C8 data plate

[cletrac (RIP)]

I was touring around today and spied the remains of a cab 11 C8 about 25 miles from home. Here I thought I knew where any old vehicles were sitting within a 100 mile radius, but it's nice to be surprised. About all that's any good is the seats, one headlight, rifle holders, and the engine cover with data plates, but they're all parts that I needed. It's a radio truck because it has the under hood grounding straps.
I've attached a scan of the data plate. Can anybody tell me the year from this plate?

[mike mckinley]

hello david

if it was from an 11 cab, the year should be 1940.

mike

[cletrac (RIP)]

It's definitely an 11 cab (not an alligator hood) and it has the cab vents and non hinging windshield. That's all the same as the one I've got. It's got two seats in it too so now I've got 7 seats. I just need one more and I'll have enough for my C8 and HUP. When I go get it I'll post a picture. I also found a 1A2 body last winter that I have to pick up. It's even got the top bows but no lockers.

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

That is definitely a 1940 MODEL C8, and built in 1940 as well!

[mike mckinley]

hi david

looking foreward to seeing the picture
mike

[Mike Kelly]

David ,

I have a 1940 cab 11 C8 that I restored about ten years back . I had to build a new 1A1 body from plans .

I am still looking for details of the top bows and how they fit onto the sides of the bed .

I have tried to work it out from photos , but its difficult getting it correct .

You are lucky to have a original body to copy or repair . There are not many left !

If you can make the time one day , it would be great to get some drawings .

I have the plans of the 1A1 body on CD , albiet rather unprofessionally done , but still, good enough to build a body .

Ian Richardson in the U.K., did all the plans for me , he was a saint !!! Ian also has a cab 11 C8 he is restoring .

On the road , the C8 can manage about 40 mph , my engine is the original factory fitted , with the cast iron pistons , standard bore . I got a set of aftermarket alloy pistons .020 on EBAY cheap . EBAY is also good for water pump kits etc.

I bought a set of MRF 900-13's with the NATO tread .

Idf you need any help email me

vk3cz@hotmail.com

Mike in Australia

PS I know of about 12 C8's here and only one F8 .

[Mike Kelly]

here it is at work !

http://www.mapleleafup.org/forums/sh...ght=mike+kelly

[cletrac (RIP)]

I picked up the derelect C8 cab today. I thought there was only one fender on it but the passenger side was buried so it took a little effort to pull it out of the ground. Those cabs are heavy. There was no way two of us could roll it into the back of my S10 so I took out the bolts that hold the floor together and we had two pieces. We loaded the fenders and hauled them home then went back for the rest of the cab. I got some strange looks from people wondering what it was.

[cletrac (RIP)]

Here's the front half in my truck. I'm parked beside the C8 I'm going to restore. That's my M2 Cletrac next to it. I have to fire the Cletrac up tomorrow to get it ready for the Canada Remembers Air Show in Saskatoon on the weekend.
This C8 cab was painted khaki then blue then khaki again so it must have been Air Force. I guess it'll be right at home with the Cletrac. My HUP's Air Force too.
Mike, you say your C8 does 40 mph. Old 40s Chev one tons would make 65 or better. I'm going to check rear end ratios on some of the many old wrecked Chev trucks around here and see if I can come up with a higher speed one that'll fit in the C8 housing.

[Mike Kelly]

david ,

I believe you can fit a 4.1 ratio diff in the C8 housing , look around for a civilian 1940's 1/2 ton pickup . The original C8 ratio is 4.55.1 . As you said its from the 1 ton pickup , the 1 tonners had 17" wheels , the little CD8 has got 13' wheels on it . The 216 motor doesn't like high revs , so be carefull . it only has dippers on the big ends . 65 mph is way too fast .

The pickup diff will give you another 5 mph . I did the sums on this .

