The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Hi Newbie here....

Hello, I am looking into purchasing a 46 Chevy dump truck. I believe it's a 2 ton. It needs rear cylinders (anyone done this job, is it difficult?). Also wondering what are some unique characteristics to the 46 models. And where will I find the ID badge? Thanks!

Other than the rear brake issue, this truck runs/shifts great, the dump works, lights work, interior is really good too. The price is $3000 OBO, does this sound fair deal (I'm in the Denver metro area)? Here's a shot of it, just a couple bent grill bars, no cancer rust anywhere, not missing or broken/cracked glass, all chrome trim accounted for, all original. Thanks.
*Additional info - comes with clean & clear Colorado title!
Picture

It is not a dump truck for it does not have a dump body.

It is a rack truck that also has a lift bed.

ID badge?

There is a vin number plate left front door jamb by the hinges and a plate on the RF cowl under the hood.

Wheel cylinders are available for front and rears.

Looks to be a grain truck. Does it have a chute/door that opens at the rear of the bed? Wood bed floor? Sides and rear lift off? If the bed and tires aren't rotted out, and runs as you say, that would be a fair price in my area. The big bolt folks can give you tips on fixing the rear brakes, (removing axles and drums, etc.).

Rick

Thanks for the speedy replies.
The tires, all 6 of them, look good - no sidewall cracking and nearly 5/8" deep treads, holding air fine. And yes, I guess technically, it is a grain truck, was listed as a dump truck (has the working lift cylinder - I'm still learning the lingo).
It does not have a back gate at all and the bed is steel, although there are un-cracked wood planks underneath. The sides and front lift off (no rear gate, but has the square holes to accept a gate - see photo).
No seat rips or cracks. The front window gaskets are dry and cracking, but very much intact. The hood hardware works perfectly and opens surprisingly smoothly.
I am going to subtract wheel cylinder costs and towing cost from his price and see what he says.

In the past, I've had a 1/2 ton '59 Chevy pickup, a 3/4 ton '56 Union Body GMC step van and most recently a '54 1 ton, but this the first BIG truck I will have had and certainly the oldest. Very excited. Thanks again. I'm sure I'll be back with many questions when it's in my yard.

pic 1

pic 2

pic 3

You will find the cab a bit smaller than the 47.5 and up models. If you are a big guy it does make a difference. A good metal man could do wonders with that grill. Price is probably at the higher end of the driver quality market. Talk him down a bit and go for it.

Thanks. I did notice the cab felt much smaller than my '54, but my wife is pretty and I don't mine her being a bit closer.
I imagine it will be me and my pup 'Muddy' riding in it most of the time.
I'm working on the 'magic number' to offer. I've sold a few on my prewar bicycles & parts to make some cash for this transaction (I sold my wife on the idea by telling her basically I'm trading 3 bicycles for it).
I plan on getting it one way or another.
I figure these trucks are getting rarer and rarer as I get grayer and grayer.
Wish me luck. I plan on visiting him again with an envelope of cash next Friday.

Check the tires for cracks on the inside sidewalls. I have seen tires where the outside sidewalls looked good yet unbelievable how bad inside sidewalls were cracked.

Looking at the rear and seeing the chains midway on the inside of the side racks has chains just as on my son's grain bed. Those chains were there to keep the bedsides from bowing out too much when loaded with grain.

If there was the rear rack the middle third of it would have a small door through which the grain would be poured out of. I believe they are called coal doors.

Looks like a nice truck! I hope you get it.
As mentioned, be sure to check out the Big Bolt forum on this site. You'll get plenty of good info there.

Although the seller was very firm on his price, I just emailed him an offer, deducting the cost of brake cylinders and towing ($400). Don't what he'll say, but if he passes, I'm sure there's other great old trucks wanting a new life. I'll keep you posted. I did take a few more photos.
Anyone know what this tag is all about? Does it indicate if it's 1.5 or 2 ton? I believe I had a similar tag on my '54 one ton and the number on it was 8800, which is confusing me. Thanks in advance for any info.
http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc59/smashsquatch/8fa575e0-d470-4a3b-938c-baba55fc0793.jpg

Huh?

Sounds like you have a very narrow definition of what a "dump truck" is.

I hope the rest of your life is a little easier.

I believe this is/was a stolen truck.

My son has a 1946 2 ton. On this websites home page there is a link to tech tips.

http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/identification/Series/index.html

Scroll down that page and for 2 ton 1946 trucks the vin will start with 2 letters. Such as my son's PW.

