FORD TECHNICAL

FORD

CMP VEHICLE TECHNICAL PAGES

On this page, I have tried to include as much technical information on the Ford CMP vehicles as possible. Should you have any information that you believe should be included here, please don't hesitate to email me.

MODEL IDENTIFICATION

Click on blue letters for photos.

*MODEL*	*CAPACITY*	*DRIVE*	*WHEELBASE*
F8	8 cwt	4 x 2	101"
*F15*	15 cwt	4 x 2	101"
*F15A*	15 cwt	4 x 4	101 ¼"
*F30*	30 cwt	4 x 4	134 ¼"
*F60S*	3 ton	4 x 4	134 ¼"
*F602S*	3 ton	4 x 2	134"
*F60T*	3 ton	4 x 4	115"
*F60L*	3 ton	4 x 4	158 ¼"
*F602L*	3 ton	4 x 2	158"
*F60H*	3 ton	6 x 4	160 ¼"
*F-AT or F-GT*	Field Artillery Tractor	4 x 4	101 ¼"

Note: Model F-AT or F-GT was a factory built Artillery Tractor chassis only. Bodies for these vehicles were produced by Gotfredson Truck Co of Walkerville, Ontario and by Truck Engineering Ltd. of Woodstock, Ontario. In Australia, the Ford Motor Company built it's own F-GT bodies in both No 8 and No 9 variants. Keith Webb's Old CMP Site has more information on these.

There was also a 101 1/4" wheelbase 4 x 4 rear engined armoured car chassis listed in the Ford Model Identification list although it doesn't list a model number but has Ford Part No. CO11QRF. Most of these were sent to India where they were fitted with locally designed armoured hulls. Also note that except for an early No. 11 cab prototype, Ford did not produce a Model F8A 4 x 4 equivalent to the Chevrolet C8A.

The F60T was a semi trailer prime mover or tractor. I am not sure whether they were fitted with a fifth wheel type hitch or whether the trailers were permanently attached. I don't think any of these trucks came to Australia, most photos of Australian Army semi trailers have Ford or Chevrolet F/C60L or F/C60S trucks as prime movers.

The F602S and the F602L were late war (1944?) two wheel drive vehicles built to replace the many civilian trucks impressed for military duty. These vehicles were apparently often fitted with an Eaton vacuum operated two-speed differential. Naturally they had no transfer case. The front axle was apparently manufactured by simply replacing the differential housing with a heavy tube to which the standard 4 x 4 front swivel housings and hubs were bolted.

DAF in the Netherlands modified a Ford F60L into a 6 X 6 in about 1950 by fitting it with GMC axles, Trado rear axle bogies and 10.50-16" tyres. A photo of this vehicle is on Page 227 of Bart Vanderveen's Observer's Fighting Vehicles Directory WW2.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

*ENGINE SPECIFICATIONSALL MODELS***
TYPE	V8 90 degree L head side valve
BORE	3.1875"
STROKE	3.75"
FIRING ORDER	15486372
CYLINDER HEADS	Cast iron
BHP @ 3600 rpm	95
TORQUE @ 1850 rpm	178 ft lbs
CRANK PIN DIAMETER	2.14"
MAIN BEARING DIAMETER	2.50"
PISTON PIN DIAMETER	0.750"
INLET VALVE CLEARANCE	0.010 - 0.012" cold
EXHAUST VALVE CLEARANCE	0.014 - 0.016" cold
ENGINE LUBRICATION	Pressure fed through all main and camshaft bearings and timing gears
OIL PUMP TYPE	Gear
OIL PUMP CAPACITY	1.56 gpm @ 2000 rpm
*TRANSMISSION*	4 speed non-syncromesh
TRANSFER CASE ( F15A)	Single range part time 4 x 4
TRANSFER CASE (ALL OTHER 4 X 4)	Two speed part time 4 x 4. High ratio 1 to 1, low ratio 1.87 to 1
DIFFERENTIAL RATIO (F8)	4.11 TO 1
DIFFERENTIAL RATIO (F15)	6.666 to 1
DIFFERENTIAL RATIO (F15A)	6.5 to 1 front and rear
DIFFERENTIAL RATIO (ALL OTHER VEHICLES)	7.16 to 1 front and rear
*ELECTRICAL SYSTEM*	6 volt, positive earth.