Mike

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally posted by Mike Kelly
david ,

I believe you can fit a 4.1 ratio diff in the C8 housing , look around for a civilian 1940's 1/2 ton pickup . The original C8 ratio is 4.55.1 . As you said its from the 1 ton pickup , the 1 tonners had 17" wheels , the little CD8 has got 13' wheels on it . The 216 motor doesn't like high revs , so be carefull . it only has dippers on the big ends . 65 mph is way too fast .

The pickup diff will give you another 5 mph . I did the sums on this .

Mike

Dave.
Your '50's Ford V-8's all had 4:11 rear ends...should not be too difficult to find ..

[Tony Smith]

Originally posted by Alex Blair
Dave.
Your '50's Ford V-8's all had 4:11 rear ends...should not be too difficult to find ..

As did the F8 CMP, but these were all in Timken style split diffs, not GM Banjos.

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally posted by Tony Smith
As did the F8 CMP, but these were all in Timken style split diffs, not GM Banjos.

Tony .
You're right....The Ford went banjo style in '49...See link..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/49-FO...QQcmdZViewItem

pre '49 would be Timken style vertical split..

[cletrac (RIP)]

Here's a picture I took through the Cletrac windshield at the Canada Remembers Airshow on the weekend.

[cletrac (RIP)]

Here's one you won't see very often.

[cletrac (RIP)]

This bracket on the C8 fender (there's one on the other fender too) was installed by the military. It has red paint under the khaki as does the rest of the truck. The truck must have been an RCAF crash tender or the like at one time. I haven't seen brackets like these in any pictures before. Has anyone else come across similar brackets?

[cmperry4]

That target-tug Lysander is one of the coolest aircraft. I did a lot of looking into Westland Lysanders after I found an old photo of one in an old mechanic's handbook.
Very interesting planes, with a very interesting history. A number were built under licence in Canada as army co-op aircraft and equipped some squadrons, but as WWII unfolded, the Lysanders in Canada were mostly relegated to glider tug and target-two roles in the CATP.

One of the first true STOL aircraft, and have a big reputation as "moon planes" taking agents in and out of France during WWII.

One of the more interesting thing about theLysander is they combine wood fomers, girder-and-truss and stressed skin construction in one airplane.

[david moore]

David
For interest, the (Peter) Ford list has a C8 remarkably close to yours. It is Serial 0842002671 , engine 2812410 listed as belonging to Andre Gibeault in Canada ! It is Cab 11, 1940 date and a WIRE?

David Moore
Kingston

[cletrac (RIP)]

It's surprising what you can still come up with. Here's a locker setup I got today for the C8. I'm still trying to talk the guy out of the body part.

[cletrac (RIP)]

Here's one for Mike Kelly. The picture didn't turn out very good but the top bows are welded to a channel iron that has the flanges pointing up and then the channel is bolted to the box.

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

Serial 0842002671 , engine 2812410

In view of the build plate I suggest that it had Engine Number TRA2822410, as I cannot see a 10,000 unit difference at that time.

WRONG! I think it is probably correct now.

[cletrac (RIP)]

I set the locker on the C8 frame today to see where it fit. In the photo at the bottom rear of the cab is a crosspiece that holds the gas tank. There's holes for another one about a foot farther back. Most of the pictures I've seen look like the tanks were mounted on a plank. Would the plank have fit between these brackets or were the metal brackets just a different setup? Also the cab 11 I got this off had running boards where no other pictures I've seen of C8s had them. It was a radio truck (it had the ground straps on all the sheetmetal and the brackets on the locker for the aerial) but there was no frame and the data plates were gone. I also need to know the dimensions for the gas tanks as I haven't found any yet and may have to fabricate some.

[Mike Kelly]

David ,

The C8 petrol tanks sit on metal cross supports , about 1" wide and 1/4" thick , the supports are shaped to fit the bottom of the tank . 4 of them are used , they fit across the two long supports that bolt to the chassis , just behind the cab .

I have drawings of it all .

The Ford F8 has the wooden piece under the tank , not the Chev C8 . Its a different setup on the Ford .

