Willanthry Chev Blitz C60L Restoration

Willanthry · #1 27-07-09, 15:14

Well, today myself and my father attempted to put the canopy frame back in place on the back of the truck. Unfortunately for us, it turned out to be too heavy, too awkward and too big for us and our poor old Deutz-Fahr tractor to handle. We've wrestled onto the back of the truck, sitting athwart the tray, and once we get some more hands out to help, we should be able to put the canopy into it's slots.

In the meantime, i was wondering if any of you have photos of your Blitz seats in a complete state? i just needed some guidance, as the photos in the manual aren't as all encompassing as i could wish, and i'm going to attempt to run up the covers tomorrow.

Cheers!

Phil Waterman · #2 27-07-09, 23:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Willanthry

W.....

In the meantime, i was wondering if any of you have photos of your Blitz seats in a complete state? i just needed some guidance, as the photos in the manual aren't as all encompassing as i could wish, and i'm going to attempt to run up the covers tomorrow.

Cheers!

Here is the link to some detail photos of the seat on my web page http://www.canadianmilitarypattern.c...tingPage2.html click on the links right at the top of the page. I'll try and find some more and post them.

Cheers Phil

Bob McNeill · #3 28-07-09, 10:06

I get my seat canvas from the people who make blinds and awnings, turn it over so the stripe is on the inside. Pay about $20 for offcut 2x5 mtrs. plenty available in Orange.

Willanthry · #4 07-08-09, 10:48

With our faithful old Deutz-Fahr tractor, we've managed to put the canopy back onto the back of the Blitz. It didn't want to go, and after a few bent posts and some frustration, the canopy is back on the Blitz, after about 50 years of separation!

Willanthry · #5 17-09-09, 00:08

G'day everyone!

Sorry it's been a while since i last posted, things have been a little beyond my control lately, and the poor old Blitz hasn't had my full attention. Anyway, some updates; The engine is still not put back together, but I've painted the engine block with grey paint, and the rocker cover, sump, fan, timing cover and several other parts in a glossy black. I'm still having trouble finding the right piston for this engine, although I'm onto a chap in Griffith who is chasing up the piston now. He's already got me a full gasket set for the engine, which is great.

I'm waiting now of course for the piston, a carby kit for the Tillotson that goes with the engine, some time to re-assemble the engine and put her back in the Blitz. I've also prepared the tray of the Blitz for a hit with the Rust Converter. Towards the front of the tray, the truck had several wooden beams on it for many, many years out in the open, and under the rotting wood some surface rust has taken hold. Once the rust converter has done it's job, i'll hit the inside of the tray with something to strip the paint and everything off it, and spray a coat of primer.

Apart from that, I've sourced out an old Diamond Rio truck in the area and another Blitz, which I am thinking of making an offer on. This is an addictive thing, this restoration business!

Willanthry · #6 09-11-09, 13:06

Due to the lack of success in finding the right piston for my replacement engine, i've decided to shelve it for the time being and concentrate on my latest acquisition; Thanks very much to Bob McNeil, I now have a Chev 235 motor for the Blitz! John Mackie picked it up for me while he was in Cowra, and we've been working on it at his place to get it going.

We set ourselves up on the back of John's ute in his backyard, and we've been doing all we can to get the engine into the best possible shape. The engine itself isn't in the worst shape, thank goodness, and although we've struck a few problems along the way, nothing has been insurmountable. We flushed a fair bit of rubbish out of the motor as you can see, but we have in this engine good material to work with!

More to come...

Willanthry · #7 11-11-09, 06:13

Having worked on the engine through the 8th and the 9th, we finally put the old 235 to the test on the 9th. My ignition coil turned out to be done for, so i had to borrow one off John Mackie for the purposes of test firing the engine. We timed the tappets and reconnected all the accelerator linkage on the left hand side of the engine, and put a new/old carby on. We then worked out the electrics, setting up a jury rig which connected the engine to John's ute battery.

The first few goes yielded no result. It turned out that the distributor points weren't content with the thorough clean given to them, and we pulled it apart, rectified the problem, and put it back together. After that, she finally fired! It was a very brief run, and it only used the petrol that we poured down the carby, but what a great sound comes from restored engines! After several more tries we almost had it idling, although again only for a few seconds. That was enough for myself and John, and we planned to bring it home and put her in my Blitz.