Long gone dealers of military and useful stuff

[Keith Webb]

Just splitting off from another thread this subject seems to have garnered some good responses.

David Mottram commented on one of the more famous yards in Melbourne which largely disappeared in the 1980s as land values (and taxes) increased to the point where they were uneconomical to operate as storage for trucks and parts returning only a small income. Here's my response to David's excellent summary of the structure of Vic Drew Used Trucks

Spot on David.

Val was a heavy smoker and was always highly made up and well dressed which looked very incongruous in that setting. She'd encourage me to stay if it was lunch time or for a coffee while waiting for Bill to come back from one of the yards. I well remember how unpopular Les was. He'd sometimes store electronics from Sanyo there - just how he came by them remains a bit of a mystery.

Originally Posted by motto

Vic Drew was the proprietor of Vic Drew Used Trucks. He had three children that inherited the business when he passed away, they were Bill and Les and their sister Val.
Bill knew no other life except the business of buying and selling parts for trucks belonging to bygone times and his knowledge was (is) quite extensive. He has an alert manner and is happy to share his knowledge and memories. He still runs an offshoot of the business in an old shop across the road from the original yard in Mt Alexander Road, Ascot Vale.
Val died many years ago, she worked in the business until overcome by ill health.
Les wanted nothing to do with the business except to get his hands on his cut. He and Bill were always at war and it took years to liquidate the property held by the estate.
One of the yards was Rosamond Road, Maribyrnong where Highpoint West shopping centre now stands. A very large quantity of ex government trucks and parts was accumulated there behind a corrugated iron front fence but no side fence and no security. Kids got in and smashed what they could. I remember sets of Harley Davidson engine bearings scattered on the ground and NOS CCKW open cab windscreens pulled out of the crate and broken. All very sad.

David

[Harry Moon]

I remember "3Vets" on Main street In Vancouver in the late 60's. rode my bike down to buy a bayonet for $1. Had barrels of guns and tons of webbing. Had no appreciation of what I was looking at. Passed up the Sykes fairburns for whatever was the biggest which i promptly used to split firewood.

[Mike Kelly]

Another great place was AUTO SURPLUS in Mitcham . The guy on the counter Colin was very friendly and a WW2 vet . I asked him who owned the business and he said old man Hancock . Hancock had a finger in many pies .

Anyway, they had a large amount of WW2 parts NOS . US pattern tailights $5 EACH . Trico vacuum wiper units 10 bucks for the box of 2 . They had a lot of NOS Studebaker stuff , I remember buying the headlight units in the boxes .

Colin was telling me they were scrapping some of the Stude parts , stuff like shock absorbers as nobody wanted them, he said they had contacted Israel but they didn't want any ! He had boxes of the early CMP rubber tailights . I used to buy the packets of trico wiper blades , painted in various shades of OD .

Colin was telling me, just after the war, he was a buyer for HEALINGS in Melbourne, he said he attended many surplus autions , some held in remote locations. He said the best buys were vehicles that were not running because of a missing dissy or similar , he said they sold for next to nothing . He was saying HEALINGS had F15A Blitzes brand new .

They had a few White scout car bits too, I found NOS instrument cluster and speedo , didnt buy them .

[Bruce MacMillan]

Originally Posted by Harry Moon

I remember "3Vets" on Main street In Vancouver in the late 60's. rode my bike down to buy a bayonet for $1. Had barrels of guns and tons of webbing. Had no appreciation of what I was looking at. Passed up the Sykes fairburns for whatever was the biggest which i promptly used to split firewood.

I spent much of my allowance there as well. Came home one day with 2 helmets, 2 bayonets and 2 grenades. No one freaked out when they saw us playing.

I remember the $5 Lee-Enfields still in the cosmoline.

For radio parts there was R&P Electronics and Satellite Electronics and once in a while a trip to Boeing Surplus in Seattle.

Anyone in Winterpeg remember Sabre Industries?

