Pete Ashby

Time for an up date I think on this project. Back in March last year I started work on the intermediate axle everything has been taken apart checked for ware cleaned and the threads run over with the appropriate sized BSF dia or tap as required then put into various labeled boxes and bags awaiting reassembly. I'm fairly certain this was the first time in 78 years that the oil and grease that had become baked onto the axle housing and various components had been cleaned having been mixed with paint and road dirt it had set like concrete. I had to resort hacking it off with a sharp knife and then rotary and hand wire brushing to remove the paint and rust a long job with a heavy piece of kit however it's come good in the end........ here it is with a first coat of etch primer and one hub and back plate refitted and the diff housing bolted back in place.

A bit more progress on the cab, the door glass runners and winder handles and mechanism have been removed and the glass has been successfully taken out from both doors a good clean with glass cleaner and they will be as good as new the winder mechanisms are also in very good condition and will need virtually no work doing to them except for a drop of oil on the operating arms and cams. Next job was to remove the doors so the top and bottom hinge pins were driven out using a suitable sized drift with some prior heating of the hinge assembly by the trusty hot air gun the weight of the door was taken with a strop attached to the crane. Pete

Is there a makers etch mark on the glass it will be in one corner usually. If your lucky there may be a year of production as part of the monogram if there is it that may narrow the field a little bit. Pete

This is for all of you out there with a rubber fetish Nige if your lurking this is just for you This is one of a pair of tires on the back of the truck and may well be original factory fit for the vehicle the date is right and the amount of ware could be right for the recorded mileage. Points to note: they are Goodyears made for British wheels Made in Canadan synthetic (that's what the red dot means Couple of photos fill your boots chaps Pete

Good call Gordon particularly as I've only managed to save a couple of the original ones. However you got me thinking and a poke about in the ''box of stuff under the bench that might be useful one day'' turned up some very ancient tiny Whitworth coach bolts the head size and shape is almost identical to the originals but the shank is a bit large but I think they'll do the job I'll just have to cut a bit more thread into the shanks and trim them to length. Pete

Excellent well done Matt thanks, that was the information I was missing I should be able to find out the model and cu inch now in case I need to source parts from the states if it's an industrial unit it will probably have Sodium filled valves another plus point, it may be a larger cu inch than the original engine which would be a bonus if that's the case Pete

Thanks Gordon yes just looked it up 4 blade is standard fit for these models, I'm just in the process of removing the trim it's painted steel but some of the tiny coach bolts and nuts are proving tiresome so I'm cutting them off carefully from the inside using a Dremel and a mini cutting disk that way I don't risk mangling the front of the trim pressing........ all dreadfully Commercial I'm thinking. I currently have a bit of a mystery surrounding the replacement engine that's currently in the truck, it's not a short block US version as I was lead to believe, it's a long block (25 3/8") but for the life of me I can't find an engine number and code on the front left pad it appears to be blank or possibly it's been ground off for some reason that's beyond me. I wonder if it's an industrial unit perhaps? I know Dodge made so many versions of both long and short block SV engines for all sorts of applications right up to the early 1960's but without the stamped engine codes they are not easy to pin down I'll have to wait until I disassemble it and measure the bore and stroke that may help perhaps to identify what it is........ Any thoughts Gordon?? I don't suppose the casting numbers are any use?? Pete Pete

A bit more negative progress on the disassembly phase. So far everything has come apart with just the addition of a little WD40 and the application of an industrial hot air gun if further persuasion is needed. I now tend to use the gun first before I reach for the gas torch as it does a lot less damage and it seems to work and it saves dragging the gas out and hunting for the spark gun which should be hanging on the trolley but never is !! Here the wings have been removed The front nose cone complete with radiator is craned off Note the 4 blade fan I need to check the parts book tonight to see if a 6 blade was an option Radiator and nose cone removed Radiator removed from the frame Nose cone in the process of being disassembled fortunately there is virtually no serious corrosion of these parts which is a stroke of luck as fabricating the grill pressings and some of the compound curves in the nose cone would be very difficult Pete

Looking very fine Jez out in the first sunshine of spring Pete

Bit more progress on the strip down. The Canadian Dodge range was built with removable cab roofs presumably to reduce shipping volume the joint is covered by a strip of steel fixed with pan head machine screws at the back of the cab and is socketed into the rear doors pillars and front scuttle secured with bolts into cage nuts. Before the truck came into my ownership at some point in its wanderings around the UK it unfortunately sustained some minor damage in the form of a dent to the mates side cab roof. The decision to remove the top of the cab at the manufactured joint was made to enable the dent to be worked on using a sand bag and pullers and also to make blast cleaning of the whole cab easier. Pete

There is a line checkers mark on the engine compartment bulkhead in blue pencil is that the one you are referring too? Pete

Hello Matt good to hear from you after all this time yea kept the truck in the dry at the back of the barn all this time waiting it's turn. I'll have to make a date with you in the summer and I'll come up to Bandit country and collect it if that's OK? Best regards Pete

With the tank removed the next step was to strip out the cab of instruments, seat, door trims and the careful removal of the original wiring harness which will be used as a pattern and replaced with modern cotton covered PVC wire in the correct colours and terminals the loom will then be sent away for over braiding. Bulkhead original wiring loom Bench seat with original cover The early contract cabs were fitted with commercial pre-war gauges shown in the photo below. Later Dodge contracts used standardized round military gauges identical to the types used in later 13 cabs Ford and Chevrolet CMPs. The dash area of the truck has not suffered too badly from the usual post war civilian addition of extra switches and gauges in fact there are only two additional holes that will need to be closed off. The dash with the instruments and seat removed All the Data plates for the truck are still in position and in good condition. Now removed and stored away along with the gauges and will be some of the last items to be refitted when the restoration is complete. Pete