Notes: On early vehicles with No. 11 and 12 cabs , the engine number is also the vehicle serial number. This number is located on the engine at the rear on top of the clutch housing and also on the left side member just below the left door. On later Type 12 cab vehicles, a serial number is allocated to the vehicle which was different to the engine number. This serial number can be found on a plate located on the right hand side of the instrument panel. On all Australian built vehicles, the engine number is also the chassis number and is stamped onto the right hand chassis rail adjacent to the right hand engine mount.

On the 1942 on No. 13 cab vehicles, the vehicle serial number is on a plate on top of the instrument panel.

Ford CMP vehicles used engines from both Canadian and United States factories although the Canadian engines were far more common. All Canadian built Ford engines in CMP trucks are prefixed with *G and suffixed with the letter F. The prefix number denotes the engine model year, eg. 1G is 1940, 2G is 1941, etc. The "G" denotes a truck engine fitted with a four-speed gearbox. The suffix F means an export engine for right hand drive vehicles. American engines usually have an engine number like this one 99TF562348.

Ford V8 engine numbers are not stamped on the engine itself but are stamped on the clutch housing. This was a long time Ford practice that was allegedly commenced in the 1930's by Henry Ford to allow vehicle engine changes to be carried out with having to alter license paper details.

Without engine numbers, it is still fairly easy to estimate a Ford V8's approximate age. 1940 -1941 engines are fitted with an ignition distributor which featured ignition coils built into the distributor cap. The shape of the distributor cap is similar to that of a deep-sea diver's helmet and hence is known as the Diver's Helmet type. These engines were fitted to vehicles with the No 11 and 12 cabs. 1942 - 1944 engines have a flat distributor cap with four ignition leads coming out each side. This cap is known as the Crab Type distributor. Finally the 1945 engines have a conventional type rotary distributor similar to those in use in modern vehicles fitted on the right front of the engine.

Some Ford F15, F60S and F60L vehicles were fitted with General Motors front and rear axles. For ratios of these axles, go to the Chevrolet Technical Page. The Ford parts books also indicate that some vehicles were fitted with General Motors two speed transfer cases.

Engine restoration tip! Ford CMPs use a variation of the Ford Mercury V8 engine. A peculiarity of this engine is the operation of the big end bearings. Naturally the crankshaft rotates within the bearing normally. However, in these engines the connecting rod itself is allowed to rotate on the outside of the big end bearing as well to allow for the rocking motion as the connecting rod is moved from side to side in the engine by the crankshaft. This is known as a 'floating bearing'.

This can cause several problems. First of all, there is a real possibility that the connecting rods may have to be resized since they are prone to wear by moving on the bearing. Reassembly of the engine is also more complicated since the connecting rod bearings need to be checked for clearance both on the crankshaft and in the rods.

If the restorer is not totally committed to full authenticity, a simple solution is available. The post war Ford 8BA engine uses a conventional style of con rod bearing which is fixed in the con rod. These are easier to fit and have a longer life. To convert the older engine you will need to acquire an 8BA crankshaft and a full set of connecting rods. You can also fit 8BA pistons to the older engine. 8BA pistons have four piston rings instead of three for increased cylinder sealing and will also raise the compression ratio of the engine slightly. There is also about a five horsepower gain available, a significant amount when there was only 95 horses available originally. 8BA engines were fitted to many post war Ford trucks and can be identified by the conventional rotary distributor on the right front top of the engine and the letters '8BA' cast into the cylinder heads.

By the way, a Ford F60L ambulance was once featured in a series of Canadian postage stamps.

Acknowledgments

I have got this information from the following sources:

Graeme Stephens and Bob Dimer of the Military Section of the Veteran Car Club of Western Australia. Brian Gough of Oshawa, Ontario, Canada and Brent Borschneck of Pilot Butte, Saskatchewan, Canada. These guys are CMP owners and/or enthusiasts and are ever willing to help out we unlearned ones.

Instruction Book for Ford Special Pattern Vehicles, Third Edition, undated. This is an excellent technical reference source for the early Ford CMPs and is fairly common at swap meets and old bookshops in Australia.

Australian Military Equipment Profiles, Vol. 1, Field Artillery 1939-1945, Michael K Cecil, 1992. An excellent reference on the Australian CMP gun tractors. Unfortunately now out of print.

Australian Military Equipment Profiles, Vol. 3, Australian Scout and Armoured Cars 1933 to 1945, Michael K Cecil, 1993. This is definitely recommended reading. Contains much general detail on Ford CMP specifications as well as the scout and armoured vehicles.