[maple_leaf_eh]

The Sidney I Robinson of Winnipeg had a catalogue for various outdoor needs. I still have a badly photocopied pamphlet on fur trapping from their store on Ellice Street. The business was bought up by Cabellas (I think).

Princess Auto used to have a catalogue of assorted surplus items too. I remember seeing truck tarps and tires listed for sale. Not that I knew or cared about that stuff either.

Eaton's, Sears (Simpson Sears?) and Canadian Tire used to sell .303 Lee Enfields in their sporting goods departments. They were amongst the cheapest hunting rifles available too. I've been sorting the now-discarded long gun registry data, which was posted on the internet after some newspaper won its Access to Information case. There are plenty of guns identified as Eatonia. Some seem to be Italian Carcanos in 6.5mm. Sears' store brand was JC Higgins.

[Jes Andersen]

We had Capital Iron in Victoria, surplus dealers and ship breakers. Before they went modern, there were tables of old RCN uniforms, black and white navy caps, piles of webbing, helmets and gas masks. My favourite was the basement, where all the small bits from the ships ended up. At one time, I had a room full of old radios and other junk packed home from there. I still have a trunk somewhere with some of it. In my armoury, there are a couple of .303 Parker Hale Lee Enfields purchased from Sears in the early '70s for just over $100. I also have a 12guage JC Higgins that is still my choice for the camper and perimeter defense. Princess Auto catalogs provide many hours of entertainment and probably got me to learn to read...

3Vets. Lever Arms (are they still around?) and others were places to go in the day.

Good memories

[cletrac (RIP)]

In 1962 I went into a McLeods store and bought a sporterized 303, a box of shells, a hunting suit and a deer license all for $20. Those were the days!
Lever Arms used to have lots of stuff for a good price. I got a Martini Enfield handgun in 303 British from them. Kicks like a mule!

[Phil Waterman]

Hi All

It is not just the old surplus dealers who are disappearing, it is the small parts dealers who could make a living selling relative small quantities of parts. One of the best sources Chevy parts I've used for years is now gone Tim Tygarts Obsolete Chevy Parts is gone, bought by Jim Carters. Now I hope that Jim Carters will continue to make make both high volume and low volume parts avaliable.

Cheers Phil

[Grant Bowker]

I was aware of the purchase of Obsolete Chevy by Jim Carter, I only wish they had also accepted the Tygart practice of using the Chevrolet part numbers rather than creating their own. Mac's had started to transition from Ford numbers to their own made up system as they transitioned to part of the Ecklers group. I recently received a catalog from them that proudly proclaimed they were returning to the Ford part numbers "for ease of ordering". Ford and Chevrolet had numbering systems that worked for a long period of time to keep huge inventories straight. Why invent a new system to replace one that works? Tygart used to add an "R" to reproduction parts and also made it clear if the part was in any way not an original part.

[David Dunlop]

Bruce.

I remember Sabre well. Had a huge compound out St. James way and also a smaller storefront place. I still have one of their catalogs kicking around somewhere. Huge inventory of 19-Sets and parts related, other military signals equipment and enough aircraft spares you could nearly build your own Tiger Moth, or Harvard. Even sold Link Trainers at one time.

Rampant rumours that when they shut down some big surplus operation in the Florida area came up and cleared out their inventory. One wall of their shop use to be lined with 19-Sets stacked to the ceiling. Some on racks but many in original heavy duty cardboard boxes and some in large wooden crates, sort of double sized bren gun chests. Also had lots of cardboard boxes of 19-Set Installation kits for various vehicles.

There was also the old Princess Auto Surplus Yard in Transcona with the big quonset hut run by a chap named John. .99 cent WW2 Cdn Army Helmets. $9.95 Lee Enfields and $19.95 Jungle Carbines.


David

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Keith Webb

I used to visit to collect parts when I worked for Hughes Auto Spares and was allowed to go through the yards when it suited them.

