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Mike
Kelly in Australia passed the following three pics to me as fine examples
of Chev 8 cwt trucks. The 8 cwt series was basically a 4 X 2, 1/2
ton pickup for general duty on good roads. Gregg lists production at 9,837
vehicles, many of which went to North Africa, England and Australia. This
particular example belongs to Nick Bullock in the U.K., and appears to
be fitted as a wireless vehicle. |
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This
vehicle is Mike's own 11-cab C8. He writes that he knows of approximately
10 C8s in Oz, all of which (except his) are fitted with the British 8 cwt
type body with wooden floor. He himself built a Canadian-type steel body
to go with the 11-cab. These trucks are fitted with 9.00 X 13 tyres, which,
surprisingly, can still be had, in Australia at least. |
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This
photo shows Mike himself (in 1978, he hastens to add) having a peek inside
another C8, this one belonging to one Barry Ryan. It was an ex-bush fire
brigade truck, and sports the British-type box mentioned earlier. |
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Another
example, this one in southern Ontario. This one is unique in that it contains
a twin-Bren LMG mount, handcrafted from drawings. In the 8 cwt trucks,
there is marked contrast between the huge, sweeping fenders and the comparatively
puny tyres! But they're cute... |
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And
where did CMPs emanate from in the first place? From vehicles like this,
a mint restored British 1940 Morris Commercial. When the Brits came to
us looking for help from our vehicle industry, they (wisely) didn't bring
plans, but basic specifications. The similarities between this and our
pilot models are startling. |
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Another
view of the Morris. Note the basic layout is very similar to even the 11-cab
CMP series. |
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Compare
the above to this pic of the very first prototype Ford 15 cwt. In an unprecedented
display of concern for the common good, engineering teams from General
Motors and Ford worked together to develop the CMP concept. They did well. |
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11 Feb 00 |
Back to CMP Softskins |
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Forward to C60L Three-tonner |
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| Copyright ©
Geoff
Winnington-Ball , 1999-2000 All Rights Reserved |
