1948 Fordson E83W pickup

This will probably qualify as the smallest vehicle on the forum to be restored!!!

Mid last year I travelled to Nobby, between Toowoomba and Warwick in Queensland to check out my latest project. Clarry is a 1948 Fordson E83W (10hp, 10cwt) pickup, having at some time in its life been rather crudely cut down from a 'commercial van'. It wasn't pretty, but we managed to start the motor with the battery from the ride-on mower. Here's the cab interior when I first saw it ...

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And here's a picture of the right side showing the remnants of a wooden deck. A few of these vehicles were manufactured as pickups, and with these the cab finished immediately behind the 'B' pillar. With Clarry having been cut down from a van, I get the advantage of an 'extended cab' ...

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Four days later, I arrived home with Clarry. Darwin is a long way from Nobby!!

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This last week I made some time to have a better look at the project. I stripped the remains of the timber deck off ...

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And cleaned out the cab and removed the seats. The Fordson was manufactured with only one seat, but a standard modification was to fit another seat on the left side. As the engine is offset to the left, only the driver has a foot-well ... the passenger sits with feet raised over the gearbox, and knees around his/her ears ...

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The bottom rear of the timber body frame in the cab had disintegrated, due mostly to the deterioration of the weatherboards used as the rear of the cab when the van was cut down to the pickup. So some timber and some coach-bolts were used to brace the cab at the rear to save it from collapsing when it is lifted off the chassis ...

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I removed the doors on both sides. As the hinge pins were seized solid in the hinges, they had to be cut off top and bottom and enough drilled out to allow the hinge plated to clear the pin. I'll drill out the rest of the pins at a later date. Sadly, I also found that the hinge flaps had an oil hole drilled through them, to allow the hinge to be lubricated. Bet it never ever saw oil!!

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I then removed the windscreen, and wire brushed the body down to remove the surface rust. Now I can see what's underneath!! I was very happy to see that the steel around the window was in near perfect condition, as were the steel gutters over the doors.

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Next task is to remove the guards, take out the steering column, and lift the body off the chassis.

Bugly, That is something different to restore, l do not think l have seen one of them before, is it smaller than a early 50's Ford Prefect .
Colin

Hi Colin - much the same! This was the 10cwt commercial version of the English small Fords of Prefect, Anglia and Popular, and ran the same 10hp 1172cc side-valve engine. Although it was the same family, it was a cousin rather than a brother as it was manufactured as 'forward control' with the driver's compartment beside the engine rather than behind it. That's why the engine is offset to the left. The E83W was produced for 19 years from 1938 to 1957, with only a few subtle changes along the way.

Unfortunately apart from the engine, most of the other mechanicals and all of the body panels are unique to this model, and not interchangeable with other small Fords.

Some productive work this weekend. I managed to removed the front guards, inner guard panels and grille from Clarry. Also working through the various bits linking the cab to the chassis to allow the cab to be removed

When the cab is removed, it has to sit somewhere safe to ensure it retains its shape. With the rear of the cab having been cut off, there isn't much strength in the back of the body, so I decided to make a solid frame on wheels which copied the actual chassis fixing points. Once the body is on the frame, it can have panel and body work done off the chassis, ready to fit back later.

Bugly, not a bad looking unit and you got it from just "down the road" from us in Brisbane.

Brings back memories of a very rotten prefect ute I was given many years ago. I can see some of the similarities Steering wheel and column, wheels/axles, cable brakes also, even the fuel tank looks similar.

Big diffrence I can see is yours has a nice straight rear top to the rear chassis rails. The prefect was car based and had a few more curves. Our old ute only had the top flange left on the chassis, the rest had succumbed to rust.

We cut the Prefect up for scrap but kept the mechanicals for a Lotus 6 project (this is another story). This ute had small enameled badges on it saying "Body by Ford" in a map of Australia. Sad thing was to find the body number stamped on the fire wall being 003! The ute was a Ford E93A from 1939 but it really was too far gone, there was more daylight than steel.

I look forward to following your resto.

Regards
Roger

The front bits are now all removed, ready for the body to be lifted off. The engine looks smaller and smaller the more it gets exposed!!

A mate of mine dropped in the other day with his on-site fleet tyre-repair truck. I needed him with his 38mm (1.5") socket and rattle gun to loosen the nut on the end of the steering column so I could remove the steering wheel. I made up a jig this morning to sit behind the steering wheel, and set up my puller.

With a loud 'POP' the steering wheel loosened, and a chunk of bakelite flew off the wheel. No matter, it'll epoxy back on when I do a refurbish job on the steering wheel.

Now looking at the shed frame to work out the best position for the block and tackle ...

Hey Bugly what do you have In mind for repairing the cracks on the wheel as I'm about to repair my dodge wheel cheers Bryant

Hey Bugly what do you have In mind for repairing the cracks on the wheel as I'm about to repair my dodge wheel cheers Bryant

Hey Bryant - at this stage, I am going to chase out the cracks to try and get rid of as much rust on the steering wheel frame as I can. I've got a little Ozito grinder (chinese Dremel :) which will help. Then I'll hit it with a rust neutraliser before filling all the nooks and crannies with an epoxy filler. When its all filled and sanded back, I'll finish it with a paint job out of a spray can.

It'll be a slow process, but I betcha I won't be able to find a steering wheel in better condition than the one I've got!!

A few last minute bits to remove from the body, then to measure up the shed girders and height to see how I can position the block and tackle to lift the body off the chassis. I need a bit extra height as I can't take the gear lever off the gearbox, so I'll have to lift the body high enough to clear this. I made up a lifting beam so I can gain maximum lift height, positioned Clarry underneath, took up the strain, and up she came! That's Mrs Bugly hiding behind the Dennis radiator steadying the body.

After I rolled the chassis forward out of the road, I wheeled the cab frame under the body and lowered it down. My measurements must have been OK, because it sat down right over the fixing holes that replicated the chassis fixing bracket holes. Well done, Bugly!! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Here's Clarry, sitting down and ready for the cab repair.

Thanks Bugly for the info on the steering wheel I mite tackle mine the same way cheers Bryant