Bendigo Swap find

Jacques Reed · #1 26-11-12, 23:29

Many people in the military vehicle and Ford sidevalve V8 fraternity may agree there is not a lot of pre-war, wartime, or even 50's vehicles parts at most swap meets in Australia nowadays. From my perspective they now seem to mostly cater for the 70's Holden and other make cars based on the amount of chrome and plastic parts on display.

Occasionally, just the same, there is that one little gem that make attending and walking the kilometers all worth it.

At Bendigo I bought a clapped out Ford CMP truck instrument panel for $2. The gauges were rotted, likewise the switches, but I noticed the switch plates had a green patina on them and upon closer inspection found them to be brass. I thought all switch plates were made of steel but perhaps early wartime they were brass as were many other items including US one cent pieces which went from copper to steel in 1943 for the war effort.

The first photo shows the ignition switch plate as found beside the light switch plate after metal brite treatment. Second photo is both after an hour with the Brasso. Looks like there were remnants of black paint in the low lying areas but at this stage I won't re-enamel them.
Don't think I will use the switch plates on my round gauge panel as tempting as it is, but gee, they sure look nice!

Interestingly the Light switch plate has only 4 holes in it whereas the steel version has 6 mounting holes. The steel instrument panel also only has four mounting holes for the light switch panel.

Picked up a couple of NOS Ford sidevalve ignition conduits and a 1943 POW can so it was a worthwhile trip al in all.

Cheers,

Keith Webb · #2 26-11-12, 23:44

What a great find, particularly the smaller one. It's very hard to find one which hasn't had the centre drilled out to fit an extra switch in a truck's post military service.

You really only see these with the commercial type dash.

Jacques Reed · #3 26-11-12, 23:57

Thanks Keith,

Yes hard to find any with out extra holes after 70 years. These even have two less!

Thought the young-uns might be interested to see a steel penny from 1943 in my collection. Got it as a kid in the 60's just in circulation. Not many were around even then so you always snaffled them up.

Copper was needed more for brass production for the billions of rounds required to win the war.

Cheers,

Mike K · #4 27-11-12, 00:57

I do better at local swaps

I picked this up on Sunday. A vernier gauge 26" high .

GMH provenance ?

Bob Moseley (RIP) · #5 27-11-12, 01:49

Jaques - there is an extensive thread started by me about Switch Plates. Worth a read. The thread is called A Study Of Switch Plates. You can find it through the Seach Engine.

Bob

Jacques Reed · #6 27-11-12, 02:16

Thanks Bob,

Will look at the thread. Good rainy day activity in Melbourne today.

Cheers!

bill m · #7 25-12-12, 08:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

I do better at local swaps

I picked this up on Sunday. A vernier gauge 26" high .

GMH provenance ?

Hello Mike,

I have seen some other older GMH tool room gauges for auction on ebay earlier this year. Nice find!
Bill.

Jacques Reed · #8 19-01-13, 02:20

Just got back from the Automotive Surplus second relocation sale.
Picked up a nice NOS fuel filter assembly for $10. See attached.

Not going to use the disc filter but thought I would post what a new original one looks like for general information. I bought it mainly for the clean rust-free bowl. Even my best one has a few pits in it from years of moisture.

Maybe it is not 100% kosher, but I won't paint the outside of the bowl either. It would be a sacrilage to cover over the AC decal details.

Also bought two flathead Ford head gaskets also for $30. My engine is a later C69A block with the round water pasages in the centre. Again, another trap for young players as earlier blocks had the "square" (trapezoidal) openings as shown in the comparison. I bought the "square" ones in my young, foolish restoration days- now I am not so young anymore! Hope you all find this interesting.

Cheers

Mike K · #9 16-12-12, 08:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jacques Reed

Many people in the military vehicle and Ford sidevalve V8 fraternity may agree there is not a lot of pre-war, wartime, or even 50's vehicles parts at most swap meets in Australia nowadays. From my perspective they now seem to mostly cater for the 70's Holden and other make cars based on the amount of chrome and plastic parts on display.

Cheers,

Yes Jacques . It's the case with most so called car 'swap meets' these days, not just Bendigo . The next generation of car restorers has come along, to a 20 year old , a 1960's car is a antique and you just have to watch TV shows like classic restos to see the huge following the 1960's cars have these days - and they are generally more valuable than older 1920's cars .