1942 cmp f15a
 

Anyone looking for a very complete 13cab Ford CMP?
An elderly gentleman who lives close to me has one for sale .
I have looked at it myself and couldn’t believe how much is there considering it’s original and has been in the same family since after the war.
The truck is rough. But it’s complete. I mean all the knick nacks that it came with.
The old fella is asking a lot, I didn’t have the heart to let him down but I said I’d ask around….
He is asking $3500 which includes a cut GS trailer chassis as well as all kinds of wheels and bits I believe.
To me I’d value it at scrap prices, due to the fact that it’s a huge project to restore.
Lots of great samples to use as patterns though, and an elusive spare tire carrier and toolbox.

I suppose you'd post a picture if you had one?. I know of a running Ford 15cwt that is a little shy of the bits and should be on the market soon. It might be the perfect match for something like your friend's truck.

Kijiji Ad #1618250809

here's the link
 

From the ad
 

The donor chassis I know about and this would make a decent project for an ambitious CMP enthusiast. Both are here in Ontario. I would lose body parts if I even suggested it to my wife.

I am sure it has every bracket, bin and doo dad that it ever came with.
Even has original top bows although they are rough as with the rest of it.
My dilemma, as I am sure others will attest to, is the justification to restore.
We all know that CMPs are relatively worthless in the collector market so why would anyone spend the time, energy and dollars? Ending up in the red on a project is never good. I don’t think the value of these beast has really changed in the last 20 years. A full engine rebuild is nearing $5k alone. Sandblasting has gone through the roof. And parts, well if they are obtainable aren’t getting any cheaper. It certainly bodes well to look towards fully restored vehicles as someone else’s loss is your gain.
Just take a look at the couple CMPs listed for sale on MLU that are in BC, great deals for someone if they can obtain inexpensive transportation.

I have to agree with Chris on this one. The expectation that so many vendors have is simply not reasonable, but we live in an age where most everything seems unreasonable. The enlightened few will probably have taken advantage of the record scrap prices ( was $420 ton, now dropped to about 320) to clean up their yards and non collectibles. Should also point out the crazy expectations apply to other vehicles that are overpriced and potentially misleading in their presentation. Check out this example, of a "militarized" vehicle.

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-classic-cars/...arbox/m3912644

Category 1, restored and running, desirable so long as its not too big. Jeeps, carriers up to 15cwts probably, after that the market drops off quickly.

Category 2, older restorations let sit, hopefully inside. Will need brakes, tires, maybe a replacement windshield for that cracked one and paint to freshen it up. These can be great to start with unless the price is full retail.

Category 3, the 'will get to it one day' truck that was stripped to the chassis 35 years ago and all the parts are....somewhere. If you're lucky the owner has collected all the pretty NOS bits over those 35 years and they too are in boxes with the mouse poop...somewhere. Not for the feint of heart and best be in the right place to get it from the family or it's off the the scrapper. In my opinion there are way more trucks in this category than any other.

Category 4, complete-ish trucks left where they last ran and in the weather since. Maybe good for some of the cast or axle parts because by now the rest will be rotten through and through (unless you live out west).

Category 5, "what am I looking at? Are there the remains of a truck in that rust pile with the trees growing out of it?"

Well Bruce, this particular gentleman intended to fix up this family truck one day…
If it hasn’t been done by now, it will never be.

It's easy to dream about restoring it 'one day' until it takes you a week to wiggle loose a single brake drum and know there are three more just like it. Or that the thickness of the rust bulging between the leaves of the leaf springs is thicker than the remaining metal in the leaves themselves. The six gallons of diesel fuel you poured down the carb to free up the engine was a bad investment because it didn't do squat. The guy at the auto parts store ducks behind the counter when he sees you coming and, when you finally do manage buy a few 'modern replacements', you walk out $1000 poorer for a handful of parts the truck swallows up in an afternoon and begs for more.

