Morris CS8 dilemma
 

This is my latest find ..... Yes , it looks rough , but its the best CS8 chassis I have seen , straight and rust free .

The little plate rivetted on the dash says contract V4152 , chassis number is 18080 , a late number from 1941 .

Query is , I always thought these late production CS8's had the full windscreen and cab a la the PU 8 cwt ... this vehicle has had the aero screens on it . I wonder did the REME people just use bits from any wrecks to get vehicles running ?

Mike

Q5
 

Faded script on the grill says

Q 5

Anyone know what it means ?

Mike

Re: Morris CS8 dilemma
 

Mike,

I think that if it is late 1941, then it is not late production as I seem to remember the successor 15 cwt C4 did not come out until early 1943? Maybe I am wrong, but I did note that the brush guard supports are the same as the C4.

Re. the REME comment, a great number of vehicles went through total rebuild, both during and after the war. The vehicles were stripped and its unlikely that cabs or bodies returned to the original chassis, this has been proved by evidence on restorations. These rebuilds were mostly carried out by Army Auxillary Workshops, which were more often garages that had turned over to war work. The WD Census number would often be changed for a new one from a batch of numbers dedicated to rebuilds.

Richard

Re: Morris CS8 dilemma
 

Great find, Mike!
If anything, you could always restore it as a German Umbau-Wagen - no, just kidding :D

Hanno

Re: Re: Morris CS8 dilemma
 

An example of this practice is the Morris-Commercial PU 8-cwt in greyish blue colour in France.

H.