Another C60L Restoration

[Tony Mathers]

I decided it was about time for me to post my restoration. I purchased a C60L from Ryan on the 26 Jan, 2014

Leaving Ryan's

Chassis model: 8443
Cab model: W048 - Supply Truck
Date of Manufacture: 6 5 43
15509 miles on the clock

On closer inspection the Cab had some deep rust spots but overall I was very happy with my purchase. The stripping down started immediately with my 15 year old son leading the way.

[Tony Mathers]

As the strip down continued I started finding and buying the parts I need to complete it. I also started doing lots and lots of research.



At Corowa I picked up the left hand side fuel tank, spring bumper and other assorted parts.
I also took lots and lots of photos and measurements of Robs excellent C60L workshop.



I was able to secure my own workshop body and picked it up the following week. This blitz workshop body had been refitted to fit the R.A.E.M.E.International Mk.5 Workshop Truck, but the changes are very obvious and I should be able to easily change it back.

[Tony Mathers]

The first completed job is the Carbi restoration.


From this:



To this



Meanwhile the the strip down continues....

[Tony Mathers]

Lucky for me, this blitz still had some of the little things that I need.





I went to a auction last week and there was only one blitz item. But I forgot to tell the rest of the bidders what it was.....




Alas I have a bar and bolt fitting and I now need hooks.

[Tony Wheeler]

Nice find Tony, maybe it will convert to bar fitting...?

[Tony Mathers]

Tony, the bag is probably a little fragile to be making major alterations to it.

Last night I started stripping the hinges off the doors, and fixing them up. One of the hinges is broken, but I got the important bit from Ross Prince and now need to pull out the pin to fix it.... any suggestions on how this is done?


Today was a rest day, so I sand blasted the steering wheel and gave the metal work a undercoat.

Having lots of fun with this.

[Tony Wheeler]

No I've never tackled door hinge problems Tony, no doubt that pleasure awaits me.

[hrpearce]

Originally Posted by Tony Mathers

Last night I started stripping the hinges off the doors, and fixing them up. One of the hinges is broken, but I got the important bit from Ross Prince and now need to pull out the pin to fix it.... any suggestions on how this is done?

I drifted my pins out with a 1/4" high tensile bolt.

[Tony Mathers]

Originally Posted by hrpearce

I drifted my pins out with a 1/4" high tensile bolt.

I obviously wasn't hitting my brass punch hard enough....

[Ryan]

Kick arse Tony, good to see the cobwebs off it.

[Tony Mathers]

I had a chest infection the last couple of weeks, which certainly slowed me down... But I did send the generator, regulator and starter motor off to the local auto elec for a service.. (whose uncle had a blitz)

Here is a shot of the generator about to go back together and the starter motor waiting its turn.


Today my son dragged me outside to work on the Truck and thanks to some helpful advice from Euan, I was able to finish getting the Cab off without further problems.

Looks like the motor is next.

[Tony Mathers]

My son had a mate over today and they wouldn't leave my old truck alone... after removing the fuel pump, they decided to remove the rocker cover – then called me. I decided to keep going since they had started... looks like 2 broken rocker arms and a bent rod so far.



Since I am new to this pulling apart engine stuff, I was a bit horrified when I initially saw the pistons. But a lot of compressed air and WD40 seem to make a big difference. The 4 centre pistons now move freely but the end ones only have about 10mm of movement. (Is this a major problem?)

We kept at it till dark and I am happy so far with the results.

Does anyone know where to get rocker arms and rods? Do I just replace the broken ones or do I need more?

[motto]

Tony
Before ordering from overseas I would talk to Ross Prince of Hervey Bay. If you don't know of him already he specialises in spares for ex military vehicles mostly WW2 era. He knows blitzes better than any dealer except maybe Brian Asbury of Canada.

Dave

[Tony Mathers]

Originally Posted by Scott Hamilton

I am also rebuilding my 216 engine and there are a few things that I have learnt along the way.