That said, there's a lot a merit convincing yourself you'll 'get to it one day' rather than actually getting to it one day.

i'm thinking that i need this. i'm doing a F60L and i'm missing a ton of stuff. and it's not to far away. i working on getting a quote for the tow home to see if it's in the budget. one thing i particular is my front axle is bad. is the axle in the F15 the same as the F60?

Hi Leo,

No, the F60L’s axle is not the same as the F15A’s. Depends on which parts you need but at least the differential and steering ends are different, as is the steering box. See http://www.mapleleafup.net/vehicles/.../fordspec.html for the basic specifications.

thanks for the info. i went thru my CMP manual and indeed the drive lines are different. F15 to a F60 they had to be. but there so many details that i'm missing that i might try to pursue this truck.

PM back to you, Chris

it happened. i bought this cmp. Chris did a great job of accurately describing the condition of this truck. and it does appear to have everything with it still. i got it over the border on sunday. i did the import myself and it was easier than i expected. i payed the fella $2000. US for it. and because of NAFTA i did have to pay any tax on the import. so now to take a deep dive into it and see what i got. thanks for posting this and all your help Chris, and thanks to anyone who helped me with advice.

Leo
I’m glad that it worked out between you and the seller. Ron is an awefully nice old fellow and I’m happy to know you helped him out and that the truck is now at least in the hands of a collector.
I’m sure you’ll find the truck to be a great source of knowledge, as I saw bits on it that are usually long gone and very hard to find. Yea, lots of it will probably only be useful as patterns but knowledge is power. Having original parts samples to examine, catalog or even document is awesome.

1942 cmp f15a
 

so what was supposed to be a donor truck has become the main attraction. i was working on restoring a F60l and realized i was missing most, if not all the details. everything from the radiator to the seats. i saw this truck posted as a complete cab 13 and i sparked my interest. after talking with Chris Vickery, who gave me a very accurate discription of the truck, i decided to move ahead with this purchase. i got in contact with the fellow who owned and we came to an agreeable price for both parties. so while he was working on getting a title i was working on importing the truck, it was 675 miles away in Canada and had to come to the U.S. once he had the title i took care of the paper work on my end and imported it, relatively easy i must add. short history of the truck. the fellows dad bought it from the surplus store in 1948 and it stayed with the family till i bought it. the son told me he last drove it in 1970 and it's been parked ever since. so with that bit of history i felt the little truck deserved to be restored. my F60 is a mashup already, so i decided to use the cab from that to do the F15. so i power washed off the lichen and dirt to reveal a pretty rusted cab. i'm going to spend a few weeks looking over what i have and put a plan together. on the plus side i already have engine ready to go, fresh rebuild i was going to use in the F60. but first up will be getting rims and tires that hold air and freeing up the brake drums. it rolls but only with the help of a tow motor.

Off to a good start Leo
 

Remember we met at Weare last August.

Looks much better after the wash.....wait until you do the sand blasting.....

It will no doubt need a complete tear down sinc eit has been parked for so long but you have a very complete example and you can fabricate/copy/patch parts as need be. will be going to Weare next July and can bring parts down depending on what you need and what we have....... we are biaised for Chev but lots of parts are interchangeable. Ford even stooped so low as to use GM parts on their Ford trucks!!!!!

don't forget local resources like Phil Waterman

Cheers

Bob C

You're in good hands! As soon as I saw Chris' name I had two thoughts. First was, 'oh no, he'll convince this guy to buy the truck - poor bastard' and that immediately changed to, 'oh yeah, he'll convince this guy to buy the truck - lucky bastard'.

And Bob has forgotten more about repairing and restoring CMPs than most guys here. He even has CMP15CWT as his vanity licence plate!

so first up was getting some rubber that would hold air for more than a day. and with no good way to get rims that would fit, i decided to make my own. i started with some rims off a 1 ton van. their 16" rims and clear the drums nicely.so i cut out the old centers and made new centers and welded them in. and since these are for only rolling the truck around i wasn't worried about making the rims highway safe, although their quite rugged. next up get the rear drums to rotate freely.

