The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 1946 1 1/2 Ton - Novice Questions

Hey Bolters,

I'm completely new to the forum and somewhat new to Stovebolts, except for wanting a Wurlitzer model for many, may years. I now have an opportunity to buy my dream model - 1946 1 1/2 ton has been sitting for 11 years after being a daily driver up until that point. The price is really, really good in view (Less than $2000), but the deal my wife and I have is that I not buy something that will sit in the driveway for months or years until it runs.

I have fairly basic mechanical skills, mostly from working on old BMW motorcycles and 1960s-era cars. I've never rebuilt an engine or transmission. On top of that, I don't have a ton of extra cash to put into the project at this moment— $3K-$4K tops.

That being said, the truck seems to be in really great shape for it's age and not being driven since 2004. It was covered with a tarp for all of that time and has great paint, no visible rust, etc. I haven't been able to inspect it carefully, but will today or tomorrow.

As I go back out to look it over, would you guys be able to give me a list of key things to look for that will help me figure out whether this could be a reality or might be more than I should bite off at this point?

Based a few past restorations of older cars, I would expect to replace tires, change all fluids, grease anything that can be greased, the brake system might need rebuilding, carb clean or rebuild, new battery and plug wires. I'm sure I'm missing a bunch. Your help is much appreciated!

VM
Welcome to the site and the world of old trucks.
Sounds like you have a pretty good idea of what you may be getting into.
More folks will chime in here soon, on the more detailed things to look for.

Don

Thanks, Don. I appreciate it. I don't feel like I know what I'm getting myself into really— having never worked on one of these Big Bolts before— or anything quite this old.

Hello E.W.,

Well first off, Deco bigbolts may just be the nicest looking trucks ever made. Beyond my obvious bias, there are several things to consider.

These old truck typically need new tires and sometimes wheels. Tires are available, but they are rather expensive, and you will need six. Wheels in spite of your dry climate may need replacing depending on condition and manufacture style. Brakes for bigbolts will have to be relined at a local brake/clutch facility as the aftermarket suppliers ignore larger trucks. For safety, the wheel cylinders and master cylinder should be replaced or sleeved, parts can be found. Brake lines will need to be fabricated by you. The engines have this natural desire to run so unless it is rusted together or totally worn out, you should be able to run with what you have. The bodies have some inherent rust prone areas in spite of dry climates. Also when it is up and running, it will feel like a slow under powered lumbering beast because that is what it is. If over 45 MPH is in your future, look elsewhere.

If this looks like something of interest, by all means go for it as they are great fun to tinker with and drive. They do require the correct lifestyle and person though.

And if you should get stumped while working on this 46 (and you most likely will), there are plenty of very bright and ingenious folks here that can and will help you out.

Good luck!

Paul

You might keep your eyes out for factory 22.5 wheels with your bolt pattern. They came on mid 50's trucks, first tubeless tires. Make possible to use modern tires, are somewhat rare, depending on part of country.

Welcome! --- I'll double down on the Deco's being gorgeous trucks for reasons similar to Paul's.

Good news is that there were five and a half years' worth of production ('42- early '47) so parts can be surprisingly easy to find for trucks that age. I have found a ton of stuff just on Ebay alone. Also, there are lots of parts that interchange from 1/2 tons through two-tons (except COE's). As for brakes, I would immediately swap the single pot master for a double unless you are going for a museum piece. Just way too risky having all your stopping power running through a single system. Tires and wheels can be tricky but there are a couple of lengthy and very intelligent threads on the topic already here that can provide some ideas worth considering.

And tires brings up gearing. There were only two gear sets ever made for these rigs. One is a 5.43 (rare) and the other is a 6.17 (most common) as I recall. Don't figure on ever going over 45mph with either set. Maybe 50 downhill. The only options there are an axle swap, different tranny output, overdrive, 2-speed brownie, larger tires or some combination of all of the above.

Yes...they are work, but they are well worth it, at least to my mind. They are just SO damned purdy!

Welcome from another newbie! It's a disease with no cure, and nobody's really looking for one

As far as the 45 mph tops, I don't think ANY of us buy these to have a dragster. If I wanna go faster, I'll go get in something else....or plan my trip a little better! It's more about looking good doing it, and what better way to do that than to go slow enough for everbody to get a really good look?

Ol' Blue is going to be a worker. Not a hard and heavy worker, sure, but not a "oh crap there's a speck of dust on the top of the differential" beauty queen either. I've always wanted something that will tilt up and empty itself without the aid of a shovel, and now I have it.

Really nothing to getting them to run. They'll go just fine, it's getting them to stop that's the trick. Even with the original brakes, they WILL stop....eventually. I learned to drive in a single-pot F6 that had been stretched with a drag axle and had a 24 foot grain bed on it. Dad stressed two very sobering things: Approach every car/stop sign/intersection with the expectation that you will not stop with the brake pedal and to be pleasantly surprised if it does happen, and two, with 40000 pounds of grain in a wood box behind you, even if you do stop the truck, the box might not stop as quickly.

Not trying to scare you, it's just a very VERY different way of driving than with the 4-wheel disc antilock brakes of today, where you can go screaming up to a stop sign and stand on the brake pedal and go from 70 to 0 in three feet. To this day, I find myself using the brake pedal so rarely that I've been pulled over for a faulty brake light switch. (Anybody else who grew up driving these things have this happen?)

Sounds like you can keep yourself in budget, or reasonably so, with your prospective purchase, considering the way you describe your 'adoptee' and the climate I imagine you live in.

And this is how we learn, is to jump into things we don't already know.

BTW...Randy Domeck has an absolutely outstanding front disk brake kit that will work on a 1-1/2 ton. They were made for two-tonners but all you do is flip the caliper brackets to the front instead of the rear and swap left for right calipers. Very impressive work on these units and more than capable of hauling down even a heavily loaded rig. Below are a couple of pics of the installation on my 1.5 T rig...

[img]https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8770/17076697656_9c857a1278_z.jpg[/img]

[img]https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8825/17076693986_3290ef7772_z.jpg[/img]

PS...I added the Ferrari red paint.

Just took my 1.5 ton 1945 out for a drive. I need to tighten up the steering and front end.

VM, Welcome to the club.

Sounds like you have a good understanding of what you are getting in to. The price for the truck seems reasonable and I think the budget you have set will get you moving down the road. As others have said, tires and brakes are the most important. Fuel system would be next. I ended up making a gas tank for mine, but there are aftermarkets available if yours happens to rusty inside. You should expect about $200 per tire if you are shipping them in. A little less if you can find them locally.

Brakes are a little different. That is the one thing that held me up for about 2 years on driving mine. Mainly because I wanted to make reproducible parts. I was able to do just that and I have a kit available that uses off the shelf parts and is all bolt on. You should expect about $2500 with all the parts to get you driving.

Good luck on your quest and plenty of people here will lend a hand when you need it.