Chevs C60 and C15

[Rod Salter]

I bought a pair of trees
No, not pear trees and definitely no partridges in sight
These trees are 20 years old and these trees contained Chev blitzs, or the remains of them





Using the chainsaw I soon had these trees pruned



I was going well until I snagged a concrete block with the chain, instantly causing it to refuse to cut any further



so I was stumped.

[Rod Salter]

The good crane truck man swung the chassis around, back and forth and eventually broke the remaining woodwork.



The little crane could only lift one end on then the other of the main chassis

All in all a bit of a battle to get them loaded.

What have I got? Besides a big ingrown stump?



Well



One good chassis, less the front cross member which is rusted away
A rusted chassis, with a new bolted in cross member
Two transfer cases (unknown quality)
One gear box (full of water, until I moved the shaft, then the rear seal leaked the water out)
One motor (stuck and sump full of water)
One steering box (full of water, and now dismantled to find both bearings are rusted away, but the reciprocating balls and teeth are good!)
3 front diff assemblies (unknown quality, one set appears to have the backing plates and drums freshly painted)
3 rear diff assemblies ( unknown quality, one set painted, one set has no diff centre)
All brake drums stuck to the linings and do not move
4 fresh sandblasted and painted wheels
one fuel filter
one under chassis pintle hook assembly
enough rusty springs to make 4 goodies (I hope)
and some rusty tail/front shafts



Oh, and a front with a good bonnet, grille and a front bumper



What have I done now? Seemed like a good idea at the time!

[Rod Salter]

On the way home with a trailer load, at a service station, “Hey mate, there's blitz parts like that down the back paddock a my family’s place, give us your number and we'll contact you”
I should check the tyre pressure of the trailer, I suppose?
I am going to change from coffee to water and ration the baked beans

In the mean time I have replaced the o-rings in the crane's ram and started to strip monkey-face number three to get the good chassis for 51555
and the sandblasting outfit has arrived. Now to find some sand and fix the big compressor

Cheers rod

[Tony Smith]

I foresee a lot of Molasses and sandblasting grit in your future.

[Rod Salter]

The diffs have been burnt, toasted, on fire at some time

The front crown wheel and pinion seem ok



The rear had the oil cooked and then moisture has entered, but it is not pitted so may clean up

That is if I can ever get the axles out or the front hubs apart

Life lesson, If you have a burnt vehicle > strip it while it is warm and chuck all the parts out in the rain
If you store it in a shed after a few years every bolt will be permentaly siezed and the metal continues to rust away
The parts from my mini that burnt, that I did not want, and threw out, are still OK, everthing in the shed simply disintergrated



All three of the gearboxes I have, have been full of water and will need serious attention



At first I was perplexed as to why anyone would cut the springs with an oxy, but after careful study, they were on the diffs, so toasted too



more to follow

[Rod Salter]

I took the sparkplugs from the engine to be greeted with a waterfall

Then after getting some of the parts home I pulled the head
it is only half full of water!



and the sump



and finally the pistons, and gave the cylinders a clean





every top ring is stuck in the groove

[Rod Salter]

so I have a project



single hole water pump, 10thou bearings and an interesting sump, which is all soldered together

casting number



and engine number PR 3867552



more rusty discoveries to follow soon

.

[Rod Salter]

The pistons are already 30 thou over



What a waste, a rebuilt motor left to the elements, damm shame
The machining marks are still in the good bores, so I am asuming it was hardly run. In fact I think there was a total restore happening from other indications on this truck's chassis, like new brakes, new clutch plate and painted wheels.

oh well

The front V pully is almost gone, and I'll need more teeth on the ring gear or crank it



Even the front drive shaft has holes in it



So how bad could the steering box be?



at least I didn't hack it apart with an oxy torch!

the bearing surface is badly pitted but the balls and teeth are ok



I may be able to machine this end down flat to fit a tapered bearing.

I think I will call this truck "The Phoenix" if it ever rises from the rust!

[Tony Smith]

Originally Posted by Rod Salter

The bearing surface is badly pitted but the balls and teeth are ok.

I think I will call this truck "The Phoenix" if it ever rises from the rust!

I think you should call it "The Stallion".

Only one horsepower, but the balls and teeth are OK.

[Beau Bruce]

Originally Posted by Rod Salter

so I have a project

Attachment 108487

single hole water pump, 10thou bearings and an interesting sump, which is all soldered together

casting number

Attachment 108488

and engine number PR 3867552

Attachment 108489

more rusty discoveries to follow soon

.

