The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Newbie getting started on a family 2-Ton

Here I am embarking on a new hobby: Restoring a family truck. The backstory: My great-granduncle bought a 1948 2-ton brand new, (deluxe 5-window) cab in 1948. They used this truck to haul hogs/steers to market for about 20 years. They have replaced the rear-end and the engine during its time in use and that is it. The second engine "blew-up" and they was in the process of fixing it but a newer Ford truck came along and they bought it and pushed the Chevy into the barn. There it sat until this year. I just recovered it from the barn and am in the process of cleaning out the cab and starting the long long process of returning it to driveable status. My goal is to get it drivable, I am not interested in making it like-new (yet).
I am a overwhelmed at where to start. The sheet metal is in great condition, no obvious rusted-out spots in the "typical" places such as cab corners or under floorboards. The head had been removed but I found it back in another barn, luckily not buried in the dirt, my relatives kept all the rods, rocker arms, valve cover, bolt, etc in the cab so I believe I have nearly all the engine, however the pistons appear to be rusted tight to the cylinders. So this is as far as I am at right now. My next few steps are:

1. Figure out the engine size since it is a replacement of the original (i figure it is a 235, but the remaining paint is yellow so if its original paint it could be a 261)...
2. Pull the oil pan to see if I can quickly determine what "blew up"...
3. Remove the flat front tires, replace with the outer dual wheels to get it "rollable"
4. Powerwash the frame to get rid of ~65ish years of dirt, grease, grime, etc.
5. After that ???? I will probably start on the engine and begin the disassembly phase to see what is salvagable.
6. Get a flicker account so you guys can see the snail-like transformation.

A general question with this big of truck, what parts are the hardest to replace/find. Stuff for the cab/engine is relatively easy. I already determined that I have the right wheel size and multi-piece rim that is "safe". For instance the brake drums, etc. This truck also has the vacuum two-speed axle, so how hard is that to find parts for?

Any words of wisdom/starting words of advise/pitfalls that I should see coming and avoid those?

FYI, I also have a 2001 Dakota that I am training myself and my son to call it the "small truck". My wife is already rolling her eyes and I have had it in my shop for 3 days...

Thanks for the comments and feedback, I suspect over the next few years, I will be trolling this site more often. There is a crap-ton of information I have already pulled down.

welcome to the site! Lots of parts available like bearings seals etc.... brake drums of course are not made anymore. Brake return springs are hard to find. There was a post somewhere on here with replacement part #s for the vacuum stuff for the 2-speed rear.

Hard but not impossible. Get her running and stopping and drive it for awhile before you choose which path to take. With the head being off for awhile and the cylinder rust you probably need to find another engine.

There are stamped numbers on the engine, so find them, post them here, some can tell you what engine. Many running gear parts are the same for many years, so look around for that body style, no matter what the year.

Ed