Building a clone of grandpa's service truck

I received a set of rear leaf spring mounts today. Three of the four are in fantastic shape. The remaining one is busted, but for the price I paid for the set, I'm still elated! Besides, there was ONE good one on the back of my half-ton frame, so I have four good ones to use.

Before I can get back to work on the Chevy (which will hopefully be tomorrow afternoon), there's a truck driver showing up here in the morning to haul off three V-12 fire truck engines that I've sold to a group in Texas. Hopefully getting them loaded won't take too long in the morning, and I can head out to remove the rear spring mounts in the afternoon. Then I'll be all set to get the frame sand blasted. Woo hooo!! Sorry, just a bit excited. Things SEEM to be moving in the right direction.

Nate,

I will go back and take a look, but this thing was pretty well stripped to the bone. That's why I only got PART of the shift linkage out of it. The seat and seatbelts were gone for sure. The motor was there, but I'm not sure which inline-six it is. Got any good tips on telling one from another? I can tell the 216s apart from the 235s, but that's about it. What do you need from the engine? I'll see what I can do.

Damon

 

Parts Is Parts !

Glad to hear those hard to find V-12's are going to good homes .

I've been sitting on a Brand 'F' 'A' Model engine for nearly 30 years and finally got someone who wants it .

I need the carby and throttle kicker solenoid on the intake manifold , maybe air cleaner parts , more I'm sure but have forgotten .

Unless you personally saw the bare cab , the seat belts are prolly still in it ~ no one ever wants them , I take the time to clean 'em up and re use .

 

I sat in the bare cab to inspect the emergency brake assembly. It was too roached to use, so I just took the clutch linkage. There was no seat for sure. I will go back and pull the weeds apart to see if the belts are still there.

Can you post a photo of the solenoid you need? I'm not sure I'll be able to identify it from guessing... The air cleaner was gone, I do remember that much.

Damon

 

What color belts do you want? I may be at pull a part next week.

 

'69 Seat Belts

Green .

Not frayed , no broken plastic buckles . I'll clean 'em up if dirty .

If you see any L6 , there's a vertically mounted throttle kicker solenoid just aft of the carby , I need that too . NOT the usual later Monojet one that screws into the carby proper ! .

THANK YOU Russ ! .

 

Firetruck project a good sosial work arena.

Hey there Sinclair

I wanted to thank you so much for sharing this project review with all the fantastic pictures and readings. But i have an question here ? Do you work alone on this firetruck project or does anyone gives any practicall help and money support to it ? It would benefit the local community that this truck as an historicall vehicle comes on the road again right and maybe could present your dads former fire brigade at parades or at other presentations. Whas that your dad on one of the pictures i saw ? If so i`ll guess he is proud and excited to that the truck is getting back in its original condition (with some modifications). Tell me if there excist any offical money support programs that local gouverments have for vintage vehicles ? Or is that maybe an illusion in these hard euconomic times in the states ?

Martinius

 

I will check for seat belts and your solenoid tomorrow. I spent Friday and Saturday completely cleaning out my garage. I can now see the entire square footage of the concrete again. How cool is that? The parts shelves are full of fire truck and now Chevy 235 parts, but hey... an inventory is a good thing, right?

Martinius,

First, you're welcome. Second, thank YOU guys. All of you! Your curiosity and enthusiasm for this project have really stoked the fires and have me working as often as I can on the project. It means a lot to me to have the folks here encouraging me to get work done, and helping out with parts and information on these ol' girls.

I work on the fire truck project alone. I bought it from a scrap yard with my own money, so it's kind of a solo deal. I'm sure I could get help from some of the other firemen, but I don't like asking for help... and I will never ask for money to complete either the fire truck or the Sinclair Chevy project. There might be monies available from some civic non-profit groups, but the things they typically put money towards (food drives, scholarships, etc.) are far more important than getting an old fire truck up and running again. I do have some old photos of my dad running the aerial controls at a fire in the 1970's. They are the only photos I've found that show him and the truck. Unfortunately, he passed away almost 19 years ago. But I have a feeling he is looking down and rooting me on regarding both the fire truck and the Sinclair Chevy. Both projects, when completed, will honor his memory.

Thank you all again!

Damon

 

Damon ;

Yes , inventory is always a very good thing indeed ! .

Your pops is watching you with fond approval and he's just waiting to ride shotgun with you .

I love this rig and am impressed at your tenacity in getting it going again and sharing the left over parts....