Your truck looks as if it has the 160" Wheel base, so the vin should start with the letters OF or PW. Not DEA as shown on the photo you posted.

Then another link from the tech tips page:

http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/vin/vinbuster.html

Type in your vin number and it will come up with a bunch of unknowns except for style is says that vin is for a Panel Truck.

Then another problem a 2 ton truck should have a GVW of 15,000 lb. The photo you posted reads 4,800 GVW.

4,800 GVW is in the range of a 1/2 ton pickup or panel truck.

You know, I was just putting some of that together. I found this website

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/models/series2.htm#46series

and was starting to think the same thing. The screw heads look 'used' like they've been removed and reinstalled.
I guess I should have a look at this 'clean' title.
But is a changed model number tag a crime?
It's not an altered VIN number (or is this model number the actual VIN number too?).
Eitherway, this thing is starting to be a concern. Like why would someone bother swapping that out unless their aim was to deceive someone? It also seems like an obviously incorrect tag....

*it is a 160 wheelbase, I just measured it today.

Is there a DEA stamped on the engine serial number?

DEA was a engine code for 46

Since you state it has a clear title, verify the numbers match and if they do call your DMV (alt Sheriff) and ask them for a VIN chick on those numbers to see if it is in the system clean

I couldn't find the engine number (didn't know where to look, didn't have enough time to hunt for it & it was fairly dirty down there). I have also read that the actual frame of the truck should have a number stamped on it, located about 12 inches back on the outside right frame rail. I didn't look for that today either. But I will next time.
I just don't know why someone would put an obviously wrong tag on here (about 10,000 lbs wrong) and think no one would notice. I'd like to have a look at that title and see what it says for a VIN number. My understanding is, a model number and VIN number are very different things. I don't think swapping this tag is necessarily criminal, a little deceptive, but not like trying to hide a stolen vehicle because this number would not appear on the title anyway. Correct?

I see where you are going that the vin number and the number stamped on the engine DEA is the same.

Though it does not solve the problem of the GVW rating is underrated by 10,200 lb. That is still not correct.

That truck has a factory vin plate saying the GVW is 4,800 lb.

Now an owner can underweight register his truck with the DMV to pay less money for his plates. He gets a registration stating the new lower weight rating. Though the original vin plate and weight number still stays on the truck.

I guess there's always few mysteries to solve when you get one of these old trucks, lots of hands have had a turn at the wheel and spent time under the hood.

The engine number will be stamped on the engine just behind the distributor.

I think my son's engine number and vin number are different. The truck will not be available for me to check for a few days.

Ok, this is all good info. The place selling the truck has a decent reputation, so I will automatically assume this happened before he got it and without his knowledge.
But if the title has some screwy or suspicious info on it, I'll bring it to his attention and go from there.
Thanks again everyone for all the help. I'm sure this is just the beginning of my questions once I actually have the truck in my possession.

While we're on the subject, what weight designation should a 160" wheelbase truck have if it was a 1.5 ton? 2 ton? Can you tell by the leaf and overload springs in the back? I see a lot of post that start off saying,
"I don't know if it's a 1.5 or 2 ton..."
Seems like these Model badges would clear that up real quick? Or is it more complicated? Does wheel base effect it (longer being heavier and contributing more to the overall weight)?
Thanks.

Go to GM Heritage center:

https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/gm-heritage-archive/vehicle-information-kits.html

Then click on chevy trucks not shown below.

Then a page with years will come up. Click on your year and you will get a pdf with a lot of information on trucks for that year.

My son's 1946 2 ton GVW is 15,000 lb.

wow! Thanks, cool link.

Well, he angrily passed on my offer. The search continues....

What did Mr Angry have to say about the vin plate not matching the truck?

I didn't get that far. I never saw the title either.

I do not understand you putting the cart on front of the horse.

I would never talk price on a auto when there is an apparent problem with the vin plate not matching the truck.

For even if you bought it at your price what are you going to do with a truck you can not get title to and register?

It was also clear that the GVW rating on the vin plate was for a 1/2 ton not a 2 ton truck.

I don't think that has anything to do with the VIN number.
If it did, it wouldn't be a plate you could unscrew yourself. It's just the model number.
I know some folks trade those plates out if they swap engines, so those numbers match with the 'new' engine (if they have a parts truck that had a matching plate).
And I would have thoroughly checked the title and make sure the VIN number on it matched the one on the truck (I believe the VIN # is stamped on the frame near the bumper).

I may be wrong. I have been before.