Chevrolet C8 1940 Cab 11 restoration, The Netherlands

[Bob Carriere]

... the C8 has a relatively low profile...... rear over hang of the cargo box..... 13 inch wheels..... early war model..... is it possible that it NEVER had a convoy light....... purely from a practical perspective.... the rear diff. might not have been very visible EVEN if painted white......

Most CMP with the rear diff light had some from of switch on the frame....C model had what appears to be a hi-beam floor switch mounted on the driver's side rear frame..... is there any evidence of the large hole flacked by two smaller screw/bolt holes on your frame....?

I agree with you that there is enough factory evidence to support the factory installation of the light and white paint on the diff.

I have been following your progress with much interest and fasination...
One comment on the primer allowing rust to bloom right through the primer.... it has been my experience backed up by some reading that "primer" is indeed very porous and will let in oxygen and water..... primer is not meant to seal but only to prepare the surface for greater adhesion of the eventual top coat....

I have found it much better to treat bare recetnly cleaned metal with phosphoric acid..... called metal prep in body shop store..... in a weak solution diluted with water it will create an iron phosphate.... greyish chalky finish on the clean steel..... ideal micro rough texture for the top coat to adhere to. Properly phosphate metal will withstand rust better than just a primer coat. The ideal, whether you use primer of an acid solution, is to seal the surface with a good top coat ASAP........

Some steel once dry and phosphated will last for weeks..... other steel seems to get a surface rust bloom a lot quicker...... maybe the carbon content.

I have had CMP rims that were phosphated and months later the surface rust bloom was like a fine dust and easily rubbed off using a 3M pad..... and painted right over with excellent results.

I have cab 11 sheet metal that has been sadn blastedm degreased and phospated.....stored inside the barn..... been 2 or 3 years now with no rust on them..... and never painted.....

Keep showing us pictures of your progress.....

Bob C.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Bob,

Thanks for your comments. Especially the Hammond thread and Phil's thread are a great help for my project!

is there any evidence of the large hole flacked by two smaller screw/bolt holes on your frame....?

Come to think of it.....I think I might have seen one bigger hole and two smaller ones next to it on the rear crossmember.....hmm, will check tonight and post a picture.

Thanks for the comments on the primer. My frame was coated in a zinc phosfate primer, which was far better than the primer I used my self on the axle and smaller bits. I will certainly look into the suggestions you gave and yes....the best way is probably not to wait too long with the final coat after applying primer.....but somehow I just want to have the feeling that I have already stopped the rust before moving to the top coat.

Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

Could these be the holes for the diff light switch? It's positioned on the rear crossmember just left of the rear body step. I haven't been able to check for possible remains of the light attachment yet.


Alex

[hrpearce]

Alex the hole group Bob was talking about is in the chassis rail near the u bolt in this picture. It was a Hi/Low beam switch mounted there and it directed the power either to the tail lights or convoy light.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Robert,

You are right. It was more matter of wishfull thinking on my behalf. No tell-tale holes in the right rear of the frame......no remains of white paint on the diff or light on one of the crossmembers, so it's pretty save to say that at least my C8 never had a diff light. Thanks for the responces guys! Part of the fun or restoring a CMP!

Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

I didn't get much done last week, but the front springs have been removed. The rearmost pins attaching the front springs to the chassis were nicely lubricated and in good condition (and could be screwed out by hand.....quite the contrary of the one I had to remove from the separate chassis earlier!). The front pin/bolt and rear lower pin however are very worn as can been seen in the picture. I really wonder if replacing the bushings and pins is enough here....

Also see the difference in my front sprins...the right front springs (bottom one in the pictures) has an extra leaf added and the clips lengtened.
Alex

[Bob Carriere]

HI Alex

Not sure if a spring shop is readily available in your area but I would be tempted to repalce the top two or three leafs with new one....with new bushing and new pins. You are going to have a hard time getting bushing to press into the existing eyelets of the old springs. Besides the top two or three leaves will be carrying the bulk of the weight..... I would be afraid the old ones might snap.

Around here it's about $125.00 per spring pack if you can salvage the shorter leaves and have new one fabricated. The old short leaves can be heated and re-arched.

The spring clips are easily fabricated using flat stock..... tubing for the botls and new bolts.... I made new ones for my spring.... takes a little time but easy enough to do.

Hang in there..... love to follow your progress.

Bob C.