1956 Chevy 1500 Hydraulic Dump Truck

Owned by Dave Betker "1958GMCnut" Bolter # 13827 Richmond, British Columbia Canada

From Dave :

          I saw this truck posted on Stovebolt (by Hotshoe36) and I just had to have it .... the price was right!

          The truck was in Yale, about an hour past 3B's. I made arrangements to see it after the BC 'Bolters Meet. 3B was chagrined to find out that I was going to see it as he also had an eye on it. He wanted me to get it for him if I passed on it.

          Yale is 150 km from my place. I arrived at 4 pm to see it surrounded by sheep. [ Face shot ]

          The history on the truck is that it was used at a Vernon Rendering Plant til it was sold to the farmer who used it well. It hadn't moved in three years. A new battery, reconnect the coil, a little gas down the carb throat and she fired up!

          I disconnected the fuel bowl and had a tin can underneath to catch the old nasty fuel. So she ran for a few seconds -- enough to show she still had life in her.

          Apparently, the clutch slips, the brake pedals are frozen, and the park brake will reduce forward momentum on level ground. It still dumps fine (according to the farmer) and that was good enough for me! [ Rear shot ]

          We pushed it on the trailer with a John Deere articulated loader. We chained her down for the trip home. It was fast approaching dark as I pulled onto the Mountainous Fraser Canyon Highway and I had to go up to come down. The Dodge Cummins got a workout and she towed relatively OK, except the '56 truck should have been 6-12" more forward on the trailer as passing semi's had a habit of inducing a progressively worsening oscillation (sway), corrected only by application of the trailer brakes which straightened everything right out (Indignity of being pulled by a Dodge I expect). We pulled into 3B's after 10 pm to show the prize. He offered to "take her off my hands" for less that I paid for it (imagine that ).  He thought I got a good deal on a complete truck and offered to help out with the odd part pried from his VAST Collection.

          On the way home, I saw a RCMP Cop car in my mirror. As soon as I noticed it, the red and blue lights came on. I signaled to pull onto the shoulder .... but he passed me like I was standing still. He quickly vanished over the next hill ..... Whew!

          I arrived home at midnight to relieve Grandma, who was getting a little worried. We did make it home in one piece!

Specs:

          I also just finished a running restoration on this 1967 Case Backhoe. I am the fourth owner of this backhoe. The second and third owners are in their 80's. << larger image >>

          The backhoe had been sitting since it was rolled over in the 1980's when the third owner bought it to tinker on, as he was into ol' John Deere's. His health went south and I bought it in sad shape, self lubricating in a Exxon Valdez kinda way. I replaced all the hoses, split the tractor to fix the backhoe and controls, did a repaint and rewire and added a few lights.

          Hope you enjoyed the crowd at the Stovebolt Homecoming. The BC 'Bolters were there in spirit. Thanks,

Dave

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