Heel low:
We own a “fleet” of 1936 Maple Leafs. Three so far and working on the fourth and fifth acquisition. The saying goes, or so one hears, in order to restore one truck, you need three…well what happens when two of the trucks are just too good to part out? Well you seek therapy cause you're already getting ready to go get the fourth & fifth one (these HAFTA be parts trucks!) and the only thing holding you back is the snow's gotta melt off just a bit more…
We are currently doing frame up restorations on two 1936 Chevrolet Maple Leaf trucks. Both 16-48 models, second HY series (post March), 165” wheelbases, 2-2.5 tons, same trim and paint colours…BTW anyone want to try enlightening us as to what Maple Leaf Paint code 681 and 582 / Trim code 184 and 100 are…paint chips would be fab!! US Chevrolet paint numbers do not work for the Canadian Maple Leaf and we have not found any references to Maple Leaf paint or trim codes at all. We also have a rare 1936 Chevrolet and Maple Leaf truck, 16-31 model, HZ series, 131” wheelbase, 2 ton.
MAPLE LEAFS – TRULY PROUD CANADIANNA
We Canucks owe much to carriage maker Colonel Sam McLaughlin and his desire to see Canadians have a luxury truck like the Maple Leaf (21 year existence beginning in 1930). According to the Reynolds-Alberta Museum, McLaughlin “believed in providing extra value for the customer's money” and this ensured Maple Leafs were equipped very much like luxury automobiles of the day. With her genuine leather seats, wood grain-painted dashboards, and nickel plated body parts, the ultimate treatment for the Maple Leaf truck was the nitrocellulose paint (requiring 3 weeks of drying between coats, with Darren Wiberg giving the museum's 1935 Maple Leaf seven coats in this extensive “gassing” process). I giggle when someone figures these bigger Chevs are mere “farm trucks!” What secrets the country folk don't keep from the city, eh??
Colonel Sam, who build high end McLaughlins that sported Buick engines, decided to sell his company to General Motors in 1918. He already had a kind of alliance going with General Motors and had been building Canada's Chevs under license since 1915. The Colonel stayed on with General Motors, running the Canadian company and served on the Board of Directors for General Motors in Detroit, USA. In 1923, the Buick was being built in Canada as the McLaughlin-Buick.
Technologically advanced features were tested on Canadian Chevs before being put into production in the States. There were certainly advantages for the Chev Maple Leaf in Canada as General Motors tried out innovative advances here first. Fewer trucks were manufactured here so it was not so difficult to interrupt production lines and make a change or two. The added feature of the extreme weather conditions also assisted in testing out new features under brutal climate conditions. These advances make sourcing vintage parts difficult if you forget that Canadian automobiles were the testing ground for many things like hydraulic brakes over mechanical ones. While finding manuals and engineering materials is not all that difficult, finding exact references to “Maple Leafs” can be rough. Even if you find Chev information, you always have to wonder if this actually applies to the Maple Leaf. Sometimes it is better to refer to the next year's model, say refer to 1937's when dealing with US Chev info for 1936 Maple Leafs. We have noted things like the US Chev fuel tanks were filled from the inside of the cab while the Maple Leaf trucks had a filler neck so one could fuel outside the vehicle. One interesting item is that in the "35 and "36 Maple Leafs, it seems Chev tried out a larger master cylinder and this version never seemed to go any where else.
Literature says that 1931 Maple Leaf was somewhat similar to the American Chevrolet Independence heavy-duty truck. Yes, the 1931 ML was a two ton, WB 131”, series HR, body codes 114-116, ML engine right thru to 1937 was the 206.8 and always was a six cylinder, no matter the year. 1932 came out with the first unique Chev & Maple Leaf version (see more below) and was the only 1.5 ton ML version we know of, WB 131”. From 1931, skipping 1932 (1.5 ton), to 1935, the Maple Leaf lists a single capacity of 2 tons. According to Reynold's, grilles were an optional after sale item until 1936 when they decide to dress them up “standard.”
