The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre Do It Yourself (DITY) Gallery 1951 Chevy 3800 1-Ton :: "This is Howard Knapp from Upstate NY"

HI Everybody

I found this Dec 1952 Kansas City born truck on one of the rat rod sites. The price started out almost twice what I payed for it (no one wanted a 1 ton I guess). The fellow had hauled it from Farmington New Mexico to his place in Indiana so all I had to do was pay his asking price and his fees to ship it out to my place in upstate NY. It last spent time working on a ranch in Farmington. I bought it site unseen which is crazy but it is everything I thought it was going to be. Compared to the upstate NY rot that I am used to...this thing has issues but nothing like what I am used to from the local stuff here...

It is an old smelly farm truck...came complete with numerous bullet holes...(no glass left) I will leave some of them but will also patch a lot of them up...I am told it has a 235 motor, I did find a rebuild tag on it....
I am in the process of getting the 1985 K5 Blazer rear end brakes installed (then some shock mounts too)....then I will start getting the front axle swapped over to a 1/2 ton assembly. I wanna do disc brakes on it, and keep it 6 lug on both ends...
I learn so much from all you guys...every time I log on I learn more...

Hope you guys like Howard Knapp

MikeC

Good luck from a fellow Upstate NY bolter.....Plenty of experience and knowledge available here for the asking....welcome

Dan

Welcome Howard, but try posting the picture links again, they didn't work for me. They took me to the photobucket site, but the page read "Try again-web page requested does not exist" or something very similar.

Mike, for some reason I can't see the pictures. Maybe its just me? Anyway, glad you found Howard. He' be a big help to you.

http://s226.photobucket.com/user/mi...vy%20truck/100_6877_zpsfad7b889.jpg.html

MikeC, who is Howard Knapp?

Do you want to ID the 235 engine, or are you swapping out the engine?

Welcome to Stovebolt.com

I live about 30 miles south of you.

Hi Tim

Howard Knapp (lived in Round Lake NY) owned a similar truck when I was kid...he was a retired farmer...the thing (his truck) used to smoke and rattle down the road..I loved it..

I think Tim you gave the year of the motor when we talked last December. It was a 1958 I think (you told me). Am I swapping it out???...If I do it will be to get it to the local NAPA machine shop to get rebuilt....then it goes back in under the same smelly old truck hood it has been sitting under since it ran down the road...

I have to mention that this is the first project that I don't feel any stress when I work on it....I actually enjoy working on it....I did fiddle with 4 Willys Jeeps before this Chevy truck...never seemed to enjoy all that kind of work..

Thanks for the interest...

MikeC

I have been slowly pluggin away on Howard Knapp...I got the rear shocks mounted this weekend. New 1985 rear Blazer shocks from Rock Auto

Also got some brandy new Copper all weather 15" tires mounted on 1966 Chevy truck wheels...tires were about $100.00 each and the wheels were $100.00 for the set...

New Cooper tires

Next on the docket is getting the Rock Auto Supplied 1985 Chevy Blazer rear brakes mounted onto this rear axle....Less than $250.00 for (2) new drums and all the fixens that make the back brakes work...

Still having fun...

MikeC

Step by Step. Looking good. Thanks for the pics.

So I got one cab corner installed...does not look all that bad to me at least... Passenger side cab corner installed...

Here is a photo of what I took out...had to do a little inner patching too but overall nothing compared to the upstate New York tin worms I am used to...

Original cab corner

I am really liking this New Mexico vintage sheet metal...it makes working on this old boy not all that painful...

Still pluggin along...

MikeC

Lookin' good, Mike. Let us know when Howard is ready for some road time and I'll join you for a tour of the area. I'm right down the road in Waterford.

I'd be pleased to join the two of you. I'll be retired at the end of May.

Working through the rear braking system.... rear brakes before

Never been a fan of drum brakes...
after

Cant wait to get it done...my ADHD is kicking me again...

MikeC

New old front (1/2 ton) springs are at the house...Howard Knapp lost his 1 ton front springs...spent Sunday pulling the old 1 ton front end out...1/2 ton front axle is sitting waiting...tonight trying to figure out mounting of the new old 1/2 ton leaf springs.