I look forward to seeing your progress, and congratulations on acquiring that truck!!

As to:

You might have 'fun' with that. I would have thought getting them to rotate by backing off the brake shoes would be all it took as well as removing the drums...but unfortunately no. Maybe 50 years ago but not now. I hope that part goes well for you.

so i got to work on the rear drums. used my puller and some light heat to ease them off. once they were off i was pleasantly surprised that the brake shoes were in real good shape. in fact they were relined at some point and showed little wear. i lubed up the cams and adjusters and got the shoes moving. the drums were also in good shape. although i didn't measure them, the bevel was still present on the wear surface so they haven't been turned down much, if at all. the drums had some heavy rust and general crud that had bonded to them. a little light grinding with a soft pad cleaned them up good. when i'm ready to rebuild the rear brakes i will send the drums out to be turned nice. so now the truck rolls easy with 2 people pushing it. i had lucked out in that the front wheels rolled easy when i got the truck. when i had the truck up on the lift i lubed it and every grease fitting took grease, it was a good sign that this truck was taken care of, even though it sat for a long time. now it's ready to come home start the restoration.

Good to see you attacking the beast.
 

For the best job on your brakes.....take everything apart and sandblast clean....even lightly on the shoes....... until you can read FORD.....

Pay particular attention at the backing plate with the "snail" ajustments which once cleaned will need some tender attention and lots of WD 40 or equivalent and maybe some heat...... they can break off........ You may also need to replace the rear sheet metal funny looking oil seal.....available at Mac Auto as a Ford truck part. Inspect the wheel bearings carefully for possible pitting.....at about $80 a side for bearings and race any good bearing truck center can find modern replacement.....usually by size rather than inscribed part number.. get yourself the proper axle nut size socket as it makes it easier to preload the bearings on re assembly.

Nice job on the home made "Yard" rims....

Get your drum turned to match the radii of the brake lining..... lots of steel on those drums.....machine shop should have no problem matching curve of drums to lining which will help immensely when adjusted ...

Same applies to the front axle brake assembly except the oi seal is 6.5 inches and still available....some stores will have them in stock as they are used, I was told, in modern commercial bread making machines.

How are the brake cylinders....... new ones or relined in SS....? same for the master .

If you are stumped just send an email.

Well, I guess I am an enabler. Helping other with their addictions to old rusty junk lol.
I saw this from a couple perceptives. One, I helped an old fella out who wanted to see his cherished family heirloom go to a good home and two, seeing another historic vehicle get a new lease on life with a happy (maybe) enthusiast.

Save yourself a lot of grief and just buy new wheel cylinders. They are available from Rock Auto for less than US$40 each. Raybestos WC4571 and WC4511 I believe. I think they fit both Ford & Chev 15cwt trucks. Check the parts list on this forum for more part numbers.

I’ll do some digging, I’m pretty sure that I kept my list of CMP part numbers that cross referenced to modern ones

Brake cylinders
 

Great catch Leo! A lot of work, good to see you are digging right in.

Wheel brake cylinders and master cylinders are available new, especially in the USA, see e.g. http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/sh...003#post123003 and scroll down a bit.

We have a subforum for that sort of info: http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=25

thanks for all the advice. now it's waiting to come to the house garage to start the serious work on the tear down. i threw one of the original tires in the spare tire carrier to see how it looks, love it.

got the F15a home, and the twins are together. so now starts the disassembly. i took the dog house off and yes there's an engine in there. the more i pick thru the F15a the happier i am. the dash is in not to bad of shape, at least i can read the mileage, LOL. next up will be to take the cab off of the F60 and get the chassis and bed out of the port. once that's done i'll start to really get the F15a stripped down.

my 41 Ford needed some attention too. it's kinda like distant cousins seeing each other for the first time. and they all have flatheads in them. :cheers: