Willanthry Chev Blitz C60L Restoration
 

G'day all!

As i posted in my introductory thread, I've recently gotten hold of a Chev Blitz C60L, and am doing it up. I'll use this thread to post all my photos and seek information when i need it.

Cheers to all!

G'day all!

I've been disassembling the engine so that i can take it out and start work on it. After removing the rocker gear and the head, i got a look at the pistons. This Blitz was retired after the engine was seized during a bushfire many years ago, when the exhaust was smashed off, the oil line melted and the sump destroyed. As you may be able to observe from these photos, this engine is all but done for. Good thing I've got a spare!

Welcome Toby,
As the classic saying goes " engine ran well just before it stopped". or
"engine ran when it was last driven 30 years ago".
I think a spare engine may be a better option. Have you check out the 235 option?

G'day Euan,

I acquired a spare engine along with this Blitz, and it was running - when it was placed under a tarp out in the open 50 years ago. Of course, when i found the engine, the tarp was long since rotted away and it was also seized. However, it will be much easier to repair then the other one, which has had some real damage done to it.

Not sure what you mean by the "235 option"; i'm not a mechanic, just an enthusiast, ha ha! I'm learning loads as i work on the truck, however.

Hello Toby from Canada and welcome ! :salute:

Nice find, looks like the motor is definetly toast, but the rest looks fixable, either way you will do the right thing and another CMP saved from the great Chinese scrap pile.

I have not been here long either, you guys down under seem to have a great network of owners so IM sure many will help when called upon .

Have fun and post more pics when you can.

235 option........
 

Will The original engine from the Factory was a 216 Cubic inch with slinger oil distribution in the engine..The 235 option refers to a Chev 235 Cubic inch engine with an pressure oil system and much better horse power and ease of repair and maintenance..more reliable..
And they are available ,having been used in Chevs for many years after the war..
Some mods are required but the problems and "How to's" can be found right here ..especially welcome are Phil's home page and web site....Phil Waterman that is..
Enjoy and go for the 235...you are miles ahead and will be a very happy camper..

235 or 261 vs 216
 

Hi Toby

There are various engine options for Chevy CMPs - it all depends on how and where you will be driving. Don't be scared of rebuilding one of the original 216 engines these are still an amazingly tough engine. The one in my HUP has been running good for over 30 years that I've had it and it has never even had the the oil pan dropped. Yes they leak oil but so what. The only real problem with the 216 is if you are going to drive your C60L long distances or heavily loaded they are under powered by modern standards.

The standing joke in our club that my C60S with radio box would do 0-60 mph on flat ground in about 12 minutes. After driving my C60S with its stock 216 engine for 18 years I converted it over to a 261 engine which has about twice the horse power there have been several good threads on MLU about the conversions. The nice thing about the 216 conversion to 235 or 261 is that they are all the same size and with the correct mix of parts are pretty much a bolt up engine swap. The are extremely close in appearance as well which make it a good restoration engine choice.

Depending on your engine skills an local engine shop services getting one of the 216 engines you have running may be the quickest and easiest choice, then you get the truck running under its own power and concentrate on the rest of the truck. Get it running and enjoy driving it, then if every thing else is sound and you want to up the power and acceleration then look into a 235. I don't know if the 261s were ever used in large numbers in Australia.

I've got both a C60S and C60L one point that I would make about a more powerful engine it doesn't really change the top speed of a CMP they really don't like going faster than an indicated 50mph. Beyond that speed the rest of the drive train really starts getting uncomfortable, and noisy.

Toby, the 235 engine is widely known in Aus as the Blue Flame motor, as I mentioned in the other thread. The 261 is very uncommon, well much less common than the 235 Blue Flame. Then again, you could ask Euan what the number 292 means??

292
 

I theenk, señor eet means broken engine mounts. :p

The Blue Flame does look like a good option in the long run, but i think i will concentrate on simply getting it going first. I've gotten the engine mounting bolts undone, and am simply waiting for a free day for my dad and myself to get it out with a tripod and endless chain. Then i'll be able to get to work scraping all the grease and caked oil off the rest of the front end of the truck. After that, it's simply a matter of getting one of my two engines running, acquiring a six-volt battery and sorting out the electrics. I'll worry about the cosmetics when i have the time and money!

One thing i have been wondering about is the doors on this truck. According to one of the blokes helping me with this restoration, it was modified to have full canvas doors, and may never have had the original solid doors on it. Of course, it doesn't have the canvas doors anymore. I've been tossing up about whether to remove the modifications and get some original doors for it, or get some full canvas doors made for it. What do you people think?

Doors
 

I'd be inclined to go with the canvas doors for several reasons.

1. They are relatively easy to make

2. No modifications necessary to your vehicle

3.Originality ultimately increases the intrinsic worth of the vehicle

4. Good steel doors are very hard to find

doors
 

Here here I agree with Kieth, stay with the canvas door ,they are soooo much easier to get [ make ] .

