The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre Do It Yourself (DITY) Gallery 1946 Chevy - "Getting started on Bruno"

I purchased my 1946 Chevy 1/2-ton truck from a gentleman in Illinois. My husband is helping me with the restoration. We're about 10 min from it arriving at the house. I affectionately named the truck Bruno, after my Grandpa).

He's got a 216 Babbitt that we're replacing, and a 6 volt battery (that I'd like to replace out of fear of needing a jump from a 12 V). Other than that, and the addition of a passenger side taillight (for safety, because he's going to be my daily driver) I'm going to keep him as original as possible.

Does anyone have any advice as to modifications, or suggestions on one brand vs another on anything? I'm a newbie to restoration, and I could use all the help I can get.

Thank you!
Maria

Read as many of the Stovebolt Tech Tips as you feel may apply to your situation. Lots of very valuable information contained in them.🛠 Besides the "legacy" Tech Tip, there is a Tech Tip Forum in most of the Shops Area.

You can carefully jump a 6v system/battery with a 12v battery. Make sure the lights are switched off. As soon as the engine catches/starts, disconnect the 12v battery jumper cable,

I have done this safely/successfully a few times. I carry a 12v battery powered jumper /accessory system (and have had no problem using it).

That will be a fun project. I would suggest that "if" you can get it running and driving safely to do that. (Tires, brakes, cooling system ect).
When you decide to start tearing it apart, have several sizes of ziplock baggies and some magic markers available. I use "snack size" to 2 gallon baggies. as you remove parts, mark them (on the back side) with your trucks info --- year, make and part ID). Put all the mounting hardware in smaller baggies and attach them to to part they hold on. It is also helpful to clean and paint the parts as they are removed before putting them away until you put the truck back together. I bought a 5 shelf unit and several clear plastic storage boxes. Mark them with the system or area of the truck ( under dash, engine, tail lights, etc.). Put the small parts and hardware in the boxes.

Thank you, Tim! Hubby has been looking at the portable systems. I appreciate the information on one that someone I 'know' has used, and trusted!

@Rusty Rod- Hubby bought me some small tan-ish bags with drawstrings to write on, and put parts in. =) That's probably something I would have thought of about 4-5 disassembled parts down the road. Haha Great idea on attaching them to the parts.

I appreciate any and all tips! This is my first restoration and I would love to do as much of it myself as possible (with hubby's help, of course). I want Bruno to be something that I've accomplished myself, and can actually answer questions about if anyone asks. Kind of a "midlife crisis" goal of mine. =) Sweet ride, BTW!

Nice looking ride there sis. I've always liked the 46 with all the chrome up front. I always like to take pics of what I'm tearing apart. If it needs a pic I'll take it, if I think it needs a pic taken I'll take two. As mentioned with the bag ID to store parts I do the same with folders on my desktop to store all my pics.

I noticed in the background you have a 60-66 and a 47 -55.1, nice herd of old iron.

Thank you, Ole Zippi! Great idea on the pictures, too. My "annoying" habit of taking several pictures will definitely come in handy. 😆 Hubby had bought me little manilla baggies with drawstrings that we've been labeling and tying to things as we go.

@ Tuts - That was taken in the gentleman's pole barn that I bought him from. He had some sweet rides. My boys loved the other two trucks. LoL

Do you think the fella would want to sell the 55.1? Like to get it for my son, he was 9 when the accident happened, may give him mine and replace with another. Ed

@ Doc - I will certainly ask him for you!

Thanks, a fellow Bolter has a 37 Oldsmobile truck that I hope to look at in a few weeks. Can never have enough old GM trucks.Ed

@ Doc - He hasn't seen my FB message yet but hubby has his cell phone number. I will have him send him a message.

Another organizing idea, price tags. Either the ones with the white string like you see used in the thrift stores, or the ones with the small wire attached to them. I use the wired ones with the large tags. You can write as much info as you need on the tag, wrap the wire to the part and there you go, labeled and informed.

Excellent idea bigedpa. Write with a permanent fine-point felt-tip pen. For some assembly parts/areas, maybe consider putting the small tagged-parts in zip-loc-type plastic storage "bags", writing the name of the assembly on the outside (with that same pen)?

Yo Sis, What's the latest on your little 46 grocery getter ???

Excellent idea, bigedpa! Thank you for that.

