1947 2-Ton Chevy

	Owned by David Kasler "1947farmer" Bolter # 20170 Ashville, Ohio Join the talk about this truck in the DITY Gallery

More pictures of my old truck

From David :

My 1947 Chevy 2-ton truck was an eBay purchase that came from Minnesota. I decided to have it delivered, so it made the trip riding on the top level of a 55' car carrier. Like many, it wound up being a little worse than anticipated, but overall it wasn't too bad.

Upon arrival it didn't run. So I got it started by pulling it down the road behind my Honda Civic. I had to pull it about a block and a half before it finally fired up. It nearly ended up smashing into the back of my car as my brother found out that the parking brake didn't work as good as we originally thought it would.

We were able to drive it back to the house under its own power, but the engine had to be choked and was misfiring. I tried to adjust it, but it ultimately died then would not restart.

It turned out that the carburetor was half full of water, and it had at least another gallon or more in the tank. I ended up having to clean out the tank three times. I still have to replace my fuel filter every so often. I drove it around for about a year before starting the restoration and eventually finding out the the rear end was hosed.

Every once in a while, when driving while it was cold, I'd be slowing to a stop and you'd hear a pinging in the drive line. Sort of like something was locking up. One time when I hit a pot hole at about 15 mph, the whole drive line locked up for a second.

I checked for problems but the rear end rotated fine. I found that my two drive shafts were only being held together by about 3/4 of shaft. So I assumed this was the causing the noise. I'd just about lost them several times and didn't worry much more about it.

During the restoration, I aimed to paint the frame and axle. Before I did, I thought that I'd replace the last wheel cylinder that hadn't yet started leaking. Well, when I did that I had a hard time getting the axle out and was unable to get it back in. The reason was, the pinging was actually in the rear end. One of my bearings on the carrier had failed. Judging by the silicone and the painted numbers on the one axle, and the wear marks on the carrier that are not on the current axle, it had been like that since before I bought it. I think they may have run it out of oil, lost a bearing and took that axle too. Then they half fixed it with a new axle but didn't fix the bearing. Now I need a carrier a bearing and ring and pinion. But hopefully I'll locate them soon.

Now about the rest of my truck, and the work that I have already done. The engine is a 261 inline 6 out of a 1959 2-ton. I have restored the cab and just about have it all put back together. All of the work I have done myself from patching rust holes, to paint and rewiring. I installed an over-drive unit (controlled by the second shifter in the pictures) that I haven't been able to test due to the failed rear end but hope to give it a spin in the next couple months.

List of work completed:
-replaced both rear cab corners
-replaced front cowl panels (included cut off front door post and reattaching)
-patched holes under windshield rubber
-fixed holes around mounting bolts on fender and inner fenders
-replaced bottom inside of passenger door
-reupholstered seat
-cab was completely dismantled and every part painted.
-installed over drive unit and shifter up to cab
-installed chrome grille bars
-rewired
-removed and reinstalled windows
-painted or replaced all cab trim
-changed front tires

Work left to do:
-paint and install new metal sided bed
-find and fix re-end
-have drive shafts made

I'm getting very anxious to drive it again.

Thanks,

David

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