Should have added
 

Just for the sake of clarity, this was how your truck came out of the factory. They also had a canvas strap to use when the doors were demounted.

canvas
 

pic of door off with strap.

Strap
 

Nice one Bob.

Quite the safety device, isn't it?

strap
 

about as good as the JESUS rope on the floor.

Ah right, that explains the little clips on the doors...well you've convinced me. Canvas doors it is! One of my mentors suggested that anyway, but i just wanted to hear a range of opinions. It ought to preserve the character of this particular truck as well.

Any idea where i'd get a template for those canvas doors?

Well i'm kicking myself now...i just saw a Chev Blue Flame motor in running order, partly disassembled, sell for AUS $406.00 on Ebay Australia on the Central Coast...and i was too slow lol!

doors
 

The measurements are easily obtained, if your over this way there here to look at, talk to John Machie, Ian Styles, in fact most of us have them and the top to use as patterns.

Radiator
 

I'm rather worried about the damage to the radiator that was in the Blitz. As you may be able to see in the photos, they top left of it has been smashed in. Either it's been taken out and dropped on it's end, or a rather bad mechanic has lost their temper with it, or the truck has been vandalised (If that were the case, however, it's rather odd that they only vandalised the radiator).

If the top of the radiator's not fixable, i'll need another of those as well lol!

dent
 

The tanks are easy repair, the core is the hassle, NEW available about $1100. door top bag pic as well.

Radiator repair cost
 

Your cost of $1100 sounds high to me. I just had a radiator recored for $420 (Canadian) plus tax. The price included a 4 row core described as low flow (to retain the coolant longer in the radiator longer for greater temperature drop), straightening dents in the top tank (bottom tank was OK), sandblast and prime the steel mounting flanges. If I had chosen the standard core (still 4 row) the cost would have dropped to $390. The radiator hasn't been installed and tested, but it looks like they did a good job.

Thanks for the pictures of the doors Bob...that's a great start!

It's great to hear that the radiator damage is not too bad, and indeed easy to fix. I was a bit worried for a minute there!

The big news, however, is that we have finally found time to remove the old engine! Myself and my dad set up the tripod yesterday and attached an endless chain to the already disconnected engine, and pulled it out. It was easier than i thought it'd be, to be honest!

Now I'll get to work reconditioning the spare motor, and see if i can get it running.

Bits
 

G'Day Toby,
Unless I am mistaken I think I am geographically the closest MLU member to you. :cheers:
I have some canvas door frames, and canvass window frames, if you would like them to copy. (Correct me if I am wrong, Ford & Chev canvass doors are the same?? Please confirm Keefy/Euan/Anyone?)
Uncle Max Hedges has told me of other trucks around your way, if you need more bits.
HH
PS I also have a spare Chev radiator, water-tightness unknown, if you need it.
Sorry, I dont have a chev engine.

Canvas doors
 

I think they were universal. Only the side curtains are different between Ford and Chev and also steel and canvas doors.

Engine pull easy Install hard
 

Hi Toby

Enjoyed the pictures of the engine pull-

The hard part is getting it back in. Take a look at the time lapse of pulling and installing engine on my C60S http://www.canadianmilitarypattern.com/CMP%20Videos.htm note the time date stamp engine comes out quick and takes a lot lot longer to install.

I'll try and post some pictures of the simple tools I've rigged up to do this job with one person. Your lucky to have two good men, there are some pictures and drawings of how this was done in the field drifting around I'll try and find them and post them. Your tripod approach is the basis of good sound field repair.

Cheers Phil

G'day Howard! I was near your neighbourhood the other day on my way to Wagga. If I could copy your doors, that'd be great! I'll see about getting a carton of cans headed your way for the favour :). I do have a spare Chev Engine, so don't worry about that; as a matter of fact, i was thinking of taking it to a mechanic in Wagga to fix it.

G'day to you Phil! I daresay getting it back in will be the trick, but i'll cross that bridge when i come to it lol. The tripod and endless chain was the easiest way to get the engine out for us, as i don't have access to a forklift or anything like that. We simply used our old Deutz-Fahr tractor to lug it away, and it was as simple as that! That's me on the left in the fourth picture, by the way; i had the camera on a timer.

We finally found time to bring my other acquisitions from "Willanthry" today back to our farm. Apparently, at one stage, there were two Blitzes up at "Willanthry"; a C60L and a smaller truck of some description. I have the cabin from that truck now...as to where the rest of it is, who knows?

Cab ID
 

What does it say on the data plate? By the look of it It would seem likely to have been another late production C60L.

According to the plate on the dashboard, this other cabin's details are as follows:
Chassis Model: WO96
Cab Model: ??
Chassis Serial: 3-8443-61358M
Engine Serial: PR3 946 470
Order No: SM-E52-448
Date of MFG: 3-10-44 AUS M

There's nothing stamped in the Cab Model section, nor any trace of anything having been stamped there, strangely enough...