i wonder if anyone on this forum knows these WW2 trucks. i have known of one of the two now in my frozen yard since i was a kid. The khaki-coloured one was sitting in an abandoned yard fairly near to where we lived and we used to play war in it as kids. I believe it had been acquired surplus by a couple of commercial fishermen to haul fish on the pretty much non- existent roads from some of the outlying lakes around here but stopped being used probably in the 60's (not sure why other than it has a broken top leaf and also must have been a very rough riding old beast. it went to a boneyard after that but the guy who had it didn't want to see it get crushed so when he closed up shop and crushed most of the stuff (heartbreak for us for sure) he moved it out to his farm here it sat for another 40 years. As a legion member i was talking to a few of the guys about that it was now the last WW2 vet in this area and should be saved. None of them wanted to tackle it but they gave me their blessing. I asked the owner (who had never wanted to sell it) if he would allow me to buy it for a possible display at the legion and he said on that basis i could have it, free. So this summer we took it home back to the neighbourhood. It is fairly complete other than missing the box it probably came with, one gas tank the passenger seat and one of the wheels so I was on the lookout for a another parts one.
It was Ford built so it has the flathead. They were also built by GM along a standard pattern with the major difference being the GM ones used the straight six 216. The engines were right in between the seats sort of like a forward control truck. i have heard the GM ones were favoured as the flathead V8 was wide enough to really constrict room for the pedals and was awkward to drive if you had big feet or had big army boots. Any way i heard of one that had been hacked into a bone yard tow truck that was sitting in Maymount Sask so my brother and I went to see if it was useful. Very rough indeed but it was also a Ford built and has almost all the pieces I really need so we snapped it up and hauled it home early this month, just before the cold weather.
We also stopped in to see Dave Mischuk from the TV show and had a nice lunch and visit. He is such a nice guy he didn't even say anything bad about the pile on the trailer.
Anyway now now I have two and want to find out more about them. I have managed to get a copy of the maintenance manual but it is for a GM one. close enough I hope.
i understand they were made by the thousands and were considered very valuable in the war so I hope to give this old unit the respect it deserves.
I'd appreciate it it if any of you guys have any info, memories or leads. Thanks!
Its a Ford F15A. If the data plates are still on the dash the plates would have the military contract numbers and would give a clue as to the type of box that would have been on the truck. Also the cab style is known as a cab 13. The first design was cab 11, followed by 12 and the cab 13 was the final version. These trucks built by Ford and Chevrolet in Canada are known as CMP trucks (Canadian Military Patter). There is a forum board for these trucks.
and an earlier site thats no longer active but still has lots of information. If you look at the vehicles section and open CMP soft skin vehicles area theres some information.
My dad brought one home in the late 60's to use for hunting with a low sided box. It was a Right Hand Drive Ford and I remember the speedometer was backwards, being pegged when standing still, then counting down as speed increased.
He sold it to a neighbor on the early 70's, and he had it for many years. I think he later donated it to Heritage Park in Calgary. There's a nice restored one at Bomber Command Museum in Nanton AB.
It kind of grows on you! By the way It looks like both of my vehicles had their data plates ripped off so I will just have to try and date it by the external stuff I can see and deduce.
i figure they must have been built late in the war as they had the late design cab. Apparently the reverse slanted windshield was a development learned the hard way as the earlier cabs could attract enemy aircraft if the sun glinted of the back slanted windshields. I'm quite sure mine never went over. As far as I know the ones that went over and survived were deemed not worth bringing back given the cargo space needed for the soldiers and other goods etc after the war. Plus they were very valuable to the Europeans/Asians to help rebuild their countries. Just a guess...
-- Edited by 66 Grande guy on Sunday 14th of January 2024 09:18:18 PM
That would be great Cliff! Thanks! Production numbers etc would be helpful and if I could identify the actual differences between the GMs and the Fords that would be good to know as well.
Been dealing with family emergency. Wife has lost site in her left eye due to a blocked vein. 2 days in emergency setting lots of testing. More appointments booked.
Spent Wed in Toronto at an appointment about my Tinnitus condition and when I finished up I drove to the Toronto Armories....no access anywhere....
Continued on to Oshawa and the 420 Wing Oshawa Inc. Member hall and there was a dinner meeting with a hall full of people. I asked about the blitz buggy and was referred to the end of a table where 2 gentlemen. Showed them Ken's photos and they immediately recognized them asking ford or GM.?
Tried to get contact information but every answer was it's all online whatever you need . Multiple online sources
Best I could do.
905 723 2845
420wingmessofficer@gmail.com
Possible lead?
-- Edited by oshawacliff on Thursday 18th of January 2024 02:26:25 PM
-- Edited by oshawacliff on Thursday 18th of January 2024 06:10:48 PM
-- Edited by oshawacliff on Thursday 18th of January 2024 06:12:45 PM
