Info needed: TOOL BOX Chevrolet c15a no. 12

[Lynn Eades]

what else am I forgetting.....
Bob, reflection from windscreen glass... Well you did ask.

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Lynn Eades

what else am I forgetting.....
Bob, reflection from windscreen glass... Well you did ask.

I was going to mention the alligator bonnet so you could actually see the petrol engine.

[Phil Waterman]

Not sure when the door hooks entered production on 11 and 12 Pattern but it sure does improve the air circulation in the cab running with the doors on the hook.


I've tried driving my Pat 12 with the doors held open on the hooks vs driving with the doors removed, with no top. I think the doors actually get more air on the driver and co-driver than with no door at all. Driving with the door off completely at 30 MPH is just scary even with seat belt.


Tried driving Pat 12 with side panels of the the nose removed and the doors on the hook and it felt like it was scooping the hot air from the engine into the cab. Same feeling driving without hood and the windshield open.



Cheers Phil

[Bob Carriere]

....in North Africa....doors got lost....great for jumping out when shot at... grills were for cooking if you had wooden boxes, hood were a pain in maintenance so off they went...... windows lasted as long as they lasted but were never replaced...... bumbers were removed or shortened.....and some roofs blew away......results ...A large size British Geep....fuel filler modified so tall to be even with the toolbox height....


.....I have seen pictures of very early cab 11 on parade square with the doors wide open and tied to the cargo box....

Cheers

PS other cab 12 mods...... retaining straps to keep the suicide doors from being slammed against the cargo box....., no fuel filter inside the frame......
............ or maybe they were short of parts when mine was built!!!!

.....my cab 11, which always stayed in Canada, had no marker lights on the fenders, no hooks to keep the doors open while driving, no blackout light and no rear axle light, no water expansion tank, no roof hatch, rear window is glass and does not slide open.......


Cheers for the ODD ones!!!!!!

[Paul Edwards]

You guys are ahead of me, my next question was:

I've heard the term suicide doors, why? and how were the doors held back against the cargo box? when was this mod introduced? anyone got a picture?

Cheers,


Paul

[Bob Carriere]

....for a door on a vehicle that can be opened rather suddenly by catching into the windstream....... A lot of car from the 30s and 40s had doors that could be opened by air movement if the latch was suddenly released...... doors on cars in does days did not have a positive locking/latching mechanism like what is mandatory today.

For example when driving my cab 11 over very rough terrain at crawl speed it is not unusual for the passenger door to swing open then slam itself closed. Pity the passenger if he happens to be leaning on the door.

I do have a few pictures, I believe taken in Canada, in a parade square and the string of cab 11 have the driver's doors wide open and resting on the cargobox and the driver is in motion.....must have dented the door eventually not to mention stretch the hinges. Of course an impossibility with the cab 12 which had a canvass retraining strap that held it at 90 degrees. Ever wonder why the door on the driver's side is always out of alignment and sagging........ remember how you hoist yourself onto the ruinning board when boarding and leaning on the door with your left hand.....

I remember the old late 30s Dodge which had a front opening pass door and a suicide door for the rear door........ came in handy when you needed to take a dump...... get over the shoulder....open the rear door and the front door and you had your own privy!!!!! Don't ask how I know!!!!

Now if I can ever find that elusive cab 11 parade ground photo.....

PS ....and on a rainy day the tarred center roof section always leaked so everyone aboard had the hands up in the air with little balls of kleenex to catch the drips....... the locations were well known due to the stains on the beige gabardine roof liner.....tarring was a annual repair but tar was rationed until about 1947..... them were the days.....

[Alex van de Wetering]

Suicide doors is also a common term here in Holland......(well the Dutch translation "Zelfmoord deuren" or "deurtjes verkeerd"). As Bob says....the latches in those days were not as "safe" as on todays cars. I thought the main risk was during cornering.....a door could accidentally open and the car would throw the passenger out of the car in front of upcoming traffic, as there were no seatbelts at the time......hence the name suicide doors.