Info needed: C15A 2B1 cargo bed rebuild

[Paul Edwards]

Hi Guys,

The cargo bed looked solid on first inspection but as we unpicked the various panels there was no stopping. Barry Ring cheesed off with restoring Jeep tubs fancied a challenge.

Can anyone assist, I'm after 4 long footman loops that are fixed to the inside of the wheel boxes? Much appreciated.

Cheers


Paul

[Paul Edwards]

Unpicking continues

[Paul Edwards]

Work in progress

[Paul Edwards]

More work in progress

[Grant Bowker]

Sources for footman loops - I'm not really suggesting you buy in North America and pay the cost to ship but these may give an indication of what's available.

https://www.beachwoodcanvas.com/order/productlist.cfm
https://www.mcmaster.com/footmans-loops/ (McMaster are restrictive in where they ship to but their site is nice in giving dimensions.)

[Bob Carriere]

Nice job Paul......

I had rust in just about the same areas.......... I had to salvage the floor diamond plate patches from another spare cargo box. If you come up blank on the footman loops let me know as I am about to order 4 for mine and could reship to you possibly cheaper.

I removed and saved all the special rivited holders sued with the 1940 early tarp which had leather straps with a key hole for the pins. I will now have to rivet them back on .

I worked on my box using a large rotisserie that had a section of a CMP rear frame so that I could attach the box to the frame similar to actual set up.

Notwithstanding the rigidity of our installation...... after careful measurements we found the floor was not perfectly flat but was slightly curved front to back
which made fitting some of the side panels tricky. I am now stopped at getting the front head board panel and side drop panels done by a local fabricator as my bending brake is limited to 48 inches. I compared 3 separate cargo boxes.....all rusted..... and was amazed that the measurements were all approx. 1/4 inch more or less....... yet they were all 2B1....all had some slight differences of construction.

What thickness steel are you using???

Cheers

[Paul Edwards]

Thanks bob, we'll see if we can source the footman loops this side of the pond first.

I'll check with my fabricator as to the sheet metal gauge.

Here's more progress this morning, jigging up.

One more question; is the oval slots in the rear tail gate for rear lights to be visible when the tailgate is down, or are the holes for a boot hold for climbing on the bed?

Also I've seen a very original picture with just one slotted hole, is this an early bed or what?

Cheers,


Paul

[Jordan Baker]

The oval hole is for the tail lights to be visible when the tail gate is down.

[Bob Carriere]

As pointed out by Jordan they are meant to see the taillights when the tailgate is down........ for some reason the cab 11 tailgate is not intendedm to be held open as a flat surface. ....Very early model might have just one opening as they only had tail lights on one side. On the cab 13 they are semi circle and meant to be steps.

Now why would a Cab 11 be driven with the tailgate down????? just swinging in the breeze!!!!!

Paul the tail lights are mounted on the rear side of the 2 gal. fuel can holder.

Cheers

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Nice job Paul. Always good to see those early bodies being brought back to life. Seems their construction is more complicated than the later 2C1 bodies.

Originally Posted by Bob Carriere

On the cab 13 they are semi circle and meant to be steps.

The body you refer to has both the holes for the lights to shine through plus semi-circle holes as footsteps.

I have never seen pics of CMPs driving with their tail gates open. There is no means to fix it in the down position, it would flap, make a racket and eventually break.

[Paul Edwards]

Thank gents very helpful.

Does anyone have pattern/measurements for the metal rear mud flaps?

Apparently the footman loops are very similar to those on the GP found on Joe's Motor Pool here in the UK

Cheers,


Paul

[Paul Edwards]

Today's progress, hinges

Footman loops on order from Joe's Motor Pool UK, these are meant for GP Jeeps but very similar.

Any mud flap information welcome.

Next will be hood bows

[Hanno Spoelstra]

If you’re making hood bows make sure to use a wide enough radius. It should measure 10 inches IIRC. I’ll check my measurements when I’m back home.

Just mentioning this as I often see repro hood bows with a radius which is too small.

[Paul Edwards]

Thanks Hanno, I appreciate that, I want it to be correct and only pay out once.

Cheers,


Paul

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Paul

Your early 2B1 was made before the "rubber" restrictions.......so your flaps should be plain 1/4 in. thick rubber bolted to the rear flat mud defector of your truck.

