Wireless Van C15 Australian

[David Dunlop]

Nice recovery, Rod.


David

[Rod Salter]

Thanks David, I should get back to posting about the radios and field phones

After the excitement cooled down, I had an engine-less C15 A with the remains of a drivers cab that had been chopped from a wireless van, half the floor was chopped out too, it had a strange front axle with a draw-bar attached. Rust everywhere, particularly the bottom of the rear of the cab.
The top of the cab was still squared where the storage boxes would have been. But no hatch door, no dash.
The remaining windscreen has three bullet holes!
From the clues of the drawbar and the blocks of wood, I would say the chassis had a huge steel bin attached to take grain from the paddocks

[Rod Salter]

The sad cab

[Rod Salter]

The second long chev was discovered to be also the remains of a wireless truck, the cab chopped off and the chassis cut and extended to a long truck. The drivers section of floor and nose were in reasonable condition as was the bottom of the cab rear. But the top of the cab had been beaten into a rounded shape. It had a hatch door, 2 seats, 2 windscreens, an engine cover and the remains of the dash. The only pieces of dash being useful, will be the ignition switch and the little labels for three switches. It has a “START” button


Neither had doors, steering boxes, motors or gear/transfer boxes. The long chassis had no rear diff centre or axles
I also bought an assortment of loose wheels

I had no actual wireless box.

I lifted off both the cabs [neither was attached/lucky they didn't blow off] and removed the strange front axle from the C15 chassis, replacing that with the front axle from the extended chassis, making it 4wd.

[Rod Salter]

The cab was beaten into a rounded top, extra rear windows, the speaking tubes chopped and flattened
On the plus side
It has a hatch door, 2 good windscreens and an engine cover, 2 seats and a good nose section
The floor is in good order
The lower section of the cab rear is also quite good

This cab/chassis saga will be in my other topic of Chevs C60 and C15 in due course

[Rod Salter]

Then in 2017 my forever since I was a kid, sore bad back --- “blew out”
Two prolapsed discs!
The pain was excruciating and I couldn't pee
Some weeks in hospital, two panadol four hourly (if I asked)
Catheter removed, I was wheeled out, to go home and end that pain
My sister grabbed me and took me (dry vomiting) one hours drive to a chiropractor on a late Saturday afternoon
I think I almost screamed like a girl at a Micheal Jackson concert each time she touched me
At least she got me to dribble some pee
Months of bed ridden (on mind altering drugs) and multiple trips to chiro and remedial massage, I began to walk with a walker first then two crutches, eventually two walking sticks
I lost a lot of weight, then blew up to the heaviest I had ever been
All our savings were gone
I won't ever go back to that hospital and I won't suffer that pain again
How my wife put up with me I'll never know

The blitzes and everything else were on permanent hold

It is now 2023 and I survived, I am 71
I am still visiting the chiro and remedial massage each month
Some days I need a walking stick, It has left me with a weak left leg
It has taken a big mental effort to loose the weight and go out to do anything
Back then I never though I would be, at present doing long days, while it is cool/cold to try to catch up

Some people have had worse medical issues

Much more exciting truck saga to come - watch this space cheers rod

[Rod Salter]

Time rushes past, then
A visit from a fellow blitz enthusiast who gave me some ford parts and a nice day, resulted in a later phone call, that a pair of blitz, one with a radio box was for sale in a nearby town.
A road trip and negotiations, bought me the 2 trucks
Another call to my brother-in-law with his truck.

The C15 s were mostly complete, rusty of course. One was running and could be driven into position to load.
A few days later I had the second truck running also, after finding a radiator of sorts.
I am given to understand it was in the 1974 clearing sale of the Brisbane city council. The tires being stamped BCC. Also it possibly was the service truck for the city's trams.

The box came from goodness knows where