I.D. PLATES ON MAPLE LEAFS
In 1935, General Motors in Canada introduced a code serial numbering system.
Maple Leaf I.D. plates we have seen are located on the firewall, passenger side of engine compartment stating:
“General Motors of Canada Limited,
Made in “GM” Canada,
Oshawa Walkerville Regina (1932 was the last year for Maple Leafs to be built in Windsor and Regina…maybe some of these plates were left over even tho they say “Regina?” & we've had people try and tell us "36's were made in Regina, Saskatchewan…all because of Regina appearing on the ID plate. It would not surprise one that resourcefulness would have come into play during these economically trying times with a reasonable expectation to recycle them years later. Rumour has it that in 1933, the Regina plant was used to park buses in),
193? Model (i.e. 16-48 or 16-31),
Serial (nine digits 1st being the year, 2nd and 3rd digits identify make and series, 4th and 5th are body style, and last four being the vehicle number),
Engine and Body Serial,
Trim (meaning colour & material of the upholstery) and Paint (paint combos).
Made by General Motors of Canada Ltd. Oshawa ON
There is a second plate, which reads,
“CAUTION Overloading will void your warranty, Axle rating (blank), Straight rating 11500, Tractor-trailer rating 20000, This vehicle guaranteed under manufacturers warranty providing total gross weight does not exceed rating shown above, Made by General Motors of Canada limited, Oshawa Ontario”
Straight rating on our all our 1936's are 11,500 with Tractor rating of 20,000 even though we are dealing with extreme ends of the wheelbases; 131” to 165”.
CHEV VS. MAPLE LEAFS - TONNAGES
Advertisements for the 1936 Maple Leaf stated they handled load ranges from 2 to 5 tons.
In regards to the Maple Leaf tonnage query, there is no easy solution to saying that if the truck was rated for over 1.5 tons, it was a Maple Leaf. Simply explained, in Canada the Maple Leaf was a bigger truck to the lighter duty Chevrolet. As advances were made, so too the overall capacity increased.
From 1929 to 1946, for example, Chevs ranged in tonnage from ½ to 2, whilst at the time, only Maple Leafs were rated for 3 tons (1940 & 1941-45 & 1946). A rather confusing year is say in 1946 where you see the Chev go from ½ ton to ¾, 1, 1.5, & 2 tons yet the Maple Leaf of that year are either 2.5 or 3 tons. Back in the early 30's, Chev trucks never breached the 1.5 until 1936 and this may have been because the 1936 ML had the major improvement of the full floating rear end and the hubs bore the weight, making the rims lighter. One would not recommend that you put Maple Leaf 1936 wheels on a 1935 Maple Leaf as the wheels were carrying the weight up until that time (heavier rim). Some parts you may switch with no repercussions, others make it unsafe and unwise if possible at all.
Maple Leaf rims are another unique item and were specifically made for Maple Leafs. Maple Leaf rims are five spoke (Chev-like), five hole and generally have a GMC five bolt pattern. Only the Chev&Maple Leafs (C&MLs) sported Chevrolet rims. Our 1936 Chev&Maple Leaf (131” WB Model 16-31) has five spoke rims but these have a ten-bolt pattern. They use a smaller bolt and nut than other Maple Leaf's we've seen which have a bell nut washer with no shims. The C&ML front and back rims are interchangeable. For the back, you need a shim plate that has ten holes punched in it. You put a wheel on, then a shim and then put the second wheel on. The front also requires a shim, but this one has every second hole capped out and is purely for aesthetic purposes.
If you have a copy of “Vintage Truck” December 2004 issue, you'll note the article on the Maple Leaf ("36) and it mentions the Maple Leaf Truxmore (third axle) 7-ton concrete block that was hauled 1,246 miles (Windsor to Moncton) on June 29, 1936. Quite an interesting promotional undertaking.