MikeC

Last night got one side mounted up with 1/2 ton front springs and rebuild hangers attached...cant wait to get it rolling again...:)

Front leaf springs are installed...

2 nights of cutting and grinding

Everything fit from 1 ton stuff out to 1/2 ton stuff in...next all those funky steering parts are next...waiting on the Jim Carter too for king pins...

Almost looks in the photos like these spring parts came on this truck...nope....got them from a wanted ad on here...front axle I found on facebook....springs are from Conn. and the axle is from Kentucky...truck is from New Mexico....tossed salad truck for sure.....

MikeC

I ordered up a nice braking system....

http://www.classicperform.com/Store/1947_59_Trucks/4954CBK-6HK.htm

hope it works out for me...I was told 5-7 days before it ships and I am thinking another 5-7 days before I get all the stuff...

I did get new Jim Carter king pins installed( I havent done a pair of king pins like these since 1982 and it was a Datsun truck)...I did do king pins on a Willys Jeep but they are small and 2 piece I think...

So I have 2 weeks to putter on the Howard Knapp truck...I have the old master cylinder set-up that I need to take out...drag link to rebuild...bullet holes to fill in too...

Cant wait to get this thing rolling again...

MikeC

Glad to see you an brother Howard Knapp are getting along so good. With that brake set up he'll be strutting around like a big dog. Of coarse he'll need some shoes before long!

...thanks for sharing the update. Your making more progress than some of us but hey, spring time is coming!

Thanks for the reply

Starting on the draglink last night...got it all striped of its old guts...found out both pivot balls were beat up pretty bad...put an order in for new ones from Jim Carter truck parts...tonight I am thinking trying to pull the pitman arm off and get the old ball out and then scratch my head on the other steering arm side of things...

I bought the tires (shoes you called them) back in December from a tires-easy on EBAY...they are all weather Coopers...215/75/15's put them one some stock 1966 Chevy truck wheels ($100.00 for the set)...
seen here on the rear end of things....

As always...cant wait to get it rolling again...ADHD is not a fun thing with an old truck rebuild...

MikeC

Oooo, I like them "shoes". Nice looking for a truck that is in "cold country". Keep us posted on your project.

So I have been hammering and grinding my head off again... before is below

yea old pivot balls

Below is the steering arm end of things

the new pivot ball

The pitman arm was just as bad shown below

the new rear pivot ball

Waiting for CPP disc brake conversion...Jim Carter supplied the brandy new tie rod ends

getting more stuff mounted all the time

Still bitter cold outside...I know it is cold outside when you whack your finger with the hammer...it hurts...but darn not as much as it would if you could feel them...

Cant wait to get this thing rolling again

MikeC

Cold, Mike? You think -9 is cold? (Uh, yeah.)

Hi Everybody

I got a couple more hours work on yea old Howard Knapp...I figured out how to make the 1985 K5 Chevy Blazer parking brakes to work with the existing 1952/53 Chevy braking system... my invention.....:)

I had taken the original e-brake mounting brackets off the frame when I removed yea old rear end...kinda thought "hey maybe I can use these over again"...and I did when I did this conversion...I have not mounted them up tight yet....I am thinking tomorrow night for the final fitting...a little bit more cutting and fitting and some welding too...

I had to buy two short e-brake cables from Rock Auto....I made up this funky bracket to join the two assemblies and make it work...originally the Blazer had two different cables and I bought both of them and then sat and scratched my chin for many a day trying to use as much of both truck parts and make them work...not sure if they work or not but at least it is hooked up...So I had to buy the shorter one a second time once I figured it might work....in the Willys Jeep world I would be called "Bubba" for doing this like I did...

Bubba's not a bad name...

MikeC

Mike has done a great "journal" here with what he's be doing on his '51. We finally got his overall story done in the Gallery.

Be sure to check back here to see how he's progressing and check on his photobucket, too. This is how we all learn stuff ... and especially learn to pass it on!

Thanks for the good write-up Mike.

Peg

Spent a little under fender time tonight

before

I had a piece of cab corner patch panel left over....cut a little piece...did some more cuttin and grindin...

after


I try to do something on this Howard Knapp truck every-night...cant wait to get it moving again...

MikeC

web pages not available

Hey MtneerMike

I think I fixed them....I hope...

