Latest Aquisition

[cletrac (RIP)]

I was at a neighbours farm auction today and picked up a 261 Pontiac engine complete with a 4 speed trans. The motor turns over freely but will need rings. I'm not sure which truck will end up with this engine. I also got a rebuilt head for a 235.
Although not military I also got a 1948 Chev 4 door sedan that I drove home. The 216 works good. It has a vacuum clutch setup so when gearing up you just shift gears and the clutch works automatically. I hadn't planned on buying it but nobody seemed to want to bid on it and it sold for $400. The seats have been reupholstered and bodywork done almost ready for paint.

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by cletrac

I was out in Alberta on the weekend and came up with this Cab 12 F15a. It'll likely be in May before I can go to pick it up. I think it'll become a donor truck for my Cab 11.

Cannot figure out what that white sprinkly stuff is... falling from the sky on the F15A...must be a sandstorm ..one of those famous Alberta storms .

It's surprising whats around so close to home ..there is a 1950 Chevy ute next door , the sedan/car based ute only made here , with a Holden body . But it's totally beyond help . The 216 is still in it .

Mike

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by cletrac

Although not military I also got a 1948 Chev 4 door sedan that I drove home. The 216 works good. It has a vacuum clutch setup so when gearing up you just shift gears and the clutch works automatically. I hadn't planned on buying it but nobody seemed to want to bid on it and it sold for $400. The seats have been reupholstered and bodywork done almost ready for paint.

As I was wisely told about old guns, we do not own them. We are just temporary custodians. Someone who appreciates post-war Chev cars will thank you for your respectfulness towards the previous owner who invested his time and energy, and to the car itself for not ignoring it as a wall flower. From lessons with your old trucks you know how to properly protect it from the elements until the next caregiver sets eyes on it.

[cletrac (RIP)]

There was a farm auction 50 miles from home yesterday and I ended up with another one. It's a 1944 C15A Van 2 but it's missing the box and the engine. I think I figured out where that 261 will go. There's not a bit of rust and it comes with roof hatch, pintle hitch,lifting sling flanges, and convoy and marker lights. This one is in the best condition of any that I have.

[cletrac (RIP)]

We had a shower this morning and it was too wet for crop spraying so we went and picked up the C15A from the auction site. On the door there's the number 63 914 and above that is a maple leaf in a circle with CANADA above it and I'm not sure of the rest. Does anybody recognize the markings?

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

Originally Posted by cletrac

We had a shower this morning and it was too wet for crop spraying so we went and picked up the C15A from the auction site. On the door there's the number 63 914 and above that is a maple leaf in a circle with CANADA above it and I'm not sure of the rest. Does anybody recognize the markings?

Cool! That Canada sign is what's left of the original decal as seen here (without the black background)... very rare!

[cletrac (RIP)]

Geoff, I knew I'd seen that decal before but I was thinking of unit markings so I drew a blank. I wonder what the significance of it appearing on this truck might be? I'm posting this pic with the ruler so anybody who wants to use these markings has a size reference. I used Photoshop to combine the legible number with the legible maple leaf off the different doors. In the second pic I freshened up the decal. The decal on the truck was 3 1/2" diameter.
I've seen mention of the two number prefix of the door numbers standing for different units in the newer numbering system like this one uses so what does the 63 refer to?
This truck has the holes in the front clip for the heater but it doesn't look there was ever one installed.

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

David, that decal went on just about every bit of equipment manufactured in Canada during WW2. It says 'Canada' in English, Russian and Chinese and identifies us as the source. A matter of national pride, really. You will still find ammunition boxes and the occasional weapon bearing the remnants of the original sticker - Brens & Browning Hi-Powers particularly, in the latter case - but most of the vehicle stickers never survived the veh's first repaint. Yours IS unique - I've only ever seen it on one other vehicle, a Mk.II* carrier in Yankland, and that had been carefully repainted AROUND the sticker.

The number is your Canuckistani gummint-assigned registration number, and there are a few here more knowledgeable than I who can tell you what the specific designation is; they were replaced by W/D numbers once the veh was shipped overseas.

[cletrac (RIP)]

Geoff, you can tell by the way there's rust where the decal was on the one door that they repainted out around it. The rest of the door isn't rusty but where the decal and number are is rusty.

[luke stone]

that number to me looks like 692914 id sand it either way with some fine wet and dry paper wet on a block to see if theres anymore numbers or a letter at the beggining.looks a gd find though

luke

[cletrac (RIP)]

Luke, I took a closer look and it's 69-914. Here it is after some Photoshop adjustments.

[luke stone]

im still sure theres a 2 in between the two 9s id flat between them a bit more to be sure but on the last attachment even before you open it you can make out a 2

luke

[cletrac (RIP)]

I added the Chev to my lineup. I have some more trucks in my brothers yard too. When I picked up the Chev the owner told me about where the farm was where he bought it 25 years ago. There were a couple of old bachelors with a lot of junk in that area but they died 15 years ago so I went and looked around the remains of the yard. Lo and behold, I found a 16" military wheel and part of a Chev grille guard. There were several old 216s laying around and one had positive crankcase ventilation. I wrote down the serial number and guess what? It's the original motor out of the C15A so I'll have to go back and get it. It looked like the block was still usable.

