George Wells'

1946 Chevy 1/2-ton


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25 May 2005 Update
From George: 

 

 

 

IT IS FINISHED!

 

 

 

 

      Hi all!

      Well it's been 4 1/2 years and my '46 1/2-ton is finished. (I think.) This has been a fun and sometimes frustrating project. I'm glad all I have to do now is tinker with it. They're never really finished you know.

      Anyway here are some pictures to up date my old entry to the gallery. The truck is now sporting a '57 235 bored 60 over, M4F cam, Fenton exhaust, and Offy dual intake. The 3-speed transmission and drive line are original. I still need to tweak the dual Rochester a little but it runs very well.

      I haven't had it on the freeway yet, kind of scared to get out there with all those crazies, if you know what I mean.

      I built the side rails and bed from Philippine mahogany because the color went with the color of the truck better than anything else. I also built a trunk out of oak. I had to have somewhere to keep some tools and things so the trunk seemed to be a good choice. The plans for the trunk came from Rockler (a woodworking catalog outfit -- you can order a catalog on-line ~~ Editor). The hardware is also from them. I put in about two months of Saturdays building it. It's not for the beginner but not all that hard to build. It's bolted down using two bolts through the bed strips. Milling the grooves for the bed strips is a snap if you have a table saw. I guess it could be done with a router also. It took a little care to get the bed mounting holes in the right place but the instructions that came from Mar-K were excellent.

      Woodworking is my real hobby; the truck is my mid-life crisis!

      Here are two pictures of my engine. (As requested by some of the Bolters ~~ Editor!)

      These were taken before I put the body on. Tay way you can easily see what I've done.

      I don't know if you noticed, but I put a third brake light in the cross rail just below the back window. My wife said I had to have a third light because the originals are pretty small and with all the traffic around here you really need it. The wiring runs in a grove in the bottom of the top rail and down through the corner post so nothing is showing. It worked out pretty neat, even if I do say so myself.

      It's been a long process and I had to learn everything as I went along, but with the help of my friends on The Stovebolt Page, it all came together. It's been a great journey, and now I can relax and enjoy crusin' around town.

      I'll tell you, without the Stovebolt site, I would still be staring at the truck scratching my head wondering what to do.

      Thanks to everyone.

George Wells
"46forme"
Riverside, CA

      Wow, George, this is GREAT! You've done a super job. It's been wonderful to be part of this process. And definitely -- yes -- go now and enjoy thyself and all the waves, stares and smiles from thy fellowman ... ahhh ... persons, including young ones and animals! Love it! Just love it! ~~ Editor


02 November 2000

From George:

     Enclosed is a picture of my '46 1/2-ton. I bought it from a kid that started the restoration but decided that his wasn't a good vehicle to pick up the girls. This is my first attempt at a restoration job. I'm not a master mechanic by any means, so I have to learn everything as I go.

     It came with the original 216 which ran ok, but I decided to put in a new ('56) 235. right now, I have rebuilt the 235 put in a mild cam, Fenton headers and Offy dual intake. I'm keeping the original transmission (had to learn how to rebuild that, too). I also rewired the whole thing (new painless harness).

     Hopefully, I can get the thing running in the next week or two. Nothing has been done to the body yet. That's a whole new learning process.

     BTW, that's our dog in the front seat. She took an instant liking to the old truck. I can't do anything on it without her right there making sure that I'm doing it right. (Smart dog -- editor)

     Keep up the good work on The Stovebolt Page. It's been a tremendous help to me. Everyone I have contacted from the site has gone out of their way to help.

     Thanks everyone!

George Wells
"46forme"
Riverside, CA


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