@ olezippi - He's getting there! A couple weeks ago I took the headliner out, and managed to get the instrument panel out [for future restoration]. The cab is basically a shell now, and hubby took the two front rims off to see what all we need to do there. I also took everything off of and out of the seat... A rat or mouse had been VERY busy with leaves, corn cobs, and hickory nuts! I even found 1' long slivers of barn wood up in it. LoL I was pretty stoked to find a few bits of the original seat covering! Ironically, the faux leather I bought [to fix it for now] matches very close to what was originally on it.

My newest conundrum... Hubby and I have decided that the steering box isn't original. We're trying to determine what year it is so we can get the proper parts to repair it. [I'm not sure of the technical name for it, but] the type that they slid over the rod that goes between the steering box and the steering wheel has been shortened at the end to make it fit this current setup. I did find the part number on it, but I haven't had any luck in identifying the year of it.

Looks like you are making great progress on Bruno. Can't wait to see some more pictures.

Rob

From the steering box, there is the Pittman arm that goes straight down, when truck aimed straight ahead, the drag link should be horizontal which is the next rod.

Ed

After realizing that my 216 Babbitt was seized a friend of ours tracked down a '235' for me. When we got it home yesterday hubby noticed the "Captain's bars". I had seen them while getting the #'s off of it but had no clue what they meant. Apparently Bruno now has a 261! 💪

Hubby finally got the [bad word] battery box drilled out just now. It's literally the only thing that was rusted through! I've removed most of the metal trim holding the windlace, an interior panel, and scraped/cut the caulking out of the vent (that winds out, by the window). Other than that I'm cleaning what I can as we remove it, and working as much as possible to get money for the next big purchase. Patience and money are two things I could use more of. 🤣

Good score going to have to change his name to brutis.

Nice find on the 261. Looks like it's in pretty good shape. Are your plans to get it running and slip it into the business end and get Bruno running and drivable or go through the engine first?

@ Kevinski - I wouldn't go getting too crazy yet. LoL Yes, definitely a good score.

@ olezippi - Yes, we're wanting to take the cab off and have two small rust holes patched and then start putting him back together again. After talking to a couple of the guys in hubby's "Classic Cruisers" group I think we may swap out the rear end at some point down the road but for now I'd just like to have him running.

Saw this truck and thought of Bruno. Just thought I would share.

g@ olezippi - It could be his brother! =)

We're currently trying to decide how to take the steering box off. I got the doors back Friday and they look amazing! I need to order another long pin because the one I have is bent so, for now, it's just the passenger door back on.

That looks sweeeeeeet sis.

Thank you, olezippi! I'm pretty pumped! I got home yesterday and hubby had a surprise waiting for me. I never dreamed I would be this excited to get a box of nuts and bolts in the mail. LoL There's even a couple of saw blade-looking partsthat I've never seen before.😅

I'm ready to make my list of what to to tackle first. I think I'll use my birthday money next month to buy the windlace so we can get a start on the interior (after I clean and treat the cab). It's so overwhelming to take something that size completely apart, and put it back together again.

I'm still trying to decide what to do with the bed... It's only missing two original bolts (!!), and I need to find some wood to scab in at the end of one board. Also, we're still kicking around whether to leave the gas tank under the seat, or move it to the bed. Moving it to the bed would take care of the board problem as well as any possible safety concerns (there weren't completely distracted drivers on the road 74yrs ago), but I don't know that I want to take the extra hassle, time, and money to devise something for the bed [and all that that entails]. If the '46 Chevy fairy would just come to me in my dreams one night and tell me exactly what to do that would be great. 😆

My vote is to not worry about the gas tank being in the cab. Maybe a member will post about a problem that they know occurred because of the the fuel tank inside the cab?

- maybe fumes from the tank?
- is the tank externally vented?

Good luck with your project.

Nice bag of stuff. Overwhelming is good.....keeps the blood moving. If it were me...I'd find some old barn wood or whatever you may have lying round and redo the whole bed. It's easy to get to and not the expensive if you have wood laying around. I still have my gas tank behind the seat in the original location in my 49. The way I look at it and others may have a different take on it, if I get hit that hard to damage the gas tank and cause a fire I'll probably be dead and it won't matter anyway. If I had the tank under the bed and get rear ended it wouldn't take much to start a fire and I might make it out and I might not. In the famous words of the Aerosmith song "Livin' On The Edge"

Just had to share this with ya sis. Saw this while searching for a 33-35 Dodge truck for a buddy of mine. It's a 1946 Chevy (done) that was in FB Marketplace.

Making any headway on Bruno?

