Ford Blitz Restoration/Rebuild

[Private_collector]

Well, I have just had a very exciting & moving day. This afternoon we visited Pearl Harbor again, took lots of photos there, then earlier this evening, staked a good viewing spot for the second annual Pearl Harbor Memorial Parade. The parade was truly wonderful. There were a vast number of school and community groups, with marching bands and great range of performances. Everything from gymnastics to hotrods, custom motercycles, and even some Low Riders. I do love the lowrider vehicles. They are just so impractical and bizarre that you gotta appreciate the damn things.

Unfortunately, no vintage or classic military vehicles. The U.S service personnel were splendid in presentation and drill. The stars of the show were undoubtedly the Pearl Harbor Survivors. My hands are gonna be sore tomorrow from all the clapping, thats for sure.

I was lucky to top the evening of with a good long chat with the gentleman I described in the previous post. He is Mr Alexander Dyga, and he was on shore on the morning of December 7th, 1941, and was initially in the vicinity of the fuel storage facilities which despite being identified as a prime target, were not bombed. Mr Dyga has served in the military for an extended period beyond WWII, and spoke about his time working with missiles at Vandenberg AFB and other locations, all the way up to the 1960s. I happened to have brought a book to read on the flights, about Gallipoli, and to cut a long story short, I gave it to Mr Dyga because he is interested in military history but had not heard about ANZAC or the Gallipoli campaign. In return, I was given a really good tip about where to eat cheaply in Waikiki. invaluable!
Attachment 53648
Bought a whole heap of stuff at Pearl Harbor, including copies of significant WWII newspapers, a couple of really neat military vehicle (Sherman & M16 half track) models in 1:32 scale, the mandatory T-shirt and a U.S flag which was flown over the Arizona memorial earlier this year, on Memorial Day.

Its now 2210hrs and time to retire to bed. Tomorrow morning I try the restaurant Mr Dyga told me about.

[Private_collector]

This morning was the annual Honolulu marathon. It is sponsored by Japan Air Lines, so lots of japanese participants. All very keen and sprightly today, but if memory serves me right, tomorrow will be a different story. Already seen a few who look like walking on blisters........or dead muscles.

Physical exertion, when will people learn!

When travelling around in last week, I came across a large number of WWII period defence structures. Most on coastal locations, but not all. Photos to be posted upon return home next week. One of the most unexpected finds was a series of concrete pill boxes and artillary foundations, in the sand dunes on west side of Oahu. Saw one of them from the road and went treking in the brushes to discover the accompanying ones.

Saw an improvised cattle ramp made from an articulated trailer (? WWII vintage, very old) with the side walls made of lengths of marsden matting. Still looked like the matting was OK too. Got a couple of photos of that as well.

[Private_collector]

This morning, while at Starbucks ordering the morning coffees, a lady remarked that she liked the 'Aloha' shirt I was wearing. When I thanked her for the kind comment, she asked about my accent and where I was from. When I said Australia, she enquired what language we spoke in Australia! Right now there is a lady from continental U.S.A trying to convince her friends that Australians only speak english abroad, and that our native language is actually Dutch.

As my daily routine here is to get up around 0330 to 0430hrs, go for my morning walk, then sit outside Dennys waiting for the coffee shop to open at 0530hrs, I get to see a little of the side of local life that others wouldn't notice. I am perpetually surprised with the number of homeless people around. More than I recalled on previous visit. I guess if you must be vagrant, where better than in Hawaii, right? Still a very sad sight to see these folks that in better circumstances could have had a vastly different life. Who knows what chain of events lead to their present situation. The few that I have spoken with seem decent folks, if a bit guarded about discussing themselves. I could never imagine how desperate their lives must be, living among such affluence, but being reduced to a life on the streets and rummaging through bins for food or recyclables to cash in.

Certainly makes one grateful for the things we take for granted every day.

[Private_collector]

Arrived home last weekend, some time earlier than expected, due to the cyclone heading for Fiji. With our original return flight (via Fiji) cancelled, and with further disruptions likely, we decided to 'get out of Dodge'. I had previously sworn I would NEVER fly with jetstar ever again, but faced with the prospect of being stranded, albeit in paradise, I would have conceded to go with Aeroflot, Air China, or even "Eddies Airways".

