Ford blitz ambo project

[Tony Wheeler]

Wayne mentioned that his "old Ford" had been converted into a forklift which was now resident at a nearby construction yard. I checked it out and as you can see from the pics it's pretty well disguised! You'd need a keen eye to recognize it as a blitz from the road - I never drive down this road but even if I did I'm not sure I'd give it a second glance.

However I don't think it's Wayne's old F15A. It has the original type chassis reinforcement plates which indicate shortened F60S or F60L. Presumably he was referring to a different Ford he owned at some stage. Unless perhaps he rebuilt his F15A on a stronger chassis after bending the original one. But it has heavy steering ends which I don't recall Wayne's F15A having - I think he just put the late type hubs on because he liked the look of them.

Anyway I didn't spend much time looking at it for obvious reasons. I'll find out from Wayne eventually.

[Tony Wheeler]

For those patient souls who've managed to follow the story thus far I shall present the final chapter in the next few posts, then move on to present day projects in waiting.

It's April 1974, and with my resto project now driveable and resident at Wesburn, the temptation to take to the hills and explore the maze of FWD tracks therein was irresistible - notwithstanding my complete lack of driving experience, let alone a driver's licence! So we set out one fine morning from Wayne's sawmill, and within a few minutes drive found ourselves winding through pleasant mountain scenery on one of the better secondary roads, as seen in pic 1.

With the benefit now of half an hour's experience driving a blitz on good flat road, it was time to get a bit more adventurous and put her through her paces on one of the many sidetracks which beckoned invitingly. Selecting what appeared to be one of the less challenging tracks, which from its name one might assume to be suitable for ladies out walking, we duly turned onto it. Proceeding along comfortably up a gentle slope whilst enjoying the wonderful gear whine in 3rd low, with the canvas top rolled up for better viewing, this pleasant leafy track at first lived up to its name - as can be seen in pic 2.

Pretty soon however the track began to steepen dramatically (estimated by Keith at 40 degrees in pic 3) and became distinctly more narrow and overgrown (pic 4) which quickly put paid to the flimsy wooden frame I'd built to hold the canvas roof up!

In addition we started to encounter obstacles in the form of fallen tree branches (pic 5) and in several places, fallen tree trunks lying across the track. In the absence of a chainsaw, the largest of these tree trunks presented considerable difficulties, for we soon discovered that even with 12.00 x 20 tyres, a blitz will not clamber over an 18" log whilst climbing a 40 degree slope! We found however, that with a little encouragement, in the form of a run up, she can be made to crash over! Provided you're still in the cab after this manoeuver, you can continue on your merry way!

That's pretty much how I remember our first "test drive" - merrily exploring fire tracks, having not a clue what I was doing, with Keith hopping in and out to photograph the occasion!

[Keith Webb]

Originally Posted by Tony Wheeler

That's pretty much how I remember our first "test drive" - merrily exploring fire tracks, having not a clue what I was doing, with Keith hopping in and out to photograph the occasion!

I may have been a bit ambitious at estimating 40 degrees, but it was very steep. I can recall being very impressed at Tony's clutchless change from second to first low on a particularly steep bit. But the story became more perilous on the descent... pray continue, Tony...

[Mike K]

Did anyone spot the Monaro in the Yarra Junction pic ?

You guys should have been collecting those , not old junk army trucks .

A decent early model Monaro is worth big $$$$ nowadays

Mike

[Howard]

Bit it's still just a monaro
H

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

Did anyone spot the Monaro in the Yarra Junction pic ?
You guys should have been collecting those , not old junk army trucks .
A decent early model Monaro is worth big $$$$ nowadays
Mike

[lynx42]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

Did anyone spot the Monaro in the Yarra Junction pic ?

You guys should have been collecting those , not old junk army trucks .

A decent early model Monaro is worth big $$$$ nowadays

Mike

Mike, there are 2 Monaros in that photo. The one you refer to is, I think, an HK Monaro but in front of it is a HQ LS Monaro as well.

Looks like Holden had the market share in those days.

Left to Right (I think):-
'67 Falcon ute, '65 Holden HD, '50's Holden 215, '63 Ford Compact, Some old green machine getting towed (obviously a Ford), ???, '70 Holden HT with trailer, '67 Falcon ute, '69 Holden HK Monaro, '72 Holden LS Monaro.

So Holden ruled the day.

The wrecker towing the Ford Blitz is either a Dodge or International with Holmes wrecking gear on the back.

Regards Rick

[Keith Webb]

On the previous page is a pic of the engine purring back in 1974:



Here's what it looked like in 2007:



The years had taken their toll and I think it has had water in it and it had seized. It had been put into my old FGT project which languished and at one stage went to the tip, only to be rescued at the last moment.

