Hi Folks,
Wanted to say hello and introduce myself and my old chunk of iron. Been lurking about getting all kinds of great info from you guys so thought I oughta show you all what I've been hiding. Hope you like it.
My name is Tony and I live in Northern California at the 4000 ft level of the Sierra. My truck, which I've always referred to as "Bigtruck" (although not so big after checking out some other rides around here) is a military 1942 Chevrolet G-506 (Panel). The G-506 refers to the 1 1/2 ton 4x4 trucks made by Chevy that came in various configurations starting in Aug. 1941. I'm Not sure when they stopped producing them. They share axles and "closed cabs" with the much celebrated GMC 6x6 CCKW (G-508) that was also very common in WW2. BTW, a great place with photos of these trucks is at
www.vehiclesofvictory.com I aquired this rig way back in '77. I saw it parked on a main road in the East Bay (SF area) with a "for sale" sign on it and I just had to get it. Very big, panel truck, 4x4, and just too cool. So we worked out a deal and she's been in my custody ever since. The powertrain worked very well and all I had to do was get the braking system in order which allowed me to have a lot of fun Booniewhompin in our local hills and mudholes. What fun! Well, here we are still after all of these years. As you can see by the pictures, father time has had his way with this old girl. But I've been working on her. Just last year I installed newly sleeved master and wheel cylinders along with a rebuilt Hydrovac and all new brakelines. The engine and the rest of the powertrain appear to be strong but it's been many years since she's hit the road, so we'll see how that will go, hopefully soon. Just two weeks ago I procured 4 "like new" tires (7.50x20), but hit a bit of a snag when I had the existing wheels taken apart. There is quite a bit of rust (who woulda thought?) inside the rim and my local tire fellas backed out. After careful cleaning I think the rims are ok, as the mating surfaces of the lockring and rim appear to have good integrity. More on that in another forum (except to say thanks for your "tech tip" on tires and wheels. Very informative.).
So that's it. I would love to hear any feedback or questions in regard to this truck, or these types of trucks and related issues. Fantastic site! Thanks so much.
Tony