Firstly, with stuck pistons, either make up a penetrating oil by using 50:50 acetone and automatic transmission fluid and place into each cylinder to free up the pistons. You need to make up small batches at a time as the acetone will evaporate off after a time. Or you could just throw some diesel fuel in and wait a few days or a week or two. I used the acetone atf brew and works well. Also you may need to look at the bottom end of the engine to see if there are any issues that may be causing problems.

Thanks - I have some diesel, so I will try that.

Originally Posted by Scott Hamilton

Bowtie Bits - http://www.bowtiebits.com/

I got some dash parts of Bowtie, but they don't seem to have rocker arms

I have a old friend (bush mechanic) who used to fix his dads blitz's, but unfortunately he is very unreliable, so he has only visited once... I am hoping he will return soon and do the actual rebuild. But I will need to have all the required parts ready, when he does.

Dave I have Ross Prince's Chev catalog, but it also doesn't have rocker arms. But I will give him a ring during the week.

Thanks gentlemen

[Euan McDonald]

Hi tony,
I'm sure I would have a set or two.
(don't send your money offshore)

[Tony Mathers]

The last couple of weeks I have been modifying my shed to cope with all the new tools and the old parts coming off the truck and the new ones being purchased. While this has been fun, it has distracted me from actually working on the truck.

I took today off work to go for a job interview, after which I stopped and got a new air hose. On the way home I called into Simon Allen's. After catching up on the latest restorations he showed me a seat he had picked up for me.

I had thought most of the blitz seats were the same, but compared to original seat this one is taller and wider in the back. Is it Ford seat?

Simon had managed to get some work done on my fuel tanks, so that was good to see as well.

When my son got home from school he dragged me out to remove the motor from the blitz. My small tractor made easy work of the motor and gearbox, but the lack of subtlety with the tractor's gearbox made me think the tie-down straps would tear. So we put it straight down on to my patented motor trolley (piano trolley and planks) and tried to move it inside. The wet ground made this a test of endurance, but we finally got it inside.


The next job on the agenda is to build a engine stand that wont collapse or fall over.

[Keith Webb]

The wider seat is late production, no doubt due to complaints!

[Tony Mathers]

Originally Posted by Keith Webb

The wider seat is late production, no doubt due to complaints!

Thanks Keith.

[Tony Mathers]

I visited the Army Museum Bandiana today to measure up and photograph the Blitz and Studebaker Workshop trucks. The very informative and helpful WO2 Ian Pullen was on duty and was able to show me around.



I was able to get lots of measurements and information on the little known parts and toolbox's on the workshop body. Including these bits:



After that I visited Empire Trading & Disposals Company near Wangaratta and got some lovely new bits for my truck, including M113 lights for the taillights, a 1940 pick and a WWII Camouflage net to hide the truck from my wife.

[Tony Mathers]

I just finished my Phil Waterman style engine stand this morning (Thanks for posting the design mate) and put it to the test straight away.


My son who happened to be home from school today woke up before Midday (I was stunned!) and decided it was a good time to start playing with my Truck.. (Its mine son, mine!)

So we cleaned the crud off the gearbox and then tried to take it off, Boy was it on tight... so we kept going back to cleaning the engine. I rang Euan for some advice (Did I remember to say thanks?) Since we were positive it was the gearbox that was stopping the pistons moving we started pulling the gearbox apart where it was...


Yuck was it a mess, it appears condensation or something had over a period of time filled the gearbox with water.. It was a great excuse to set up the molasses bin and after buying a 3/4 ring spanner and an extra half hour of toil the whole lot went for a swim in molasses.



The best part is, the pistons and bearings appear to be in great shape. The head needs a lot of work, but appears to be fine as well.

My son and I had so much fun we decided we should complete the engine rebuild ourselves.

Thanks Euan and Phil for all your help.

[Keith Webb]

I have a spare Chev gearbox if you need... that one looks like it will sound like one of the ones in Tony Wheeler's collection...

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Tony

You may be surprised how well that transmission will clean up. I've seen worse that have cleaned up and worked for years. One of mine was like that it was half full of water when I got it. Completely disassembled and cleaned everything polished the gear teeth with the scotch disks, replaced the bearings drove it for a lot of years. Not the quietest transmission I've ever had but was worth it.

