RELICS

CMP RELICS

Mogumber truck

The images on this page are of CMP vehicles that have seen their better days or perhaps those days are ahead of them again if they can be recovered and restored.
Click on any thumbnail on this page for a full size view.

Last update 28 Feb 07

.Feb 2005. I got to visit a collection located near Narrogin, Western Australia. The first truck, a Chev C60L is in an extraordinarily good condition. The owner drove it out of the shed for me. When he acquired it, the engine was siezed but was loosened up by pouring some WD40 down the spark plug holes and using a bit of muscle on the crank handle. It has a little bushfire damage to it's paint work in the rear and the paint has faded and peeled a bit. I would say that this truck has seen very little or no use since the Army disposed of it.

The second truck is another C60L in a somewhat poorer condition and is being used as a parts truck.

The red truck in the shed is a Chev C15 modified for use by the PMG (Post Master General) back in the 1950's. It has had the windscreen moved to a vertical plane and the roof modified to suit. Coach built doors with sliding glass windows have been made for it. It has also had it's chassis extended by 18".

. Apr 2002. Not far out of my home town of Kulin, Western Australia, this Chevrolet C15 lives in the bush with about 20 other old vehicles. It is in a reasonable condition with very little rust although it has some accident damage to the front left corner. The chassis has been stretched very professionally by 18" at some time. Traces of a drilling contractor's name are just discernable on the left door. It probably would be an easy restoration.

. Apr 2002. I have known about this Chevrolet CGT gun tractor converted to a crane for many years but I never had a camera near it before. This truck has been heavily modified for it's role as a crane with large concrete weights on the front bumper and massive reinforcing plates added along the chassis rails. It uses it's original winch for the crane. It is located in the south eastern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia.

. Feb 2001 A friend of mine took me to his mate's 1 million acre sheep station east of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. There, on the station's rubbish tip, I found this Chevrolet C60S. It is one of about four Chev Blitzes rebuilt after WW2 by Perth's Metropolitan Transport Trust (MTT) as a breakdown vehicle for the MTT's fleet of electric trolley buses.

As rebuilt, they featured 7.50-20 dual rear wheels, fixed (but still reverse sloped) windscreens, rear window glass, front pusher bars, roof mounted towing signs and lights, internal sun visors and a new build tray. The tray has a recess above the rear axle in which was carried a large concrete weight to increase towing traction. Broken down trolley buses were towed using an 'A' frame which was stowed under the tray when not in use. The large rubber bumbers at the front were used to push the buses. A common reason for a trolley bus to be pushed was from inattentive drivers steering the bus away from the overhead wires. No power = no go!

I was back on the station in early 2005 and the truck is still in very good condition. I am still trying to work out a good (read cheap) plan to get this truck back to Kulin.

. Feb 2000 I went to a clearing sale at a business in Wongan Hills, WA. Unfortunately not included in the sale was this GM / Chevrolet C60X fitted with a 7 1/2 ton crane. Some interesting stuff was sold here including a couple of LP2 Bren gun carriers, a Diamond T wrecker, a CCKW353 2 1/2 ton cargo truck and a 1960s US Navy International truck fitted with a 5000 gallon fuel tank.

.Jan 2000. I found this Chevrolet C60L in a boatyard in the Brisbane, Queensland suburb of Bulimba. It has had a small ship's derrick fitted to it and is still used occasionally.

. .Jan 2000. A bloke called Bruce Peelgrane sent me these two photos of a couple of Chevrolet C60s, one is obviously doing sterling duties as a fire truck in New South Wales by the license plate. (Photos Bruce Peelgrane)

. . Dec 1999. Travelling back to my home state of Queensland I spotted this Ford F60L water bore rig about 40 kilometres west of Ceduna in South Australia. It looked like it had been used fairly recently although a rigid bar attached to the front bumper tells me it is towed when the time comes to move it.

.May 1998. This is a cut down Australian pattern C15 radio van converted to a crane. It is parked in a paddock beside a road just outside of York, WA.

.Feb 1998. This is the Chevrolet C60S shown elsewhere on this page that I bought off Rupert Weller along with a spare cab, engine, gearbox and a rolling C15 chassis. This truck is a bit curious as someone at some stage has fitted a single speed transfer case from a C15A to it.

