My Chev Project

[pmccarthy]

Progress is being made with my 1932 Chev truck. Photo 1 is before, photo 2 is now. I would have liked to leave it as it was but there was too much rot, all timber and 30% of the sheetmetal had to go.

[Jerry_Atrick]

Who said Aussie car manufacturing was dead? 😉

 

[old man emu]

Yeah, those General Motors things are buggers for rusting out. 

[onetrack]

That's looking good. Did you know that all the GM/GMH truck components were a year or two behind the cars? So, a '32 Chev truck has a lot of '30 and '31 Chev car parts in its construction.

 

Do you have the Chev Master Parts catalog for the '29-'35 models? It's a worthy addition to the collection because it outlines exactly what parts fit what models, and gives you both the part numbers and diagrams, as well as a numerical part numbers index.

[pmccarthy]

A bit more progress.

[old man emu]

Keep up the good work and one day you might be allowed to build a wing. 

[Marty_d]

What good is a wing going to do?  The MTOW of that thing is off the charts!

[onetrack]

At least PMC has picked a superior rig with an enclosed cab. The earlier open truck cabs (the "C" cabs) were truly dreadful things, worse than open cockpits in WW1 aircraft.

 

They were produced in the era when vehicles, and trucks in particular, just simply didn't go fast. 50kmh was regarded as a satisfactory speed for a truck in the 1920's, and 60kmh was really fast, and wasn't achieveable by a lot of trucks - simply because they were very low geared, to ensure they could move substantial weight with low levels of HP.

 

Even in the early 1930's, the speed limit for small trucks was still set at 25mph - 40kmh - and anything over that speed, was regarded as "lunacy".

When you come to understand how poor the braking systems of the day were, you understand the need for the low speed limit. Bigger trucks were seriously limited to 15mph maximum speed.

 

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/203264793

 

Even in the early 1950's, big loads were still seriously speed limited - although smaller trucks up to 6 tons gross could then do 40mph (64kmh).

 

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/173396409

 

The speed limit for trucks was set at a "high" 50mph or 80kmh, in the late 1950's, and stayed at that level until around 1976 or '77, when it was raised to the current 100kmh for trucks over 12 tonnes gross.

[old man emu]

Just a short Off-track comment:

After you read about speed limits in this link: https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/173396409 scroll down the column in the following to read about a  decision of Kempsey Council that reflects the attitudes of Australians just after WWll. 

 

 

[pmccarthy]

Now with some original sheet metal going back on.

[onetrack]

It's amazing that so much of the original sheet metal is still useable! I have a '31 Chev roadster, but I don't think there's much useable original sheet metal left on it. We have plenty of salty soil here in the West.

 

Fortunately, I have the '32 roadster, in good order, that will enable me to see what shapes are required. I understand the English Wheel is an invaluable device - and even more so, someone who is skilled in using it!

Edited October 3, 2020 by onetrack

[pmccarthy]

All panels are useable except the two trays beside the engine and the door skins. The others all needed minor welding. My uncle reinforced the body with bolts and angle iron around 1950 Leaving bolt holes.