1936 MAPLE LEAFS
Ah, this is where it gets complicated….1936 was an interesting year for Chev Maple Leafs! It seems like General Motors of Canada got a bit behind in their calendar year but then made up for it as the year progressed, coming out with some pretty interesting models. Even seemingly going backwards at the later half of the year with models like the “Chevrolet and Maple Leaf.” Our two “older” 1936 ML's do not have torque tube drives while the “younger” (later end of 1936) Chev/ML has a torque tube drive. Emergency brakes are different; the straight Maple Leafs have rods, the Chev/ML has rods and emergency brake cables.
The 1935 Maple Leafs we've seen had a LOT of wood in the cab, given historically that McLaughlin was a fine carriage builder, this would not be surprising. We've talked with the Reynold's restoration people and that wooden cab sure was a project in itself. All that intricate woodwork only to cover it over with sheet metal! After March of 1936, the Maple Leaf cab's saw hardly any wood; mostly in the doorposts (this explains why the doors tended to sag prematurely), two wooden braces from the floor to the top of the cab were joined by a horizontal wooden brace that ran under the fold-out windshield (the dash bolts to this and conceals the wood), and some wooden blocks were used as cushions for the cab. Stove bolts (with square bolts and flat washers) were used to attached the hinges to the doorposts. Wood portions tended to rot since the seals usually gave out and water found its way inside.
March 1936 was when a dramatic change was made in truck designs. The “Turret Top coupe-type cabs” with coloured sheet metal made their debut. Some call this the “low roof” cab as opposed to the “high roof” cab. The roof dropped about 2 inches, so the three door hinges thus became two and the external sunvisor was removed. Instrument placement in the Maple Leaf was changed from center of the dash to directly in front of the driver (made better sense!) and a glovebox and interior dome light were added.
For simplicity's sake, 1936 Maple Leafs were either 2 tons or 2-2.5 tons. The only 1.5 ton Chev Maple Leaf is in 1931 (WB 131” series HS-LT body codes 112-114-119).
This was the last year for the original 206.8. Not sure why some refer to this as a 207 (other than mathematically rounding up), but Maple Leaf and Chev mechanical data information we have come across refers to this engine type as a 206, not a 207…may well be the Chev and Chevy thingy I suppose.
From our sources, the 1936 Chev Maple Leafs all had the following:
Crank case 4 ¼ quarts / rear axle capacity is 6 pints / 6 cylinders / 206.8 engine / 3 5/16 x 4 bore & stroke / SAE HP 26.30 / fuel tank capacity 11 gallons / original tires were 650-20's.
Here are some differences in the stats we have:
1936 Maple Leaf / HY series / body codes 42-47 / 2-2.5 ton capacity / 141” WB / Cooling capacity 14 quarts
1936 Maple Leaf / HY series / body codes 43-48 / 2-2.5 ton capacity / 165” WB / Cooling capacity 14 quarts
1936 Chevrolet and Maple Leaf / RJ-HZ series / body codes 30-31 / 2 ton capacity / 131” WB / Cooling capacity 13 quarts
1936 Chevrolet and Maple Leaf / RK-HZ series / body codes 32-33 / 2 ton capacity / 157” WB / Cooling capacity 13 quarts
OK, ready for some head scratching…'36 is an interesting year for Maple Leafs. From January to March, 1936, the Maple Leaf (HY series) was more or less a 1935 (new was the Heavy Duty hydraulic brakes; 15-45 had a complete cab, 15-40 with a cowl), then there was the huge revamp.
The 2nd HY series had three horizontal chrome louvers on the hood cowling, the V-ed grill was standard (no longer optional like the vertical '35 grilles), coloured sheet metal replaced most all of the interior wood, along with redesigned fender valances.
