Hello Wayne and Dave- I'm brand new to Stovebolt. Please excuse me if I'm using this useful forum incorrectly....I'll learn as time goes on. I also have a '38 half-ton that I'm doing a ground up restoration. The farther and farther I disassemble the truck the more questions I'm having. I can figure out most problems. I'm amazed at what previous owners of my old truck did to it. Strange bits welded on where they don't belong... Odd body parts that I don't know if they belong or don't.. Body parts so terribly rusted that I don't know their original shape....and a frame so terribly rusted that I sometimes suspect my old truck was stored for a few years on the bottom of a pond. But I love this old truck and am prepared to spend my weekends for the next few years grafting/welding in new steel, drilling and tapping, grinding and media-blasting, etc.
And now my questions please:
1.) Does anyone know if there is any resource site that will show how the body parts look? I can weld on new metal to match the same as the old rusted off edges and screw/bolt hole areas if I knew what the parts actually are supposed to look like. I've checked the GM heritage site, Jim Carter, Fisher body archives, etc. with little success. Someone must have this info because I see such lovingly restored 38 trucks.
2.) A source of a replacement frame for my '38? ... When I took everything off to the bare chassis I saw the full extent of the terrible rust and old bent metal. I could have welded/grafted in new steel but an old huge tree changed everything. The heavy winter rain and wind dropped a heavy heavy tree right on top of my frame that was stored in the back of my yard, under a tarp, on 4 jack stands with each wheel 1' off the ground. Now 3 of the wheel are touching the ground even while on their 1' jack stands. The terribly rusted frame is now a even worse contorted pretzel...
Sorry for the long message. Can anyone help? Thanks.
RusTed
