Battery Holdens-Chev MCP 216 engine

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

When I bought my 1940 Chevrolet - Holdens constructed cabin it did not come with a battery. The engine is a 216. It is a modified civilian pattern truck. The truck saw life as a farm vehicle in Queensland after it left the Army so things have been modified or taken off.

I just found a sheet of tin on the driver's floor that lifts up. It looks like a "farmer's special" adaptation with a door hinge fixing it to the floor. Below the tin lid I found a steel frame that looks like a battery cage. There is no top or clamp to hold down the battery and no wires or battery clamps.

The battery would be a six volt?

Does anyone in Australia run a similar vehicle?
If so what brand of battery are you running?
What product code is it?
What are its dimensions?
Where in the truck was the battery hooked up?
Does the battery have any clamps or lids/covers?
What earth do the Chevrolet's run? Positive or Negative Earth?

Does anyone have a battery in place that can be photographed?

Sorry for the barrage of questions, and thanks for your help


Kind Regards
Lionel

[cliff]

the underfloor box is the original battery location. From memory battery was just small enough to fit in.

[gjamo]

A discussion on 6 volts batteries as fitted to early Holdens is in this link .
I reckon the same battery would go really close to fitting.

http://oldholden.com/node/61266

[motto]

The battery holder is in its correct place under the drivers side floor and appears to be fairly original.
The battery must have been a neat fit and filled the holder completely as is indicated by the clamping arrangement at the rear left hand corner.
On the L/L truck the cab floor would have to be removed to get the battery out although there was a small access plate in the floor to allow battery servicing. I think the Holden cab was similar in that respect.
On my L/L truck I put the battery on the outside of the chassis just aft of the running board to make life a little easier. I installed a brake booster where the battery was originally.

David

[Mike K]

I have two 1940 15 cwt civilian pattern utes and both have the battery located in the same location that your vehicle has.

Both of my Chevs are pretty stuffed . The 1940 models are particularly hard to find , very few of them stayed behind in Aust. Mine are both ex CFA and the chassis numbers are almost sequential.


I need a repairable cab the fixed windscreen type .

A chap in Diamond Creek has a very original 1940 15 cwt ( or 1/2 ton pickup in the USA ) model, unrestored . I was offered this vehicle at one time but at 7K $ , I declined . What is interesting is, it has a GMH made wooden body fitted rather than the ute style bodywork . It is ex army as he has found D /I\ D markings on the engine rebuild plate . I lost his contact details .

The 1940 model has a slightly shorter chassis compared to the ubiquitous 1941-47 models .

[Lionelgee]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

I have two 1940 15 cwt civilian pattern utes and both have the battery located in the same location that your vehicle has.

Both of my Chevs are pretty stuffed . The 1940 models are particularly hard to find , very few of them stayed behind in Aust. Mine are both ex CFA and the chassis numbers are almost sequential.


I need a repairable cab the fixed windscreen type .

A chap in Diamond Creek has a very original 1940 15 cwt ( or 1/2 ton pickup in the USA ) model, unrestored . I was offered this vehicle at one time but at 7K $ , I declined . What is interesting is, it has a GMH made wooden body fitted rather than the ute style bodywork . It is ex army as he has found D /I\ D markings on the engine rebuild plate . I lost his contact details .

The 1940 model has a slightly shorter chassis compared to the ubiquitous 1941-47 models .

Hello Mike,

Can you take some photographs of the cover and battery area of your truck? The base of my truck has rusted out.

Can you please let me know where to look for the chassis number on a Holdens assembled Chevy? I have had a number of attempts at looking for it and have not been able to locate it. The next question would be having established the chassis number would it be possible to locate the ARN from that?

I do realise that engines and chassis get swapped over in service and in civilian life. However, a chassis number would be a good place to start the search at.

There is the faint outline of an ARN on the bonnet however when I wrote to the AWM they said that it was probably a combination of a number of different ARNs over-painted on top of each other and no such number existed on their records.

Kind Regards
Lionel