If you find an oil filter and/or a heater in your 36 ML, you may assume these were add ons…or at least that is what we suspect having seen a variety of oil filters and heaters in one's we have come across. When you own three (so far!), you do get to do some comparing between them. When all three have or don't have an item, or there are three different types of an item, you sorta suspect these are not all originals. Surprising for us is that with each new addition, there has been items that come to light that should have been there, but were not. Like the metal extension portion on the headliner…our third truck showed us what was under the existing headliner on our second truck (had not removed it completely to see what hid underneath), only to realize our first Maple Leaf was completely lacking this part. Some items are indeed contemplative, like pictures of the '36 engine showing the correct horn, leaves us wondering if the horn on our Chevrolet/Maple Leaf is original or not since it is a small curled affair.
Godsents have been the kindness of people like the restoration crew at the Reynolds-Alberta museum. Being allowed to photograph their 1935 Maple Leaf extensively (Wayne exclaimed that not even he had as many photos of their '35 as we have during our second visit!) has really assisted us in learning similarities and differences between the two years. The relationship has been mutually helpful because their restoration lacks a bumper and we were able to bring our original bumper up for them to measure. One good turn deserves another.
ADD-ONS
Does the Maple Leaf you have, have a dumping box? One of our 165”'s has a scissor lift, the other a straight dumping lift. Surprisingly, both are in fab condition and the scissor lift, we had the box up for several weeks to see if it would creep down, and she held steady Eddy!
SPEED
We have driven our 3rd Maple Leaf, she arrived here in driveable condition. Our first Maple Leaf turned over with a few tweaks here and there and Rick called me at work with her purring engine in the background to tell me the good news—Yeehaw! Have not messed with the Chev/Maple Leaf engine yet, but that will come. We expect top speed to run between 50 and 60 kilometers an hour. Gonna race Rick to town and back traffic up all the way to the BC &/or SK border! We have no urge to get anywhere quickly any more and like the thought of being able to drive with the windows down, smelling the clover in the fields as we go by.
1936 advertisement states, “Compare the power and torque of this 72 horsepower truck engine. Chevrolet's engine sets a new pace in truck power. It's ruggedly built to stand up under hard service, yet it will save money on every phase of operating and maintenance expense. Greater power at every speed range (72 horsepower is developed at 3200 r.p.m.). Greater torque at all usable speeds (155 at 900 to 1500 r.p.m.) . . . the real measure of truck power that insures the pull for steep grades as well as ability to start heavy loads with ease. Greater gasoline economy in both light and heavy haulage! Greater savings on oil, even, than in the thrifty Chevrolet and Maple Leaf trucks of the past! These are the startling new results from advancements made in the Chevrolet truck engine for 1936.”
From 1930 to 1936, we know that Chev Maple Leafs used ONLY General Motors made Chevrolet engines. After this, someone else is going to have to investigate.
She should hold a legal payload of around 75 square bales (just enough loading to put a mild sweat on) and we'll be using two of the trucks to restock our hay and straw supplies. We are a conservation farm and all of this is pure hobby for us. Sorta explains our mentality about why one would dump $ into restorations. Our livestock faces extinction daily, so restoring just comes naturally to our outlook on life. We don't need to justify what we are doing as the bigger picture of preserving our Canadian history needs no justification. Powder coating bills, plating and refurbishing costs, all part of the process and she's well worth it. If you need inspiration, visit Reynolds-Alberta Museum (Wetaskwin, Alberta) and see that gem of a truck, their 1935 Maple Leaf (model 16-48, HX series, 165” wheelbase) in all her pristine glory. Course we feel she's the best vehicle of any kind there. Six dedicated specialists spent between 3,500 and 4,000 hours over 3 ½ years and you bet she looks good from every bit of it.