Thanks for the pic of the bow setup . Could you please take a some more pics of the detail ? I have been looking for this info for about ten years . Mail them to me at :


vk3cz@hotmail.com

The Andre Gibeault C8, I have many pics of . it has a repro 1A2 body on it .

[cletrac (RIP)]

I was given a 1946 Maple Leaf 2 ton a few days ago and pulled the motor to see if it was usable for my C8. When I pulled the head off the old 216 I was pleasantly surprised by its condition. It was a rebuild that got very few miles on it. There's no ridge at all at the top of the cylinders and the crank and bearings are like new. A couple of cylinders have a little surface rust along with a few valves but I'll get away with a set of rings and a valve grind. I never came across one in this good of shape 30 years ago when people still used them regularly.
This old Maple Leaf has a shielded juice wire to the coil like a wireless truck and the interior is sort of a faded od colour suggesting military usage but it has a chrome grille. It seems like a strange combo.
With this find I'll start a resto on the C8 this winter.
Mike, that body is about 150 miles from me but I'll get up there again and get you some pix. Hopefully I'll be bringing the body home with me.

[cletrac (RIP)]

I was working on the C8 today and couldn't figure out what this bracket on the steering column was for. It's kind of springy and looks like something would have snapped into it. The ends are covered in plastic to protect whatever it was. Also note that the column was originally painted black.

[cletrac (RIP)]

Here's something that's probably not seen that often. It's a "boot assy. starter pedal rod" according to the parts manual. I'll have to make a new one eventually so I figured I could undo the stitching in the canvas and make a pattern if anyone's interested.
I took the tranny apart today since it was pretty near full of water and I assumed it would be a rusted pile of junk. (the only place water could get in is down the shift lever and through the mechanism in the tranny top so it must have taken 20 or 30 years to accumulate that much in our dry climate.) Lo and behold, the old fluid was the consistency of grease and had everything coated and the water did no damage whatsoever! None of the parts show any signs of wear or rust and the bearings rotate smoothly after being cleaned up.
I needed the bellhousing off the military motor but it had sat for 30+ years with no head on it so was severely rusted up. On those motors you have to remove the clutch and flywheel before you can remove the bellhousing because there are four bolts that go into the block from the rear in front of the flywheel. There was no way I could get the pistons out to rotate the crank and remove the clutch bolts so I resorted to the gas axe and torched the crank off through the back throw, then pried the flywheel with the end of the crank attached out of the block and removed the bellhousing. There's more than one way to skin a cat!

[Stefan Leegwater]

Originally posted by cletrac
Here's something that's probably not seen that often. It's a "boot assy. starter pedal rod" according to the parts manual. I'll have to make a new one eventually so I figured I could undo the stitching in the canvas and make a pattern if anyone's interested.

As I can remember, LwD's got NOS ones,

Cheers,

Stefan Leegwater

[cletrac (RIP)]

Well, I finally talked that guy out of the 1A2 body and hauled it home the 150 miles in the back of my S10. If I ever start working on a 60 cwt of any kind I'll have to start using one of my bigger trucks to haul stuff home.
The 1A2 is in exceptionally good shape (the floor is still straight so the farmer mustn't have used it for hauling rocks etc.) It's missing the endgate but I know where there's one of those ( 100 miles the other direction). One fender is missing too but the top bows are there. Two short pieces were cut out for some reason or another but that's a minor repair.
Mike, in the next week or so I'll take some detailed pix of the tilt and take some measurements for you. Something interesting about the tilt: it's all welded together except for the top centre lengthwise pipe which is bolted in. I'm sure there's a reason for that but I fail to see what it'd be.

[Mike Kelly]

Many thanks David ,

What a rare find indeed . Any close up pics of the top bow mounting hardware will be appreciated .

I have the 1A1 body parts list here , will scan it and email to you . it lists all of the bolts/nuts etc. that go with the body .

Now all you need is a No. 11 wireless set for it .......

Mike

[Mike Kelly]

Sample of the parts list for the 1A1 body .

do you have this list David ?

Mike