Opel Blitz Restoration
Page 3
June 19/20 1999
The weekend of the 19/20 June saw another 'blitz on the Blitz'. The main objective for this weekend was to see if the woodwork for the cab could be put back in its frame. Rttf. Gurowski had been toiling away in the previous weeks and had remade the majority of the woodwork. Work commenced and by the end of the day the back of the cab had been remounted. Now a problem with the doors was encountered. The wood in these had rotted and as they are a major support in the structure of the cab the wooden inner door frames were also going to have to be replaced. By the end of the day the Blitz was left with the doors needing re-framing and the supports along the inner roof top also in need of replacement. Whilst work on the cab commenced other members busied themselves rubbing down panels and the roof itself etc. and further work was carried out on the electrics and the engine where a new exhaust which had been fabricated by Uscha. Möckel was fitted.
July 3/4
Once again an intrepid party of SBG had swarmed over the
Blitz like ants. With the War & Peace show only three weeks
away time was running out fast and Hscha. Siegel was spending
every spare second of every day of the week working on the truck.
At this stage Rttf. Gurowski along with various other members had
replaced all of the hardwood inner cab frame. Fitting this into
place was a long and labourious job which involved assembling and
dissembling the woodwork to adjust the fitting of the steelwork.
As wooden parts were finished they were bolted in permanently and
the tinwork was fitted to it being screwed in at this stage.
Permanent nailing will take place at a later date. By Saturday
night the firewall, dash and rear of the cab had been completed.
One door was also fitted on to check alignment. The next day saw
everyone busy sanding and grinding various sundry items such as
the wheel arches etc. back to bare metal. Our welder/tin man did
an excellent job cutting out and replacing any damaged or rusted
metalwork and once finished all fixtures and fittings were given
a thick coat of red oxide primer. The weekend finished with the
cab 2/3 rds finished and a mass of parts including the bonnet
painted oxide red and awaiting a panzer grau undercoat before the
whole vehicle receives a camouflage top coat. On this
weekend disaster struck. After spending 100's of hours preparing
the engine over the restoration period and fitting a new
stainless steel exhaust and oil filled carb filter the engine was
once again "fired up". The cheers that went up from the
SBG nearly raised the garage roof !. After 10 minutes or so of
gentle running and refilling with oil and water a few short sharp
pulls on the carb revved the engine and everything sounded
beautiful. A few more sharp revs saw disaster strike ! . Suddenly
the engine died and after removing the front engine cover a
broken camshaft gear was revealed. The teeth had been entirely
stripped from the gear. It appears Opels were fitted with fibre
camshaft gears to reduce noise and to make for smoother running.
Being fibre it meant that it could not be repaired.
July 17/18
Despite the heartbreak over
the broken cam gear work progressed relentlessly. During the
preceding week Hscha. Siegel had ordered the back/flatbed
woodwork at a cost of some £800 (excluding the drop sides
and tailgate !) and tried everywhere to get the camshaft
gear. Unfortunately no camshaft gear could be located (an Opel
Blitz camshaft yes, the gear....no) so it was sent away for
fabrication with the hope it would be returned in time for
Beltring. On Saturday morning first to arrive was Uscha. Möckel,
his father Nick and myself followed by Andy our welder. We set to
the clearing of the Blitz and getting it ready to push outside.
Obergren. Wörner arrived shortly after with the timber for the
flat bed. Next to arrive was Stubaf. Jury and Hscha. Siegel
followed by Strm.. Richter. Last but not least were joined by
Schar. Kragowitze.
The main job this weekend was to be the
fitting and restoration of the handbrake and restoration and
overhaul of the hydraulic foot brake (courtesy of Uscha. Möckel
and his father Nick) and fitting of the flatbed. Whilst this was
going on the remaining members proceeded to rub down the truck
and fill in some small dents ready for the camouflage over spray,
fixing of some dashboard components and other small sundry jobs.
As everyone beavered away Hscha. Siegel continued with the
complex task of fitting the new woodwork inside of the two doors.
The day ended with the flatbed successfully being fitted and
brakes working and the vehicle ready for its coats of camouflage
paint.
On Sunday work continued with the flatbed being fixed securely
and the doors (although not yet fitted) held in place whilst the
vehicle was sprayed sand yellow and then given an over spray of
red and green camouflage.
19/24 July
With the "War & Peace"
show only days away it was now getting close to panic as the
camshaft gear had still not arrived. During the week Hscha.
Siegel in particular along with Gren. Rössler and Andy the
welder spent much time on the Blitz fitting the doors and other
sundry items. The Truck arrived at Beltring showground on
Thursday and Hscha. Siegel along with the rest of the SBG eagerly
awaited the phone call saying that the new camshaft gear had
arrived. Unfortunately it never came so Thursday was spent on
Beltring showground making minor adjustments etc. On Friday the
gear arrived !, no time was wasted and Uscha. Möckel, Rttf.
Haller and Strm. Richter in particular got stuck straight in. The
job proved longer than expected and work carried on into
Saturday. On Saturday morning loud cheering was heard as the
Blitz's engine roared into life !. No other damage had occurred
when the gears teeth had sheared and the engine was running
faultlessly. Everything was cleared away and the Blitz was taken
for numerous trips around Beltrings showground with a jubilant
Uscha. Möckel, Rttf. Haller and Strm. Richter in the cab and
numerous Grenadiers on the back. After a few tours the truck was
parked up again on the SBG display where further minor
adjustments were made. Unfortunately it was too late to use the
vehicle in Saturdays arena re-enactment but it made its glorious
battle debut on Sundays re-enactment and was the first vehicle to
enter the arena. It was decided not to use the Blitz in action or
to carry troops as the flatbed was still not secured properly,
the flatbed sides had not been fitted and of course the engine
still has to be run and tested for some time before any great
strain is placed upon it.
However, it was a fantastic
sight after three months of VERY hard work to see the truck drive
around the arena and park up in the SBG's "Battle"
area. One nice finishing touch to the weekend as far as the Opel
was concerned was the acquirement from the stalls of an original
Opel Blitz headlamp lens to replace the one missing from our
truck!.