This a little recap since I have originally started this thread back in June 2020.
"Getting started"This is my 1946 Chevy truck that's original (no LS swap). I purchased it in May 2020, and I'm desperately trying to get it on the road before Frog Follies (August 2025).
I lost several of my pictures during a phone update, but I'll share what I have. This is our second (and last) vehicle restoration (the first being my husband's 1968 Camaro, from high school), and we're piecing things together as we go.
My 216 Babbit was seized, and had a busted oil tube. I replaced it with a 235 (261, it had "captain bars"), and it runs great. There was a PTO shaft with an "air blast elevator" that we went through, and the transmission has been reworked.
I'm converting it from 6v to 12v, and we just started laying the wiring harness out yesterday. I'm going to hook the heater up again but I'm not sure how we should go about it. I'd like it to be functional.
I just left my windshield crank to a friend to see if he could 3D print another. I've been told by multiple people that it's WWII vehicle-specific, and I've found exactly zero like it online. Regardless of the authentication of it I want to reproduce it because it's what 'he' came with.
I swapped-out the odometer with a friend's so it was both period original and functional. It needs rewired, and probably gone through, but I'm not willing to send it off to some name in a magazine. It's 100% 1940's parts, down to the clutch head screws, and I've heard too many horror stories of instrument clusters coming back repainted with new, shiny hardware.
My steering wheel and shaft had issues. Bruno was an old farm truck from Kansas, and they fitted parts and pieces to keep him functional for as long as possible. The steering box was partially busted so they somehow flipped it, cut and bent the metal tube that the rod from the box to the steering wheel slides through (I don't know the technical name of it), and added 3-4 large washers where the horn should be to make the steering wheel the height (inside the cab) that they needed. The steering box is sorted, but I'll need to repair the tube or replace it, and then figure out the horn. Also, the steering wheel is in OK shape, but it needs to be refurbished... Something I'm going to have to research.
I'm working on a "buy a little bit as we go" budget, we're not wealthy, we're not retirement age, we're not professionals, and we have maybe a half a day a week to devote to the restoration of my truck. I still need to figure out the battery's new home, turn the driving lights into turn signals, add a second brake light and two rear turn signals, put the floor of the cab back together, get new tires, and finish the wiring harness.
I think that's it, for now. Any advice on the steering 'tube', steering wheel restoration, heater restoration, and instrument cluster fine-tuning would be greatly appreciated! Other than that, I'm well on my way to finally driving my truck after owning it for 4.5 years.
