grinder and (fake) Dremel too. Last step was to cut the excess material from the inside edge around the gearbox.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Last few pictures of this first floor repair

[Alex van de Wetering]

The second hole was a a bit more challenging. There was so much pitting on this section of the floor that I could hardly see the original pattern. So I started by drawing lines marking the original location of the dots and dashes. Again I tried to find a matching piece of floor and weld it in (You can clearly see in the picture that the replacement is a Ford sheet by the shape of the edge for the engine cover)

Alex

[cliff]

excellent workmanship mate

[Alex van de Wetering]

Actually in this case the replacement piece is in much better condition than the surrounding area, but as this section will be underneath the passenger seat, I am OK with the result.
All the heat from welding and grinding sadly meant the floor needed straightening again. I don't have a press, so I decided to put our small van to good use. I used a variety of wooden blocks and after half an hour of careful moving these blocks and driving the car on top, the floor was pretty much straight again. After a few coats of primer and Khaki Green the floor is again ready for use!

Alex

[Bob Carriere]

.... the mother of invention and resourcefulness.....

.......way to go Alex.

I finished putting on the front of my truck today.... in desperation I attempted to use metric (Chinese) clip on nuts on the sheet metal that fits between the fenders just below the grill.

I gave up and ripped them out and welded some captive nuts..... now the part is on has it should be.

First time the nose is back on in 12 years...... yeah I am slow.....

Pictures to follow...

Bob C

[Alex van de Wetering]

I have found a longer clevis pin for the brake pedal return spring.....it's actually a "classic" mini clutch part and plenty are being offered on Ebay. I just have to drill the hole in the right location and cut the pin to the correct length.
I intend on re-using the brake return spring for now, but will get a new spring for the future.

A while ago I bought a replacement gauge cluster in order to use parts from this and my original C8 gauge cluster (which is in a very sorry state) to get one complete set.....but look at the speedo range....

Alex

[cliff]

Originally Posted by Alex van de Wetering

A while ago I bought a replacement gauge cluster in order to use parts from this and my original C8 gauge cluster (which is in a very sorry state) to get one complete set.....but look at the speedo range....

Alex

is that possibly meant to be 150 metres per hour Alex? After all it is a Chev LOL!

[motto (RIP)]

The 100 MPH reading on the original speedometer scale equates to 160 KM Per Hour which is pretty close to the maximum of 150 on the proposed replacement.
It is obviously a metric instrument face. The odd part is the temperature scale appears to be Fahrenheit.

David

[Alex van de Wetering]

is that possibly meant to be 150 metres per hour Alex? After all it is a Chev LOL!

Well Cliff....it's still just a chassis with a front axle and pedals.....so 150 metres per hour sounds like an achievement

It is obviously a metric instrument face.

Exactly David. I was hoping it was just the face that was different, but have since found out that the speedo itself is also different and reads "KILOS" on the face. I will try to post a picture tonight.

regards,

Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

Attached are some picture of the gauges that came with my replacement dash.

hmmm....just realised that the difference in kilometer vs miles speedo might not be in the actual range of the speed displayed on the face, but more the total miles/km's on the clock(?)....would that make sence?

Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

I had another look at the clutch pedal and pedal shaft, that was discussed on the previous page. The bushing set that I bought from the filling station consisted of two bushings, so I still had one left. I decided to try and fit the second bushing, buy a new reamer and see if carefully reaming the bushing would solve the issue. Sadly it didn't, the pedal was still moving around too much and after measuring the shaft with a caliper I found the shaft to be oval and also the surface to be slighly curved (yes, in the wrong direction).

So, I brought the shaft and pedal to the guy that also manufactured the new tie rod. He machined the end of the shaft round again and made a new bushing to fit the pedal. I had the parts back in a few days, so I was able to re-fit the parts last saterday and I am really happy now with the pedal movement!!!! I don't know why it took me a year to finally go ahead and get the pedals sorted....

The first picture shows the "old" bushing and the shaft and pedal after I picked them up from the machine shop. the other pictures show the pedals installed. Also shown is the (classic) Mini clevis pin (shortened to size, and with new hole drilled)....and the lot installed with the return spring.

Also shown is a sneak peek of the floors. More in the next update.

Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

It was time to work on the cab floor. The two front sections were in good condition, but the large rear section was bent and had at least two non original holes....one hole was crudely cut with a torch by a previous owner (in order to create room for an extra lever to the gearbox) and the other was created by rust. As some of you know my C8 spent several years in the Elliot borthers scrapyard in Newtonville; over the years all sorts of dirt and junk gathered under the seats, creating the perfect environment to thin out the floor.....and of course the wooden spaces under the floor didn't help either!

So, it was time to do something with the floor. I didn't want to make a new floor from modern thread plate, as I wanted to keep the original style thread pattern, so the only options were to look for a replacement original floor or to fix the existing floor. Stefan and I searched every corner of LWDparts, but we couldn't find a servicable C8 floor, but some Ford floor sections from the scrap pile proved to be the solution. More on that later.

First step was to straighten the floor a bit and to replace the two lips at the front edge.