The sump on the 216 in my 13 cab Chev C60L is also soldered. I was under the impression that the sump volume was increased as a modification for the motor being fitted to a truck instead of an ordinary car or pick-up, but I have no information or source to prove that correct.

[Rod Salter]

Funny how circumstances change
I have been spraying the grass, some of it is about 3 feet higher than the Landrover Discovery
In-fact I have to use low range to push through in some places

Anyway I noticed oil leaks on some of the stored engines
You all know that I have everything out in the open covered with pieces of tarp, plastic, sheets of tin and old truck mudguards
A couple of years and all the wet weather lately, water has gotten into some

I rearranged things and took sumps off and used a pressure cleaner with diesel through it to flush out the gunge
It has been a bit of a job, but I'm glad I noticed the leaks and took the effort to do them
As it would have been a right mess if the water had dried away
The motors are up higher now, liberally sprayed with oil inside
and covered again

I started putting the big chev together some time ago
The gearboxes are a mess
I had one engine through the molasses and got that etch primed today
now that is out of the way all the gearboxes can go in
they have been a hold up in a way
I have found a nice cab for it, although a road trip away
It will be nice to have those 3 or 4 parts trucks as one


While I was rearranging things, I made the executive decision to move the second ford (ARN 51554) into the “shady shed”, where I will plug along to reassemble it, sorting parts as I go
I never thought I would actually restore this one anyway
I think it will be a step forward to have it put together instead of parts everywhere
It's gearbox is a mess too, so in the tub

That is what happened these last few days
What happens tomorrow or next week I can't seem to get any priorities

Lost in the grass rod

[Allan L]

Gee. Haven't they come up a treat!

[Rod Salter]

Progress [on the chev]
Block on stand, polished surfaces, ran taps through every thread
all cleaned ready fror the wobbly part

[Rod Salter]

Disaster
A few days later
I have soaked these pistons in molasses for months
Tried ATF and acetone, WD spray, Inox
Managed to free the rings on 5 pistons
But No2 stubbornly refused to come loose
So I decided to break the rings out as getting so close to reassembly
I was down to the last inch of ring when "bugger and blast"
a section came away from the piston
so close now, a disaster, good mind to take it all to the scrappy
Or anybody got a 30 thou oversized 3 ring piston to sell

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Rod Salter

Disaster
A few days later
I have soaked these pistons in molasses for months
Tried ATF and acetone, WD spray, Inox
Managed to free the rings on 5 pistons
But No2 stubbornly refused to come loose
So I decided to break the rings out as getting so close to reassembly
I was down to the last inch of ring when "bugger and blast"
a section came away from the piston
so close now, a disaster, good mind to take it all to the scrappy
Or anybody got a 30 thou oversized 3 ring piston to sell

Maybe 20 over.

Silly question, but if you buffed out the rough edges of that chip and put in new rings, how bad would it be? There's little extra load surface that chip gives the ring and but for a little (maybe) loss of compression, is it all bad?

[Mike K]

Just my thoughts. The original wartime GM 216 cast iron pistons are somewhat crude , they are heavy and are prone to problems , I have had loose wrist pin bushes and even heard of the top breaking off - they don't like excessive revs ( over 3000 ) for a extended period. Many restorers use the modern Alloy lighter pistons but reading the reports these can cause issues too, it seems that the older brands are more reliable than the modern examples.

I have some NOS wartime pistons and they do look a little rough , the casting of the skirts is not 100%. I will try to take a pic if I can find them.

Some opinions here: https://vccachat.org/ubbthreads.php/...m-pistons.html

With that broken piston , I have some .030" over NOS wartime pistons in sets but I'd hate to part with one piston and leave 5 orphans. First thing to do is measure the bores for wear with a bore gauge.

This might help, or maybe it won't ! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSWZ5aOCPkM I noticed he is using a fibre timing gear, these gears can strip the teeth at any time, leading to a uncertain feeling each time you leave your driveway. I also wish he had not sped up the bit where he is measuring the conrod bores, it's impossible to work out what he is doing.

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by Rod Salter

Funny how circumstances change ....

Anyway I noticed oil leaks on some of the stored engines
You all know that I have everything out in the open covered with pieces of tarp, plastic, sheets of tin and old truck mudguards
A couple of years and all the wet weather lately, water has gotten into some ....