[cletrac (RIP)]

I picked up the original motor out of the C15A the other day. The serial numbers match the number on the data plate. The build date on the data plate is April 21, 1944 and the build date on the motor is 10 29 43. That motor plant must have been making lots of engines by this time if they could sit for 6 months before being used. On my HUP there's only around 6 weeks difference or less if I remember right.

[Bob McNeill]

Hi folks Another one saved, today obtained from the local scrappy, No12 C 60 I think 16" front 20" rear will try to post pic But its on the market NO MORE said the BBBOss

[Keith Webb]

Here are some pics Bob prepared earlier.

[lynx42]

Good on yer Bob, another to add to the collection. Interesting that it has a Ford bonnet on it.(Square mesh Ford not diamond shaped Chev like the rest of the grill).
Regards Rick

[aj.lec]

well done Bob
Looks to be in pretty reasonable order
pm incoming

[Bob McNeill]

Rick does that mean you,ll be up to collect it SOON, cause it can,t stay here, I don,t care who,s collection it goes to. The fuel tank brkts are on the back of the cab,a Ford g/box is between the winch and t/case, look nice on your front lawn

[cletrac (RIP)]

Well, I made it out to the Drumheller badlands and picked up the Cab 12 yesterday. It was a 450 mile round trip with our tandem grain truck and the 425 hp Cat just burned 40 gallons of diesel. I've driven pickups that got less mileage than that.

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by Geoff Winnington-Ball

The number is your Canuckistani gummint-assigned registration number, and there are a few here more knowledgeable than I who can tell you what the specific designation is; they were replaced by W/D numbers once the veh was shipped overseas.

This is interesting as I have found a number stamped on a late CMP Ford chassis, in the same configuration as the Canadian Govt reg number. I will not relate details of the vehicle except what I have already said, but the number is;
87-228

If any of you number crunchers can come up with any records that might tie this number to a vehicle, I would appreciate it. It is stamped on the left hand (pass side) chassis rail, just behind the front shock absorber.

[lynx42]

If you look real carefull at that landscpe of the Badlands, you can just about see John Wayne leading the possee across that river after the rustlers.

[Keith Webb]

Originally Posted by cletrac

Well, I made it out to the Drumheller badlands and picked up the Cab 12 yesterday. It was a 450 mile round trip with our tandem grain truck and the 425 hp Cat just burned 40 gallons of diesel. I've driven pickups that got less mileage than that.

Why they sold it: "Durned engine cover never did fit proper-like".

[cletrac (RIP)]

I knew I should have recognized that cowboy that was wading his horse across the river!!!
Those badlands on the Red Deer River get quite a bit more pronounced about 30 miles downstream at Dinosaur Provincial Park.
I know of one CMP that got taken down near the river in that rugged country many years ago and couldn't make it out again. I haven't gone in to check it out yet but that would be an adventure by itself. Maybe it could be towed onto the river ice in the winter? HMMM.

[Gunner]

That ain't John Wayne fordin' that river... he ain't tough enough to handle our winters let alone our wimmen! That there is Dudley Dooright of the Royal Canadian Mounties! He's trackin' CMP rustlers!

I always enjoyed visiting the badlands... some of the most interesting geography in the world.

Nice acquisitions, Cletrac. You're building an excellent reference collection of early CMPs!

Mike

[cletrac (RIP)]

I had some business to attend to today so I took some back roads for 150 miles and came up with these two 60 cwt boxes. I knew the owner but he's dead now so I'll have to see who to ask about them. The data plate is off the rough one with no wheel wells but the one with wells is in fairly decent shape. Both have endgates albeit with holes cut in them to unload grain.
The other truck is a Morris Commercial ECV but what year? Would the motor in it be the same as the military trucks? The whole drive train is there.

[Mike K]

DAvid

That Morris would be a rarity in Canada ... the CV range was released in late 1937 .. production was curtailed by WW2 but was started again on a limited basis for essential civilian services...Production continued on and after the war - to around 1952. The pre-war versions were either 6 cyl. or 4 cyl. Yep, motor was similar to the military 6 OH engine .. I have a 1937 OE civilian motor here ... water pump in head and dome top pistons.

I have a copy of Harry Edwards' book on Morris Commercial

Mike

[cletrac (RIP)]

I found a C60L the other day but the owner is just using the chassis and he put a 6.2 litre GM diesel in it. I gave him $20 for the motor and trans he pulled out. It's a 261 Pontiac that isn't seized and it's hooked to the rhd bellhousing and military transmission. I needed the bellhousing for that C15A I hauled home this summer. I have a friend that's going to haul the cab home for me the next time he's headed this way. It's a 1944 with round gauges and no roof hatch. The data plates are on the dash but the pix I took didn't turn out except the one saying it's a GS version. I'll post a better pic of the data plate at a future date. That's quite the fifth wheel hookup a previous owner installed.

[cletrac (RIP)]

I hauled the 2C1 I bought at a farm auction home and set it on the 1944 C15A Van 2. It looks right at home there. That old picker truck sure comes in handy at times!
There's a few rust spots on the outside of the top rails but that's easily fixed and the rest is straight and complete. It was actually a rarer find than the running F15 at the same auction since it had a lot of issues.

[cletrac (RIP)]

Here's the data plate off the 2C1. I wonder if the 42 03 bit stands for the year and month. The box has a good endgate and latches which is unusual. The tail light brackets on both sides are still in place too.