For the last two days, I have been attending to superficial repairs on chassis, where the more visible but light rust pitting is.

The areas of dark grey are the cosmetic repairs!

The holes in chassis rail ends make for good carry handles when a tube is inserted.

Once again, painted outside to eliminate possibility of contamination inside workshop. Chassis was hoisted up at 0530hrs, and painting commenced 0720hrs, in an attempt to get the color applied before temperature went too high. Well, it was too hot for me, but the paint seems to have been able to adapt a little better. My third coat of paint was about 25% more reducer than normal, to overcome the 'dusty' effect of paint drying too quickly due to the heat (37%c at 1030). Final 'coat' was really an additional splash of almost straight reducer.

Because I needed to get in & out of the chassis compartments, under & around chassis, etc..I couldn't wear my old hat, so as a consequence I have the same color as zoidberg! This too shall pass.

[Private_collector]

This is Mr Alex Dyga, the 89 year old gentleman I spoke about in an earlier posting. Mr Dyga has been making the journey to Pearl Harbor each year on December 7th, to pay his respects to the fallen and work as a volunteer at the "Valor in the Pacific" Museum and USS Arizona memorial. This year he will be there for an entire month!. Mr Dyga is a delightful old gent who has had a fascinating life. It was one of the trip highlights to have met him!

[Private_collector]

Bought an engine hoist this morning. Without one I wouldn't have been able to raise the front end of the chassis onto the stand. In retrospect, a second crane inside the workshop would have been worth considering. Never mind.

Using the hoist, chassis is now resting comfortably on both sets of stands. Refitting of components starts tomorrow, after I return from town with a swag of fresh bolts. Can't install fuel tank assemblies yet because they need to be cleaned out with POR 15 fuel tank cleaning/sealing system. I don't have the $$$ for the kit yet, but already have some of the step 1, marine clean.

Remember these? I bought the new pair some time ago, to install them before setting the painted chassis onto the stand, thus avoiding paint contact and possible damage.

One quick question regarding starter solenoid: I have seen a couple of photos showing the solenoid installed with the push switch on bottom. I thought it would be at the top! With switch on bottom, the battery cable comes to solenoid without crossing in front of it and same for the starter cable. I would also guess installing solenoid 'upside down' might assist in keeping water/contaminants from entering the solenoid body. So in short, do I attach mine with switch on top or bottom??? Provided I know this tomorrow, it will be attached. Also bought a set of cables from battery through to starter motor. Got a whole heap of earth straps some time ago. They will start to be appreciated tomorrrow as well.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Finally, my ever growing collection of reference books and photos is starting to pay off.

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Private_collector

So in short, do I attach mine with switch on top or bottom???

Definitely on the bottom Tony. Funnily enough I picked up a new solenoid myself today, I'll be fitting it to my F60L tomorrow.

[Private_collector]

Cheers Tony!

Mine will go on tomorrow now as well.

Mine came courtesy of So-Cal in Sacramento. They have supplied several small parts to date. Works out cheaper than MacsAuto, because I find Macs shipping is too expensive for single/small parts. I tried to obtain one of these while in Hawaii, at O'rileys and also NAPA. No luck with either.

Did get a couple of side mirrors and a length of speedo cable though. Not your stereotypical 'souvenirs'.

[Private_collector]

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Private_collector

Mine came courtesy of So-Cal in Sacramento.

I ordered 4 solenoids from So-Cal last week but they only had one left in stock. Macs are out of stock too. After much ringing around I managed to find a hot rod shop nearby which stocks Macs stuff, they had ONE solenoid in stock which I promptly grabbed! I still need two more to get my four running blitzes going again. The old rusty solenoids worked for a while but then died off one by one.

Given the difficulty in finding 6V solenoids in a hurry I shall definitely be carrying a spare when I finally get on the road!

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Tony

I know you are going to do this but, after my experience, thought it would good to post a general reminder to anyone reassembling a vehicle.

Remember the cable and tubing clips, to keep them routed where you want them routed. Don't forget the speedometer cable. I now install them as I install the wire, tube, etc.

