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Hello all
I am a novice when it comes to Chev trucks and would like to expand my knowledge.

I have a 160 inch wheel base Chev truck which was used by the Australian Army and has Holden build plates on it. I am thinking this is a 2 ton truck. The manual I have says that this should have 5 stud front wheels and 10 stud rear wheels. My truck has 10 stud front wheels. That is if I am counting the studs correctly. I am counting the inner studs as I am under the belief the outer studs hold the rim together. I am guessing this was an Army requirement to keep the wheels common.

I also have a ½ ton chassis. I’m wanting to put the cab on the shorter chassis as it will be a more practical size for want I want. I will be keeping the original I beam as the trucks guards/fenders appear to be wider than the smaller pickups. I’m wanting to run steel wheels as opposed to the split rims. Is there a drum brake option that will match up to the big truck bearings and stub axles that will have a stud pattern to go with 5 or 6 stud 16 inch steel wheels.
Thanks for any advice.

Steve

Steve,

You may have a Holden 3 ton truck. Check out some of the images on the link below as some show ten wheel studs up front:

http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/showthread.php?t=25512

If you do have an Australian military vehicle, think hard before you start adulterating it as it will actually decrease its value plus the WW2 history will be lost.

Cab should fit on a 1/2 ton frame. The fenders are considerably different on the larger trucks. Split rims are fine provided they are not too corroded.

Hy reidy, welcome, there has been a long relationship between Canada and Australia as far as the supply of parts and vehicles in the GM family. In Canada there were Chevrolet trucks up to two ton capacity, above that capacity were Canadian Chevrolet Maple Leaf trucks of two and a half and three ton capacity, these trucks existed pre and post world war two. There were also trucks referred to as "Canadian Military Pattern" these trucks were quite different than the civilian trucks. The Maple Leaf trucks of two and a half ton capacity were powered by the Chevrolet engine of the time, the three ton Maple Leaf trucks were powered by the GMC engine of the time. All the two and a half and three ton Maple Leaf trucks I have seen have had five or six stud Motor wheels on them. It is almost impossible to say what you have there without seeing lots of pictures of the truck and its serial number plates, Holden numbers do not seem to correlate to Canadian GM numbers so you may have to find a Holden expert to help you identify what you actually have. The truck is yours to do with what you wish, but my vote is to preserve what you have for its rarity, good luck.

Thanks for the feedback so far. I completely understand the comments about preserving what I have and when I do the chassis swap I will retain the original chassis and other parts so that it can be returned to original spec if someone desires at a later date.
The wheels and tyres that are on my truck look identical to the one with the red cross medical marking about halfway down the page on the link from Paul WNC. From reading the full post it would appear that the wheel bearings may be different to the 5 stud wheels.
As a bit of history of my truck it has spent a lot of its life as a beat up farm truck that had the door removed for quick access. My history with this truck goes back to 1975 when I was 4 years old. Dad purchased it at a local clearing sale. I was allowed to ride home in it along some back roads. This is one of my earliest memories. From the age of about 7, I started driving this in first or second gear helping with farm jobs such as cattle feeding. I spent many hours behind the wheel carting hay and other farm jobs. I drove this truck up until I turned 15 and joined the Australian Air Force as an apprentice. A few years ago the farm was sold off and I ended up with the truck. It now resides in my shed at home.
I know my enthusiasm to restore this to original would not be there as I would not enjoy driving it in its present length and form. It is my opinion that everything is only original once. Even if I restore it will only be a copy of the original truck. I don’t want to sell it as it has memories back to my early childhood. I could let it sit and continue to rot or I could build something that I will enjoy. It would need a full rebuild, paint and bodywork. I don’t want to go the full hotrod route with independent front end, V8 and other associated changes. I just want a usable small sized truck that I can use in my local area such as going to swap meets or the hardware store and such.
Hopefully this puts some context into what I am trying to achieve with the brakes and the truck.
Thanks for any help that can be offered with the brakes and wheels on this truck.
Steve