MANY USES
Interestingly, Maple Leafs had many duties. In 1935, here in Alberta, 167 trucks were registered with Class A Freight licenses, and of those, 44 were Maple Leafs…that means over 25% of the big trucks were Maple Leafs, popular! Maple Leafs were used as logging trucks, carried asphalt, hauled grain, poop!, livestock, etc. We are indebted to James Mays' December 2004 article in “Vintage Trucks” and I quote, “An exhaustive list of satisfied companies who operated Maple Leaf trucks was published. It included Alcan, Associated Screen News, B.C. Telephone, Bell Canada, Canadian Canners, Canadian General Electric, Distillers Corporation, Dominion Stores, Exide, General Steel Wares, The Hudson's Bay Company, Massey-Harris, Nestle's, Swift Canadian, Stelco, United Grain Growers, Wrigley, Eaton's, Simpson's, the Canadian Pacific Railway, the Canadian National Railway, Lever Brothers, and Canada Packers.” Does anyone know James May or how to contact him? He'd be an exceptional person to discus Maple Leaf's with.
Information from Mr. May's article, we are told that General Motors of Canada did not break out the Chev and Maple Leafs in their yearly production reports, so we can only report that in 1936, of the 33,790 trucks built in Canada, Chev & Maple Leaf models totaled 9,471. 1935 Chevs and Maple Leafs totaled 10,293 (some ML units shipped to Australia-Great White North on over to Down Under), 1934 saw 8,181, 1933 - 3,146, 1932 – 2,563, 1931 – 5,529 and 1930 – 12,439.
CHEVROLET and MAPLE LEAFS
Be careful here…for there were year's (two we know of 1931-WB 131” and 1936-WB 131” & 157”) where both Chevrolet and Maple Leaf laid claim to the same truck. Our 1936 has rims that are Chev not Maple Leaf rims, a unique item for Maple Leafs as they had their own wheels. Subtle differences as this one appears similar to our other two but in some cases, there are drastic differences…so be careful if you figure all ML "36's are the same and you can swap parts amongst them.
1931 saw a Chevrolet and Maple Leaf truck (series HS-LT, the LT probably refers to the corresponding American Chevrolet LT) as did 1936 (series RJ-HZ/bodycodes 30-31and RK-HZ/bodycodes 32-33).
Cooling capacity differed from the straight Maple Leafs in 36, smaller at 13 quarts, the rest of the written data appears the same, but could be deemed more misleading than helpful. We've been led down the garden path before. If you have the actual truck at your disposal, you don't get tripped up so easily and it is way better to actually have the truck to refer to as a guide. Not foolproof, but still the best way.
We see that in 1933, torque-tube drive was first used, then we see references that torque-tube drive was used for the final time in 1936 but be careful here! Drive trains are not the same…what we found is that both our 165” wheelbases have split drive shafts with the Power Take Off (PTO) on the side of the transmission. On the Chev/Maple Leaf, 131” wheelbase, there is no PTO, but there is a plate on the side of the 4-speed transmission and universal joints, so this could have been an option.
Just because they are "36's, do not assume all parts are interchangeable between trucks from this year. The bumper on the Chev/Maple Leaf is a straight bumper, unlike the Gull Wing bumper on the other 1936 Maple Leafs. We have not dug too far into the 16-31 model Chev/Maple Leaf but rest assured there is certain to be other differences to the 16-48 Maple Leafs. Some things are nice about this "36 Chev/Maple Leaf as we may easily acquire Chev rims and now have a heap of rims and tires for this particular truck. Other more accessible Chev parts may also go into this restoration as we dismantle more of it. Maple Leaf parts, as our ad for parts here on Stovebolt still goes with no hits, are not that common.
CHALLENGES
Other disappointments have been the lack of info in general on the bigger Chev trucks (2 ton and up)…most books we have found refer only to the 1.5 ton, not at all useful to the Maple Leaf that only had one year as a 1.5 ton (1931). Many of the pursuits for parts have been quite comical. Consumable items like throw out bearings are almost non-existent!