In my hurry to drive my Pat 12 years ago I didn't get all of the clips installed, in particularity the speedometer cable. Which decided to shift, shorted out to the brake switch hot lead. The speedometer cable got hot and melted through the insulation of the battery lead to the starter. Then the whole mess got hot destroyed a two foot section of the main harness just above. Then to add insult to injury the whole mess tried to burn through the rubber fuel line above that. Fortunately I smelled something burning and disconnected the battery and disconnected the fuel line. Truck was parked in the shop at the time with the other two trucks.

The truck is really looking good, what more can you say it will be a factory fresh CMP when your done. Many happy years of driving to come.

Cheers Phil

[Private_collector]

Thanks Phil,

For your kind remarks.

Your meltdown description is one of my worst nightmares. That and having to land a 747, being talked down by air traffic control, then finding out that controller is Sylvester Stallone!

I do have some new wiring clips..........somewhere. I'll find em for sure before I buy the new harness. Bought those from Macs, at a time when I could increase the $$$ amount a little, before I hit the next shipping price increase.

I will also be using rubber grommits on all chassis holes that have something routed through. Exception to that is the two copper tubes for the 'fake' fuel filter. Those tiny little pieces of rubber are hugely expensive and I seemed to have the nack of needing the most expensive sizes! In some places I have had to make do with a less than ideal alternative and cut grommit, then glue ends together, to achieve the desired size or thickness.

I am positive there was a pipe clip with the linkage system between transmission and transfer case when I removed it , but it's not with it now. Usually I make a point of keeping assemblies together, so I dont know what happened there.

[Private_collector]

Wanted to get the pintle brackets, some of the spring hangers (rear) and a few other little pieces painted, so of course it rained and blew a gale. Not sufficient rain to bring the lawn & fruit trees back from death row, just enough to P me off! Got the painting done between squawls regardless.

Stripped back the NOS rear light sets, and repainted in my color, then repainted the brake lenses. I used a commonly available spray product designed for aftermarket modifications to plastic lenses and bulb coloring. It worked very well. I will buy the equivelent for the amber lenses, later this week...............if the shop is open, with Christmas and all. I will have a rear 'tail' light on both sides, same as the brake lights will be. At this stage no indicators are planned. The system will be remaining 6 volt, after considerable deliberation. I removed two white disks from inside each rear light tube. I gather these are some kind of 'diffuser' for the bulb, or maybe to reduce the light intensity? I have left them out for better light intensity, and a test of the bulbs now, has shown they glow bright and both brake lenses are equal in color, as far as I can tell anyway.

While i'm thinking of it, does the phrase "Keep your eye on the ball" come from the 'Red Ball Express'? Just a thought.


Also painted the side mirrors I got in Honolulu, as well as the second TAC plate and holder frame. I planned to put the PASS writing onto it tonight but time has gotten away from me so i'll do it tomorrow night.

Will also clean up the NOS rear brake connector blocks tomorrow night too. Got those, and new bolts & connectors from MacsAuto some months ago.

I put todays left over paint to good use, and painted all the new bolts currently on the chassis. That took a couple of hours or more, and a fair percentage of the bolts/nuts won't ever be seen, but they are now looking the part. The master cylinder bolts are a real pain to brush paint with the booster cylinder insitu, as are several others, such as the drivers side step bolts to chassis. With the battery box there it's hard to get at them all properly. Got em all in the end though

Off to bed now. Back to work tomorrow.............sigh

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Private_collector

Right now there is a lady from continental U.S.A trying to convince her friends that Australians only speak english abroad, and that our native language is actually Dutch.

H.

[Private_collector]

Merry christmas to all you good folks, and I would like to express my sincere thankyou to the great number of MLU members/friends that have supported me through the year, with advice, information, parts and kind or encouraging comments. Without your help I may have struggled in my restoration. Maple Leaf Up is a tremendous legacy of its founder, and for that I am truly grateful.

I hope you all are having a great Christmas, and will enjoy a happy and prosperous 2013. The new year seems to have come only weeks since the start of this year. I suppose it must be true, as someone once said, "Life is like a toilet roll, the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes".

With the ANZAC centenary rapidly approaching, I will need to double my efforts to finish the truck, for it to be ready for that special commemoration.


