C8 progress in Texas

[Lynn Eades]

Maybe its that fine Dodge in the background that makes them look so good.
Enjoying your project, David. Thanks also.

[George McKenzie]

I just took a look at your site and it is much like alot of us . We buy a truck because we want it so bad and when we restore it ,it needs alot of work .The only C8 I know of in Alberta was sold to a fellow in ONT .It was a very nice original one that only needed a little work and a new paint job . If you want his address I can let you know where it is . I was in OK a few weeks ago and was going to go down your way but got snowed out .It was 10 deegrees warmer at home in northern AB .Keep up the good work George

[David DeWeese]

Hi,
Thanks Rob, Lynn and George for the encouragement! I need all I can get.
George, thanks for the offer about the information on the C8 owner you know about. Would like to see what he has.... And yes, we have had some very odd weather here in Texas this winter, with record low temperatures and snowfalls for the area.
Installed all the adapters and all but one of the C8 wheels today, and in spite of all the modifications I did, things went fairly smooth,(note that the cooling fins on the new brake drums are now removed, as they interfered with the 13" rims).
Added the longer wheel studs all around to accomodate the thicker mounting surfaces on the aluminum adapters.
Wheels and tires went on next, and I think it all doesn't look too shabby considering.....
I am glad to have this phase of the project behind me!
Thanks, David

[David DeWeese]

Was looking through my camera photos today, and thought someone might possibly enjoy this or find it useful:
Found out Saturday morning that the only 1/2" wheel studs long enough to use with the front adapters had splines too long and too large diameter to fit the stud holes in them.
Facing an entire weekend of good shop time wasted, another trip to the machine shop on Monday, and the thought of having to do lawn work or other badly-neglected household chores, I got desperate.... very desperate!
Chucked up the studs in my drill press, and placed a grinder in a vice with a horizontally adjustable base.
Worked like a charm, but....
Thanks, David

[David DeWeese]

Hi,
Spent part of the weekend trying to reproduce the fuel tank rails that support the two tanks behind the cab. Both rails had been cut by about 1/3 to mount only one tank under the right side of the truck.
Problem was that the original pieces have curved bends, where modern angle iron stock has sharp 90-degree bends.
Went to my scrap pile and found two Dodge military 1/2 ton WC fuel tank supports that surprisingly had the same gauge metal and curved angles as the C8 used.
Was able to use these to complete my support rails for my fuel tanks.
Now a question on the tanks:
From the photo, is this a left or right side tank?
Spent the rest of the weekend installing a new reproduction rear body on a friend's 1.5 ton Chevrolet. I installed an internally balanced 235 and CCKW five-speed transmission in it last year. No problem keeping up with traffic now he says..
Thanks, David
p.s. notice something odd about the right front tire?

[gordon]

All you really need to know to identify the tank is whether the fuel filler neck sits front or rear, but not got a clue. There must be an image out there somewhere that will tell you?

Gordon

[aj.lec]

Originally Posted by David DeWeese

Hi,
From the photo, is this a left or right side tank?

I would say left side (as you have it mounted in pic 2 )as the fillers are closer to the cab

[Bob Carriere]

Hi David

The gas tank shown in your picture #3 is for the Driver's side...right side.

The passenger side would be a mirror image...... the short filler is usually early cab 11 and the filler fits underneath the tool box cut out notch.

Do you have a close up of picture of the large oval plate on your tank....suitable to read the raised characters/letters... also is the oval plate steel or brass......

Thanks

Boob

[Grant Bowker]

Bob, are you sure?
If it were a normal CMP with the tanks mounted long axis along the truck's frame I would agree that it is the right hand tank. The photos of the C8 show the tank(s) mounted crosswise under the tire carrier. It appears that the tank with the offset that we normally associate with the left side is the right, not left tank on a C8. Unless the tanks and tire carrier are mounted turned 180 degress in the photo, it looks like the offset in the filler neck on the C8 is different as a guide to the tank position compared to most other CMPs.

[David DeWeese]

Thanks for the replies!
Gordon:
I noticed while working on the 1.5 ton Chev that someone "clocked" the tire mold wrong when they made the tire as the tread is not staggered like NDT's should be. The tread lugs are directly across from each other.
Andrew:
Thanks a lot for the photos. They really help and are very much appreciated!
Bob:
Here are a few photos of the tank cast piece after I cleaned it up a bit.
Noticed that it appears to be made of copper? Was tarnished to a deep blue-green on the inside before clean-up and the brass pieces,(arrow), are much yellower than the reddish tinted casting.
There is an "R" stamped into this casting also. Does this mean it's for a right side tank?
There is a notch cut in the front fuel tank support rail even with the fuel outlet in the tank. Is this where the fuel line should be routed?
If this is a left-side tank my brass tank outlet is facing the rear of the truck, and the casting can't be rotated 180 degrees due to the "reserve" feature made into the tank.
Thanks, David

[cletrac (RIP)]

The two drawings are from Mile Kelly. In the side view you can see the hole for the filler is offset to the back of the truck. I can't find any pics showing this hole on the other side but wouldn't both tanks be the same which would make the pass one offset to the front? There'd be no reason to make them different on the 1A2 and that was the only style they made in 1940. In the other two pics you can't really tell but in the assembly shot you can see the fuel lines hooking on to the front and rear which would indicate that the tanks are the same. Andrews pic is a resto so who knows if it's right? Also notice how short the filler necks are.