The new owner has been putting a lot of work into the project but I'm not sure of the current status of that engine.

Oh, whoops... I forgot to warn you not to look at the pic, Tony!

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Keith Webb

Oh, whoops... I forgot to warn you not to look at the pic, Tony!

Yes it's a bit of waste after all the work I put into it! As well as being fully reco it had some nice ancillary bits like brand new cleaner and oil filter with stickers intact - all from Hughes in Camberwell as I recall. Would be worth a few bucks in that condition on ebay today!

I remember it being a very zippy motor and pulled like a train in that lightweight cab & chassis F60S. Top speed was impressive too with the 12.00 tyres, I seem to recall we clocked it at 60 mph on Tarango Road one day with your Singer following.

All in all it was a lovely blitz to drive, heaps of power and light to steer with low ratio steering box and very little weight on board. I don't recall any wheel shimmy or wandering at high speed.

I'd be very happy if my future restos are anywhere near as good as that job - except of course for that clevis pin in the brake pedal! More on that later....





Thinking back now

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Keith Webb

But the story became more perilous on the descent... pray continue, Tony...

As Keith suggests we had a rather perilous incident on the way down the mountain, which was entirely my own fault I'm afraid. Having done an obsessively thorough job on the resto it seems I had overlooked a simple task during final assembly, and of course, as Murphy's Law dictates, I chose perhaps the most critical part on a blitz, from a safety viewpoint at least, for this single momentarily lapse of thoroughness in the entire project!

The offending article was the clevis pin which connects the brake pedal to the actuating rod, to which I had either failed to fit a split pin (unlikely) or failed to spread the split pin after fitting - perhaps in a tryout assembly, intending to disassemble/reassemble at a later stage.

Whatever the case, the clevis pin worked its way out over the course of several hours driving, and once again, as Murphy's Law dictates, it chose perhaps the most critical moment of the day to fall out - a long steep descent!

Events unfolded rapidly thereafter - all I remember is the brake pedal falling limply to the floor under my foot and remaining there (very disconcerting!) whereupon I instinctively swung off the track and went bush, in the hope that the heavy undergrowth would retard our progress and bring us to a safe halt, or perhaps allow us to swing back uphill somehow. None of this was thought out, it was just a split second reaction out of dumb instinct, and in a state of considerable fright!

With a little more driving experience I would have reached instinctively for the handbrake, which I discovered later was very effective in 4WD. However this was my very first drive and it never occurred to me in the heat of the moment.

Certainly I had no thoughts of staying on the track - the idea of being in a runaway blitz was too horrendous to even cross my mind! That suggests to me now that we should have been in a lower gear, with less reliance on the brakes. Pic 1 shows the type of track as I recall it, taken on the way up.

Another option would have been to jump out, but again, the idea of watching my beautiful new blitz go careering down the hill out of control and crash into a tree was too horrendous to even cross my mind. Besides, it would have been a little unfair to Keith in the passenger seat!

Poor old Keith had no warning at all – one minute we were quietly driving down a pleasant leafy track, and the next instant we were crashing through the undergrowth as we charged off downhill through the bush – saplings crashing down like ninepins in front of us! Of course, in a blitz pointing steeply downhill, with the occupants braced for impact, the action up front is very much in your face. It can be a little unnerving to watch trees rushing up towards you, and see them give way only at the very last moment! Add to that the jolting and bouncing around in your seat as you hang on grimly to the steering wheel, or in Keith's case the cab frame, plus the tremendous racket going on all around you, what with saplings cracking and splitting and snapping off at the base or getting violently uprooted, with their branches and foliage thrashing down from above you to crash down in front and get run over and dragged along underneath – it all amounts to quite an assault on the senses!

Nevertheless, the plan, if it can be called that, seemed to work, with each impact wiping off our speed, and no real damage being done. Except at the very end of our wild ride, where we bumped into a rather more solid tree, which instead of cooperating by allowing itself to be snapped off or torn out of the ground like the others, stood firm and brought us to a somewhat less gentle halt than we would have preferred. Whilst we weren't flung forward enough to be injured, the impact was sufficient to collapse the RH bumper mount slightly, due to one half of the two-piece assembly being absent. In addition, owing to the steep downhill grade, the vertical tree trunk kissed the top of the front shell, leaving a small dent and producing a ripple in the top panel.