On another topic, I am rostered to work today, and one of my patients has given me a wonderful gift, in the form of two volumes of 'Letters Home' from his brother (Flt Lt Malcolm S. Buchanan, DFC) who was a pilot in europe in WWII. These will no doubt be fascinating reading, and a wonderful keep sake. Unfortunately Lt. Buchanan was killed in action towards the end of the war.

Lest We Forget

[Keith Webb]

That's a great gift Tony, I have a few of these personal stories and collections of letters given to me by veterans. Wonderful insights to how these men traveled through the war.
Oh, and a Merry Christmas to you and yours too. May your 2013 be full of CMP achievements and satisfaction.

[Private_collector]

Saw this item on ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-Sty...item3f2064331d

Good option to retain original look, while using modern battery.

Would look much better with the lead cell connectors added.

[Private_collector]

After a prolonged search for the wiring clips I was telling Phil about the other day, I came up empty and was begining to think I must have been mistaken about ordering them in the first place. With that in mind, I located another source (ebay, not MacsAuto this time) and ordered 2x sets of 12 pieces each. At $5 per 12, it's not a huge investment and I really do want to use these.

Made the purchase yesterday, sent a request for seller to advise shipping cost, then waited for reply. Seller got back to me and shipping cost minimal. Purchase finalised this afternoon.......................................

.......then I found the 10 pieces I did in fact already have. They were in the proverbial "Safe" place.

Typical

[Private_collector]

Today, I decided to make the steel brake lines for rear axle. Enjoyed it so much, I went on to do the front axle ones as well. Did not attempt to flare the ends. A local brake shop can do that, when they return to work after new year of course. Bloody public holidays.

Don't worry, the tube will line up again, once the flaring shortens the end a little. I was very fortunate to have the remains of lines on both axles to fabricate from. I did exercise a little user discretion in a couple of places, to keep things neat.

Need to find one of these brake line junction blocks for front axle. Ebay or Macs will provided eventually. The nut into other side (just visible in photo) has corroded very badly, and would have damaged the thread of the block, as it expanded.

[Private_collector]

Yesterday I started dismantling the pintle assembly, to assess the damage and start considering plan for rebuild. The poor state of the spring leaves was immediately obvious, as they were 'fanning' out from each other, with a good 1/8" of rust scale between any two leaves. The nuts on the leaf retaining brackets were very badly corroded, and had to be removed by slicing down with the cut-off wheel & grinder. The brackets have had so much force applied by the expanding rust, that the bolt ends were no longer parallel, and now the threads were moderately damaged from the grinder. This was looking like it would be a REAL big headache to remedy.

On the up side, while the pintle itself was seized, I have another which is working fine and has no visible corrosion or other damage. Then I had a second bit of good luck! While looking for my other two rear spring brackets, I found a second pintle spring set that I had forgotten about. It's in great shape, and will only require sand blasting prior to painting.

Now, every episode of good luck seems to be accompanied by a corresponding and equally significant piece of BAD luck, so I wasn't entirely surprised when I located the spring brackets I was after, only to find that one of the set did not belong. Two spring brackets are already finished and ready to install (when I get bolts. Once again, bloody public holidays). Reason for this is simply because I wanted to have a pair available for the engineers to temporarily attach for checking cross member location. They were painted and could have remained on the chassis, if they hadn't managed to spray white paint all over them. Anyhoo........

This is the type of brackets I should have. Three of the 4 are this type.

And here's the one which isn't right! If it were used, the spring height would be different, due to the reduced amount that the bracket hangs below the chassis. Damn it! Guess I start making phone calls tomorrow, searching for a replacement bracket.

Beware the 'Easy' Job

ADDIT: Yep, Macs have the required brake block! I'll order it tomorrow, once I decide what else to order, since they charge the same shipping, whether I order a full $30 or just the $13 for the brake part!

[Private_collector]

The rear light sets are now finished, with replacement lenses used on the 'tail' lights. Earthing test to follow through the week.

[CWO (ret) Gilles Aubé]

Hello Tony, in one of the picture you show a brake line of brass color.
Hope it is not made of brass because in many areas brass tubing is not allow on brake line because it is to fragile.
In any event have a happy new year, and continued your good report.

