Lower windshield lip metal looks in great shape as does the dash for not having glass in it: Drivers door, no root on the bottom(Door tag intact and registered off the body serial# not engine): Floor is not in bad shape at all: Right kick panel repaired with plate steel ??? WTF ??? Lower door frame sills may need to be replaced not sure yet:
Left front rear lower fender: Inner cowls will need some work: Cowl bottoms as well: Right lower cowl: Right rear fender rear bottom gone:
Right rear front bottom issues: Passenger door in good shape no rot on door: Passenger shot of floor: Drivers kick plate again with the plate steel patch: Nice factory option on the front bumper (49 bull bars): From my inventory I believe I have everything except the side hood emblems and the original 216, I have a 4-speed original trans that was in the bed. I even have the hub caps for the wheels and the original distributor and air cleaner, go figure, they were all piled in the bed. As expected all 4 cab corners will need to be replaced with patches, good news some of the original items I have but won't use can be cleaned up and sold to buy the panel parts. I also believe this is an early 49 as it appears the headliner was still screwed in instead of floated.
heh no brakes, they have been rebuilt and new lines, but no fluid. The replacement engine is in it but I have no idea yet the condition there's a ton of work on the drivetrain required besides the brakes. It will not be driven for a long while, as I'll repair all the panels then start the frame up restore. I'm thinking of putting in an 84-96 Vette suspension and power plant, a ZR1 405 HP stock if I can find one.
Another note the bondo is suspect, looking on the insides of the fenders does not reveal any bondo, the sand blaster will tell the truth. Right now I'm planing for the worse. 4 cab corners, most likely 4 fenders, Front bed, tailgate (I have it but it's bent to crud), both running boards, inner cowls, most likely outer cowls, toe board, left/right kick panels.
Welcome ! That one actually looks pretty good , if you're a welder you can do this . Lotsa labor but well worth the effort IMO . The current engine is a thinwall from 1963 ~ 1980 . If a Chevy could be a 194 , 230 , 250 or maybe even a rip snorting 292 stroker (yes , a factory stroker truck engine !) . If it's from a '63 ~ 67 Pontiac Tempest , it might be a 215 CID.... All of these thinwall engines are very good indeed and bolt right up to a dazzling array of modern transmissions . @ $2k I think you did O.K. . Please keep us posted , with pictures as you go along .
First of all, I think you did OK, price wise. Thanks for the extensive photographic, walk-around. I feel like I actually walked around it myself! Your cab appears to be in better condition than mine was when I started. Certainly able to be brought back. Your doors are better than mine. I LIKE your plans for driveline, very cool! Many I have found out, on this forum, are NOT hot-rodders, rather pure resto. guys. I WILL, however, be following your progress, if you continue to post. Cool Tow vehicle, by the way. PS If that is a 5GP, on your serial number, it is a 1949 truck, built in Kansas City. "J" means, built in October.
Not bad! It looks like the floor is in pretty good shape where a lot of these are not, in the condition yours is. I know and we all know you are a happy camper right now with all kinds of ideas flashing through your mind! As Nate says, keep us posted with pictures! Good luck!
Old grain truck If you look sometimes you can find old farm trucks the big iron. I found one at Nate's suggestion, sold the front end sheet iron ( it's different) got a cab that was darn near perfect (the same as your truck) and I took the running boards and made patch panels for my rusted boards. The cab on my truck looked like Swiss cheeze. Gauges door parts and a whole lot of other parts are interchangeable. By the time I hauled the scrap I was a couple a $ ahead. Here in NE Kansas big iron can be found pretty cheap unless it's a COE. Papy
50 Chevy, I'm not yet sold on the drivetrain and suspension, still torn in finding an original 216 and keep it classic or go the hotrod route, I have I believe well over 98% of the original parts minus the engine and side hood badges so going back original is a possibility. The only glass I need is the windshield. Your right on the serial it is 5EPJ so late 49 build. I was thinking early 49 due to the fact that the roof trim for the headliner and the roof rib look like it was screwed in. The agreement with my wife to purchase was I wouldn't work on it until I finished off some other projects I have around the house and clean out the garage. I'll continue to post in this thread until I figure out what I'm going to do, I'll create a new thread to contain my rebuild progress later in the year for now I'm in no rush. vwnate, thanks for the information on the engine, the fan spins freely by hand so I think it has possibilities. I do weld as a hobbyist so that part is not daunting to me. zig, thanks. denisf, thanks for your service as well. 51papy, I think I'm half the value right now in spare parts if I decide to hot rod it. I don't want to offend anyone here if I do, I'm just looking for updated safety equipment and quite a bit more ponies under the hood. But I'm still undecided, at the end of the day it will be another save of a classic. I also scored a set of NOS YOM plates, still in the mailing envelope from 49 with the seperating tissue between the plates. A little pricey but for never used mint plates I think $70 was a steal.
It's your truck Build it the way you want it. Your the one that will be driving it and paying for it! There are all kinds on this board. That's what is interesting!
Another dumb question of the day... I'm curious, in the cab interior picture, driver side, behind the steering column, the round thing that looks like some sort of grill, what is it? I know, that is poor sentence structure^, but, what the heck is it?
Now What ? FWIW ; the power to weight ratio of thinwall 6 cylinder engines is very good indeed , the 250 is a real stormer when bone stock and the 292 is a stroker so it has all the grunt you'll ever need for towing and going up hills etc. . That side mount spare , BTW , is a true ' Farm Fix ' : it's the old under bed spare tire carrier cut then mounted to the running board then they hammered the fender to suit , doing a far better job then most . The correct way uses a template , you cut out part of the fender , flip it over & weld it back in.... I know a fellow who decided to make a racing pit / tow rig out of a battered old truck like yours ~ he welded up the cracks and did most body works whilst it was still assembled as he knew all the panels & fenders fit well , then he took it apart to the frame , de rusted and re painted every thing with a high gloss paint , all new bushings , rubber and so on then lettered it . From 50' it looks highly restored but the painted grille bars have the usual wrinkles as do the fenders a little bit . It drives perfectly and he loves it . As said , YOU are footing the bill so if you want a 500 CID Caddy engine , do that .
vwnate, thanks for the info on the tire carrier, I thought it was a farmers special just wasn't sure. I'll have plenty of time to decide on what route I'll take, HP hot rod or pure resto. My next steps now are to fulfill my commitment to my wife and finish off my to do list on the house. The short term plan is to sell this house and get a bit more space to build a shop to restore this beauty. In the mean time between projects I can dream and plan....
How To Proceed There's a lot of wiggle room between Restoration and Hot Rod..... Nothing wrong with a good old Farm Rig as you have a house.....
vwnate, You were spot on in your engine identification. I pulled the block casting# 3833057 and ran it past the interwebs it's a: 3833057 Engine Blocks Inline-6 1962-1970 194 CID, Chevrolet I think original was around 120HP, I've always loved my inline sixer's in my jeeps of the past peace of cake to work on and so forth, so this tiny is still in contention. Looking at modest HP mods for a 194 to get her HP up a bit, if it costs too much to do I'll go with the 350 v-8 swap.
Thinwall i6 Engines It's crunch time ~ That 194 isn't even good for Ag or trash pumps , gensets ~ it's trash . The good news is : 250's abound , bolt right in and have gobs of torque and low fuel sipping manners . Most folks who slap in a (yawn) SBC , get tired of the under 10 MPG foolishness and sell the truck off after a short time . The SBC can be bolted right in too , you can add fuel injection to make it a better driver and so one but it's all up to the guy who's paying the bills . Me , I hate seeing a lot of hard works done then the vehicle just sits due to high fuel con$umption .