MikeC

Nice work, Mike. And I agree with you wholeheartedly. I always say do at least 15 minutes on your project everyday and its amazing what will happen. You are living proof of it. Way to go.

Hi Everybody
Been a long couple of weeks....still cuttin and grindin tho...here is the latest thing I did to the floor
during the welding process

after shot

CPP brakes told me they are back logged (March 18, 2015 to ship) on my disc brake kit...so it still sits on jack stands...that drives me crazy...I wanna be able to move the stupid thing...

kinda getting bored with the whole thing....nothing else to cut or weld on around the shop so we will keep doing what we have been doing...

Next up is the panel under the dash board where the inner fender is welded to the fender mounting flange...I will be cobbing this one up by hand...dont wanna spent a ton on the this project...brake kit will set me back approx. $800.00...

MikeC

Been a busy weekend of little steps...finally got the rebuildable drag link from a fellow on Facebook who shipped it out of Florida...took almost 2 weeks to get it... "new" drag link
then I took most of Thursday night and Friday night too trying to get it apart and then back in place under the front fender where it belongs...

Thank GOD for Jim Carter truck parts...
old and new they saved the day again...got both ground straps in place...above photo shows the pair I took off under cab floor..

Also replaced the one under the hood

here

A little more cowl cuttin and fittin again too...

here

Oh yeah replaced heater hoses too...

Still waiting for the disc brake kit from CPP....

as always..."cant wait to get it rolling again...

MikeC

A little news....had to take a break from the heavy lifting due to some eye surgery...but we are back at Howard Knapp except a little slower now...

from under the floor boards

another not so clear view

this the the best shot of what CPP built for me


here

next issue is my 1962-64 Chevy steel patina wheels on the front wont fit...they seem to be hitting

a better shot here

I gotta email into Vintques wheels in hope that can hook me up with some plain Jane 15" steel wheels...this the third project in 3 years that I have had issues with either the wheels wont fit or the tires wouldn't clear something...

so what are all you guys running for 6 lug steel wheels with disc brakes???

MikeC

Hmmm, my screen says its page is unavailable? I'll double check my end......Hope your all healed up from the surgery.

Hey Chipmunk

I went in and re-added the photos and I think I got it fixed...old man operator here.....hope they work now...

MikeC

P.S. I ordered on Friday a pair of 15" x 6" steel wheels from Summit racing that will supposedly clear the calipers...less that $120.00 shipped to my door...

Hi all Stovebolters

Slow and steady wins the race...last night I got the new master-cylinder bench bled and the bought the last stick of 30" brake line and hooked it up also.....I had to cut an access panel in the floor pan so I can put fluid in the reservoirs as I need it. The instructions that came with it said I need to hook up a "brake warning light" to the base of the reservoirs....never have done this...gonna have to start doing some google searching for what exactly need to purchase...

Alternator is back ordered from Jim Carter Truck parts...then comes a EZ-wire wiring harnesss...

As always cant wait to get it done...pics to follow...

MikeC

I got my bubba skills going on now....here is the "new" master cylinder access door

here

and here is the hole to see all the new CPP booster and master cylinder

here

and finally we got a pair of vintique 15' steel wheels....got the new tires remounted on them....

here

How do you like the filled in bullet holes in the fenders???...pretty nifty if I do say so myself...

MikeC

Its been a little while....little big brown truck comes and then we assemble a piece of the puzzle... 12 volt alternator

Thanking God for Jim Carter truck parts....If it werent for him and the internet I would have never gotten this far with it...

I think the I had to re-use the stock 6 volt generator adjusting bracket as the one that came from Jim Carter didn't want to fit like it should fit...

Then we did the bubba thing again...

stretching the frame rails

I read that the overhang from the centerline of the rear end on a 1952/53 1 ton truck is 46 15/16"....someone cut about 12" off of it when they mounted the tilt bed on it...my plan is to make this Howard Knapp truck into a 9' long pickup box...so we did the cut and weld thing again...

Ordered a "EZ wiring" harness...I think I ordered the 12 circuit one...

As always...cant wait to get it rolling again...

Hoping for a little brown truck to come again really soon...

MikeC

Hang in there Mike. Things are better than you think. If you don't think so then take a look backwards and wee where you have come from
Thanks for the updates. Keep on trucking, you WILL get there.