Prior to that we used to ride our pushbikes all the way from Box Hill - always dreading that long final grind up Mt. Alexander Road hill! Coming back I recall racing trams downhill and whizzing past Moloney's garage on the left at a ridiculous rate of knots! On one occasion we left our pushbikes at Vic Drew's and were driven (by his son?) to a yard in Kensington - just an ordinary suburban block amid houses, shielded from the street by a high paling fence, with no entrance or access. I recall having to climb the fence, whereupon we were confronted not by a house, but a sea of old trucks jammed in like sardines! We were left there to amuse ourselves for a while and and picked up later on. Ahh, fond memories indeed!

[motto]

You mention Maloney's place on Mt Alexander Rd Tony. Maloney's were also dealers in ex government trucks and equipment and continued in that line of business after being taken over by Doug Weston and John Pistoni to become W&P Machinery.
That was late 60s, early 70s when the army was selling off a lot of WW2 vehicles and parts. Studebaker US6 and DUKWs were coming through regularly.
At one time W&P had a holding yard just down the street from their premises in which I remember there being a dozen or so Studes parked so close together you had to climb over them to get to the next. For $400 you could take your pick which one you wanted. None of them had more than 17,000 miles on the clock.
When the Studebaker spare parts got too slow moving I purchased W&Ps residual stocks for $300 a truck load. It took many years to dispose of it all.

David

[Dan Martel]

Does anyone recall the surplus store in Winnipeg that was located on the south side of Portage Avenue across from the Hudson's Bay? It had a huge sign above the door with a reproduction of the 101st Airborne's screaming eagle. I've never forgotten that sign. One of my strongest memories of living in Winnipeg. I think it's long gone now.

Cheers,
Dan.

[Ryan]

Some amazing memories being recalled here. I have nothing like that to share.
My fond memory is of Erskines disposals in geelong, lots of good surplus equipment in the 1980s. Including prc25 sets for $25.

[David Dunlop]

Dan.

That would have been United Army Surplus.

David

[rob love]

Originally Posted by Dan Martel

Does anyone recall the surplus store in Winnipeg that was located on the south side of Portage Avenue across from the Hudson's Bay? It had a huge sign above the door with a reproduction of the 101st Airborne's screaming eagle. I've never forgotten that sign. One of my strongest memories of living in Winnipeg. I think it's long gone now.

Cheers,
Dan.

Yep, United Army Surplus. I was at the closeout auction about 8 years back I think. They weren't selling very much by the each...it was by the box, or the row, or the room. I bought a whole room full of stuff for $125, and sold $500 of it before I even moved it. The basement rooms went just as cheap.....tons of stuff for $100 or so. They gave the guys 5 days to get it all out. I went there in the last hour they had, and picked up a last few things from the room I bought. The guy told me to make a pile, so I ran around like a madman. First stop was the textiles room. Picked up boxes of battle dress buttons, spools of thread, and the best thing of all was a set of 10" heavy duty black scissors....the real ones and not the chinese knock offs. Got the whole pile for $50.

I still have one of their signs in the wall of the shop.

[rob love]

There are still a couple of the old time dealers, or the remnants of what they once were, kicking around the prairies. There are certain cities which I do not pass through without going in to buy more.

[Mike Kelly]

I dont know how I came to have this item but its a tape measure .

Probably given to some of the more regular customers , maybe dating from the 1970's . Would this mob be related to the Hancock surplus lines ?

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by motto

Maloney's were also dealers in ex government trucks and equipment and continued in that line of business after being taken over by Doug Weston and John Pistoni to become W&P Machinery. That was late 60s, early 70s when the army was selling off a lot of WW2 vehicles and parts.

David that ties in with my '73 blitz resto for which I bought head gaskets, fan belts, radiator hoses, blitz side curtains, etc. from Maloneys. All at dirt cheap price of course!

[Keith Webb]

Yes, they were the parent company when I was working for Hughes Auto Spares.

