Cab. 13 - early/late style dashboard use?

[Ian McColl]

Although there seem to always be exceptions, your late model Ford marked "Ford Canada" should have been manufactured with late style (round) gauges. I have never seen a CMP with the Ford Canada markings on the nose with early or rectangular gauges. It is possible of course that the gauge cluster or nose has been changed at some point in the vehicles history. I would think it is more likely that the nose has been changed as opposed to the dash / gauges. Photos of your truck would be helpful perform a better analysis. Good luck.

[Bob Carriere]

I have photograhic records of AUstralian contract C60L with 16" wheels and small axles made BUT not delivered from Canadian soil as late as Sept 1944..... and in the same contract a few days apart similar trucks with round military gauges..... maybe they were using up what stock was available.

Cheers

[Ian McColl]

Hi Bob, I've seen your images before and as you know I have a truck from the same contract with round gauges. Personally I am of the opinion that someone has either swapped dashes / data plates etc; however, we have seem many oddball things in the past.

[Bob Carriere]

....some in the same junk yard side by each...... two many examples to be just the occasional dash changes......

[Phil Waterman]

I wonder if some of the strange things many of us have seen over the years concerning mix of early and later parts could just be the result of somebody using the parts they had at hand.

This could have been at the time of original assembly in Canada, parts shortages during assembly being made up out of spare parts system instead of stopping the assembly line.

Overseas assembled vehicles again what parts do you have at hand if they were some of the fully knocked down vehicle vs single crate.

War time rebuilds trucks and parts not necessarily meeting up again after individual trucks are rebuilt.

Repair of vehicles from salvaged parts.

Seventy plus years later there are very few if any "original" CMPs left out there for us to look at and compare. Even my own HUP which started off as a very complete vehicle in 1978 when I got it, now has parts which I have change and replaced over the years. Talking just about the instrument panel I know it has had the speedo change 4 times, and several of the switches replaced over the years.

Cheers Phil

[Maurice Donckers]

First cabs had nothing under the head lamps , but had the ford logo on the grill , second 13 cabs had only Ford under the headlight , No badge anymore , third version had Ford Canada under headlight . from my recordings of surviving wrecks , the cabs with the badge on the grill seem to have the rectangular dash cluster.

[Keith Webb]

The only difference here was the Ford badge on the grille was retained on all Cab 13s to the end of production. Occasionally it was the V8 version of the badge too.

Originally Posted by Maurice Donckers

First cabs had nothing under the head lamps , but had the ford logo on the grill , second 13 cabs had only Ford under the headlight , No badge anymore , third version had Ford Canada under headlight . from my recordings of surviving wrecks , the cabs with the badge on the grill seem to have the rectangular dash cluster.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Maurice Donckers

First cabs had nothing under the head lamps , but had the ford logo on the grill , second 13 cabs had only Ford under the headlight , No badge anymore , third version had Ford Canada under headlight . from my recordings of surviving wrecks , the cabs with the badge on the grill seem to have the rectangular dash cluster.

To confirm "the cabs with the badge on the grill seem to have the rectangular dash cluster": my Jan 1943 F15A has the badge on the grill, no stamping under the headlights and a rectangular (civilian) dash.