@ olezippi - Wow! That was a beautiful truck!! If I wasn't obsessed with patina I would have loved something like that (and blue is my favorite color).

I didn't realize how long it had been since I checked in. I've been busy with work (the Christmas rush started early!), and working on Bruno when I can.

I got my doors back from the artist in Ellettsville and I couldn't be more pleased! I'm going to paint all four rims green (when I got him only one rim was) & distress them. He'll be my rolling advisement. 😊 I was super stoked to find a gentleman who had several hubcaps (I had two, and I need five total). They all cleaned up pretty well! I've spent about 7-8 hours underneath, cleaning, and about 5hrs cleaning and applying POR-15 to the front half of the frame in the last week. We're currently trying to remove the bellhousing and flywheel from the old seized-up 216 Babbitt.

That's about it for now. 😊

Hey sis....it's been a min so how's the work coming on Bruno?

@ olezippi, how are you doing? I got busy at work(s) mid-Oct through this week, and Bruno took a back burner. *sigh* Hubby and I have tinkered a bit the last couple of weekends, so we've made some headway.

My FIL has been a lifetime drag racer/engine builder/cat tinkerer, and lended us a hand with the brakes. Hubby put the front driver's side wheel back together the other day, and started on the front passenger last night. He got the back wheels off, and I've begun cleaning them up.

Santa was super good to me (and Bruno) and, among other things, I got the Kilmat 80 mil along with three rollers. I put it in the roof last night, and the behind the seat area is next. I was anxious at first (I'm a little OCD), but it's easy to score to cut properly, and easy to install.

Oh it's not nice to kick Bruno to the side like that ☺ Hey.....every little bit moves the project along. Hows the engine coming along?

46 chevy mom Glad to see Bruno!! great truck I am in illinois near Hutsonville bridge. maybe see you live !! My advice keep it running if at all possible. So you dont lose-out !!

And now for something happy...

Before it turned cold I got POR-15 on the front half of my truck. I recently applied the entire box of Kilmat sound deadener that hubby got me for Christmas, and I'm currently trying to figure out how to fill the wallered-out holes in the metal on driver's side door so I can replace the door panel, and hang my door. (I don't think I'm allowed to talk about my door issues here so if you have any ideas, please search for my thread on "Interiors", and tell me how you've fixed yours (without having to drill new holes, and fill the old ones.))

Our boys were home from college last weekend so I got a little help replacing the metal trim on my door. =) While I was messing around with the doors hubby found a nasty surprise when he removed the cover on the differential. I got the cover cleaned up, and everything else is on hold until our jobs level-out, and we have a little free time.

More to come... Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Just dropping in to say hello!

I'm probably a couple of hours away from officially being finished applying POR-15 on the frame! Given the fact that the bed and cap are still on it, it's been a labor of love and hate.

Hubby got me 355 gears for Christmas, and we're hoping to get started on that really soon. I got the doors back together (one still needs help in the internal roller department because it wants to go up unevenly), all of the sound deadener in place, and a friend sold me his gas tank to replace mine. Things are shaping up, it's just the usual 'finding time' scenario.

I hope everyone is chuggin' along!

Well, it's been slow-going, but Bruno is coming right along. A friend helped rebuild the differential, and he currently has the tranny. We have the rear brakes almost ready (I'm looking for an eccentric bolt and a couple of link springs (!)), and I've been tinkering with the window regulators in an effort to keep moving forward.

Hubby got me a new (to me) bell housing for Christmas, and we had it cleaned. I'm waiting for it to get warmer so that I can spray paint it blue, to match the engine. A few other bits and bobs here and there, but winning the lottery or being retirement age would be great!

I will have had Bruno two years this May, and hubby is hopeful that I'll be street legal by the end of next year. It's definitely been a labor of love. Thank you so much to those of you who have helped me along the way!! Your kindness is greatly appreciated.

Well, two years later, and now I'm redoing the instrument cluster...and I'm stuck.

I took excellent pictures of where all of the screws and things came from, but I didn't think to get any of the bottom. The little slats with the tiny gears on them, that lay between each number, they're supposed to straddle that's in metal bar. I've got that accomplished, and I'm setting all of the numbers back to zero (New to me motor, and my numbers had disintegrated, making them impossible to make out), but I'm unsure of how to set the tiny gears between the numbers so that, once it's all put back together, they will actually turn like they're supposed to. I was kind of hoping someone had an idea if they had redone theirs as well.

Here are a few photos that might help?