[Bob Carriere]

The first picture up showed is defenitely a right hand side tank.....driver's side..... with the oval plate... but now I see how they have reversed the tanks from left to right to insure the filler cap is closer to the truck cab and near the outside for access...... at the same time it allowed to centralized the two oval plate for fuel line hook up....... wonder if they did that on purpose to screw up guys like us trying to restored them 65 years later.

Thanks for the oval brass plate close up...... my best two tanks are steel adn there are some marking differences in the letterring and reserve lever shape....... again I have two different type of levers for the reserve... one of which is identical to the 3 way valve.

Have you tried to remove one of the oval plate...? we have been soaking a lesser example with GBS to loosen up rust and will try our hands with a hand held impact screwdriver......

Never ceases to amaze me all that is left to be learn about CMPs....

Boob

[David DeWeese]

Thanks David and Bob for the great information! Lots of food for thought now on the subject of fuel tanks for an 8cwt CMP.
Here's another photo that I thought was interesting...
These tanks are still on their correct sides for a side mounted CMP tank configuration, but just mounted 90-degrees counter-clockwise on the C8 version.
Photo courtesy of Mike Kelly's CD.
Thanks, David

[aj.lec]

Interesting
Had a look through some more photos and would make more sense to have the fillers to the back if you had a chorehorse fitted as the bracket would foul when filling .
Managed to find a factory chev photo of the passenger side that shows filler to rear
I wonder if they fitted the tanks differently depending on body type and configuration ?

[cletrac (RIP)]

Here's two factory pic closeups of the pass side filler holes. The Ford seems to have a bigger hole than the Chev. I went through my pics and it seems the cab 11s all used the same fillers on the tanks. The cab 12s and 13s used a longer filler neck. By the way the Ford is the one with the wood bracket under the tank.

[David DeWeese]

Hi,
Thank you Andrew and David for clearing things up with the factory photos.
Spent the weekend working on my fuel tank. Tank luckily was dry inside with no varnish. Someone had pulled the drain plug years ago and it had saved the tank.
Prepped and coated the inside of the tank with a quart of fuel tank sealer, sanded it down to bare metal, then primed and painted it. Fortunate to have at least one good tank to work with!
As you can see, my other tank has a slight problem.....
Spent the rest of the day fabricating the parking brake linkage that was missing under the fuel tank support rail. Thanks again Andrew and David for your postings on the linkages earlier in this thread. The information was a great help!
Thanks, David

[David DeWeese]

Hi,
My other tank on hand,(a Ford one), was badly rusted through, with 1/2 of the tank so bad that it could barely hold it's shape.
Since my other tank was still serviceable, I decided to make a dummy tank of the second one.
Opened the tank up on one end, cut out the rusted baffles, then wrapped the entire tank with duct tape. Dug out several pounds of debris, as this tank had been a mouse hotel/bathroom for decades.
Ground out all the rust with an angle grinder and coated the inside with several layers of fibreglass matting, removed the duct tape, then worked the outside with body filler to slick it up.
As I am going to try and reproduce a British Duple body for the C8, I installed a mock filler neck in the end of the tank for use with that type body. Will make another tank end plate and filler neck for the good tank, but will use adhesive to attach it as I don't want to modify a good original tank...
Thanks, David

[David DeWeese]

Hi,
Had saved back,(what I thought was), a very nice instrument cluster for use on the C8. This one had a bare steel bezel around the glass instead of the chrome. Came from a '46 1.5 ton model.
Pulled it apart to remove the dust, and every marking on the cluster glass dissolved with one light pass of a paper towell. The odometer numbers also fell off with just a touch...
Ordered a new instrument cluster glass and gauge decal kit from Chevs of the '40s. It also contained the odometer decals.
Cleaned everything, installed decals and painted all the components that needed it.
Learned also that it is probably best to not drink beer during gauge and speedometer repairs.....
Thanks, David

[Bob Carriere]

Hi David

How easy or hard was the decal to apply..... will need to do the same for my cab 11...... anything to wacth for.....

Nice job on the gas thanks as well...... what kind of baffles did you have inside...... was it the multi 1/8 perforations or the solid sheet with cut out corners.....

Watching your progress for encouragements......

