The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre '46 Kansas 1 1/2 ton in the family since new!

I've just gotten started on a restoration of my 1946.1 farm truck, so finding this forum has been a great help so far. Good to have the ability to contact others who have so much experience and advice.

Now..a few words about my truck.. In the spring of 1947, I recall my Dad returning to our farm home in Western KS., driving a shiny red with black fenders, 1 1/2 ton grain truck. It was fitted with a combination grain bed / stock rack and, because of the limited production during the War, it had been a long wait until his name came up on the list and the truck was available. It was purchased from the Pembleton Motor Co. in Hill City, KS and had a grain box from the Giant Mfg. Co. of Council Bluffs, IA. I was 8 years old then and rode in the truck many times until I was old enough to drive it....and then made many, many trips to the local elevator with a load of wheat..in those days, having 175 bushels or so, was a big load. A far cry from a semi now that can haul about 10 times that much.

So for about the next 30 or so years, the Chevy...which was a '46 in appearance, but had been built in '47 and titled as such, was used for hauling cattle to market and grain to the elevator. In about 1975, it had been replaced by a Kenworth....(!) semi and my Dad gave me the Chevy... We brought it to Topeka and used it for several projects, helping friend move, etc. After a few years of this, Life Happened and we put the truck in storage...where it has been until about 3 weeks ago...!! I'd always had the desire to someday get it out and running again...and NOW....is the time...!!

Even though it has been in covered and dark conditions for the past 30 or so years, as you all know, it was not ready to come to life again without some care. I decided that I'd have the shop that has done our maintenance of our cars the "opportunity" to restore the mechanics of this truck. I knew that it should have new belts, hoses, battery, fluids, etc., so with that in mind, I called a local wrecker company to pull it from the storage and haul it to the shop.

The first...and Very serious problem I faced...was finding the ignition key for it...!! Yes...somehow over the last 30 years, I'd lost track of it. We have a key locker and I looked in it several times, hoping that it would magically appear...but...no luck.!! I assumed that in the mid 40's, the ignition, door (right side only is keyed) and the glove box all were keyed the same...so I removed the lock from the glove box and headed to the local locksmith. They were able to 'pick' the lock and make a new key for the glove box...and I thought we were home free at that point.. Guess what? No such luck.. We did figure at that point that the ignition and door lock were the same, but different from the glove box.. The next barrier was the "Clutch Head" screws that held the door panel on....I tried several likely sources here in Topeka, and only a few of them even knew what I was talking about. Most of them wanted to direct me to the section of the store that had actual Clutches...not even close to what I needed. It was at that point that I called Jim Carter's in KC, found out that they stocked these rare tools and a few days later, made the trip there...lucky to live only about 75 miles from this great source of vintage truck parts...returned to Topeka, removed the door panel, unclipped the lock, back to the locksmith, this time there was a code on the lock, so just a few minutes later I had a new key in my hand. Will this one work? Back to the shop, tried it with all of my fingers crossed...and...YEA...success..! A major hurdle overcome...and a huge sigh of relief..!

The guys in the shop are working on this as they have time between other repair jobs, so I really have no idea how long it might take to get to the point where the truck is in condition to run. I have the title to it, am working on getting insurance and an "Antique" tag, but not there yet..

I was very surprised yesterday when I got a call from the shop and, since they know that we go to KC about once a week for a grandkid visit, they asked if I would again make a stop at Jim Carter's and pick up a new fuel pump and carb rebuild kit....and....oh YES...they said that they already had it running...!! So far just for a few minutes, but great progress up to this point....I am thrilled...! There is still plenty of work left..brakes, seat covers, etc. but the basic truck is in wonderful condition. There is no rust on the body, all of the parts are there, the tires hold air...the engine is a newer 235 engine, so no worries about the less reliable original engine, which died after about 25 years of service...not bad for one of those, I understand.

After the mechanicals are finished, it's off to the paint shop, new seat covers and a few other details, such as West Coast Mirrors...on the farm we rarely had the need to see behind us...but I want it to be totally safe now...seat belts are also on the "To-do" list...

That pretty much brings things up to date now. I know I've run on quite a bit, but I've read other narratives that are a LOT longer....so that's MY excuse for being long winded...!

I'll be posting a few questions on the Big Bolt section in a few days...if you think some of those might be about obtaining tires for this truck, you are totally correct..!

