Chevrolet C8 1940 Cab 11 restoration, The Netherlands

[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.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for your comments Bob; there is a spring specialist not too far from me and I will see if they can help out. I also talked about the subject with a few other people which led to some interesting ideas.

Progress on the springs and axles is slow at the moment as I need some parts to be able to rebuild them and because I was waiting for a new primer and paint. So, most of the past two weeks have been spent in the books and on the web to trace part numbers and to look for spares. Dirk and Stefan were able to help me out with a number of them, but I am still looking for some other parts. For instance....I managed to find replacement U-bolts for the rear axle here in Holland, but only the short ones.....I am still looking for the longer ones, which are also used to attach the arms for the shock links (that's why they are about 0.5inch longer). Does anyone know a source or a truck that uses U-bolts with the same measurements?

In the meantime I have started disassembling the nose of the truck in order to prepare the engine removal. What do you know.....I found another spot which was still covered in paint Next I want to remove the panels next to the radiator....the ones with the holes for the cab vents....I removed a number of nuts and bolts, but somehow they are still attached somewhere. Do I have to remove the fender supports first??? Any of the Alligator cab-crowd who can help out?

Alex