Cab. 13 - early/late style dashboard use?

[Frantisek Nachlinger]

Hi,

I haven't found it here on the forum yet - I would like to know when the early dashboards with compound gauges were superseded with the late ones? Does it have e.g. any connection with the "FORD CANADA" marking under the front lights? (e.g.-all FORD CANADA marked ones had the early type, the firs non-marked ones still had the early type / the late marked ones had allready the compound ones and ALL the unmarked had it also...)

We have a "Ford Canada" Marked F60L with the early style dashboard and I am wondering which dashboard should I put to the FGT that is missing one...

...or does anybody have a Serial Numbers chart to find when was our FGT manufactured?

Thank you,
Frankie

[Keith Orpin]

Hi Frankie,
Try the address below, as there is a large database showing surviving Chevy and Ford CMP's, along with details of dash types, serial numbers.
Good Luck
Keith


www.canadianregister.co.uk

[Frantisek Nachlinger]

Thank you, Keith!

[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.

[Tony Wheeler]

Very occasionally we find early dash on late production F60S, invariably in combination with 1943 -FORD- front shell. This concurrence of seemingly unrelated parts may be explained by different wiring loom. Thus if the late type dashboard and gauge assembly is temporarily unavailable in production, the early type dashboard assembly must be used, which in turn compels the use of earlier type front shell assembly, because the wiring loom is pre-assembled to these. In other words, as Phil suggests, it's done to avoid stopping the assembly line. I can't think of any other reason for this practice.

Interestingly the same combination of early dash and front shell is found on most if not all post-war assembled F60L with coach built cabs. This to my mind suggests deliberate use of commercial type dashboard on these civilian vehicles.

I'll dig up some photos to illustrate this practice.

[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.

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Tony Wheeler

Very occasionally we find early dash on late production F60S, invariably in combination with 1943 -FORD- front shell.

Here's an example from late '44. Front shell is 1943 (bonnet was still attached before I broke it off to photograph).

[Frantisek Nachlinger]

Thank you all for your replies. I will také pics of our Fords and send them here ASAP
Frankie

[Maurice Donckers]

There is a but on this story , I was speaking about canadian built Fords , and the ones which went to Europe , The Australian assembled ones are a complete different matter if it comes to dates first it took several monts before the parts which where Shipped arrived , and the Shipments could arrive in a different order , so that is wy the trucks in Europe are more date acurate then the ones which were assembled far away. Off course if they where rebuilt in the postwar years , than oddities would occur as well.

[Markwin Serlui]

Hi all...
Is this a modified dash?
With my c15 the starter was between the choke and the blue indicator light.
A friend of mine sent me this pic because he cant find the starter button...
Any suggestions where it might be located?

[Keith Webb]

Tell him to look for a small lever on the floor!!

[Grant Bowker]

Originally Posted by Markwin Serlui

Hi all...
Is this a modified dash?
With my c15 the starter was between the choke and the blue indicator light.
A friend of mine sent me this pic because he cant find the starter button...
Any suggestions where it might be located?

There do appear to be some modifications. The high/low beam headlight switch has been moved from the left side of the panel to the bottom, front and a rotary lever has been installed in its normal location.

[Markwin Serlui]

Originally Posted by Grant Bowker

There do appear to be some modifications. The high/low beam headlight switch has been moved from the left side of the panel to the bottom, front and a rotary lever has been installed in its normal location.

Its difficult when someone decides to adapt the vehicle to his(or her) personal preferences but isnt around anymore to explain how and what he/she did

[Markwin Serlui]

Originally Posted by Keith Webb

Tell him to look for a small lever on the floor!!

Yeah i did, but he says there is nothing there...he's about 300 km's away, otherwise i would have driven over there and look for myself...appreciate the help,guys

[Keith Webb]

Originally Posted by Markwin Serlui

Yeah i did, but he says there is nothing there...he's about 300 km's away, otherwise i would have driven over there and look for myself...appreciate the help,guys

So it may have been refitted with a starter and an electric solenoid type starter, he will need to follow the wiring from the solenoid to discover where the start button is.

[Markwin Serlui]

They found it! Thanks all