Everything I read, "they" say that 16"wheels were standard on AD trucks and 15" were optional. I'm rebuilding a '50 that has the original 15" wheels. I've got a '51 parts truck with 15" wheels. I've got a '52 panel truck with 15" wheels. They were all assembled in St. Louis, Mo. and originally sold in west Tennessee according to the titles. What are the odds? I'd love to know if all AD's built in St. Louis had 15" wheels or did i just get an odd lot. More importantly, does anybody have any 16" wheels they'd want to sell or trade?
Ha, Ken all the trucks I have seen around here have 16 inch wheels only. I have 3 16 inch wheels in excellent shape with the original wheel cover clips still attached. Have been looking hard to 2 more wheels have had no luck. Let's put the word out need 6 wheels total. I know a lot of guy's state they are around out west just sitting in piles but I have not had any luck finding them. Maybe Nate & Jon can wrap some up for Christmas for us ? Steve
Good Question Ken ; I'd think the wheels were swapped in the 60's when used 15" wheels with good tires were extremely cheap and these were just old trucks . It's a rare thing to find an ex - work truck with 4 much less 5 matching wheels If you like 15" wheels (many do) go with them . If you want to go a bit faster on the highway , you'll need to gwt the largest diameter tires you can , I don't know if they make 15" tires as large around as they do 16" ones.....?
piles of wheels i haven't found any giant piles of wheels yet, but i'll keep looking. there are plenty of old trucks out here, though, if you want the whole kit-n-kaboodle. come on down, and well have a corona while you guys help me cut out and replace sheet metal, then i'll show you where to find the good stuff!! jon
Visiting Jon ; You shoulda said something last month when I drove through New Mexico as I like to meet & greet other old truck / car / moto enthusiasts whenever I can . I don't know how to weld tho' , mores the pity as I need the floor in my old Mercedes replaced...
that makes 2 of us!! yeah, i don't know how to weld either. i was hoping some kind soul would come down and grace me with their welding expertise. anyway, the invitation is still open to everyone!!! i'd love to swap stories with you guys! jon
The best advice I can give on welding is to just buy a good mig welder and get some scrap sheet metal and start welding. It's really not that hard if you're a quick learner. Make sure that you get a automatic darkening hood with a wide screen, good leather welding gloves and wear long sleeves so you don't get flash burnt. I just learn how to weld myself and I started learning on my old truck. Really just give it a shot, you guys seem pretty smart so I think you could do it.
True!!! A former life I was a welder and grunt in a structural steel fabricating shop. Grunt meaning you manhandled steel I-beams all day long (hence all the grunting). Learned to stick weld big chunks of steel pretty well back then. Tried a mig a few years back and was amazed at how easy it was compared to the high heat, high output stick welding. Doesn't take much practice with a good mig welder to become fairly competent at it. Besides, when you get it close enough, the bondo hides how bad you really are anyway. Can't believe that Nate doesn't know how to weld!!! SAY IT AIN'T SO!!!! Andy
OK guys, the last time i welded something was in 1973 in college and i used a "state of the art" Lincoln arc welder. I've heard of MIG and TIG but have never used them. I have access now to a Blackhawk MIG welder. For a "gorilla" welder like me, is it easy to use (MIG) or am i setting myself up for heartache? Input por favor!
Mig Baby, that's the easiest kind of welding. It's almost fun, and if I can do it... anybody can. Now my wifes uncle on the otherhand was welding a few years back and just goin to town. Got all through, took his helment off to inspect his work and had completly welded his hammer to the work table, thought it was the metal part he was working on. Really, it's easy, clean and relativly fast. Has a lot less heat build up and if you will skip space on the metal it will help prevent warping. Try it, you'll like it... TB'sD
Any Welders In L.A. ? I'd love to pay someone to do some welding on my daily driver Mercedes , it's not a show car and all the welding needed is in the floors anyway . True , I never learned to weld ~ it kinda scares me to be truthful . I remember working in Covey's Bondo Emporium when the salesman came in and fished a beercan (!Coors!) out of the scrap bin and proceded to weld it ~ we all just fell out , never saw anything like that before , of course old man Covey sprung for this newfangled " MIG " welder thingamajig right away..... all the body guys opicked it up in a day or so but I had more clutches , trannies and engines than I'll ever get done so no need to learn this welding , I might burn myself again too that was what ? 25 years ago ? Seriously , I've always traded mechanical work for welding but now I don't have acess to any cheap/free welders so guys......
Ken, I'm in the same boat. I hadn't welded since about 1980 and that was with a Lincoln stick. I just bought a Lincoln 135 plus. The plus means that the dials are reostats and you get the full range of wire feed and heat. It's a 110 unit and I bought a bottle of argon/CO2. I had a friend come over and show me how. That beat a class at the junior college. Now I'm patchin and fillin everything. It's pretty cool. All told I spent just over a grand on welder, tank, gas, helmut and cart. I bought some sheet metal at the Farm & Fleet. It's working out great. A few other tools that I wouldn't be without is an angle die grinder, Ingersoll Rand, pneumatic and the 3m roloc attachment with various grit grinders (3"). Jon alias Jcrew. ('50 3100)
Hey Jon, welcome to the site and thanks for the input. Funny you should mention a class at the junior college. I was looking into that this afternoon at work. Maybe i'll just get out there and play with it (on something i don't care to keep).
http://cgi.ebay.com/LINCOLN-POWER-M...QQihZ003QQcategoryZ113743QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Check out this welder Ken and Nate. I have used this exact same model at work and it works great. Lincoln or Miller are the best two brands out. This particular welder comes with everything except the argon/CO2 tank. Even comes with a how to DVD. It really is easy to weld with a Mig. Like I said before get a self darkening hood and good leather gloves and go weld on those trucks.
Hey Kevin, i was checking out the Northern Tool catalog today and saw the very hood you've got. Flames, right? What do you think of Blackhawk MIG welders? Got access to one is the reason I'm asking.
The hood I wanted was in the shape of a skull and was red. My wife told me I shouldn't try and look like the devil, so I bought the one with flames. I couldn't have just any ordinary hood, that's just not my style. I like the hood a lot and it wasn't that expensive. As far as the blackhawk mig welder, like I was told a welder is a welder, as long as it gets the job done. The one I have is called Firepower. It is a sister company to Lincoln. You'll find out some of the off brands are made by either Lincoln or Miller. Ken if that welder works for you then by all means use it. Just practice a little with some thin sheet metal before starting on the truck. This is usually what most have problems with. The thin stuff will burn pretty easy, but practice and you'll find your technique.
Luckily (for the truck), it won't need my "soon to be acquired" welding expertise. But one of my running boards will. After spending several hours cleaning, sandblasting etc. etc., all i could say was "Well looky here, where did you come from Mr. 5" *&^%$##% crack!"
Yeah , I know a few guys who have those . I'm not going to learn how to weld at this late date . -Nate
