Our LRDG Chev

[serge]

Hello

Among the huge quantity of WWII military trucks that I saw in NORMANDY last week, I have shoted this INDIAN CHEVROLET replica. Were such truck used by LRDG group or only by INDIAN troops?

Regards Serge

[Andrew H.]

That type of 30cwt India Pattern truck with the flat-faced cowl was used by the LRDG from 1942 after considerable modification by the Chev company in Canada as a special order for the LRDG. The new designation of that model was 1533X2. Changes included a pto-driven air compressor, heavy duty springs, stronger and wider front axle, wider mudguards, low ratio creeper gear, condenser for the radiator, doors and roof removed, Godfreidson rear ammo body installed and special 10.5 X 16 sand-pattern tyres fitted. Also, some of the front grille slats were removed for better cooling. After those modifications it was significantly different from the standard India pattern truck shown in your photo.

[Andrew H.]

Just a brief progress report for anyone interested. Despite not having posted here for a while, that does not indicate a lack of enthusiasm for our project. There has been nothing much to report, as we are still bogged down fabricating and painting our rear ammo body. This has taken much longer than we thought, for reasons I won't bore you with. We work on the truck nearly every weekend so there is no lack of commitment, but its coming together very slowly at present. Issues we have dealt with during winter include high winds (we are in an open-sided shed) and once we even found ourselves working in an inch of water!

Lately we have been deciding whether to glue the deck down with Sikaflex adhesive, which we understand is now widely used in truck-bed assembly, or to weld it in the normal way. In the end we decided not to use adhesive in case it created difficulties with the NZTA certification requirements. I will post again when there are some pictures to show our progress - maybe in two or three weeks.

[Kuno]

Good to read that the project continues - even in wind and water!

[Kuno]

...and how does the truck look today?

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by Kuno

...and how does the truck look today?

Hi Kuno,
Thanks for your interest. Progress on the truck has slowed down due to other commitments, but we keep plodding along, doing something almost every weekend (we can only work in the weekend). The attached photo shows recent progress on the rear ammo body, which still has one side and the front panel to attach. We will make a start on the brakes shortly and we expect the motor back from the engine re-conditioner early in the new year.

[jack neville]

Originally Posted by serge

Hello

Among the huge quantity of WWII military trucks that I saw in NORMANDY last week, I have shoted this INDIAN CHEVROLET replica. Were such truck used by LRDG group or only by INDIAN troops?

Regards Serge

Were any of these desert type vehicles equiped with canvas as in this vehicle?

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by jack neville

Were any of these desert type vehicles equiped with canvas as in this vehicle?

Not as far as I know, but I may be wrong.

[Andrew H.]

Today we continued working on the ammo body. We are amateurs and cannot do good vertical welds, so to attach the front panel we had to take the body out of the shed and prop it up on its end so we could weld downwards. This involved one of us being lifted up on the tractor FEL with the welding plant and gas bottle roped on securely. It was a very hot day so we propped the ammo body up under a tree for shade. It was pleasant working there and the job was quite quickly done. However with all the panels now welded on, there are no longer any convenient attaching points for ropes and chains. This resulted in us dropping the whole body with a huge crash, when we put it back in the shed. Fortunately, no damage was done. The next step is to fabricate and attach the wheel arches, and also start working on the brakes.

[Andrew H.]

Today we called in to see how the engine re-conditioner is getting on. He is re-grinding the crankshaft, honing the bore, putting in new bearings and new pistons etc. It has only taken him three years.

[Kuno]

Hi Andrew - sorry for late reply... but in the recent months I have looked into vintage aircraft rather than vehicles... good to see that your Chevrolet is still making progres.

A pity it is not yet in driving condition - else it could have joined our little old Ford a bit to the desert later on this year...

[motto]

Nine pistons? You must have one of the very rare 9 cylinder Chevys. No wonder the reconditioning is taking time.

David

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

... so to attach the front panel we had to take the body out of the shed and prop it up on its end so we could weld downwards. This involved one of us being lifted up on the tractor FEL with the welding plant and gas bottle roped on securely. It was a very hot day so we propped the ammo body up under a tree for shade. It was pleasant working there and the job was quite quickly done. ...

Was this picture copied off one of those Facebook pages entitled, 'why men have shorter lifespans'?

[Andrew H.]

We thought it was safe enough at the time. Job done now anyway .

[Andrew H.]

Today we finished welding in the wheel arches, grinding off the welds and sharp edges and priming them. We admit to using a small amount of bog to fill the odd gap. We would have to be much better at welding to avoid using any bog at all, but we do try to keep it to a minimum.

The long marathon of fabricating the ammo body is now almost at an end. We cannot believe it has taken so long but we only work on the truck in the weekends. We are now finally in the home stretch and all that remains to be done is to install the small "gussets" under the wheel arches, and to fabricate the tail-board.