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally Posted by CWO (ret) Gilles Aubé

Hello Tony, in one of the picture you show a brake line of brass color.
Hope it is not made of brass because in many areas brass tubing is not allow on brake line because it is to fragile.
In any event have a happy new year, and continued your good report.

I believe the picture shows copper tubing...
The new brake line are much better now than the old steel lines..More resistant to rust..
Brass tubing would never take the pressure for a long live brake line.
Here is the latest.\

The Move To Copper-Nickel Tubing

Copper had been proved since the early days to have many good attributes. It was easy to bend and had very high corrosion resistance, but there was concern about its low corrosion-fatigue strength. When copper-nickel was introduced, it displayed corrosion resistance similar to copper, higher general strength and better fatigue strength. Good formability allows ease of flaring and bending, and although the metal cost is greater than that of steel alternatives, copper-nickel is very attractive in view of its extra life, trouble-free installation and safety/reliability characteristics.
Properties of Copper-Nickel Brake Tubing

The copper-nickel alloy used for brake tubing typically contains 10% nickel, with iron and manganese additions of 1.4% and 0.8% respectively. The product conforms to ASTM B466 (American Society for Testing and Materials), which specifies dimensions, tensile strength and yield strength. Formability and internal cleanliness conform to specifications SAE J527, ASTM A254 and SMMT C5B (Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders). Also, the alloy meets the requirements for pressure containment, fabrication and corrosion resistance for ISO 4038 (International Standards Organization) and SAE J1047.

[Private_collector]

Guys,

My brake lines are all made of steel. I dont recall if supplier said it was coated with anything, but it may be.

I suspect the photo conditions may have caused the appearance of brass. It's the last brake line photo you were reffering to?

[T Creighton]

Hi Tony,
Happy New Year, may your progress continue unabated.
I think you will find that you need another one of the less deep brackets.
The ones that you have three of go in the front and the other ones at the rear.
If you are lucky they will have numbers stamped on them.
CO1Q 5785 in the front of the axle and CO1Q 5775 at the rear.
Regards,
Terry

[Jacques Reed]

Hi Tony,

And a Happy New Year to you. I will check my drum of chassis parts from a truck I "converted to components" a few years ago. I remember taking off those hangers from the chassis. For some reason they were bolted on with odd Whitworth bolts which makes me think that chassis was assembled from parts post war. If it is the same as what you need it's yours.

Copper colured steel tubing- I had the same experience with bundy tubing I purchased recently. I queried the supplier that it was definitely bundy tubing. The new manufactured stuff seems to have more of a copper patina than the older bundy tubing. It is copper plated steel rolled and welded up anyway so it stands to have some copper colouration I suppose.

Cheers

[ozm29c]

Fellows,
For info I have attached the current PBR fact sheet on Bundy tubing.
Cheers
John W.

[Private_collector]

Originally Posted by T Creighton

I think you will find that you need another one of the less deep brackets.
The ones that you have three of go in the front and the other ones at the rear.

Right you are, Terry!

I would never have guessed there were differences between rear brackets. Even the manual, which does give different numbers (not that I had initially looked), does not give sufficient detailed view for 'the penny to drop'.

As I said to Jacques this morning, God Bless Maple Leaf Up! Without members of which, my truck would be considerably more difficut to get finished.

Thanks for your advice. Always welcomed

[Private_collector]

Originally Posted by ozm29c

Fellows,
For info I have attached the current PBR fact sheet on Bundy tubing.
Cheers
John W.

Thanks mate, I'll keep that info sheet for reference.

T.

[Private_collector]

I've been checking through my manuals and photos, but cannot find a good photo of the points where the front and rear brake lines attach to chassis at the point where the flexible brake hoses start. I have bought more of the bundy tube, and was hoping to form the major lines this weekend. Problem is that I dont know where they end, or for that matter, what sort of bracket was used at the junction of metal lines to flexible brake hose, either front or rear. If anyone can point me to a diagram in Ford manual or parts books, I would be very grateful.

The brake line pieces I made last weekend are now with the local hydraulic shop, and I will pick them up tomorrow. When the larger pieces are formed they will be going to the same place for double flaring.