The little big brown truck seems to keep stopping over at the ranch... found a fellow that rebuilds old smelly carburators...so I shipped mine from upstate NY to somewhere in downtown Florida

before picture here

after picture here

lets see after that...we were wiring this old truck...gosh I hate wiring...wish my dad was around or even my son..they both loved this "ohms" law stuff...me I cringe...I had like 5 circuits left over so...
I did this...
over all firewall picture is.... here...

then we went outback to the end of this truck...I cleaned up the old rear taillight brackets that came on the truck... here...

then I found a pair of CJ7 tail lights from my last Jeep project...they look like I can reuse them so... this is them setting on the old brackets... ...
So the wiring is about done...waiting for the new fuel lines from Jim Carter truck parts...also mounted a new fuel pump too...thanks to Jim Carter truck parts again...

Cant wait to get this thing out of the garage.... so sick of working it on every-night...but as I have found out...these old trucks don't fix themselves...

God willing this summer it will be at least yard driving...I hope..

MikeC

P.S. I also added the 12 volt lighter and a heater switch from Jim Carter truck parts....gosh...I need to move closer to them so I can just drive over and shop for parts there...

Mr. Knapp is in surgery but it looks like he will make a full recovery. A little rehab and he'll be running around the yard before you can say skat!

It is a journey for sure Mike. I've started on another journey myself and like you, I'm getting impatient....and OLD

Keep at it. Your doing good.

So I bought the "Howard Knapp" truck cause it was cheap and from the South West too (no real rot)...bad part is it is a dreaded 1 ton truck (way too big for me but...) so then I find out the 1 ton frame rails are 36" wide...
as shown here...

So I am doing my darnest to get this truck to resemble a 1/2 ton or a 3/4 ton...so I start buying bed parts as I can find them...1/2 ton trucks have a rear frame width of 46" wide.....hmmm...thats why the rear panel I got would not fit.....hmmmmm...

rear panel width for a 1/2 ton truck...

more chin scratching....what to do...what to do...go look in the metal pile...

passenger side here

I found some 3x3 steel tube that I had cut in half for a Willys truck that I never finished....

a little cuttin and fittin... and look here...

overall rear view...

now we have 47" out to out so the 1/2 ton rear panel will fit on a narrow 1 ton frame...

here...

So why would a 1 ton frame be 10" narrower than the 1/2 ton truck??? only GM engineers know that for sure...

Bubba would be proud of me for sure...

this weekend I will get the bed sides bent and order more parts from Jim Carter truck parts for the soon to be 9' long "3/4" ton truck bed I am assembling...

MikeC

I cut them down for a rat rod before...I have never built one from scratch before...had a racin buddy with 9 foot sheet metal brake...so I cut some 4x8 x 18 gauge sheets into 2x8 and then another into 2x4.... this is the short end

front panel

So the box is gonna be a 9 foot long one...so I had to buy 6 stake pockets...4 that looked alike...and then the rear ones which are lefts and rights....total of almost $300.00 for these stake pockets....kinda scary...hoping not to over spend so when sale day comes I wont be losing my shirt on it...

Oh yeah gotta order more bed parts from Jim Carter...this is not gonna be a cheap order either...all the cross sills and wooden blocks....hardware and a pair of angle brackets too...then once that is all layed in place...we will be buying the 9 foot long wood for the bed...more money again....

MikeC

So does all the crazy spending end once this thing is up and running???....I sure hope so...

Hi Stovebolters.....

More grindin....and fittin again...I had a 4 foot section of home-built box laying on the ground....I got brave and heave hoe and up it went...I made up a quantity of 6....7" long standoff to mount the box too....not sure-how this will work out but I have nothing there to mount to...this is a way I can maybe get the sides and the stake pockets tack welded into place...alone...

rear side view

one of the 6....7" long standoffs...

I am a one man band (aka lone wolf) here...so as my dad used to say...."you just gotta figure out how to do everything alone".....I am learning...I did the Willys Jeep project alone too...you get used to it...

I spend a lot of time chin scratching...trying to figure out how to hold things up alone...."dead man" I guess this stuff is called...

MikeC

P.S. anybody have a dimension for a 9 foot box where the "middle" stake pocket is located???