1949 Chevy 3600......making it a daily driver!!

Tailgate Bench

Very good ! .

I had two I was going to makeinto a folding bench on the inside wall of my back yard but I never have visitors so I abandoned the project .

I was going to use chains on the bottom part so I could fold it up and out of the way when not in use...

 

Still tinkering.....a little here and a little there.

We have plates and I have submitted for insurance.....should be back from underwritting in a week or so.



12v conversion is complete. All bulbs have been replaced and functional except the blinkers. The sockets are shot and I am thinking the relay is as well.

 

De - Rusting Bulb Sockets

Mix up some Citric Acid Powder and water , soak 'em , brush a bit with an old toothbrush and marvel at how they're shiny clean bare metal again .

Rinse in Baking Soda & Water to prevent re rusting , paint the backside and reflector with gloss white Rustoleum paint and lightly grease the bulb bases , they'll work fine .

 

Thanks......I will give it a shot!!

 

please forgive me but, how the hell can you sleep knowing that she is sat out in the snow ? It would kill me to see such a beautifull truck in the snow

 

She is stricktly an outside ride....My garage is full of other people's rides!


If I treat her too well, she might not know how to act.

 

Henry made his maiden voyage tonight. Not even sure where to start.

Seems to run good although thre is a learnin curve to this 4 speed with the 4.56 gears. If leaving from a stop sign and turning, 2nd runs out of steam about 1/2 way through the corner and a shift to 3rd requires some skills.

I am getting some weird whirring noise intermittently. Guessing it is the speedo cable.

Rattle and vibrates like crazy. Both door latches are shot... which contributes to this greatly!

Fair amount of steering play.....more than I would like. How do I adjust that. The ball joints all seemed good.

Brakes are scary. Pulls to the left and feels vague. I am parking it until I decide how to proceed.

Upgraded drums? Discs? Kit or fab myself?

 

I had similar issues. My steering was way too loose too. Pull your drivers wheel and behind it is the stearing linkage. On the end on one part is an adjustment screw that will help tighten it up alot. (Sorry guys I don't know part names I just figure it out as I go) That worked for me.


Edit
http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1948_51truck/51ctsm0304.htm

Steering conecting rod... I looked it up.

 

Test Drive !

YAY ! .

In normal use , you don't use the 1st gear , it is only used to move the truck at a walking pace in the fields when loading hay etc. , or for pulling the loaded truck up a steep loading ramp . (yanking out stumps and puling down old barns too but I digress)

If Henry (good name !) is older than 1951 , there are two brake adjusters per wheel and they're prolly mis adjusted .

The adjusters will be up top of the brake backing plate , I prefer to use a stubby flat blade screwdriver on AD brakes , jack up the corner of the truck and safely support it then scrootch underneath with your flashlight and screwdriver , find the narow adjustment slots and peer in until you see the star shaped adjuster , you want to unscrew it off the bolt you can't see so turn it bit by bit as you rotate the wheel , in time you'll hear the brake shoe begin making a " sh , sh " sound as it comes into adjustment with the brake drum , this is correct , you don't want the brake shoes to drag , just barely touch , then more on to the other adjuster on the same wheel , adjust to the same sound then move on to the next wheel ~

With all the jacking up and placing of safety stands etc. , this first time will take a long time and seem difficult but you'll soon get it and be able to adjust all four wheels in 20 minutes tops .

As YOUR LIFE depends on the brakes , take the time to do this right , no worries , it isn't difficult and you'll do a better job than the boob down to the local Garage because you care and won't be rushed .

After adjusting all four wheels brakes , sweep out the cab then pry out the round rubber disc covering the master cylinder , wipe , brush the crud & road grime off the top of the master cylinder then remove the cap (it screws in , I use a shortie Crescent Wrench here) and peer in ~ the fluid level should be within 1/4" of the cap's threads ~ if not , go buy some DOT 3 or DOT 4 brake fluid and top it up .

I assume the brake pedal has a healthy return spring that returns the brake pedal to the toe board with a " thump " ? if not , STOP and go find a long spring (the longer the better) and attach it to the bottom of the brake pedal then use welding rod (or coat hanger) bent up to hook it well forward on the frame ~ if the brake pedal doesn't return to the toe board smartly , your brakes CANNOT WORK PROPERLY so do these things here and no skipping any steps ~ AD brakes were adequate , never more so how you maintain them is very important .

If you wind up replacing the shoes etc. , DO NOT let anyone talk you into turning , ' trueing up ' or machining the brake drums ! .

 

As for the bumps and rattles, you probably need to do a complete weatherstrip exchange to take out the drafts and door/ window rattles. Sweep out the old .22 shells......EVERY old truck has some of these.....and any old hardware, nut shells, and rusty forgotten sockets. I found a big crecent wrench in the 50 I built. These things add to the history of the truck, and the various rattles, bumps and shimmies.

A bulk kit of Hushmat will work wonders for the sound reduction in that truck.

Slide under the truck with it on the ground and have someone rock the steering wheel back and forth. look at all the joints to determine wheather the play is in any steering components or just the steering box. If there is no movement in any joints, there is a big nut on the steering box with a stud with a flathead slot in it. Loosen the nut, then tighten the stud with a flathead screwdriver ntil the pull on the wheel is in spec.s.....look in the truck manual for this. Now tighten up the nut while holding the stud in place.

These trucks have very easy steering when properly adjusted, the 53 felt like it had lots of play, but the tires moved as soon as you turned the wheel.

 

Thanks for the input guys.

I am seriously thinking on upgrading to discs on the front, just trying to decide if I want a kit, or to buy it all piece by piece.....or maybe find a truck getting parted.

 

I bought a whole axle with the disc brakes already installed for $80, then traded it for an engine.

 

Grrrrrr. Some guys have all the luck.

 

Not much forward progress lately. The weather and other activities has slowed the project.

I got the tank back from the radiator shop. Clean as a whistle and ready to install. I bought a new level sensor as well.

Spent a little bit of time on Friday cleaning up behind the seat and prepping for the tank to be installed.



I am covering the back wall and floor with Peel & Seal as a cheap alternative to Dynamat.



I bit the bullet and ordered a front disc brake conversion kit this past weekend. Speedway had a "Free Freight" Black Friday sale that I took advanatage of.

http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Deluxe-Disc-...ickup,4622.html

 

3/4 ton or for a 1/2 ton?

 

The brake kit is a 5 bolt kit. I plan on putting it on a 1/2 ton dropped axle and mating it to a 5 bolt rear end.

 

Thanks that should make one smooth ride. Thanks

 

I sure hope so. Thanks!!

 

Brake kit came today!!