Keith Downey who eventually bought the business worked there and used to visit each week, delivering my little yellow pay packet envelope.

Hancocks was started I believe by Bill Hancock who had a lot to do with the surplus business in the early days then saw there was more money in the new parts.

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

I dont know how I came to have this item but its a tape measure .

Probably given to some of the more regular customers , maybe dating from the 1970's . Would this mob be related to the Hancock surplus lines ?

[Matt Austin]

Not quite long gone, but I pick up Pattern 37 web gear from Aussie Disposals whenever I see it. I've acquired a few pieces this way. On Saturday, I picked up two large pouches, one with a VX number and name, the other with an SX number, and I was able to get their details from the AWM nominal roll. It'd be interesting to find if either man was still with us; I'd love to send one back.

[Keith Webb]

This is a view of the Vic Drew trucks yard at Kensington which had many CMPs and even some CMP rear bodies such as Stores, Binned and Workshop. That's Tony Wheeler exploring. I took this picture around 1974.

[Keith Webb]

Another view of the Kensington yard with the Stores Binned, Workshop and other bodies. There's even a CAC built Comair bus. That's my friend Greg Brown in the white shirt.

[Keith Webb]

Some of you will have seen this pic before, the stack of new old stock cabs rusting away at Hughes Trading, Coburg.

[Mike Kelly]

Towards the last days of the laneway warehouse where Keith worked , I was there and bought four NOS Ford cab 12 doors - while browsing I spotted a pile of manuals on the table and Jack O'Donnell said to me "they are for sale" . I purchased a C8 parts book with "W Hancock" hand written on the cover and a few other manuals too . The doors were ten bucks each . BTW the original green paint on those doors was applied straight over the bare metal , no primer !

Keith Downey was on the counter there near the end . He moved the business to another shop , was it called Power train ?

[Keith Webb]

Yes he set up Power Train Products which closed a few years ago. I bought a large batch of parts books from his son I think it was including some I had handled as a young worker at Hunter Road.

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

Towards the last days of the laneway warehouse where Keith worked , I was there and bought four NOS Ford cab 12 doors - while browsing I spotted a pile of manuals on the table and Jack O'Donnell said to me "they are for sale" . I purchased a C8 parts book with "W Hancock" hand written on the cover and a few other manuals too . The doors were ten bucks each . BTW the original green paint on those doors was applied straight over the bare metal , no primer !

Keith Downey was on the counter there near the end . He moved the business to another shop , was it called Power train ?

[Mike Kelly]

J O'D was a bit of a scoundrel . While I was there looking around, a guy from Tasmania rang and asked about a gear for a Chev gearbox . Jack said " I will look up the price " - he grabbed a newspaper and squashed it a bit, it made the noise of rustling paperwork " oh yes that gear is 85 bucks" he told the unsuspecting customer .

They were selling cheap repro Jeep parts too . They were getting desperate as the end of the business was inevitable . One time I was there , there were 2 guys throwing parts into a big industrial waste bin - new CV joints etc .

One of the first times I went there, I bought a heap of NOS USA blackout light inserts , 50 cents each . The price depended on who served you, the other Jack was great, he almost gave the stuff to you .

On a shelf there were hundreds of packets of Jeep front axle rebuild kits with " Canadian cycle company " printed on the label . These were only 5 bucks or similar. I scored some 1/2 Ton Dodge front axle CV joint bits on one occasion .

[Keith Webb]

Yes Jack White was great and more than realistic with prices. He also knew where every part was and often it's number without looking it up. He was a pipe smoker so time in the lunch room (Jack's office) were spent in a permanent fug of thick smoke.
If you're wondering what Jack O'Donnell looked and sounded like think of Elmer Fudd which was his nick name among many of the collectors: "Wet's 'ave a wook ova 'ere".
His other forte was to 'Wee-condition" parts by getting me to wash them in the kerosene washer and he'd then spray them black, good as new!