Thus we found ourselves stuck on a thickly wooded mountainside, pointing steeply downhill, nosed up hard against a tree! The only way out was to reverse back uphill over the carnage we had just caused – a little of which can be seen in pic 2. Finally, after some preparatory clearing of said carnage, and much throwing of it under spinning wheels by Keith, we emerged backwards onto the track again.

I don't recall how we got home with no brakes – presumably I learned to use the handbrake, like I should have in the first place. After all, it's not called the emergency handbrake for nothing!

Anyway we arrived back at Wayne's sawmill none the worse for wear, after what by any standards was quite an eventful first outing! Apart from my split-pin oversight the blitz had performed marvellously, and if I'd had a complete RH bumper mount there would have been no damage at all. As it was, the bumper moved back far enough for the tree trunk to kiss the front shell, and to rub on the RH wheel during LH turns, necessitating its removal temporarily. These effects of our altercation with the tree can be seen in pic 2, taken on our next outing.

[Keith Webb]

Tony has covered it pretty well... my recollection was there was no washer behind the split pin which caused it to wear through, in any case I remember it as one of those defining moments where time expands and you just have to wait for whatever is about to befall you.
I do remember once we stopped the engine was happily idling away to itself. We were too stunned to speak for a moment or two.
The next task was to somehow extricate the vehicle which was spinning one front and two back wheels. As I recall the solution was for me to push the back around as it spun just enough so there was a spot where we had traction with the help of branches under the wheels to back away from the tree and continue back to the track, bush bashing through a pre-surveyed route after jury rigging the brakes back together. From memory the clevis pin hadn't disappeared and we had some wire to use instead of the split pin, but I can't be sure.
The other thing I remembered, either from this trip or another was arriving at the bottom of the hill after coasting down in a low gear to find choke was needed as the engine had cooled to that point, not having been fitted with thermostats.

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Keith Webb

Tony has covered it pretty well... my recollection was there was no washer behind the split pin which caused it to wear through From memory the clevis pin hadn't disappeared and we had some wire to use instead of the split pin, but I can't be sure.

Yes Keith, a lot of what you say fits with my own recollection, but I wasn't sure so I didn't elaborate. To expand a bit:

1. clevis pin - I'm not sure either, it may have disappeared or it may have stuck in the clevis. I don't recall reassembling it, but I don't recall driving all the way home on the handbrake either.

2. wire - I doubt we would have had any wire up on the mountain, but I remember the use of wire instead of a split-pin being involved in the story somehow.

3. washer - like you I recall a washer being central to the story, and in fact I have a picture in my mind of a shiny new silver washer.

It's interesting that we both recall a washer being involved, because the blitz doesn't appear to use washers on these clevises. There are none on any of my blitzes, and none appears in the exploded diagram or parts list. Also, the clevis pin itself appears to be too short to allow a washer - the split pin sits hard up against the clevis on my blitzes.

Here's what I think may have happened:

I don't believe I would have fitted a clevis pin without securing it somehow, and if I'd used a split pin to secure it, I find it hard to believe I wouldn't have spread it. It's something you do in one motion - you put in the split pin and you spread it. Otherwise there's no point putting it in! It would have to be a conscious decision not to spread it, and I can't think of a good reason.

BUT....if I didn't have a split pin at the time, which is not unlikely, I may have used wire instead, intending to replace it later, then either forgotten or never got around to it. Once the cab went on it would be out of sight and out of mind.

Wire is generally quite soft, so it's not entirely inconceivable that it could have worn through in several hours of driving with lots of brake usage, as there would have been on those tracks. But I doubt that a split pin could wear through so quickly, and clearly they've lasted for years on my other blitzes without washers.

However, having discovered that whatever was in there had worn through so quickly, and nearly killed us, we would definitely have wanted to fit a washer before our next outing! That may account for my recollection of a shiny new washer, ie. it was at Wayne's place, after the incident. If it had been before the incident it would have been painted DBG, like every other nut, bolt, screw, flat washer, lock washer, etc. etc. that I had obsessively painted during the resto!

But in order to fit that shiny new washer, we would have needed a slightly longer clevis pin (judging by my present blitzes) and I certainly don't recall seeking one out. So maybe we were satisfied that a split pin would be safe where wire hadn't been.

It's all speculation of course, but it does raise this question - will you be using a washer on your FGT?!!

[Keith Webb]

The main thing is we didn't kill ourselves thank goodness and damage was fairly minimal. Before going to Yarra Junction the truck had an occasional workout around the night streets of North Box Hill upsetting all the neighbour's TV reception, what a hoot that was!

When it went to Peter Growse after my brief ownership (it had to go when I went overseas for 18 months). I steered it while we flat towed it with Peter's F15A to Heathmont. It was a slow trip.