PS...... on your truck box...underneath.....the rear floor support bracket closest the rear wheel has a 45 degree inclination...... a flat piece of steel.....fairly stiff is bolted flat to that cross member....bolt holes should be visible....... in turn the rubber mud flap is bolted to the bottom edge of the deflector......

[Grant Bowker]

The mounting holes on the structure of the 2B1 box Bob refers to for mud deflectors are highlighted in the modified version of your photo attached.

[Paul Edwards]

Thanks guys..............early ehhhhh.

So the mud flap is simply sandwiched between the 45 degree cross member and a steel plate? Am I understanding this correct?

Don't suppose any images of the rubber flaps exist, should I just take an educated guess at the length of the flap?

Cheers,


Paul

[Grant Bowker]

A steel panel was attached to the marked holes, extending down and to the rear with the rubber flap attached to the lower edge. Bob does/did have an original steel panel (damaged by abuse), but not the rubber flap. I will try to harass him into providing measurements (and hopefully photos). Attachment of the rubber to the steel panel was bolts/machine screws passing through a metal strip (approx 1"x1/8" from memory) then through the rubber and finally through the steel panel. After looking at the panel agian, I now believe the bolt head was forward with the bolt passing through plate, rubber, reinforcing strip and finally nut toward the rear.
It's likely going to be at least Sunday for measurements/photos.

[Paul Edwards]

Cheers Grant

[Grant Bowker]

Well, today I successfully harrassed Bob to find the remnants of the mud deflector/flap from his 2B1 box.

The remnants of the rubber (that had been trapped between steel panel and retaining strip) show a 3/16" thickness. the width of the rubber was basically the same as the steel, it's downward extensin from the stell can't be determined from the remnants. Unless others can tell us the vertical dimension, it will be a guess from photos.
As you can see, although the two ends of the brace are symetric, they are not 45 degree bends (a bit less)- measurement to follow. The top edge of the steel palte is bent, but I'm not sure whether deliberately or accidentally.
Shadows from the brace and rubber can be seen on the rear of the steel deflector

[Grant Bowker]

More detail on the brace from the back face of the mud deflector plate to the bottom of the box mounted underfloor on the 2B1 body.




Each end of the brace strip is bent up 54 degrees from the flat strip. The effect is to slope the mud deflector back 18 degrees from vertical. (Hopefully this matches the slope on the forward face of the crossmember it mounts to...)

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

If you’re making hood bows make sure to use a wide enough radius. It should measure 10 inches IIRC. I’ll check my measurements when I’m back home.

Just mentioning this as I often see repro hood bows with a radius which is too small.

See the thread Top Bows - 15-cwt truck for photos and dimensions. AFAIK the dimensions for the 2B1 box are the same as for the 2C1.

[chris vickery]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

The body you refer to has both the holes for the lights to shine through plus semi-circle holes as footsteps. I have never seen pics of CMPs driving with their tail gates open. There is no means to fix it in the down position, it would flap, make a racket and eventually break.

Hanno, I have seen this, matter of fact if I recall it is in one of the Gregg books.
Engineers building corduroy roads in Europe shovelling gravel off the back in what appears to be a three ton with a row of others in front and behind…

[Paul Edwards]

Thanks guy.

Cheers,


Paul

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by chris vickery

Hanno, I have seen this, matter of fact if I recall it is in one of the Gregg books.
Engineers building corduroy roads in Europe shovelling gravel off the back in what appears to be a three ton with a row of others in front and behind…

Chris,

Thanks, I recall that photo now. Though I'd say that's hardly driving for which lighting is required?

[Paul Edwards]

And does the rubber bolt to the inside of the wheel arch flap or on the external face of the flap, ie showing the reinforcing plate on the rear view

Looking at period photos looks like inside the wheel arch then I look again at others and I begin to doubt myself.

Cheers,

Paul

[Grant Bowker]

The shadows of the brace and flap are both definitely on the same side of the steel panel, the rear face. Since this is only one sample, it is possible that others could have been assembled differently.

[Paul Edwards]

Thank you Grant.

Regards,


Paul

[Paul Edwards]

Hi Guys,

Making progress while the sun shines. Primed, two-Pak and Egg shell coats applied. The Matt coat will done once on the truck.

Now, I've ordered the Canvas from Worthing's. Here's my next dilemma, what would you guys do.

Leather tie down straps (as per early models) or perhaps more practical rope tie downs? As per pictures.

Cheers,


Paul

[m606paz]

Great Job!