One problem we have in Canada, which may have a parallel in drier climes, is moisture rising from the soil under parked vehicles. My father had a small passenger/camper van that he parked on a gravel driveway all its life. Then it broke down and it sat forlornly for a couple more years. The undercarriage rusted out. The brake lines deteriorated. The rubber dried and cracked. I blame moisture transfer between the warming and cooling cycles.

In my HMV situation, I park my 1/4 tons on heavy gauge vinyl tarps (actually salvaged highway billboard message panels and army surplus tentage). Hopefully, any moisture coming out of the soil will stay trapped underneath and not on the vehicles.

[Rod Salter]

Posted about the broken piston on facebook, not too amused by some replies

Yes Bruce, thought of slipping the broken piece in as a spacer, being alloy, it might not score the bore. I would if I was selling it to somebody I hate
(Now realised they are cast pistons)

Thanks Mike

Terry, The soil here is SO acidic, right off the scale, rusts so quickly coupled with dew every night, metal disintegrates very fast. Aluminium turns to powder
The soil is that black crumbly type, everything sinks to the chassis in a few years, one sump on a Toyota has rusted through, you can see the crank
Advantage is that white ants/termites can't come through it

So now I am putting one together using the clearing sale block, but all the parts from the recon engine

All the parts have surface rust and have to wire buffed and polished
the rust has crept in behind the big-end bearing shells, and I have polished it out, buffed the back of the shells
I am not actually gauging them for clearance, I tighten one, then turn crank, loosen and do the next, feeling the resistance similarity, motor turns nicely when all tensioned, I can turn the crank with a large screwdriver on the dowels at the flywheel end

All bolts have to be wire brushed/buffed
New gaskets made from cornflakes boxes
It is slow and time consuming

Did I mention I have a Bedford engine, Looks so similar to a Chev,
Full recon, never fully assembled, to put together in my spare time!
Actually have a starter for that in my “stuff”
and a nice welder generator to couple to it
LOL I could run the arcs in the 32mm projector with it
“Next life time” I'll mount the projector on the 30cwt ford and go a travelling show

Slightly off topic
In 2017 I was paralysed with 2 prolapsed discs, couldn't even pee, weeks in hospital {useless, but I got a big box of laxatives {I hadn't eaten anything for days} and a new set of un-adjusted crutches, I couldn't even use}
They wheeled me out in a wheel chair, My sister took me to a chiropractor straight out of hospital, [or I would committed suicide to escape the pain] I am sure I screamed like a girl at a Micheal Jackson concert each time she touched me. But after a couple of hours of separate 1 minute manipulation I could at least dribble pee again
Exhausted all our savings at chiro and remedial massage almost a year of agony and super meds
had Hallucinations and weird dreams before my system rejected the drugs
Then I couldn't eat, lived on teaspoons of fruit juice for weeks, lost a lot of weight

Started other nice dreaming and I have written a book based on those dreams, All 386 a4 pages of it

I was born with a crook back, infact I should have had an older sister but she died of spina bifida at 29 days
I have spina bifida occulta they tell me
Shearing sheep and digging holes with a crowbar probably hasn't helped

Also have chronic diarrhoea. Doctors no help for 50 years.
You will never believe this, I stopped drinking coffee because of my heart fluctuations, seems I was intolerant to the acidity of coffee, It was burning my insides. Getting better, at least no nausea and pain all day


I haven't done much of anything for a few years, except mow and spray grass, then had a memory loss for an hour,
220 or something over 195 blood pressure, thought that would be good for a oil pump
Doctor was not amused
I had headaches so I was taking aspirin, or could have had a stroke it seems
The little pills have me right on target now

Sometime I wonder about getting out of bed, but the thought of washing the sheets gets me going

Had covid for 2 weeks, “Warning” I am one of those disease spreading great un-vaxed

I have finished all the radio collecting I ever wanted, and slowly working through sparking them up, Had a rush on telephones that got out of control, But I have some nice telephones, some wired and working {be a post on their own}

No longer do 7 ¼ inch trains, took up cowboy action shooting instead, promised myself I would continue with that for 4 more years, that will get me to being 75

I'm having a little rush at the moment and getting things done again

How long will my enthusiasm last?
Probably until summer, can't stand heat anymore

Off to scrappy today with that stripped car body and batteries

still lost in the shed and long grass rod

p.s Long post, ah well

[Bruce Parker (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Rod Salter

Yes Bruce, thought of slipping the broken piece in as a spacer, being alloy, it might not score the bore. I would if I was selling it to somebody I hate

I was actually wondering about what would happen assembling it without the chipped piston piece, but I did chuckle at your response....

