Yes, that is my truck,"Old Gabe". It has been completely disassembled for the last 30+ years. When I brought it home I had big plans for it. I took it apart and started by blasting and painting the frame, and the belly side of all the sheet metal. It was about then when I decided to get married. That's when Old Gabe took a back seat. I did do my best to care for the parts. I made sure no further harm came to what I had. The frame had suffered a very hard life. It had been lengthened, gussets added, and a lot of welded up splits. The spring mounts had all been welded to the frame. Rust had bowed the side plates. It looked bad. (Fast forward 30 yrs and another marriage).
I have tried to restart my restoration a few times, but that frame always bothered me. Heck, I had blasted, painted, replaced all of the bearings, brakes, king pins, the works. It still bothered me. A few years ago I happened to see an ad of FBMarket place. A 46 two ton frame complete with running gear, no sheet metal. It also suffered the side plate rust issue, but was in a lot better shape than mine. It was also a 160" wheel base, which meant I could shorten it to 134.5" and get rid of some of the problem. It also has a running 216cu.in. engine, and a single speed rear.
So, it's going to take some time to really get started, but this time, I am committed. It's very satisfying just to know exactly what I have.
My goal is the make it into a nice two ton pickup. A toy to enjoy after retirement.
Stan
