Chevrolet 1533X2 30-cwt trucks

[Lynn Eades]

Yep! That settled that!
Are you happy Andrew?

[hrpearce]

Andrew, the black engine mount in your picture is the same as the mounts in my 47/48 Chev 1100.

[Lynn Eades]

I love that colour on the gearbox!

[Andrew H.]

Yes, I am very happy and want to thank you all again for being so helpful. I had previously spent a very long time trying to figure it out and you guys provided the answer very quickly. What a great forum!! The photos of Tommy's truck confirm what David, Lyn and others have said and I note in passing that the spring is attached to the underside of the cross member.

A small point about Tommy K's truck: It may be ex-NZ but almost certainly is not ex-LRDG, as none are known to have survived the war, except one earlier type in the Imperial War Museum. The truck shown appears to be the "India pattern" type of Chev and may have seen desert service as it has correct sand tyres but it has an un-cut grill and several other features that indicate it is not LRDG. But a great truck anyway!

[Stuart Kirkham]

Originally Posted by Andrew Honeyfield

Yes, I am very happy and want to thank you all again for being so helpful. I had previously spent a very long time trying to figure it out and you guys provided the answer very quickly. What a great forum!! The photos of Tommy's truck confirm what David, Lyn and others have said and I note in passing that the spring is attached to the underside of the cross member.

A small point about Tommy K's truck: It may be ex-NZ but almost certainly is not ex-LRDG, as none are known to have survived the war, except one earlier type in the Imperial War Museum. The truck shown appears to be the "India pattern" type of Chev and may have seen desert service as it has correct sand tyres but it has an un-cut grill and several other features that indicate it is not LRDG. But a great truck anyway!

Andrew

The truck shown in my photo was one of a number of these vehicle type modified by GM Holden Australia for the NZ forces in North Africa. Whilst in transit from the east coast of Australia to North Africa, it was decided that the vehicle was no longer required at it's intended destination. The NZ vehicles were therefore off loaded at Fremantle Port in Western Australia. As the truck never made it to North Africa, the 'in service' modifications you mention were never made.

Apparently the NZ vehicles were utilised around the Perth region by the Australian army for the remainder of the war until sold off as war surplus. The vehicle has a top coat of army green that has been hand/brush applied. I presume this would have been done by the Australian army as it covers up the vehicle number on the bonnet.

The farmer who owns the Chev stated that he purchased it directly from one of the disposal sales in the late 40's. It was here that he learnt of it's history. He also mentioned that there were other similar vehicles awaiting disposal. Although this truck did not see overseas service, it is a genuine ex NZ vehicle. This information was relayed to me by the farmer who purchased the vehicle. He is a very knowledgeable man and has a history of CMP acquisitions and preservation.

I have posted this photo taken of the vehicle number on the bonnet. The number is either '13855' or just '8355'. I can't tell if the mark in front of the 8 is a number 1 or just an anomaly in the paint application. The '1' appears to extend lower than the other numbers.

I am hoping that someone can confirm this number as being ex NZ.

[Andrew H.]

G'Day Tommy, I should make it clear that I am not an expert in LRDG matters and sincerely hope someone with much more knowledge will be able to give a more definitive answer on your truck. Your truck could have been intended for use by the NZ forces in North Africa without necessarily being an "an LRDG truck" or one intended for LRDG use. I have always understood that the LRDG Chevs were shipped directly from Canada to Egypt rather than from New Zealand, but I could be wrong. There does not seem much sense in shipping LRDG trucks from Canada to NZ and then to Egypt, especially considering that the LRDG was not specifically a NZ unit.

From the photo your truck appears to have the 4-inch wider front mudguards and wider front axle, which were features of the LRDG trucks. Does it have a creeper gear? I understand that was another factory-installed feature. However, the truck in the photo does not have the Godtfreidson rear ammo body (could have been removed) or the "star" pattern front hubs that are trademark features of the "art-deco" LRDG trucks. These features should be visible in your truck if it was intended for LRDG use. I think it also has the petrol tank and filler cap in the "wrong" place for a LRDG truck.

I understand that the other special modifications were made in the LRDG workshops in Cairo and would therefore not be present in your truck, including the cut-away grille slats, cut-away hip panels, the pto compressor, aero screens and the brackets for sand mats and sand channels etc. I am not sure whether the checker-plate flooring panels were installed in Canada or later in Egypt.

[motto (RIP)]

I was delighted to see the photos of the Chev posted by Tommy whatever its origins may be.
My father who died last year at the age of 93 was a vehicle enthusiast all his life and had an accurate memory for vehicles he had seen.
During the war he was stationed in the Darwin area for some time as part of 7th battalion signals. One day we were talking trucks and he told me that he had seen what he referred to as 'Desert Chevs, in the Northern Territory during his time up there. From his brief description I assumed the trucks he saw were probably Indian Army Pattern.
I had no confirmation of the presence of such vehicles although not actively searching.
The old man's been proved right.

David

[Stuart Kirkham]

Originally Posted by Andrew Honeyfield

G'Day Tommy, I should make it clear that I am not an expert in LRDG matters and sincerely hope someone with much more knowledge will be able to give a more definitive answer on your truck.

However, the truck in the photo does not have the Godtfreidson rear ammo body (could have been removed)

These features should be visible in your truck if it was intended for LRDG use.

I think it also has the petrol tank and filler cap in the "wrong" place for a LRDG truck.

Andrew

I too am not an expert on LRDG vehicles although I do take an interest in them. I can only go on the photographs I took of the truck, information I have from the owner and information I find through research.

I believe this truck may have been a 'Headquarters/Survey Section' vehicle as these had the same timber rear bodies and timber cab sides. http://lrdg.hegewisch.net/lrdgvehicles.html

Although this Chev in the photo below is an earlier model, it does display very similar modifications including the cab side fuel filler and chassis mounted side fuel tank. It also has the timber rear body. The other photo shows an officer inside a timer bodied LRDG vehicle. Photo taken from here - http://lrdg.hegewisch.net/lrdg-hq-trucks.html

Screenshot_2020-04-29 Photobucket albums q121 tommykm ef55e913c2d9ca17_large_zpsefae9bdf jpg.jpg
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...psefae9bdf.jpg

Screenshot_2020-04-29 Photobucket albums q121 tommykm lrdgmedic_zpsbea81a42 jpg.jpg
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...psbea81a42.jpg

To help you out with your questions about the truck, I post the following photos.

The truck still retains a few parts of it's original timber general service body including the 'headboard' and original shaped chassis 'joists' (as they still retain remains of the original kharki green paint). You can see the underbody 'joist' in the side petrol tank photo.

You will notice that the 'headboard' on this vehicle is identical in height to the one shown in the wartime photo showing the officer at his desk.

The following photo show:

The front of the 'headboard' with it's fittings still in situ.



The rear view shows that the original timber side boards have simply been sawn off at the corner junction. The farmer undertook this work as he wanted a 'sideless' tray setup to cart hay around his property. He would have also found the raised timber floor wheel arches an obstruction so they would have been removed as well. I would not be surprised if he still had the remains of the timberwork tucked away in one of his sheds as he threw nothing away. Actually, come to think about it, the floor boards on the tray look very similar in width.



As pointed out earlier in this post, the cab side fuel filler look correct and the chassis mounted fuel tank also looks correct as it has a top and bottom section to it's construction.





I hope this helps