Chev C8 in Australia

[Clive Skingle]

Hi Mike,
Yes I'm on the look for a set of wheels she's running the land cruiser split rims at the Mo. any ideas? I'm also chasing some of the dash switches and a fuel Tank for the left side, Set of side steps... the list goes on! does any one have the plans for the Dubbo tray? I know there's plans around for some other types.
Where would I find the Chassis number on this old Girl? she's missing the normal id plates on the engine tin wear someone at some time has add a doc holder and I assume removed them.
Ill take some more photos when I'm back in Cairns I'm currently In PNG I work FIFO which means provided I keep the missus happy I get to spend a certain amount of time "Playing" as she says with my Projects.

[Mike K]

The original 13" wheels mount on special adapters that have the standard civilian Chev bolt pattern on one side. Somebody had a set fabricated for a restoration . I think all CAD cut or a similar modern method



The original wheels were often removed because the tyre size isn't common

In some respects the Duple body is similar to other British 8cwt bodies but the lockers are different. Plans exist for the Morris 8 cwt body , you could use those as a basis for a new Duple body

Didn't find a chassis number on mine anywhere. I had another later cab 12 C8 that came from a property at Flowerdale Nth of Melbourne. This later one had 6th div and 1st Arm div markings on the cowl and Z4544183 .

[Clive Skingle]

I was considering knocking up adaptors for the standard 16" wheels a I notice the c15 4x2 seem to run those. it would be no major hassle for me to do the same for the 13" although if I end up fabricating a set of 13" I might as well make them fit sans adapters. really I suppose I'm just trying to work out how she should have been originally and recreate the look. would you know where I could get the plans for the Morris tray from?
Thanks for the feed back too mate I appreciate it I have spent hours reading threads on here and there is that much information its mind blowing that's why I decided I had to become a part of it to move forward so apologise in advance if this has already be covered in another thread.

[Owen Evans]

Originally Posted by Clive Skingle

Hi Mike,
Yes I'm on the look for a set of wheels she's running the land cruiser split rims at the Mo. any ideas? I'm also chasing some of the dash switches and a fuel Tank for the left side, Set of side steps... the list goes on! does any one have the plans for the Dubbo tray? I know there's plans around for some other types.
Where would I find the Chassis number on this old Girl? she's missing the normal id plates on the engine tin wear someone at some time has add a doc holder and I assume removed them.
Ill take some more photos when I'm back in Cairns I'm currently In PNG I work FIFO which means provided I keep the missus happy I get to spend a certain amount of time "Playing" as she says with my Projects.

AFAIK, the C8 cab 12 didn't originally have side steps. Or were the Aussie ones different? Which dash switches are you looking for?

Owen.

[Mike Cecil]

I'm aware of only one Chev 8-cwt C8 4x2 officially purchased by, and imported new into, Australia. This was a under SM2029. The Australian Contract Demand for the vehicle was CD E2251, and the 'short box body' or 'GS personnel' body (both terms are used in the ordering paperwork) from Massey-Harris was purchased under CD E1466. The cost of the vehicle was $816 and the body was $159.90. I'm assuming it was the vehicle that still existed at Murrayville in the 1990s, because it had the 'SM2029' stencil still visible under the bonnet. Wonder what happened to that little gem. It was always a flat 'NFS' when I was working in that area of Victoria.

The other C8 4x2 vehicles that are in Australia are, as far as I can ascertain, invariably of British in origin and supplied to Australian forces in the Middle East, and were brought to Australia by returning units, hence the 6 Aust Div sign, for example. Upon being returned to OVP, some were then re-issued to other units, such as 1 Aust Armd Div.

The origin of these vehicles is supported by the British 'Z' prefix registration numbers. Few, if any, were transferred to the Australian registration scheme, but retained the Z number, usually pre-fixed with the letters 'AIF'. Pretty much everyone I've seen in Australia where the original registration is visible had a Z prefix registration.

The type begins to come up as write-offs on the War Usage Rate data from the end of 1942/beginning of 1943, when the Army began a cull of worn out and odd-ball, difficult to support vehicles from the inventory.

Mike

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Mike Cecil

I'm aware of only one Chev 8-cwt C8 4x2 officially purchased by, and imported new into, Australia. This was a under SM2029. The Australian Contract Demand for the vehicle was CD E2251, and the 'short box body' or 'GS personnel' body (both terms are used in the ordering paperwork) from Massey-Harris was purchased under CD E1466. The cost of the vehicle was $816 and the body was $159.90. I'm assuming it was the vehicle that still existed at Murrayville in the 1990s, because it had the 'SM2029' stencil still visible under the bonnet. Wonder what happened to that little gem. It was always a flat 'NFS' when I was working in that area of Victoria.

The other C8 4x2 vehicles that are in Australia are, as far as I can ascertain, invariably of British in origin and supplied to Australian forces in the Middle East, and were brought to Australia by returning units, hence the 6 Aust Div sign, for example. Upon being returned to OVP, some were then re-issued to other units, such as 1 Aust Armd Div.

The origin of these vehicles is supported by the British 'Z' prefix registration numbers. Few, if any, were transferred to the Australian registration scheme, but retained the Z number, usually pre-fixed with the letters 'AIF'. Pretty much everyone I've seen in Australia where the original registration is visible had a Z prefix registration.

The type begins to come up as write-offs on the War Usage Rate data from the end of 1942/beginning of 1943, when the Army began a cull of worn out and odd-ball, difficult to support vehicles from the inventory.

Mike

Yep we all had our attempts at grabbing that Murrayville C8 The old boy wasn't too bad to deal with but there were other family influences going on in the background.

There was a Duple C8 body only sitting in the sawmill up near Waaia Vic. in the early 1980s, I got a tip off but in the meantime the owners had a clean up and it was scrapped.

[Clive Skingle]

Dash switches Im missing also missing shift plates of the enginge tin wear.

Are there photos of these trucks as returned from the mid east in their original livery?
Thanks so much fr the posts if gained more history on the truck in 3 days than I have in the year i have been sitting on the fence folllowing theseMissing dash switches.jpg Threads

[Mike K]

Somebody has added a odd looking extra panel under the windscreen. The fuel gauge tank switch is missing, I got one from Brian Asbury. New choke , throttle cables are available , civvy ones, with the rose tan knobs , light switch has the rose tan knob too

[Owen Evans]

Originally Posted by Clive Skingle

Dash switches Im missing also missing shift plates of the enginge tin wear.Attachment 102696 Threads

As Mike says, the choke, throttle and light switch are all standard 1940 Chevy civilian truck parts; quite often available on Fleabay, or via one of the classic Chevy dealers. Choke & Throttle knobs are embossed 'C' and 'T', whereas the light knob is plain. The 'shift' and 'lubrication' plates are available as reproduction from LWD parts in the Netherlands (http://www.lwdparts.com). LWD also have the ignition switch/coil assembly.

Looks from your photos like the 'dash jewel' is missing too. No functional benefit; just looks cool!

Owen.

[Clive Skingle]

Sorry might have confused the issue there this is the Dash in my truck the over Photo was one I found on another site but I used it to show the buttons I was missing. does any one have a good photo of the full set of Dash buttons?