The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk She's Running

Well I got my old stove bolt running today! She had been sitting for about 20 years in the woods when I pulled her out and brought it home. Been working on it for almost a month and was able to get it running today. She sounds good, but I do think that I have some valve seals that are bad. It sure is nice to hear the old babit engine running.

I can see that big smile from S.C. Congratulations.

Congatulations

It's always fun when they fire up for the first time. Congratulations!

SWEET! I know the feeling! I got both mine fired up, although they had only been sitting for about 5 years. My 58, I fired up where I bought it and drove it on the trailer! 24 degrees and snowing!

Firing up an engine for the first time is a great feeling!!! Mine hadn't run in 12 years. It was funny to watch the dog food come flying out the tail pipe, that the mice had put up in the exhaust system.

Congrats, Larry!

For my first run (prior to the engine rebuild), I had the timing off a lot & set off a hand grenade in the muffler... It looked about like what Brain describes with all the rat paraphernalia flying everywhere!

Brad

Brad,

This 54/55 GMC 270 2-ton's muffler sounded like a small bomb when we started it with the timing too far off.

hello Larry1974. Glad you got it running. When I started my 1951 for the first time rat and mice junk came flying out of the exhaust pipe. What was surprising is the truck has never smoked. Still doesn't smoke. I had to get under the truck and pry all the junk out of the clutch /bell housing area. It didn't have a cover on it. That engine is now in my 1949 1/2 ton. It runs great but doesn't have very much oil pressure when it idles. Anyway, I'm running on here, I hope your engine turns out to be a good one. Steven

You get a cake for that one, Tim! That engine had some serious indigestion. My little muffler bomb was a little too soon, too close to home at the time (post-deployment)-- I didn't think anything at all about taking pictures; nitroglycerin maybe, but not pictures!

Larry there's a good tech tip about bringing an engine back to life-it is a good reminder of things to-do or things that you might have forgot to do, et cetera. Or, it was for me anyway. I'll try to link to it when I get on another PC.

Brad

Yes I know the feeling. I also had some PO'ed mice. When she fired up I had bits and pieces of nuts blown all over the garage floor! Still need to dig into the head can check the valve seals, as I think I have some bad ones in there. Despite the smoke from the possible bad seals she runs like a timex.

Hey Larry1974 Iam very envious, great experience not many people get.
Do you know why it was in the woods in the first place ?

My 53 had sat in a field in Canada since 1976. Brought it back to Ohio and soaked the cylinders,cleaned the fuel system changed the fluids and tuned it up. The old gal fired right up! I had the best mosquito fogger as the rings were stuck and really smoked up the garage. I hope you have good luck with yours.

I don't really know why the truck was parked. It was sitting on some really remote hunting ground that the guy owned. It took about 3 miles of dirt road that I'm glad I had a 4x4 on to get to it. Was a chore dragging it back out on the uhaul trailer. The title was issued in 84. When he parked it he drained the coolant, oiled the cylinders, and just let it sit. Never would I have ran across it sittin out there, it was one of those situations that a guy knew someone who knew someone who had an old truck sitting out in the woods. Funny how that works sometimes. I've found several cool projects like that.