What makes a truck a Maple Leaf?

[Mike K]

AWM piccy .......the chap in foreground liked army food
053643

[jim sewell]

My understanding of Maple Leaf trucks is that they are h/duty chevs and to be able to quickly tell the difference other than the name and numbers (16 or 1600)
1. They have a different diff centre , with a ratio of 7.16 ( same as 3 ton blitz ) as apposed to 6.17 of a chev.
2. The m/ leaf has 5 wheel studs front and rear , with studs being of approx 5/8 or 3/4 diam ,where as the chev has 10 studs rear and 5 or 10 studs on the front and a smaller stud .

From about 1947 onwards they went away from the 216 engine and used the 235 splash feed one.
Regards
Jim S.
Picture of rolled over truck , coutesty of " Outback Corridor "by Allan Smith
The chap in the rolled over truck is wearing a gas mask as he was being towed on a very dusty road.

[cletrac (RIP)]

The blue truck is a Maple Leaf and the other is a Chev model 1533. The Chev is approx 120" wheelbase and the M-L is approx 150". The M-L had the same 6.17? rear end as my C15 (it's now in the C15) and the Chev has a 2-speed.The M-L has a factory reinforced frame. Both trucks have 5 bolt wheels on the front and 10 bolt on the rear. You can see the Maple Leaf grille has a different centre section to what the Chevs used.

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

Maple Leafs had 'MAPLE LEAF TRUCK. with a Maple Leaf in the middle and a different badge on the rad, plus slightly different rad grilles in some cases.

[Bob McNeill]

It seems the rolled over truck is the same water rear tanker as previously posted as a ford and chev in the middle east. some pics of local finds.

[cliff]

Originally Posted by Bob McNeill

It seems the rolled over truck is the same water rear tanker as previously posted as a ford and chev in the middle east. some pics of local finds.

If you are talking about this truck it is not a roll over just a truck shaken to bits on what was then the North/South Military Highway (now the Stuart Highway) although this one does look as if it ended up on it's side and being recovered. Trucks in the early days could start off from Alice Springs as brand new and arrive in Darwin looking the same as that in the photo as the road was that bad.

This truck is a GMC by the way and not a Chev. If people want a good read about the early convoys on the North/South Military Highway then the book to get is "Convoys Up The Track" by Alan Smith who was with 148 General Transport Company.

[Tony Smith]

Some pics of another Maple Leaf truck with North/South road history to be found in This Thread.

[Lionelgee]

If people want a good read about the early convoys on the North/South Military Highway then the book to get is "Convoys Up The Track" by Alan Smith who was with 148 General Transport Company.

G'day Cliff,

Is this book still for sale and if so who would you get it from + what would it cost?

Regards
Lionel

[mlombard]

Originally Posted by jim sewell

My understanding of Maple Leaf trucks is that they are h/duty chevs and to be able to quickly tell the difference other than the name and numbers (16 or 1600)
1. They have a different diff centre , with a ratio of 7.16 ( same as 3 ton blitz ) as apposed to 6.17 of a chev.
2. The m/ leaf has 5 wheel studs front and rear , with studs being of approx 5/8 or 3/4 diam ,where as the chev has 10 studs rear and 5 or 10 studs on the front and a smaller stud .

From about 1947 onwards they went away from the 216 engine and used the 235 splash feed one.
Regards
Jim S.
Picture of rolled over truck , coutesty of " Outback Corridor "by Allan Smith
The chap in the rolled over truck is wearing a gas mask as he was being towed on a very dusty road.

The rolled over truck appears to be a GMC model not a Maple Leaf model, as the grill looks to be GMC

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by mlombard

The rolled over truck appears to be a GMC model not a Maple Leaf model, as the grill looks to be GMC

Yes I agree . A club member had one in the mid 1970's , I think it was ex Brunswick council. It was used in the Sullivans TV series ( what happened to John Sullivan and Tom) .Ah yes, John ended up in Playschool .

We seem to be going round in circles with this Chev - Maple Leaf - GMC thing

[Tony Smith]

Another Australian Maple Leaf truck has been for sale a while, but the cab looks odd, almost like a Bedford cab? As an aside, read some of the names on the door of this truck and the dealer's plaque, and then read about Walla Walla in THIS THREAD

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Chevrole...item3d8743b0e8

An Australian Maple Leaf Parts Catalog was available (https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/CHEVROLE...AAAOSw~Wtbkd1r), but not sure if it shows any of the military versions.

[Tony Smith]

The Maple Leaf truck mentioned in post #18 by in the now non-active link to the old MLU site is currently being given a freshen-up for the upcoming Back-to-the-Track Rally. Because that link is lost, I'm re-posting some of the old pics here, but we've lost the great write-up on this truck.

Might have to get some update pics of how this truck looks now?

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Tony Smith

Another Australian Maple Leaf truck has been for sale a while, but the cab looks odd, almost like a Bedford cab? As an aside, read some of the names on the door of this truck and the dealer's plaque, and then read about Walla Walla in THIS THREAD

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Chevrole...item3d8743b0e8

An Australian Maple Leaf Parts Catalog was available (https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/CHEVROLE...AAAOSw~Wtbkd1r), but not sure if it shows any of the military versions.

Its a standard GMH cab, these were fitted to both Bedford and Chevrolet trucks and utes 1937 to 38.

[Mike K]

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/a...eaf%20truck%22

The advert details the heavier duty features of the Maple Leaf

[Mike K]

Aust. army Maple Leaf or Chev ? trucks mid 1939. The tyre tread pattern looks interesting.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/a...eaf%20truck%22

[Mike K]

In 1940 a Maple Leaf cost considerably more than a Chevrolet truck, almost 100 pounds more.

" Chevrolet is a British empire product "