Thanks again to those whose posts have already come in helpful and for your patience reading all of this...

-30-

[Grins]

Welcome kskarma --- and what a great tale! darn few survivors that have been in one family all those many years. Glad to hear it is still so well regarded by you folks.

All we need now are some pictures! And there's bound to be a few in a family album somewhere from her younger days.

Welcome kskarma, great story. Not often that one sees a truck in the same family for that many years. It's always better to store the truck than sell it for next to nothing.

I'm sure there is plenty left to do, but by asking here on the site, you should be able to figure everything out. Good luck with it.

Leo

Always good to have a family heirloom--and a Big Bolt besides!! It doesn't get any better than that! Welcome to the Bolt!

I was going to invite you over to the Big Bolt forum, but you already know about it. See you over there!

You're in luck! Find the nearest MFA, they have the tires you want (Power King 7.50x20) at the best price you'll find.

Thanks for your responses and suggestions... When we got the truck, the photo 'craze' then was for home movies...8mm was super popular, so the 46 Chevy stars in quite a few of those....most of them in the wheat harvest fields, but at other places as well. I'll have to see if I can get some "video captures" from a few of the old movies, thanks for the request...but be patient...!

And...Drydock...I just sent a request to MFA about the availability of those tires...and 7.00x20 for the front ones to MFA... A few days ago I saw a reference to them for these tires..maybe that was yours?? It said they would charge $10 per tire...or a 6pack of beverage..! I live about 80 miles from the nearest MFA store, so I could probably get there on the current tires...with my fingers crossed..! (FYI, I am in Topeka..)

If I could get new...and SAFE tires for around a $1000, I'd be very happy...we shall see...

Progress update...stopped at the shop this morning and they were all sitting in the office....listening to the '46 Chevy idling in the bay just outside their door....darn sweet to hear that sound again...! The floor pan is out, the hood is off, so all of the 'innards' are on display. It now has a new coil, oil pump, rebuilt carb and the brakes will be the next item.

Well, that's what the MFA in Meta charges me! They will not have the 7.00 by 20, That size will require a specialty supplier if you insist.

They will have the 7.50x20 and the 8.25x20. I use 7.50x20 all around on my 45. Price for those has been $180 apiece, includes the Flap, tube separate. You will find that is a very good price indeed for these tires, mine have been excellent.

You can always start out with 4, get the last two later. Do you have the 2 speed rear end?

Thanks for the updated info... I might be closer to Nebraska Tires and I think they carry the same tire line...so I'll have to shop around. I sent an eMail to MFA a few days ago but no response so far.

Your suggestion about using 2 of the tires I currently have is a good one. The tires that are on the truck must be in fairly good condition as they all still had air in them after being in storage for a quarter century...!! They were low but after I aired them up about a month ago, they seem to hold pressure just fine. The storage unit is dark so there is no damage from being in the sun, just the many years of age is my concern.

I have given some thought to putting new tubes in the old tires since that is where the air is kept..!!! I do want to make sure that whatever I do is as safe as possible. I will not be carrying a full load of wheat on this truck, so it won't have the 12,000# loads that it did when it was active on the farm. We use a Kenworth semi for that now, but I don't want to take any unsafe shortcuts either. So your suggestion about putting 2 new ones on the rear along with the 2 best old ones is worth some thought... I think I need to check with a reliable tire shop to get their advice as well..

And finally, no to the 2-speed axle, it has the 4 speed and my wife and I love to "double clutch" this classic truck...!

Hey karma, it's fine to start out in the welcome centre, but eventually, you need to ask the technical questions in the appropriate forums. This is to your advantage, more people are in the other areas, including some real experts.

Leo

Yep...I understand this is more of a "Howdy" site...and just FYI, I do have some questions posted in the Big Bolts section...
It's great to have so many people with experience and helpful suggestions all over the site.

I assume you are one of the mods...or admins...so thanks for keeping things running here and maintaining some level of order...!! All of this has been a LOT of help so far...my "project" is really moving along.

kskarma, welcome to the bolt. I think you'll find this to be the best site on the web with tons of knowledge and great folks....and as mentioned ask questions in the most appropriate forum for maximum results. You won't be disappointed. There is lots here. Check out the links, tech tips, gallery ect.