Ford Blitz Restoration/Rebuild

[Private_collector]

Cool, thanks John.

I'll give em a ring during the week, for sure.

I would never trust REPCO for anything. I would rather go to Supacheap than Repco, and that's saying something. You know what R.E.P.C.O stands for?? Rip Every Poor.......never mind

Bundaberg is probably only a couple of hours away, and i'd rather go in that direction than into Brisbane.

[Private_collector]

Gearbox top end finished 3.jpg
After going to the effort of making a new reverse latch thingy, I found a good original one today while pulling another box selcetor set apart. All I wanted was one little spring for a selector rod ball.
Gearbox top end finished 1.jpg Gearbox top end finished 2.jpg
It took all afternoon, but the selectors, lever and cover are now finished.
Gearbox mount 1.jpg
Having done that, I went on to start cleaning up the rear trans mount. The seal is to be replaced, but the rest seems to be quite OK.
Second gearbox 1.jpg
The box that I pulled apart today seems to be a good candidate for use as well, so now I have a choice. I'll work on cleaning both until one shows more promise. Back to the manual for how to pull em apart.

The gear lever moves easily, but doesn't shift the forks as it should. When paint is completely dry, i'll take a look, it'll be something simple..........I hope.

[Private_collector]

John W,

I phoned that place in Bundaberg this afternoon.

Spoke with Gavin, and must say I was very impressed with the time he took to discuss my requirements. Some of the talk went a little over my head, but that is a reflection lack of knowledge on the subject.

It will now be up to me to strip the parts from the block, and I will take the stuff up to them for cleaning and initial evaluation on which parts need refurbishing or replacement. I understand they are booked for weeks in advance, but thats no problem, it will work out well.

Thankyou for sending me their contact details.

[ozm29c]

Hi Tony,
Glad to be of help.
Cheers
John W.

[Private_collector]

A couple more pieces arrived today.
Gear boot as arrived.jpg gear boot test fit 1.jpg
So far, I have entirely failed to locate an original, and therefore correct CMP gear boot. This NOS one for a 1970s Cortina will do me just fine until the discovery happens. At least it's a Ford product
Exhaust hangers 1.jpg
Also received these two NOS exhaust hangers. One will make a reasonable copy of an original with some reworking. The other may not get used. Depends on how close to original I want to go.
New Odometer set.jpg
Finally, this NOS total odometer set will replace the one I have that I recovered with decals. Decals are fine if I had no choice, but this will be much more long lasting. I did a test fit on a spare speedo and they are a perfect fit.
Cleaned rear trans mount.jpg
The rear transmission mount is now fully cleaned & awaiting a replacement seal (01T-4813). I have located a source that will be supplying me two (one for a spare) for less than $25AUD. Shipping almost doubles the cost, but at total of $47AUD, that'll do me. Brand new, not NOS, these ones.

The seals were sourced from MIBearings in USA. Here is a link: http://mibearings.com/

[Jacques Reed]

Also received these two NOS exhaust hangers. One will make a reasonable copy of an original with some reworking. The other may not get used. Depends on how close to original I want to go.

This may be of interest:
Here's a photo of what I am 99% certain is the rear muffler to chassis hanger for Ford CMP trucks as I have seen the same on three vehicles this past week. Still, I have been wrong before here. I am in the process of straightening it out, but with the extremely hot weather here I do not want to fire up the "blue tongued lizard" (oxy-acetylene torch for non-Australian readers). No use scaring the neighbors!

Bending steel cold can only be done so many times before it snaps and it is not worth stuffing it up.

It mounts 6" behind the face of the transfer case cross-member in the lowest hole in the frame rail.

I am thinking it is the same dimensions, minus the bends, as the hard to find tailpipe bracket that attaches to the left rear fuel tank bracket. it is 1/16" thick, 1-1/4" wide, and 9-1/4" from the center of the clamp to the end.
Can anyone confirm if it is the same? If so, I will use it as a pattern to make that bracket.

Cheers,

[Private_collector]

G' Day Jacques,

You are 100% correct. That is the right part, according to my manual.

If you don't mind, I will save a copy of that photo you posted. Clearest photo I have seen so far.

Here's a question you may also be able to answer. Are Ford CMP transmission parts interchangable with civvy stuff of the same year. I need main shaft bearings, gaskets, throw-out bearing and clutch shaft bushes.

I disassembled the gearbox/trans this afternoon. All of the gears, shafts, and roller bearings are really good. The case got treated to a lengthy scrub and degrease. Then went over the whole thing with the twisted wire cup. Even the inspection plate and screws were good enough to use. Despite 70+ years of life, the machined parts still had near razor sharp edges on some of em. Guess how I found out? Made that discovery a number of times acutally, but did get everything real clean and ready for reassembly.

One thing I have NEVER seen for sale is the grease lubricating hose that goes to the throwout bearing. I may have to get one made, if that is even possible. I have the remains of a couple of em, but they ard strictly pattern material only.

If the gearbox case is good enough, I may get it painted tomorrow. If i'm unsure, i'll mask it off, for blasting through the week.

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Jacques Reed

Here's a photo of what I am 99% certain is the rear muffler to chassis hanger for Ford CMP trucks...I am in the process of straightening it out...Bending steel cold can only be done so many times before it snaps...I am thinking it is the same dimensions, minus the bends, as the hard to find tailpipe bracket that attaches to the left rear fuel tank bracket. If so, I will use it as a pattern to make that bracket.

Jacques, I forgot to mention the bracket you have is off the gun tractor you were driving last week, it's definitely original, but someone had repositioned it on the chassis, which is why they've flattened out the bend. I had to remove it when I rigged up a new muffler to keep the neighbours happy! I'm sure it can be re-bent with some heat, although as you say it may be prone to cracking now, from being hammered flat when cold. I imagine there's a bit of flexing at that point during normal driving.

However we discovered I have another one on my F60S, I think you may have taken a photo. I should have taken that one off to give you, it's in perfect condition, with the remains of an original muffler by the look of it. I'll whip it off tomorrow and stick it in the mail, that way you can install it now and not worry about potential cracking. Also, as a pattern, you can get the bend position correct, and you could even flatten out the FGT one completely to get the blank dimensions correct. Not that it's critical of course, but nice to get things accurate, esp. if you're doing a drawing.

You're correct about the rearmost bracket too Jacques, I'll post some pics here shortly.

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Jacques Reed

I am thinking it is the same dimensions, minus the bends, as the hard to find tailpipe bracket that attaches to the left rear fuel tank bracket.

As you say Jacques they do seem hard to find. Not one of my vehicles has one, but surprisingly there's one on this stripped down F15A chassis. This $200 pile of blitz bits off ebay is proving to be quite handy (eagle eyes may notice 25pdr wheel on rear) but unfortunately the winch is homebuilt from a Ford axle - something I failed to detect on the ebay pic!

Anyway the bracket is clearly the same as the front one, sans bends, and possibly a bit shorter. There's also a support strap underneath, presumably to minimize flexing over rough terrain...? I imagine this piece would have been straight originally, and was possibly bent by a size 12 boot using the tailpipe as a convenient step!

I'll stick these in the mail too Jacques, you're welcome to keep them but I'll definitely need drawings eventually, unless someone stumbles on a box of NOS!