How To: 1944 Chev HUW restoration

[Bruce Parker]

After a long sit, I'm finally getting on with my HUW project. I spent the last few months fabricating the interior bins, wireless table, seat bases, etc. and put them in for a test fit. Not much to look at now but it feels good to see it all together for the first time. What is becoming clear is just how cramped it is in the back of one of these.

[Peter Duggan]

Bruce,

Great looking restoration. Looking forward to your updates.

Ppeter

[Bruce Parker]

This is what I started with many years ago.

[James P]

Very nice to see projects come back to life and look forward to updates (and heaps of pics).

[Barry Churcher]

Bruce is this the one we helped you lift the body off in Napanee many moons ago?
Barry

[Bruce Parker]

Originally Posted by Barry Churcher

Bruce is this the one we helped you lift the body off in Napanee many moons ago?
Barry

That's the one. It would be much father along if the Fox hadn't gotten in the way. Pre-Fox I had completed the chassis and assembled most of the missing parts but then it went into hibernation.

[Bruce Parker]

I got the HUW back from the sandblaster today....couldn't be happier. Here's as recovered, stripped, and now sandblasted.

[Robert Bergeron]

Nice looking truck there Bruce !

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Good to see another C8A being restored

Do you remember your HUW was one of the first CMPs Geoff wrote a restoration log about?

See http://www.mapleleafup.net/vehicles/.../restore3.html

[Terry Witiuk]

Bruce. Glad to hear that things are moving along. Still hoping to come out and have a personal look before winter is here.

[Bruce Parker]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

Good to see another C8A being restored

Do you remember your HUW was one of the first CMPs Geoff wrote a restoration log about?

See http://www.mapleleafup.net/vehicles/.../restore3.html

This poor truck got pushed to the back of the garage more than once (for the Fox and two Victorian era house renovations). The upside is that over those years I've been able to find almost all of the missing bits and have managed to get good information to be able to rebuild the correct interior. It's been kept warm and dry waiting for this day.

[Bob Phillips]

It is great to see this truck finally under restoration. Here are a couple of rather poor pictures of the truck when it was recovered from a Jasper area wrecking yard in the late 1970s or early 80s. Note the I beam on the roof.

[Bruce Parker]

Thanks for those pics Bob. I find it odd that someone painted it Tremclad forest green over the faded khaki. What, to pretty it up for a quick sale? No matter, the green and spiffy red inner fender paint is all gone now.

Google shows this wrecking yard in Jasper, I assume this is where you got it from?

[Bob Phillips]

I think the name of the yard was McDougals (your photo is correct!), and they had a couple of CMPs but none as interesting as the 8cwt wireless. There was also a major surplus store on the opposite side of the town called Prices. While the glory days in surplus were over by the time I got there I remember buying 19 sets and power supplies for $10-25. They had skids of them. There was also a row of 3 ton van bodies and cargo boxes out in the side yard, and a quanset hut full of ex govt desks and furniture..
I am pleased to see the progress you have made with the truck, good luck with the restoration!

[Bruce Parker]

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Originally Posted by Bob Phillips

I think the name of the yard was McDougals (your photo is correct!), and they had a couple of CMPs but none as interesting as the 8cwt wireless. There was also a major surplus store on the opposite side of the town called Prices. While the glory days in surplus were over by the time I got there I remember buying 19 sets and power supplies for $10-25. They had skids of them. There was also a row of 3 ton van bodies and cargo boxes out in the side yard, and a quanset hut full of ex govt desks and furniture..
I am pleased to see the progress you have made with the truck, good luck with the restoration!

The poor thing was rode hard. The diffs had been replaced with the earlier, higher ratio ones (completely worn out) and between the I beam and the inevitable trailer hitch yanking out the lightweight rear frame crossmember there were some 'structural repairs' required. I had a donor chassis so it now has the right diffs and the rest of the chassis has been restored to what was originally intended.

[8threcce]

Bob,

Do you mind if I use these pictures on my C8a FB page??

Regards

Pieter

[Bruce Parker]

This week's job was to cut off the top rear roof of the HUW that was badly mangled, and prepare the donor piece. All is going well and I got a surprise. Once the old roof was removed I could see the top body rail and in a nook above the chorehorse cabinet on the upper left I found these well rusted pliers. I figure some signaler wedged them in there for handy use, forgot about them and there they stayed for 75 years until today.

[David Dunlop]

Nice find, Bruce.

If you ever find Manufacturer’s markings on the pliers, can you post what company it was?

David

[Jordan Baker]

Such an interesting find.

[Bob Phillips]

To Pieter Bergman who's post I missed months ago,, please feel free to use the photos if you still wish to. Somewhere in my attic I have a box with hundreds of photos of junkyards, well drillers, ship wrecking yards and various other places that I visited in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. There was still lots of goodies around in those days!

[Bruce Parker]

Originally Posted by Bob Phillips

To Pieter Bergman who's post I missed months ago,, please feel free to use the photos if you still wish to. Somewhere in my attic I have a box with hundreds of photos of junkyards, well drillers, ship wrecking yards and various other places that I visited in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. There was still lots of goodies around in those days!

Hey Bob, seeing you threw in a pair of pliers with the HUW, what do I owe you for them?

[Bob Phillips]

Hi Bruce, no charge for the pliers. I am delighted to see the progress you have made on the truck. While there is great satisfaction in restoring a vehicle and getting it back on the road, there is also satisfaction in seeing vehicles that you have owned passed along to someone who will actually fix them, not just dream about doing it! Keep up the good work!

[Bruce Parker]

Progress or organized chaos I'm not sure, but the HUW is getting attention post sandblasting. Here's a few pics. The generator cabinet is welded in, the 'donor' rear upper back installed, the punched in roof removed ready for new steel and the fabricated body panels positioned ready to weld up. The interior bins, wireless table and brick-brack are ready to install once the skin is on.

[Jordan Baker]

Looks great Bruce. Can’t wait to see it beside the Wire3 for pictures.

[Bruce Parker]

Got the body skin back on. I'll probably work on the roof hatches next then go back to the fenders and running boards. Or maybe the reverse...

[Ganmain Tony]

Strewth Bruce you do not muck around.

May I ask.. is the skin new steel? If so what gauge thickness is it?

If you were able to use the original, was there much work in repairing it?

It is going to be a very nice example.

[David Dunlop]

Looking good, Bruce!

David

[Bruce Parker]

All the body skin except the side body door and two upper corners that wrap around the back/rear sides are new 18 gauge which matches the original 'skin' (I took a lot of notes and photos!!). I was also able to save a portion of the roof that was reinforced for the aerial bases but the section rear of that and up to the sliding roof hatch needed replacing. The gem that saved me (because otherwise I don't know what I would have done) is finding a rear top body section with all those curves. After breaking about a million welds and spot welds it fit on great. Oh, and the floor is original which not only saves me a ton of work but has a checker plate pattern I doubt I could find anymore.

[Ganmain Tony]

Thanks for taking the time to explain that Bruce.

Enjoying this thread and will continue to visit with interest and to pester you further with questions.

[Bruce Parker]

Every little bit brings you that much closer.

Here's my new-made sliding door for the generator cabinet. I took a photo of the original stenciling (I'm so happy an example still existed), rectified, scaled and positioned it, then used the results to cut a new stencil as close as possible to the original, poor spacing and all. I think the application of the original black paint was with one of those paint markers discussed a few weeks ago and not spray paint. I applied mine with a roller opting for clean edges instead of the weak application evident on the original.

Still, part of me wants the poor application of the original but it's dammed hard to replicate!!!