Jan 1998. My mate Robbie McInnes and I went for a six day trip in Jan 1998 from Kulin to Geraldton, about 1000 kilometres in all, just for a bit of a holiday and to have a look at some military vehicles and old tractors in Geraldton. In all we saw the six Blitzes that I didn't know existed before shown below.

.First Blitz was found at Mingenew in yard off a back laneway. This is an ex Royal Australian Air Force Ford F60L. The yellow paint and the remains of a revolving beacon on the cab roof means that the RAAF probably used this truck as an airfield maintenance vehicle, aircraft fuel tanker or even a fire truck. Note the Australian pattern spare wheel carrier and tool box behind the cab. Petrol, oil and water cans were carried in a bracket on top of the tool box.

. . .Next stop was a visit to Rupert Weller in Geraldton to check out his 12 cab Chev C60L, 13 cab C60S and C15. The C60L with the C60S on the back is shown elsewhere on this page driving home from South Australia. The C60L is now almost fully restored while the C15 would be an easy restoration. That's Big Robbie McInnes holding up the front mudguard of the 12 cab.

. On the way out of Geraldton, my eagle eye spotted this C60L converted to a crane in a small drilling company's yard.

.At a little place called Mogumber, the barman at the local pub told us about this Blitz in a farmer's paddock. It's a Chevrolet C15A fitted with a non-military cargo tray. Cab chassis C15As like this one are fairly rare in Australia, most C15As were completed as radio vans while most tray back 1 ton cargo vehicles were 2 wheel drive C15s.

.Dennis Deck sent me a photo of his then unrestored No 12 cab Chevrolet C8. The C8 and Dennis reside in California I believe. (Photo Dennis Deck)

. .Dirk Leegwater lives in The Netherlands but he travelled to St Tropez in France to collect these two C8A HUPs. Wouldn't it be nice if these old trucks could tell their stories? (Photos Dirk Leegwater)

. .Rupert Weller of Geraldton in Western Australia gave me these two pics of his No 12 cab Chevrolet C60L which he acquired in 1997 in South Australia and then drove 2500 kilometres (1550 miles) to Geraldton with the 13 cab Chev C60S spares truck on the back. Rupert had very few problems on the trip although top speed was only about 70 kilometres per hour. I later bought the C60S from Rupert. (Photos Rupert Weller)

. . . June, 1998. On a fairly vague tip off, I tracked down these two trucks to a wreckers yard in Midland, Western Australia. The first photo is of a Ford F60S fitted with a crane post-war. Unusually, it is fitted with a six cylinder Holden 186 cu in engine and a Tri-matic transmission.

The next two photos are of a 1945 Ford F60L fitted with a water boring drill rig. The engine and gearbox are missing from this truck as is the Ford 239 cu in V8 engine which used to drive the rig itself. The owner of both trucks only really wants the crane and drill rig. I hope to be able to acquire the trucks themselves at some time.

. . June 1998. After the war, the Post Master General's department (PMG) bought and converted a fairly large number of CMPs as telephone linesman's vehicles. This one is an ex-PMG C15. These trucks were stretched approximately 36 inches. A new crew cab was built aft of the windscreen, the top of which was moved back to the vertical. The cab even had the luxury of wind up windows. I spotted this one recently for sale in the Perth, Western Australia suburb of Hearne Hill.

. . . I bought this C15 in May 1998 from a farm near my home. It had been used on the farm fitted with a fuel tank on the rear until about three years ago. It only took me a couple of hours work to get it running again. The engine was rebuilt about 20 years ago and runs like a clock. Originally this truck was a Truck, 6 seater, Utility (Aust) like this one which was unique to Australian production. Thanks to Keith Webb for this pic.

Sadly, the rest of the bodywork for this vehicle has been long since destroyed. So I intend to restore it a as a GS cargo truck. The second and third photos above show it stripped down to a bare cab and temporarily fitted with a tray off a Landrover.

. . Feb 1998. Australian Chevrolet 15 cwt wireless trucks are quite common in 2 wheel drive versions but C15A 4 X 4 wireless trucks are a fairly rare beast. I discovered the very rusty remains in the left photo in Albany, Western Australia and I spent a few hours on the phone trying to get the owner to sell it to me. Unfortunately, his son got in on the negotiations and decided that the vehicle was worth a huge amount of money. He told me that it wouldn't be leaving their yard for less than $5000. A pity but it's goodbye to that truck.

Sep 2000 This truck has now gone from it's location and local rumour is that it was scrapped.

