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I just aquired an old 1946 Chevrolet 1 1/2 ton truck that I fell in love with at first site.

She's not much to look at, since she's been sitting in a cow pasture since 1976, but she's all there and rock solid.. i'm a sucker for cool old trucks that have potential. I took the fact that the tires are still inflated as a good omen.

Soon as I figure out how to get the doors open, i'll pull her back to home base and get to wrenchin' on her.. which brings me to my very first question:

Any suggestions on how to get doors open when the latches are apparently rusted solid??

The drivers side window had been on the wrong end of an apparent BB gun shootout, so I popped a chunk of the glass out big enough to fit my arm in, and with a bit of persuation was able to roll the window down. The lever on the outside of the door turns, but has no effect so I was hoping i'd have better luck with the handle on the inside.. but no luck.

The outside handle on the passenger side is locked up tighter than a drum, and so is the handle on the inside I discovered after climbing in the cab thru the drivers side window (no easy task to do, I might add being 6'2 and 225lbs.. altho climbing IN was WAY EASIER than climbing back out!)

So I sprayed the heck out of the doors with WD40.. in the crack between the cab body and the door.. down the inside of the windows.. the hinges. I figured i'd let it soak a few days and on my next visit hope for the best.

If that dosen't work, I guess I figured i'd climb back into the truck and try to remove the door "skin" to see if (hopefully) it will reveal the inner workings of the latch assembly.. they used some pretty funky screws in '46, but I think i've got a set of 'tamper bits' that have the right type head for them.

Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated, and i'll take a few pics to post in the next day or so.

Welcome!

You're in good company here at the Stovebolt Page, and particularly in the Big Bolts corner of the garage.

You'll find several fellers with 1-1/2 ton trucks in the '41 to '46 years--I'm one of 'em.

If you have some experience working on vehicles, particularly older ones, you'll do fine with the old Chevy.

The hawnyocks that frequent this part of the garage are always tryin' to get you to part with yer hard-earned money, but that's only normal, I guess. They will suggest that you get a copy of a repair manual that will cover your truck, once you get them doors fixed and get inside, check to see what is free and workable and what's not, figure out what kind of engine you've got (a 216 or a 235), and so forth.

Some of these ol' curmudgeons will barely talk to you if you can't answer their "important" questions first.

You'll find a wealth of information in the archives, and you'll soon come to know some of us more than you would like, perhaps.

Don't get too upset when you ask a question and some grouchy wrench bender gives you an answer that is preceded with a sigh. Rest assurred that when w. b. makes a sound that resembles shifting gears without using the clutch, that's because w. b. wishes one of two things: w. b. had been prescient enough to have asked the question first, or w. b. asked the same question a long time ago, and can't remember the answer.

There are some extremely knowledgeable people here and they are all willing to help. Above all, know that there is no such thing as a dumb or silly question.

Whatever you want to know, or whatever problem you may encounter, you are not the first, nor will you be the last. In all probability, there are two or three more out there that should be asking for the same information and direction you are asking.

So jump in.

Oh, and the best way to get on the good side of some of these imponderable yeahwhos is to provide a picture, as you have suggested. Its like giving a dog a bone.

Thanks for the welcome and the advice!

I've climbed in the drivers window, and after lubing up both doors I spent some time checking it out on the inside to get a feel for what I was getting myself into.

The clutch pedal actuates and feels like it is working fine, the right side of the shaft rubs against the floor pan a bit making a squeak sound, but thats easy to fix.

With the clutch depressed, I ran thru the gears, and much to my delight it feels nice and tight, and slides into each gear with a definitive 'click'. The shift lever has a smaller lever that looks like it is designed to be actuated by a finger. Possibly for a two speed axle?

Steering wheel is free and turns the front wheels as well as you'd expect them to, considering the truck is sitting in the middle of a frozen cow pasture.

Ignition key still hanging out of the ignition, and it turns.. altho after nearly 30 years of sitting, the battery is obviously dead.

Sitting in the driver side, tward the bottom of the dashboard on the left there are two controls for the heater, that appear to be made of Bake Lite. The right most control actuates freely, the left most control is frozen.

