DADS DRIVE CCKWs TOO

[RANGER]

Happy Fathers Day!

[RANGER]

Mine couldn't have been happier, my wife and son presented me with an official 1943 Army photo album of CCKWs (and other WWII vehicles) being assembled by French workers in Algiers from TUPs. Nearly two dozen detailed pages of Closed Cab CCKW with wood bodies being assembled at a Depot under command of the French Army.

[Robbo]

Was this one of the ones off Ebay?

[RANGER]

It was on my list.

[Robbo]

Sounds like you have more invested in your library than some people have in their trucks.

[RANGER]

I do, but they make for good reading and one good picture is worth a thousand words when it comes to checking a minor CCKW detail. They also bring back pleasant memories from when these trucks were an everyday sight for me.
The books do not have to be expensive to be valuable, the Tankograd CCKW book is priceless.

[RANGER]

What is amazing is that the vehicle assembly area is a city street with crude overhead hoists and lots of Native and French troops manhandling bare chassis, wheels, and other items into place. The CCKW starts out as a bare chassis, no powerplant gearboxes, springs, bumpers, etc, just brake lines, vacuum lines, chassis wires, shock absorbers, master cylinder and Hydrovacs, and in a matter of a few hours is transformed into a running truck using just hand tools, speeder wrenches, wheel lug wrench, etc. The fluids are then topped off, and initial start up results in a plume of smoke from the preservative oil in the cylinders. The completed vehicle is then driven off and parked with hundreds of others. The sound of the workers jabbering away in French conversation, joking and yelling orders along with the noise of tools contacting metal is vivid in my mind. I can just hear the sputtering 270s starting for the first time on foreign soil and then transforming to a smooth running machine. They are all inspected afterward and get a road test.

NOTE:
There were both Wood and Hard Rubber Steering Wheels eviden in this 1943 Dated series of assembly photos.

I would love to have the opportunity to assemble some long forgotten CCKW in a crate, who knows if it could happen today, but I am available should the occasion become reality.
I have had six decades of constant practice just for such an event.

[Robbo]

I would love to have the opportunity to assemble some long forgotten CCKW in a crate

When you finish, just drop it off at my place.

I haven't heard of starting from bare chassis before.

[RANGER]

I disassembled my chassis down to a rolling chassis, the Cargo Body, bumperettes and SWB Spare tire Bracket went to the Maine Central RR shops to be blasted and primed, and were the only items I contracted out. I have no idea how many bags of Ottawa Sand I used on the rest of the metal. It was all worth it, and I performed 100% of the rest of the restoration myself. It went back together smoothly, there was no need to have to go back and redo any overlooked systems. The truck has been turnkey since reassembly, not one failure. Maintenance since has been lubrication, 3 new batteries(6-10 years each), and a RF BO Marker bulb. Not bad for a 25 year old restoration.
I credit Uncle Sammy and the skilled mechanics that trained me at our business for the end result.