1950 3600 Tow Truck"Little bit of FrankenTruck"
Long time reader, but thought I'd share what we've been working on.
Bought this 1950 3600 tow truck last January on a whim. I've always wanted a tow truck and my wife loves AD Chevys, so it seemed like a good opportunity.
It turns out it was grossly misrepresented and, instead of something that "runs and drives great!" we got a fairly substantial project.
Nevertheless, the big guy has a lot of appeal and we've finally got it somewhat into shape. We've rebuilt the brakes, installed new kingpins, new gas tank, reupholstered the seat. We added weather seals on the doors, a new exhaust system, new wiring harness, new carburetor, and probably a bunch of other stuff I'm forgetting.
We also added accessories and tools in the bed and some decals to give it a more authentic look, and I even found a 1950s CB radio that I installed under the dash (non-functional, but it looks the part).
The engine is a bit of a Frankenstein, with a '58 235 block and a later 261 head. But it runs great. I also don't know if it started life as a dually or how it was converted, but it seems to have a standard front end, albeit with 8-lug hubs. So I'm guessing that it started as a single wheel.
Today, it runs great and drives pretty well, although the front end has a pretty good shimmy that we're going to have to sort out. The valves are a little noisy, and the speedo reads about half speed.
I have to admit the big guy is a lot of fun to drive and I like the big stupid thing more than I should. Sure, it's rusty in the usual spots, the paint is worn and chipped, and it's plenty scruffy, but who wants one of these in perfect condition? I'd argue that the way it sits today is the way it wants to be -- it was made to work and it looks like it's good at its job.
Guess I'll start reading about rebuilding the steering.
Thanks for the welcome!