The wireless body in the second photo is mine. I collected it from the town of Dumbleyung in Western Australia in May 1998. It has been cut off roughly at the cab end and there is a lot of rust in the external cladding but it's interior is complete and will make a good pattern for a restoration some day.

. This advertisement appeared in the July 1998 edition of an Australian magazine called "Unique Cars".

. July 1998. Rob Endersbee lives in Merredin, Western Australia and is one of the founders of the Merredin Military Museum. Rob is a keen collector and restorer of Blitzes. The truck above is a Chevrolet C60L whose last employment was as the bushfire truck for the Shire of Bruce Rock, WA. Rob is restoring this truck for the Shire's own machinery museum.

. Rob acquired this truck from Karratha in the Pilbara region of WA. It is a good rust free Ford F60L although missing an engine and gearbox..

. . This is an interesting truck for a couple of reasons. Basically it is a Chevrolet C60S and it's last job was hauling a fertilizer spreader. It has seen overseas service with the Australian Army though, evidence of this being the faded letters "AIF" stencilled on the right front panel near the cab vent.

What this truck was in Army service is a mystery. It is fitted with a winch cross members but has never had a winch fitted as there are no winch mounts on the chassis side rails and there is no PTO. There is also no tyre pump fitted to the gearbox. This truck was fitted with dual rear wheels and 8.25 - 20" tyres like many Australian tippers but there is no evidence of a tipping body ever having been fitted.

It is in very good condition though and would be an easy restoration. I would just like to find out it's history.

.The last of Rob Endersbee's trucks here is this Chevrolet C15. It used to do service as the rubbish collection truck in Bruce Rock. For some reason or other it was fitted with 20" wheels on the rear while retaining the 16" original front wheels. Even stranger is that the front axle has been replaced with one made by attaching the swivel housings and hubs from a 4x4 Ford Blitz to a homemade tube axle. I don't know why this was done. I can only imagine that the original axle was damaged and this was the quickest way to replace it.

. . August 1997. This Chevrolet C60L has a drilling rig mounted on it and it resides at the Merredin Military Museum at Merredin in Western Australia. The truck and drilling rig are still operational and the owner keeps the truck licensed although it hasn't moved for a couple of years. The drill rig is a Southern Cross built in Australia and it could be originally military although I am not sure since it has been repainted and modified so many times. The truck is a late build with a wooden steering wheel and round instruments. April 2002. The owner of this truck has now taken it away and it's present whereabouts is unknown.

. .Also at the Merredin Military Museum is this highly modified Ford Blitz. The cab is from a 1944 truck with the Ford Canada script underneath the left hand headlight. The truck is fitted with what appears to be a GMC diesel and an unknown gearbox. It still runs the Ford steering box but a power steering ram has been added behind the right front wheel. The truck is only two wheel drive, the rear axle is a lazy axle. Rear suspension is a chain link type rocker suspension. Differential is a larger series Eaton two speed. Brakes appear to be original Ford CMP type and the rims are the deep offset type as fitted to some later Australian CMP tippers. Front axle appears to be a commercial one, make unknown. Tyres are 7.50-20". The truck is fitted with a 20' aluminium tray.

The guy that donated this truck to the Museum swears that he bought it like this from the Army. That doesn't ring true to me. I've been looking at Australian Army trucks for many years and this truck just does not fit the profile. Instead I believe that this truck was probably professionally built post-war when the exchange rate precluded the importation of trucks from overseas. Just who built it is the mystery.

. Jim Rice is from Calgary, Alberta, Canada and owns this pretty straight looking Chevrolet C15A. Jim also owns some Universal Carriers and a couple of Sherman tanks.

. . Nov 1997. Two more from near my hometown of Kulin. The #12 cab Ford F60L was only retired from farm work a couple of years ago because the farmer couldn't find where to get replacement parts for the diver's helmet ignition distributor. The trailer is of post-war manufacture and is notable in using two Ford 3 ton CMP wheels and rear axles less differentials. Three of the four tyres are run-flats.

. June 1997. This Ford F60L with crane fitted is still working in the town of Pingelly, Western Australia. It has had its engine replaced with a later model 8BA engine. It also has a second rear facing steering position on the left side and is fitted with 10.00 - 20 dual rear wheels of post war civilian design. It is used to lift stock crates and grain bins on and off semi trailers for a local transport contractor.