Engine stand looks good.

Keep us posted on your progress

Cheers Phil

[Tony Mathers]

Thanks Gentlemen at this stage I will see how it cleans up, as most of the rust came off before I put the gearbox in the molasses.

[Mike Kelly]

Tony

I will find some more pics ...........Mike

BTW you should find a wartime MACSON lathe for your truck .. MACSON lathes were made by McPhersons in Melbourne , the large industrial hardware business

[Tony Mathers]

Today I went to a secret treasure trove, a wonderland of blitz heaven, armed with a machete and thick leather gloves, I hacked and slashed my way through miles and miles of blackberries until I was able to unearth several treasures.



I needed a bumper, and I got this perfectly straight and only a little bit rustic marvel.



I then proceeded to unearth another much needed missing piece, the last 800mm of the chassis. Unfortunately my generator let me down halfway through the job and I need to go back and finish cutting it off later.

My brother came over tonight and has offered me his generator, so I will visiting him tomorrow. Yay!

[Tony Mathers]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

Tony

I will find some more pics ...........Mike

BTW you should find a wartime MACSON lathe for your truck .. MACSON lathes were made by McPhersons in Melbourne , the large industrial hardware business

I am looking for a lathe, but couldn't remember the right brand, thanks.

I don't suppose you have pictures of machinery A, B, C, E, F etc as well do you?

Thanks and have fun...

[Mike Kelly]

You may have these pics already ?

Seen on the RH end of the pic next to the lathe is a CAMEL BACK pedestal drill press

[Mike Kelly]

cab 12 Ford version

[Mike Kelly]

Not sure if these pics are of the 4 wheeled machinery trailer or the truck

The drill press is seen in pic 1 , in the foreground is a metal shaper

BTW I dont know how they managed to machine anything accurately on a lathe mounted on a flimsy floor in a truck . Lathes are extremely sensitive to any deviation in uneven floors . Mike

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Tony Mathers

Thanks Gentlemen at this stage I will see how it cleans up, as most of the rust came off before I put the gearbox in the molasses.

No doubt it will clean up OK, but personally I wouldn't bother with a rusty gearbox after it's out of the vehicle. I'd rather start with one that hasn't seen water, since they're easy enough to source. Or at least replace the rusty gears, which are often just the upper ones. The cluster gear never rusts if it's fully underwater, even after decades, because the oil layer seals out all oxygen.

The main consideration of course is tooth end wear/damage through crunching the gears, which mainly effects 2nd and 3rd gears. This damage is self perpetuating, because once the rounded ends are flattened and splayed and chipped they're much harder to engage without crunching. Eventually this can lead to a tooth breaking off, or even several stripped teeth. When that happens you need a complete rebuild, as the bearings are likely to be damaged by case hardened fragments of steel floating around in the oil, and likewise the seals may be abraded. In fact there will always be loose steel floating around inside a crash gearbox, so it's worth making sure you have a magnetic drain plug. They often get lost over the years.

As Phil says you can happily run a rusty gearbox provided the bearings are replaced. One of my Ford gearboxes was so rusted out it took me two days work with a crowbar and sledgehammer to get the gears and selectors moving again. It works fine now but makes a tremendous racket because the front bearing was completely rusted solid. It's OK in the back yard but would no doubt shatter if it were run at speed on the road for any length of time.

The gearbox in my road blitz was also rusty, and I didn't even know at first, because the truck had supposedly been restored. All I did was check the oil level, never dreaming there'd be a litre of water underneath! It wasn't until I did a 200 km trip and lost reverse gear along the way that I realized there was anything untoward inside. What happened was the oil/water/rust powder emulsion whipped up inside while driving caused the oil to lose its lubricant properties, and the reverse selector fork started to bind on its shaft when pushed sideways by the gear lever. It took me a while to figure out, because it worked perfectly when pushed gently with a finger, but every time I put the lid back on it stopped working! Anyway it was easily fixed by flushing with petrol and refilling with clean oil. The bearings seem to be OK for the moment so I have no plans to change the gearbox.