 

Thank you, Nate... I really appreciate that! I was recently promoted at work. When I accepted the position, I could see the old man rolling his eyes at me. My brother said it best in the Christmas card I got from him this past year though. He wrote, "Dad would call you bat $h!t crazy for taking on the responsibility, but he'd be proud all the same." I think he'd feel the same about me taking on these two projects.

Regarding having spare parts. I have plenty. I will probably begin listing some things in the "for sale" forums. I'd like to see the extras I have go to good homes. I'm not looking to get rich, but like I just read in one of your recent posts, I need to recover some costs incurred with the project. Before I can list it for sale, I need help identifying the intake/exhaust manifold set up shown below:



This was on the first 235 I bought to rebuild. The rear cam bearing bore was 0.003 too large and out of round, so the block was junk. However, I kept and reused the crank and head, as they were fine. I was told this was on a "Thriftmaster Special Six" from 1962. However, when I did a little digging, the block was only a '57, and the head a '61. So somewhere along the line, some parts swapping was done to get that engine together. I viewed a video of the engine running online (I can send the link if it's still active), so I bought the motor. I got a decent deal on the engine... a moderate stack of cash and the front clip from the '50 half ton and the Thriftmaster Special Six and an S-10 T-5 manual transmission were mine. I just had to drive 7 hours each way to complete the deal. Not a problem, except for finding out that the block was junk. I'm past it, and I just want to get this intake/exhaust set up into the hands of someone who wants or needs it. I would think that it's worth some decent cash, as it's the first set-up I've seen like this (with the carburetor inverted) in a year's worth of researching these trucks and engines.

Can anyone tell me the proper name of this set-up so I can list it for sale? Any thoughts on what I oughtta put on it for an asking price? I'd also entertain trade offers.

Thanks again, fellas!

Damon

 

Name part

Thanks man for the complements.

The name of the part is in deed a 1962 intake/exhaust setup with a updraft carb wich looks like the original Rochester carb and fuel glas. Not shore if the carb is complete though ? Attached a link to the HAMB site wich gives some more information about price ! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=630416
If in good condition and functional its posseble to ask between 75-125 dollars for both.

Martinius.

 

Thanks, Martinius... but that is the exact engine I bought. I will probably just try to trade for an intake and/or exhaust manifolds for the 235 I rebuilt.

Damon

 

Cool Parts

That's an updraft carby and manifolding for a Dubble Dutti Van (bread truck) or Cab Over .

Not really common but it might just be the ticket for some restorer or maybe a Rat Rodder who wants something different....

To me , the exhaust manifold is worthless until the broken stud is out of it as it's easy to screw the job up and ruin the manifold if the ear snaps off as you're removing the stud .

Any Father who isn't proud of his Children taking on responsibilities , isn't much of a Father , your old man is beaming right about now , trust me on this .

 

I realized it was out of a bread truck or cab over. What I didn't realize... it isn't all that special. Point taken about the stud stuck in the manifold. I'll work on removing those tomorrow (may as well take both of them out).

Made a little progress on the frame tonight, sorry... no photos. I was able to remove all four of the rear spring mounts, almost completely without incident! There were two very stubborn rivets that I was not able to remove. I will tackle them tomorrow with a little heat and some vice grips. Hopefully that will do the trick.

After that's done, I need to flip the frame back over (right side up) and carefully remove all of the welding "repairs" made to the running board brackets. When that's finished, the frame will be ready to go across the road to my neighbor's to get sand blasted. Then I'll drag it home and paint it. I'm planning on using KBS Coatings' Rust Blast/Rust Seal system.

I'll try to get some before and after photos of the frame sandblasting and painting. Hoping to have the frame done in a couple weeks. We'll see if I can meet the goal. Wish me luck!

Damon

 

Progress & Stud Removal

Sounds like you're forging ahead ! .

To easily remove broken exhaust studs , lay a large oversize flat washer over the old stud then use the " Hot Wrench " (gas torch) to heat up the broken stud until it's at least cherry red , white is better , when remove the flame and *instantly* apply cold water from the hose until it's cold to the touch ~ the rapid contraction as it cools , will break the rusty threads and it'll easily back right out with vise grips (Mole Pliers for our British friends) I often use penetrating oil to cool it off as it'll get sucked into the threads but , you must use a whole can , no stopping part way through when your old can runs out and the stud is still warm to the touch ~ this is where most folks screw it up so it cracks the ' ear ' when they try to turn it .

I'd leave the good stud in situ .

Funny thing isn't it ~ you never , EVER see a Dubble Dutti Van anymore but the parts are still worthless .

