Chevrolet C8 1940 Cab 11 restoration, The Netherlands

[Eduard Sorokin]

Dear Alex !

Here is very interesting restoration process !
I shall see for further work.

Please, check Your PM box.

Regards,
Armoured.

[Alex van de Wetering]

Thanks for your comments guys,

@Dave I have decided to keep the diff green for the moment as I can always paint it white later on.
@ Bob, thanks for the advise. Indeed I am taking hundreds of pics and that does help to solve most issues about location of bolts and things (and should also help when re-assembling!). So next I will have to remove the fender to reach that last bolt? I did see something what resembled a bolt, but I tought it was rather strange that this bolt is within the upper fender support. Not a clever idea it seems(?)

So the proper re-assembly order would be; assemble grille/rad section to arch bars first...than fender supports...than fenders....and than all panels between front section and windscreen/firewall???


Alex

[Alex van de Wetering]

I get the idea that I am going backwards here....the frame started to show slight corrosion pits through the fresh paint...that black primer I used was really bad! So I decided to sand down some sections of the frame and apply a coat of my new friend....the heavy duty Red-oxide PU primer.

I did the same on the leaf spring blades and applied a coat of Khaki green next. I am waiting for the last few parts, so I can continue with the re-assembly of the springs. I assembled one already, but need to have another look as one of the blades is not positioned properly.




One thing that I wanted to ask you guys about is leaf Spring bushings. I have managed to get NOS spring pins and GM stamped bushings from LWD parts. However I thought the bushing should have a narrow fit to the spring eye and the pins should be moving freely in the bushing (with grease in between). In this case it's the other way round. The bushing "falls" into the spring eye and you have to force the pin into the bushing. Any ideas? Is there an easy way to "spread" the bushing??


Alex

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Alex

The bushings first..... You were lucky to find the pins..... I had mine done from drill rods blanks by a machine shop. The bushings I got form the spring shop that rebuilt my spring packs.

The bushing should be tight enough to require either a press fit or at least some slight tapping...... then once installed the bushings should be reamed a tiny bit to allow the new pins to fit in snug with some grease. If you bushings afalling out have the spring shop heat and reshape the spring eye tighter. If they are installed loose they will pound themselves to a sloppy fit very quickly. Keep in mind that the original pins need the original bolts which are no longer available today.

Now for the re-assembly sequence......

....according to what I have done/observed....... others can comment....

The cast steel nose support go first on the arch bars... rad horse collar that bolts tothe frame front cross member then the rad can be installed. Next the fender support need to be installed so you can reach the hidden bolt.

The top nose section can now be installed over the radiator.

Then the fenders which will fit under the side panels that bolts on each side of the cast steel support bolted to the arches.

The you can proceed to the inner side panel.... the inside panel is the one right over the driver's feet..... I beleive that panel has to be mated with the inner wheel well curved section as they share the same bolts .....

Then...... then...... my mind gets confused and I call Phil Waterman.

In any event it doesn't matter if you get the sequence wrong.... you will no doubt have to take it apart 2 or 3 times before everything fits properly.

And to think we do this for fun !!!!!

Bob C

[Bob Carriere]

My original spring pins were done differently..... the slot cut for the bolts holding them in place was cut with 3 angled flat sides and required special bolts shaped like the 3 sided groove ..... the new ones were made with a circular slot like yours so I could use regular boltss. The machine shop had to heat up the drill rods to remove the temper..... drill the grease passageway....tap for the greae fittings... cut the bolt slot and grind a relief groove in the center for the grease to spread then retemper the whole thing. Hope they last a long time.

Bob

[Mike K]

When I assembled the C8 cab, I discovered that the drivers side arch bar was twisted out of alignment - meaning that the drivers side wing would not sit level so I had to make up a small adjusting mount for the wing . How this twist in the archbar happened is a mystery , it must have been made like that .

You could see where somebody on the production line had beaten the inner fill in panel, to make it fit the arch bar . Being a very early vehicle, I guess the first batch or two were not fitting together as they should have done

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Alex van de Wetering

One thing that I wanted to ask you guys about is leaf Spring bushings. I have managed to get NOS spring pins and GM stamped bushings from LWD parts. However I thought the bushing should have a narrow fit to the spring eye and the pins should be moving freely in the bushing (with grease in between). In this case it's the other way round. The bushing "falls" into the spring eye and you have to force the pin into the bushing. Any ideas? Is there an easy way to "spread" the bushing??

Alex,

You could also fix the problem by having some new bushes machined up out of bronze , its a easy job . Just make them larger on the outside diameter and then bore or ream them to the required inside diameter . Mike

[Alex van de Wetering]

Bob, Mike,

Thanks again for your usefull comments. I am expecting some parts from the "Filling Station" soon, including bushings. These have a slightly larger overall diameter than the ones I have now, so fingers crossed. If these are also too small for the springs eyes on my springs, than I will either have the eyes reshaped or have new bushings custom made.
I didn't know the pins were so hard to find; I did see that Phil Waterman had new ones made!

In the meantime the frame is back in Khaki Green again.
I also picked up two shocks recently (the satin black ones in the pics), which were supposedly rebuilt and than left on the shelf. The action of the arms is certainly better than on the original shocks. Type is slightly different; first five numbers are the same but the number after the dash is different....I presume the difference is within the arms.....my original C8 ones are straight, while the "new" ones have a curve in the arm. I wil probably try and swap the arms.

Alex

p.s. I am convinced that paint suppiers pack some insects in every can of paint.....no bug anywhere, until you have just spraypainted something....

[Bob Carriere]

Hi Alex

At the time I needed the pins I could not find them anywhere....once I paid darn good money to have them made I found Dirk had them cheaper.....

Thsoe shock absorbers were used on a variety of model from early Dodge 4x4 to Chev 2x and 4x4...... the part number may be tied to the specific application....axle design...frame offset ...length of the arm for travel....but I suspect the guts are probably all the same.

Carefull trying to remove the arms...... as many times as I have tried I have not been able to remove one safely..... with lots of heat it can be done BUT you will destroy the oil seal around the shaft of the arm.

Just make sure they travel well and that they are filled up with hydraulic oil.

I also suspect that with the number of spring leaves, rust residue, friction between spring leaves, etc....... with or with out shock absorbers ....the ride is not altered or improved by much. Up until the mid fifties Dodge Power wagon 4x4 pickup trucks did not have rear shocks.... they were optional.

Good luck with the bushings.....

Bob

[Alex van de Wetering]

Bob,

I haven't tried yet, but I thought removing the arms might be the "easy" part with a puller and maybe a little heat.....I was thinking re-assembling the arms would be the real challenge....I mean, a press could do the job, but if you use the press against the shock housing wouldn't that result in problems???

I guess I just have to try!

Alex