Yesterday was my birthday and my wife said we would do what ever I wanted. So I got dinner at Red Robin and spent the rest of the evening after work tackling some projects. I was going to build a garden and needed to run to Home Depot and I wanted to take the 50. I grabbed some scrap wood that was left in the rafters by the last owner of the house and 2 hours (hand saw only) later I had the trucks first bed floor in 30+ years. This morning I went to the Home Depot to get some soil for the garden. I only got 12 bags because it was a shakedown run for the truck but it was successful. Its a lot more fun to go to Home Depot in the 50 than in my Ranger. And I always had someone to talk to while I loaded the bags. People just love to come talk about the truck.
I decided to finish the day with a car show. Its the first one I have ever brought my own car to. The truck ran good all the way there but I barely limped home. I need a new battery.
What a way to finish a day at a car show. Good to hear you got home okay and did you get a lot of people stopping by to gab? Charles
Oh yeah. Lots of people wanted to chat. When I was trying to get it running one guy had to stop me to tell me about how he used to borrow his dad's truck like it in high school and go get drunk.
Root, Glad to see you made it to the Anoka River Run! I love I that show and am there quite often but had other,things I had to do tonight. I would have liked to see your truck. Maybe next time huh? Jim
That would be great Jim. I'm hoping to make it out next weekend if I can get the charging system squared away. This week was my first time there. I moved to Coon Rapids in December so I'm just starting to find the local shows.
Best Birthday Ever!? Sounds like your birthday couldn't have gone much better! (Except for the trip home, but hey~ you made it!) Great job on your dad's truck, too!
Well I'm hoping to pick everybody's brains today. I put the 6 volt battery on my 12 volt charger because its all I had. I left it on the 2 amp trickle charge to be safe and it took a charge. I sat it in the truck and she fired right up. So the battery may be old but it appears to be working. I looked at amp gauge and it was right in the middle, no charge and no draw. I flipped on the head lights and the needle dropped to the minus side (about half way). I know the generator won't charge at idle but when I was limping home the other day it was the same. I had the RPMs up and the needle was half way down the negative side with the headlights on. I turned the headlights off and it went back to the middle, no charge and no draw. I am starting to think my charging system isn't working. Where would be the most likely place to start looking? How can I test the generator if it need to be going down the road to charge? Can I just have the wife rev it up while I check it? Thanks Guys.
Great to see another Minnesotan driving the classics. Hope you get your charging system figured out. Great looking truck.
Root, Are you going to make it to Anoka tonight? I'm planning on it. Lets hope and pray that the rain stays away till late. Mark, What part of southern MN are you from? I have relatives in Owatonna, Blooming Prairie and Geneva. Spent many summers as a kid working on my Uncles dairy farm in Blooming Prairie. Jim
Mark, I've been following your progress on here too. It looks like you and I are in close to the same stage of our projects. You know, where they drive and break. I hope you get your motor figured out. I've started pricing my suspension and motor parts so hopefully soon I can start building my other frame up. Jim, Yeah I am thinking about coming. It will be dependent on the weather since my wipers don't work yet and my wife didn't like to cold wind last time. We have a few other fish to fry today too so there is a chance I won't make it but I hope to.
Jim I'm just west of Faribault about 12 miles. Root, thanks. The trip last Sunday went from extreme happy to disappointment. Was fortunate that no other internal damage occurred. I'm really anxious to get it back on the road as a daily driver to work and back. I've had so many people ask me what color I'll be painting it? LOL they didn't understand the bare metal look.
Great Read Well Guys, Great post and great informative read, beer in one hand and mouse in the other, kick back and just checked out each post, I never get tired of reading post at this site.
Steve, Thanks for following my thread. Well everyone, the verdict is in. I have 6 volts at the battery and on 1 side of the regulator. With the RPMs up I have 0 volts on the other side of the regulator and 0 volts at the generator. So I'm thinking its the generator. It makes sense that there had to be something wrong with this truck. After a tune up and a brake job its just runs too well so now I think I know why it may have been put out to pasture some 30 years ago. Back then it probably wasn't worth fixing. Anyway, I think I'll pull the generator and take it in to get tested. Since the 216 is temporary I don't want to throw what little money I have at it. Are there any cheap ways to rebuild it?
I made it out to the Anoka show again today and met Jim. If its not one thing its another. On my way there I hit a pot hole and my door flew open. I think it might be time for those modern latches so many of you have. When I got there my brakes were dragging so bad my drums were too hot to touch. I had no fluid leaks so my only guess is that maybe my pedal stuck and I didn't notice it. As the system cooled down I had less and less brake but atleast the brakes were released. I spoke with my dad and he said that if the brakes got hot enough they could have gotten air in them as they cooled. On the way home I had little to no brake but if I wanted any brake I have to pump them up. I will have to top off the master cylinder and bleed the brakes and see whats up then. I'm also going to take Jim's advice and try and clean the brushes on my generator to see if I can save it. Jim, thanks for tracking me down when I got there. I appreciated your help with my truck and I enjoyed visiting with you.
Greg glad you made it home alright. It was nice to meet another fellow trucker! You have a great start there on your truck. It just takes a while to work all the bugs out of these 60+ old trucks. But at least you can drive it while you work on it, it helps to keep you motivated. You will get it all worked out it just takes a little time. Hope to see you again soon. Jim
Door Latches = SAFETY !! The original door latches are fine , as long as you make sure the hinges are not worn out and the latch must be removed and cleaned , de greased (the old grease will be dead black ans rock hard) then properly re greased with long fiber grease like white Lithium or War Surplus Lubriplate or dust proof Gun Grease , then you can re - install them and re adjust so they close easily with no slamming . At this point you may need N.O.S. door latches , Joe , AKA Mother Trucker right here in this list , sells original GM AD door latches cheaper than the Trique ones and they're easier to install to boot . I assume you've already installed and use , seat belts ? .
Sadly no. I spent this weekend up in Ely bass fishing and all week I had some other house projects that were taking my time. My dad is coming to town next weekend for back to the 50's so I probably won't get much done then either. I should have time to start some work on the truck next week.
Progress was attempted but ended with a huge FAIL.... I took the generator apart like you suggested and unfortunately a brush broke loose and damaged the armature. Its not fixable. This weekend I am going to ask my uncle if I can have the 12v generator and regulator off of his 57 chevy he is building since he plans to use an alternator anyway. If that falls through so you have a 6volt generator in that parts bin you told me about? I know a lot of you are thinking that I should take the time to switch to an alternator. If I had a free one I might do that. I don't plan on throwing any money at it if I can help it.
