Not mine, but my oldest kid's. He's at Fort Carson, and I'm in northern CA. I do have more spare time than he does, so I've started by reading the entire forum posts, page 1 to page 170 something. He'll show up eventually, but here I go... He found it in a field a while back and bought it as a project for his oldest and himself. He did the brake rebuild first, and then removed the front end to start working on the engine. Diesel has been added, and the rocker cover has been taken off ( I emailed him some of your suggestions). He says it looks good. If the attachments come thru, you'll see that the wiring leaves something to be desired. He emailed me this evening that a continuity tester shows no apparent breaks For a first question, I was wondering what the minimum temporary wiring would consist of to get it running. To whoever answered the "what age are you thread' with "I remember the start of WWII", I remember my dad getting his greetings from the president out of the front porch mailbox (colorful language) ca. 1943/4, and the later parade for VE Day. have at it... Mike Spurgeon
WELCOME, Mike! I'm diggin' the pin striped dash! Makes me want to hear "Low Rider" again! You're a good dad. I can't wait to see the progress on yet another GMC! I know not a thing about wiring, other than I could read the diagram my harness, but I would think it wouldn't take much just to fire that baby up. Good luck, and keep us posted!
It came from the factory with 6v, not 12. Of course that was around 60 years ago, so no telling what happened in the mean time. Check the headlights to see if they are marked as 6v or 12v for a hint to what you should be working towards. If they are 6v the system is most likely still 6v POSITIVE ground. If 12v someone has converted it since 195?. The next question to answer is "does it still has the stomp starter?" It'll make a difference as to minimum wiring necessary to make it start.
Welcome. I also noticed that it has the column shift levers under the hood. Makes me wonder if it was 3 on the tree during it's previous life.
Welcome mike ! Carefully clean the grease off the generator , if the oblong Delco tag is red , it's a 12 volt , if it's black it's a 6 volt . Or , just disconnect the coil's small wires and measure it , 1.6 Ohms : 6 volts , 3 Ohms : 12 volts . Only needs one wire to make run , power to the coil . Drain the old oil first and re fill with the thinnest DINO based oil you can find ~ 10 Weight is *perfect* . Adjust the valves and gap the points to .016" plugs to .035" , drain & refill the tranny with synthetic 85W-90 as they tend to fill with water whilst sitting . The pin stripe on the dashboard is classic !. Don't be surprised if this winds up your truck and son gets a different one he can drive & enjoy sooner .
Zig: second thing I noticed was the pinstripes and the grooves from a steering wheel knob. I believe it was all done at some time past. The PO used oven cleaner on the exterior paint. I don't see much rust, but assume it's there. Flashlight: first thing I noticed was the plate. Truck's in Colorado. A 1949 1/2 ton. Bill: I think it has the stomp starter, but will have to ask. Larry: Third thing I noticed was the four speed. He said it was originally column shift, which the underhood mechanism showed. Nate: good tips. As far as the pinstripes, maybe a bit of soap and water will help the interior quite a lot. I immediately wanted to get an original radio and restore it to get rid if that wire hook on the radio plate. I doubt if the possibility of it ever being mine exists - his oldest is now old enough to drive, so he would be next in line. I hope he's getting grease under his fingernails now. Can't say I'm not interested in the possibility of finding one of my own. I started working in my grandfather's Chevrolet dealership when I was in my middle teens, so a lot is familiar to me. These years of trucks have always been my favorites. If he doesn't show up here soon, I'll bug him a bit, but he's an army Major that does things at his own pace. I'll forward all of this to him today. Thanks much...
Welcome aboard. To start with: Before starting this trucks engine it is adviseable to clean your entire truck and let it dry for a day or so. Check out if the engine turns, if not get advice in what way this engine neads treatment to loosen its pistons. Change engine oil and take the thermostate out , clean out the block water channels using hot water but do not use to much pressure here. You have to be shore that the excisting wires aint bad , its easyer to see when cleaned up if they are so. you can change them out when needed. I `ll recommend to change your entire wiring system wich have color codes and are easy to install.Wire diagrams are availeble on this forum. Our host will gladly help out to. Check the condition of engine assesoires ( starting engine and pedal connector , dynamo or generator , relays inside cabin and blocks under the hood, lights f/r and inside, horn , instruments inside. Clean eveything and check its function! Using an ampmeter/voltsmeter is a good investment. Keep up the good work Martinius
I've suggested, now that the brakes are functional, to slowly tow it to the nearest carwash, (liberally apply Dawn dishwashing detergent before towing), and pressure wash it, preferably while no one is looking...
49 gmc Okay, My dad beat me too it so I have finally joined and can answer questions directly. He posted pictures previously, thanks for the comments about the pin-striped dash! The exterior has some remnants of pin-striping also. I have the interior opened up for cleaning and easier access to the instruments,etc. It does have the 6 volt system still along with the "stomp starter". It was a three speed but was converted to a 4 speed somewhere along the line. The truck was used as a farm truck so almost everything on the dash was disconnected, clipped or capped off decades ago. It was parked in the field in 1999 but nothing done to it since. Rebuilding the brakes I found 5 different springs in the 4 drums. None looked like the "right" size but I took care of that. The master cylinder and wheel cylinders were an easy rebuild. I have pulled most of the external stuff off the engine to clean, inspect and check for serviceability. I will need to replace the valve cover and oil pan gasket, I am rebuilding the carb now. If time allows I will probably try and start it in a couple of weeks. The big question I have now is how do I get a wrench or strap on the crankshaft to turn it manually? The crank has a strange fitting that looks like you could slide a rod (socket extension) through but is is designed to only grip in one way, kind of like screws that can be tightened but not loosened. I will post a pic if no one else has seen this.
Welcome Mike! I chuckled when you said you'd read all 170 +/- threads. That just means that you've scratched the surface! You've got another 4000+ threads in the archives to go! Scroll down to the bottom of any page and in the very lower right hand corner you'll see "archives". Click on it and check out several threads tarted and responded to thru the ages! There's a lot of good resources that we forget about lurking in there! Glad to have you aboard! Ken
threads I didn't say 170 threads, I said 170 plus PAGES of threads. (like where it says Page 1 of 171 when you go to 1947-1954 forum (pages, and some of these threads on these pages contain MORE pages. They went back to 2005. When i go to the archives, they have 4200+ separate titles of threads (and I think I covered most of them), the earliest in 2005. Did I really miss more in the archives?
Crank Starting " Dog " That thing on the nose of your crankshaft , is called a " Starting Dog " and it's a safety device so when the engine starts , the hand crank doesn't spin as fast as the engine as it'd whip around & break your wrist . Just hold the lower pulley in your filthy hands and try to rock it back & forth , once you've made one full 360* rotation , you can use the starter . BTW : it's a PEDAL starter , not a ' stomp ' ~ if you stomp it , you'll soon damage it . Tune it & change the oil , Get it running before you take the oil pan off .
Nate, do you happen to have a hand crank or know where to get one? My engine has the same set up and i think it would be fun to have a crank some day.