Currently working on the master cylinder in our first Maple Leaf (16-48 with 165” WB) and finding while ours does not appear to require resleeving like Reynold's '35, we are in search for kits! Supposedly, no specific kit exists, but you are to steal random parts from other kits to make due. If you are missing things like water or fuel pumps, consider it real trouble. We have rebuilt a rad, water pump, starter, generator (Ah yes, the leave her 6 volt or change her to 12 volt debate!), heater core and fuel pumps, but you need cores or at least some of what use to be there for rebuilders to assist you. And it gets WAY expensive too with many not able to quote you a final price. You do get very nice items back, but she's a tad pricey at times. We consider theses trucks really straight forward and simple, not like new ones with all the mess and complications, but if you take to this like you are putting “engine jewelry” back on her, the prices on refurbishing will not sting so much.
In the restoration game, money can cure lots and if one outfit says, “No way!,” keep at it, the next may have a fix. Hemmings ran a picture of a note scrawled out saying, “God hates a coward.” It was attached to vintage parts in dire need of, ahem, work….(a.k.a. scrap metal?). If you happen to have a full head of hair when you start your Maple Leaf restoration, consider some falling out, some going white and the rest that's left may yet well find itself pulled out during times of utter frustration. Character building; what don't kill you, makes you strong!
Springs for the clutch and ball rollers are getable, but if you do not have a good disc and pressure plate, it gets worrisome.
Headlights in good enough condition worth re-plating are hard to find. The hood cowling usually put many dents in the headlights if you were not careful. Water gets in most of these bucket headlights and there goes the metal!
Our next biggie is having the flywheel on one truck redone. The first contact told us that if the four or five ring gear teeth were needing redoing, you were SOL…but now we've found a great guy (machinist that seeks adventure!) who is game and he'll be making us a tool ($500) so he will be able to build her back up and re-do the teeth. The flywheel (mother of all flywheels these, about sixty pounds each, lots of metal here) appears to be balanced specifically for each engine…you cannot turn these flywheels 360 degrees and get new use out of them like some of the new stuff.
Rear brake drums supposedly never wear out so no place to find reproductions of those. Emergency brakes are worth mentioning. On the two 16-48's, 165” WB, the emergency brake is ¼” round rod to the back with cams to the rear end. On the Chev/Maple Leaf (16-31, 131” WB), you have steel rods to just before the rear end and emerg brake cables…so you got different linkage in the mechanical emergency brake system. Cams seem to be a bugger right now for replacement in the one truck, but we'll get her done.
Even with specific measurements and long discussions of what we were looking for, shipping a bumper up from the States turned out to be for a pickup, not a 2-2.5 ton. The whole joy is in the challenge followed by the win. If it comes too easy, everyone would be doing it and what's the point in that?
One cause for rejoicing is that we have not only one but two men that routinely drive by our place that have both worked extensively on babbetted engines. It is very nice to see their eyes glisten as the sight of not one but three Maple Leaf's bring back fond recollections for them. Their guidance and assistance has been immeasurably helpful during our restores. To have people with living memories of these vintage trucks is by far the best one could hope for.
In closing, as the one fellow says, “If the engine started to knock, you pulled over on the side of the road and got the coffee can out. Pulled the plug and dumped what they called “oil” into the can, took the oilpan off, loosened off the crank bolts, and pulled a shim off each end. Tightened the crank, put the oil pan back on and dumped the oil back in and you were good to go. If you needed a shim, you used a piece of your leather belt.”
Rick is the best one to chat on the telephone with. He's got stories about these restorations that could be novel's all to themselves. Canucker Bob, e-mail us privately with your phone number and he'll help you out. Stories about Maple Leaf's that are “complete” (just missing the carb, eh!) that had parts of their bumpers welded as bracing to cover what's left of the rad…complete…sure, yup, OK!!!! About the only thing left that was usable was the two side ML insignias and some door knobs…
Doggone,
Tara - wife and tabulator for Too Old to Part Out (Rick)
PS Thanks Mike on the heads up about the Maple Leaf discussion!