First task was to remove the water tank this will be restored as a separate project after the truck is completed to chassis cab stage the mobile gantry crane is invaluable for this type of work. Tank removed and stored at the end of the workshop Pete

Interesting Alex thanks for posting unusual on two counts, 1, D15 in Canadian service and 2, a round roof hatch, I've seen photos of D60S and D60L with the hatch but not a 15. Pete

Interested to see that Alex if you can find the photo, it's certainly very rare to see any evidence of Canadian use. The British RASC and RAOC used a lot of D60L's in Italy and Northern Europe and the Free Polish forces seem to have been issued with a high number of D15's and D60L's. Pete

Fully agree with you Gordon, you only have to look at the sad fate of my C15A 12 cab which unfortunately had a chequered history after I sold it luckily it seems to have last found a loving home Pete

A short history for the truck follows: Manufactured on the 14 of August 1943 in the Chrysler Dodge Brothers plant Winsor Ontario for British contract number Supply Mechanical 2989 this covered 1428 water trucks given British census numbers Z5597435 to Z5598863. The following year a second contract was delivered under Supply Mechanical 6087 for another 473 trucks Z6168871 to Z6169344 so it would appear that total production of type was 1901 water trucks. The next 31 years of the trucks history currently remain a mystery. The release date is unknown but a green registration document claims the vehicle was first registered on the 10th April 1974 registered in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire as a ‘mobile crane/recovery vehicle’, colour of vehicle is given as ‘green and cream’ so at some point prior to this it has lost the original tank and gained a smart paint job however the first registration seems very late to coincide with a release from service so I suspect the truck was operated by a garage on trade plates prior to this date and the actual release date could be as early as the mid-1950s. This is a photo of the truck taken at an unknown date and location in the green and cream livery minus the tank but with recovery back body but looking a bit tired, my guess is the picture is taken some time in the late 1970s or early 80s The truck then appears to have changed hands several times and turns up near Coventry in March 1986 and remains in that area for 10 years at some point gaining a post war 1 ton GS body I have a photo from the web at an show that may possibly be an early Duxford MV event at a date after this photo the truck was repainted in OD with the addition of a couple of large Allied stars on the doors The next move is to Lockerbie Dumfriesshire in June 1996 where it is regularly taxed every year until 2002 when the truck now moves again this time to the Barmouth area of North Wales and at some point apparently has an engine swap for a US produced T214 unit although this needs to be confirmed when it is removed from the truck. By 2005 and it’s on the move again to south Oxfordshire and has lost it’s 1 ton GS body The following year I purchase the truck and move it to West Wales and put it into storage awaiting its turn in the workshop. The truck is remarkably unmolested with many original fittings still in place and is in exceptional condition. From the general condition it appears not to have covered many miles under its own power the speedo reads 15000 miles and I suspect this may well be the original unit sadly the Canadian tank is long gone but I have a good British 200 gal tank that will be used for the time being the last photo is taken in the workshop awaiting strip down. Pete

Impressive if it's the same truck it must be over 16 years ago Pete

Your memory is faultless Gordon full marks for recall here's a photo of all the cab plates from the truck the one you refer to in your post above is 3rd from the top and is the Canadian CMD type identifier. Pete

Most MV enthusiasts and modellers have heard and can recognise the Canadian Dodge range of WW2 trucks however more detailed information appears more difficult to come by. The range covered included 15cwt, 60 cwt Short and 60cwt Long wheelbase versions including Dump, Water Tank and GS bodied trucks all using a 4x2 drive line with 4 speed box with 2 speed axel for the D60S all models used the long block version of 6 cylinder 95bhp Dodge side valve engine and standard pre-war commercial cab and front end. The historical record has been somewhat overshadowed by Ford and Chevrolet production, as a result of this lack of focus readily available information for Dodge Canada regarding award of contract dates and production numbers for trucks in each class are not readily available which is a shame as the company provided a significant number of trucks for the British war effort. D15 GS (Van) (PhotoIWM) D15 T with 200gal water tank (photo IWM) D60S Dump body (photo DND design records) D60L GS body (photo DND design records) The majority of 15cwt production was dedicated to GS bodied versions D15 GS (Van) around 5,000 trucks, however two contracts were for 200 gal capacity water tankers D15 T under British contract numbers Supply Mechanical 2989 (1428 trucks Z5597435 to Z5598863) and Supply Mechanical 6087 (473 trucks Z6087 to Z618871). The trucks were delivered to the UK fully fitted with Canadian manufactured tanks and equipment the tank design differing slightly to the standard British water tank as fitted to the well-known Bedford and Morris 15cwts. It would appear from photographic evidence and census number allocation lists that Dodge 15cwt production was almost entirely taken up by the British and Dominium forces excluding Canada who standardized on Ford and Chevrolet models in the same weight range the water tank version only being produced by Chevrolet. Next instalment will focus on the known post war history of my particular D15 T. Pete

Thanks Gordon for the information I'll post the post war wanderings of this truck in a later post perhaps you could confirm it's the same truck as the one you describe above.

Enjoying this thread very much there's a lot of good work going into this restoration keep it up and keep the photos coming Pete

Good evening Gordon long time no hear, yes it's the same truck you had up your end of the world information would be very useful please. Regards Pete