[maple_leaf_eh]

Bruce

Like every one of us, there will be a time in our lives to decide what is most important. Glad you're still with us, and glad you are giving the old trucks their due.

On the topic of soils, if it is so acidic and it eats metals, what does it do to fence posts?

Terry

[Mike K]

"so now I am putting one together using the clearing sale block, but all the parts from the recon engine"

That sounds like a good plan , the slipper bearings are so much easier to deal with. The 216 was a common engine in its day, it went through a few upgrades from 1937 to the early 1950s, so be aware that there are some parts that don't fit all of the years i.e. different heads for the domed or flat top pistons is one, and different valve lengths. ON EPAY there are many NOS 216 parts still available but the shipping cost is so high at the moment. Just next door here there was a 1950 Chevy ute wreck, I should have salvaged the engine from it, might still be there.

I will have a look at the Pistons I have and see how many there are, you can also try the big USA suppliers like Jim Carter and Chevs of the 40's but they may not sell just one piston out of a set. With my C8, it is standard bore and I just re-used the original cast iron pistons and fitted chrome faced rings. It now has a loose wrist pin that knocks , I plan on pulling it apart, I have a new Aluminium timing gear and new valve guides and a set of Aluminium pistons

[Rod Salter]

The bench is clear and it looks more like an engine
Generator, starter and water pump to be cleaned
I have been given a flywheel and a front pulley
That is about as far as I go until the piston is sorted and
all these parts go in the molasses for 6 to 8 weeks
I'll put the gearbox in too

After that I can do the spare parts into an engine
I have only 5 pistons/con-rods [30 thou and 4 rings cast iron] for it as well, as I posted one cylinder would have to be sleeved
At least most of the parts won't get lost

[Rod Salter]

The gearbox came apart easily and is not as bad as it first looked
It has had the loose tail-shaft bolts drama, nice brazing repair

Then I brought the Bedford engine in
Undid the 4 bolts holding the head on
cylinders heavily coated in grease
Started sorting valves, springs, retainers colletts and bolts
Something was not adding up for the bolts
After a bit, I realised this head is a Chevy, I mean, how come it was on this engine?
Ah well, Might need a spare head some day
During the night I seem to recollect a oily head in a hessian bag, I wonder?
It is probably lost in the shed


A minus 10 black frost here a few weeks ago has killed most plants, the mandarins all fell off, the lemon tree lost most of its leaves. And the worms in the worm farm have vanished

Can't stand the dry heat, but glad I don't live where it snows

I must get back to fixing mowers, cleaning up and other priories rod

[Rod Salter]

A long time ago, I had bought two wrecks of Ford trucks and a wreck of a Chevrolet
A C15 that was once a wireless signals van and then another Chev which I thought was a C60, in the panic to load while the crane was there

[Rod Salter]

After I got them home and started to look at them properly, the C60 had been in-fact a C15 Sig van chassis that was chopped and extended.
I decided to take the front axle from this and fit it to the good C15 Sig chassis that had a strange front axle

I did not realise at that time the cab on this extended chassis was also from a chopped sig van
The cab floor and the nose section is in reasonable condition
The top of the cab had been beaten into a semi-rounded shape
The dash is ruined but a few switch tags and the ignition switch will be usable

I had that spare Chevy engine
I kept a lookout for transmissions, and maybe a better Cab

Then I had asked around to locate a reasonable C60 chassis

This is the reason why I found the chevys in the trees as posted above

Chassis count - four- maybe two are good to make trucks, a sig chassis and a C60

And that cut and shut long chassis, mmm, chop it back short, add a turntable and voila - dog trailer, 16 inch on front 20 inch on back
Did I see a big box off an ambulance in a paddock somewhere? thats got me thinking

And I was learning fast about blitz trucks
1st lesson - This is not the way to build a cheep truck

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Rod Salter

I have accumulated some Chevys and will post their sagas here
cheers rod

All Chevrolet related posts in Rod's thread F60L reg.no. 51555 http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=29683 are now moved this thread.

[Rod Salter]

I was keeping and ear around to find a cab for the C60 and was told about one
Eventually I was able to go for a look
Found these two trucks hiding in the grass
One is complete and a goer, the other missing an engine and radiator
Couldn't help myself
SO I swapped two of my stationary engines for these
and started bringing them home (includes some spare parts too)

BUT I still haven't a spare cab

and PS I got a good piston for the engine as posted before