Boob

[David DeWeese]

Hi Bob,
Odometer decals were very tedious, but forgiving. Could peel them back off and reposition them with no problems.
Instructions for the odometer were incomplete. They tell you to align the decals over the existing numbers. That's fine if you still have numbers on the odometer wheels. If not, you need to align the zero on the decal with a dot on the right side of the odometer wheels for them to come out correctly.
Gauge decals were a breeze after doing the speedometer. Had to be very careful not to bend the gauge needles when installing them, though.
Two baffles on the Ford tank. Solid baffles with cut-outs on the corners. The Chev tank has one baffle with holes at the bottom and one solid partition for the reserve feature.
Thanks , David

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally Posted by David DeWeese

Hi Bob,
Odometer decals were very tedious, but forgiving. Pulled them back off and repositioned them with no problems. Have to align the zero with a dot on the right side of the odometer wheels for them to come out correrctly. Instructions were wrong on this part ...
Gauge decals were a breeze after doing that speedometer several times over.
Two baffles on the Ford tank. Solid baffles with cut-outs on the corners.
Thanks , David

David..
When applying decals of any kind,use warm water ..a sponge and just a drop of dishwasher detergent in it..wet the decal and the surface and place on surface..you can slide and move the decal all over the place and once you get it where you want it,lightly rub the air or water bubbles out from under the decal ,from the center out to the edges..After that just let it dry up..
It will then become stuck like camel shit to a prayer rug..'

Used to do all my own service vehicles with Dealer supplied decal kits..
Goes on really well on a Saturday in the shop with a nice washed truck..and a flat or two of beer..

Water..a drop of detergent..a decal kit ..a big sponge..lots of beer..hog heaven..!!

I would really have to be drunk to try putting decals on dry..I'd have them stuck all over my head..up my ass and all over the ceiling..shop floor and on the empty beer bottles..Dry decal application is not for the sober..!
Enjoy your next decal application day..!!
(Now that you have the proper formula..!!)
(One more thing..pull the backing off the decal in a tub of water and put it on wet from there..)
It won't stick to anything wet ,but will adhere to the surface of the object by surface tension and gravity..but will still slide around wet.,
Nothing worse than having a dry decal or piece of tape kink and stick to itself and won't let go..that is when you lose it and the kids start to run,...and the missus reaches for the bar of soap..for the mouth wash you know is coming..
Have fun..

[David DeWeese]

Thanks for that information, Alex!
I did have to use a mist of glass cleaner on the gauge faces to slide the decals under the needles. Would have been almost impossible without it.
Got the dash panel repaired and painted today, and instrument cluster installed for good.
Had a question whether the little light fixture I have is original or not. Fits above the ignition switch in an existing hole, but every cab 11/12 interior photo I have doesn't show this light. It also isn't noted in the cab 11 wiring diagram either,(courtesy of Collin Stevens website).
Thanks, David

[aj.lec]

Looks like a dash light from a late cab 13 dash
Top half without the base ring

[Bob Carriere]

Hi David

From all the cab 11/12 and C8 I have seen I have never seen that little dash light. That being said it is old and looks right in that spot. Your light has a very diffirent configuration that those seen on cab 13 or even jeeps......

If it works and serves a purpose keep it in place..... makes your truck unique.

Nice to catch up on your site on Monday morning and see the progress you are making..... keep it up.

Boob

[David DeWeese]

Thanks Andrew and Bob,
Was browsing around looking at cab 11/12 dash photos, and noticed this one has a hole in the same spot, but no light...
Also noticed that the wiring diagram shows three instrument lights. The cluster only has two, so where is the third one supposed to be? I had been looking at the headlight high beam indicator light on the back of the cluster and thinking it was the third light...
Oh well, I'll just paint it and keep it in. It looks good, serves a purpose and I don't want to weld the hole up and re-finish the dash again.
Thanks, David

[cletrac (RIP)]

David, that's the hole that the vacuum line for the wipers goes through then it runs up the inside of the windshield centre post to a tee above the windshield.

[David DeWeese]

Thanks, David!
Haven't even thought about the vaccuum windshield wiper installation yet! Just learning this stuff as I go along, and I'm sure many mistakes and wrong assumptions are to follow.....
Your imput is always greatly appreciated as your C8 is very close to mine in production.
Not trying to keep beating a dead horse here, but there is also another hole of the same size in the crest of the angle iron just above the hole the light was in...
Any thoughts?
Thanks, David

[Bob Carriere]

Hi David

See the two pictures.... the first one is my own dash set up for my C15a cab 11....the other from a cab 11 in a junk yard

It is the hole for the vacuum line.....

Boob

[David DeWeese]

Ok! That laid that to rest......
Little light goes in the extra parts bin, and onto other things!
Thanks all for the great information. Couldn't get this far without you guys!
Thanks again, David

[cletrac (RIP)]

On my C15 the windshield is pushed back in the centre and I couldn't see that other hole. I looked under the hood and sure enough that's where the wiper vacuum hose goes up through the dash. I'll check my C8 tomorrow to see what I've missed.