Sid Swallow Ford Prototype? Need help!!

[rob love]

I'm presently working on a Ford prototype that is in the Shilo collection. This truck came from Dr. Gregg, when he donated his collection to Silo back in the 80s. Does anyone know for sure if this is the truck that was shown in Blueprint for Victory, as being rescued by Gary Moonie on page 199?

If so, the book mentions that the truck saw service with the Victoria Rifles. Does anybody have a photo of the truck in service? I would like to find the DND number, as well as any markings that might have been on it.

The truck got a very nice cosmetic restoration at some point, along with a later 8BA engine. I am working on the mechanical restoration of it. The steering box is toast, the suspension is well worn, and I am also giving it a full brake job. Later, depending on time and budget, I should be able to bring some of the other restoration aspects of the truck more up to standard.

Thanks to various dealers like Mac's, the suspension parts will not be a problem. Rock auto.com is the cheapest for the cylinders, so it will get new all around. But the real problem is that steering box. The part numbers on it (what few there are) are not Ford, and the box is different from what I can find in any photos. I suspect that it is from the Ford COE of that period. Most of the parts I can identify are 1940 model parts, so possibly the steering box is too.

I also need to find a set of front spring shackle hangers (the back hangers for the front springs) as these ones were cut for some reason. They have a COE part number on them (W in it) so I guess it will be a challenge to find those as well.

I'll start posting some photos on Monday, if I remember to bring my camera in to work. The wear on many of the parts is quite substantial, but I guess could be expected on a 72 year old truck. I am hoping to get the brakes and suspension as good (or slightly better) than new.

It is kind of an honor to be working on this truck, a chance to work on a prototype does not come along often.