purchse of chevy blitz: what to look out for

james walker · #1 15-03-06, 03:41

I'm located in Darwin Northern Territory Australia and am looking to source a chevy blitz to renovate and use. I'd like to get your collective insight into what common faults there are with these vehicles and what I should look for and/or avoid when purchase time comes.

And, of course, if anyone has any links to possible sales then I'd be grateful too! (South Australia and NT would be the closest I guess...)

Any help most gratefully received.

cheers

james

Keith Webb · #2 15-03-06, 05:20

Apart from the obvious things like rust and dents... it depends what you want to do with it. If you want to do a full original restoration then you'll probably want to try to find one which is as original as possible, and low mileage.

Both types of Blitz are extremely well made and strong, but if it has a few miles on it, check things like slop in Uni joints, steering, all the usual sorts of things you'd look for on any vehicle.

Completeness is a good thing too - there are lots of hard to find things which are usually missing such as grille, doors, front spring bumper...

There are probably many other specifics Chev owners can fill you in on too..

jim sewell · #3 15-03-06, 09:13

Welcome aboard James , your life will never be the same again .

As Keith said completeness is the key , engines and power trains etc can be salvaged from other blitz's or civilian trucks but it is things like the bodies and components that are specific to blitz's that are important .
From your location I would try the various stations to see what they had on their vehicle dumps . A good number of Blitz's etc were sold from the disposal sales in Darwin after ww2 .

All the best
Regards
Jim S.

james walker · #4 16-03-06, 01:17

thanks for the response guys. I actually want to get a blitz for driving around, apart from the asthetics of the beast!

couple of questions:
1/ I have read that the toyota fj45 petrol motors fit in: any further info on this? This would be good as they're cheap and would save the original motor for later should total authenticity be the aim.

2/ Has any one done a diesel conversion on a blitz? I have a perkins 85 hp 4 cylinder diesel at home which I had in mind putting into the vehicle I purchase. Any comments re this?

3/ (ok, more than a couple of questions!) What are the bearings like in blitz's? ie wheel bearings: are these likely to be worn out? obviously depending on miles done etc. and, if they need replacing, are they available?

cheers

James

Jeff Gordon · #5 02-04-06, 12:24

Jim, the front Tyres on that chev, are they a military tyre. I have a one and was just wondering.

James I think you are in the wrong forum. This is the "restoration" forum, The "butcher the sh*t out of historical vehicles" forum is at the bottom of the page.
Ahh just kidding a guy in our club has a Toyota Dyna diesel in a shorty and has been around Aust in it. The price of fuel who can blame him. That perkins would be OK. Turbo would be good. I would be looking for an overdrive box.
Jeff

james walker · #6 03-04-06, 01:32

Hi Jeff,

cheers for the advice on 'butcher the sh.. out of them, I havn't been able to find the forum yet...

I fully appreciate the sentiment, ie that we should aim to preserve the orginality of these historical vehicles, however, it may be the case that using another more common engine allows the original to be stored for future installation...

All acedemic at this point as I havn't sourced one yet...!!

I do have the perkins though... came out of a 40' ferro yatch that is now a reef in Darwin harbour... and home to regular and reliable jew fish... but thats another strory!

I'm unsure of the tyres to which you refer... the blitz in the photo was not posted by me.

Out of interest, what is your fuel consumption like?

Cheers

James

Lynn Eades · #7 03-04-06, 06:42

might be a far better conversion seeing as Toyota copied the Chevy engine (petrol). I recall someone giving it a mention somewhere on this forum. I'm guessing that there will be a Toyota diesel, that will "bolt in." It would much improve your resale value in your part of the world.

Keith Webb · #8 03-04-06, 06:47

I have a C60S which someone has fiitted an engine from a FJ40 (I think) Cruiser. The bell housing was redrilled to take the Chev gearbox, and some of the carby is a bit wide necessitating some small mods to the cab and doghouse.

It's nice to have some more horses.

jim sewell · #9 03-04-06, 10:43

Jim, the front Tyres on that chev, are they a military tyre. I have a one and was just wondering.

Jeff
The front tyres are postwar probably came out in the sixties , these are the ones with a long lug followed by a short lug , maybe goodyear .

jim sewell · #10 03-04-06, 10:52

Quote:

Originally posted by Jeff Gordon

Ahh just kidding a guy in our club has a Toyota Dyna diesel in a shorty and has been around Aust in it. Jeff [/B]

Jeff
Would this be the bloke you refer to ?

Regards
Jim S.

Jeff Gordon · #11 03-04-06, 11:10

Yeh Jim, Thats the ugly bastard I was talking about ,Herb

Jeff

james walker · #12 04-04-06, 01:29

Do you guys have any contact details for the guy with the diesel blitz? I'd be most interested in any details regarding the conversion from petrol to diesel.

cheers

james

Lang · #13 04-04-06, 08:35

James,

Herb Farlow, he lives in Mount Isa and should be in the phone book. A friendlier fellow would be hard to find. I am sure he would love to talk to you as he is very proud of his blitz and has done a million miles in it. It has some sort of overdrive or high speed diffs as he really scoots along.

Lang