I still think some Rat Rod with Duvall windshield and no hood , would look good with this setup on it....

Plus of course, with the new Foo-Foo " Motor Fuel " we're forced to use , this setup cannot possibly vapor lock nor flood in the summer's heat...

 

Well, the bad new is: I don't think there's much point in removing the busted stud from the Thriftmaster Special Six exhaust manifold. After working on the truck today, I decided I was going to take care of the manifold, too. I flipped the manifold over and saw a faint crack in the cast iron. What do you guys think, should I go ahead and try to save it? Granted, the carb is still fine, but I dunno that a single updraft carb is worth much... I'll post a photo of the crack in a couple days. I was too busy working on the pick-up frame and taking pictures of that to worry too much about the manifold.

The good news is: I THINK I'm ready to have the truck frame sandblasted. I was able to remove the two troublesome rivets today, as well as getting the cross member bent back into shape so the holes line up with the holes in the frame again. Here's a shot of that:



I was also able to flip the frame back over right-side-up, and grind off all of the welding repairs that had been done to the running boards and brackets. Here's a photo of the cleaned-up brackets:



I'm not sure how well this picture will turn out, but here is an overall photo of the frame as it sits right now - minus the axles, leaf springs, rear spring mounts, all four upper shock mounts, engine bay splash guards, battery box and splash guard, transmission cross member, and the emergency brake linkage. Whew. I think that's it. Oh... forgot... I also took off the spare tire carrier, as I'm going to go with a more modern unit. Anyway, here's the picture:



Ok, now for a bit of advice. I'd like to remove and replace all of the leaf spring bushings. How do I remove the very front bushing and bolt? Here's a photo:



All four of the front leaf spring mounts are in good shape, so I'd rather not remove them. Can the two very front bushings be removed without having to remove the mounts from the frame? I'm sure they can... I'm guessing a little heat on the mount, and a few good whacks with a BFH?

If anyone can suggest more work to be done before I take the frame for sandblasting, please speak up. I'll be on duty at the firehouse tomorrow (Wednesday), and plan on calling the sandblasting guy Thursday.

Thanks again, everyone! Your enthusiasm for the project really keeps me going.

Damon

 

Frame Check

*DO* take the time to find a 100 % level bit of cement and measure the frame's height to ground at various different places , most of them are twisted a bit , especially in the front frame horns and this greatly affects handing when you re assemble it .

NOW is the time to cold stretch it back into shape as necessary .

 

Thanks for the tip, Nate. I noticed a few places with the naked eye that looked like they may be distorted a hair, but in checking (with the naked eye) on the opposite frame rail, both appeared to be the same. I will get a tape measure and a notepad out and go to work on it in the morning when I go off duty.

Damon

 

Today I fixed the lil 'whoops' with the fork truck from a couple weeks ago that bent the rear cross member. I then leveled the frame on the jack stands and followed your suggestion of measuring at various points along the frame rail to check dimensions. Good news: The worst difference from driver's side rail to passenger's side rail was only an 1/8" off. Almost all spots were 1/16" off, so I'm going to attribute that to how the frame was sitting on the jack stands. I think that's pretty darn good for 60+ years old. After I was satisfied that the frame was ready to go to the sandblaster, I stopped by his shop (conveniently across the road from my place) and shot the breeze with him a bit. I then went and picked up a borrowed trailer with a buddy of mine (thanks yet again, Jim) and the buddy and I delivered the frame to the sandblaster's shop. It will be done tomorrow or Monday. Either way, that gives me time to go get some KBS Coatings paint. If all goes as planned, the bare frame will be blasted and painted by next week. As always, photos to follow.

Damon

 

Lookin' good, Damon!

 

Thanks, Zig!

Well, the weather hasn't cooperated with my plans this past week. The frame was finally sandblasted today. I was able to run home and get it in the garage, then I had to head back to work. But tomorrow morning, boy howdy... you can bet your bottom dollar I'll be out in the garage painting and snapping photos for you guys. I already have my good camera ready and the battery charged.

Any last minute tips before I tackle this job?

Damon

PS. Since the frame wasn't getting done due to the weather, I went ahead and tore down the front axle. Pictures to follow. But I have a question: what's the trick to removing the kingpins? I've searched and searched, but the only guide I could find was on another old GM truck forum. It helped, sorta. Their guide says the dust caps are held in place by snap rings. Not the case on my frame. It appears as though the spindles on my frame have the dust caps held in place by 'staking' the top and bottom with a square or rectangular punch. I can post photos tomorrow.