The hand crank for opening the windshield is pretty tough to turn.. I got the windshield to pop open about a half inch, then cranked her closed. No doubt i'm going to be on the WD40 prefferred customer list before this project is finished.

My local autoparts store looked at me like I was from another planet when I asked if they had a Chilton manual for a 1946 Chevrolet 1 1/2 ton truck, so if someone can reccomend a good place to score a service manual for this truck, it would be greatly apprecated.

I found a copy of the 1942-1947 Chevrolet Shop Manual online, but it dosen't seem to cover anything but automobiles. I've also found a dozen or more websites willing to sell a CD-ROM with the '42-'48 Chevy Shop Manual on it for $50 plus $4.00 shipping.. but if that's the same as the one I found free online, it isn't going to do me any good.

I'm headed over there this afternoon to snap some pictures and see if the trucks WD40 bath made any headway in freeing up that door.

I grew up with a '46 1-Ton pickup. The finger lever on the shifter is the reverse lockout. Lifting it will allow you to go into reverse, which is to the left, and down (next to 2nd).

The funky screws are called clutch head screws, and there are a number of other threads on here about those, and where to get screwdrivers for them.

Good luck with your project!!

Fumblin', yer gettin' an education without even thinkin' about it.

You will enjoy finding all those interesting bits of electrical and mechanical engineering that are part of or attached to your Chevy.

Workin' with clutch-head screws and being the proud owner of a clutch-head screwdriver will define you as an AD Stovebolter.

That little finger lever lockout on reverse may seem eccentric and a whazzis thang?, but you will quickly learn to use the lever when you go to shift to reverse. You will smile inwardly and be delighted outwardly as you educate friends and strangers in Old Chevy Trucks 101, when they ask, "What is that lever on the gearshift for?"

Hi Fumblin46!

You've come to the right place to find out about your truck. 'Welcome'

Sounds like you're going to have fun with that 1 1/2 ton!! I have a two ton so know a little about some of things you are mentioning.

Don't force the windshield crank too hard. You'll find that there is a kind of worm gear on the crank that engages a curved metal piece that has slots in it. The gear moves that metal piece back and forth and forcing it could ruin the slots. You'll find a way to loosen it up though.

When you get around to greasing the truck you'll find a couple of nipples on the shaft that the clutch and brake pedals are attached to. My clutch pedal rubbed on the floor pan too but it hasn't since it was greased on the shaft.

Most of the supply companies you can link to, from here, should have reproductions of the GM 'Chevrolet Shop Manual--Cars and Trucks'. Check out their on line catalouges.

Good Luck.

George

Well I went out there today and took a a few snapshots, and here she is:

[img]http://www.geekoasis.com/the46/rightside.jpg[/img]

The Chevy Gods (or the WD40 gods.. you pick) must have been smiling on me today, because with very little persuation, both doors opened just fine! Good to know that whole can of WD I used on it two days ago hadn't been in vain.

After spraying the crap out of the door latches and hinges, I cleaned out the inside of debris. There were a couple of throw rugs laid on the seats that field mice had been making good use of over the last 30 years or so.. it was a stinky, dirty job.

[img]http://www.geekoasis.com/the46/insideleft.jpg[/img]

I opened both sides of the hood looking for some indication of what motor it was (216 or 235) and all I found was this plate..

[img]http://www.geekoasis.com/the46/inspectplate.jpg[/img]

With the Chassis No. of 5PWG 1922 perhaps between that and the phrase 'Certified net HP of 83.5 at 3000RPM' somebody can tell me which one it is?

If it helps, here are left and right shots of the motor

[img]http://www.geekoasis.com/the46/engineleft.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.geekoasis.com/the46/engineright.jpg[/img]

It looks like either the numbers on the odometer have worn away, or maybe when it 'rolls' it goes to blank? Either way.. this is the classiest instrumentation panel i've ever seen..
[img]http://www.geekoasis.com/the46/instrument.jpg[/img]

And of course, heres a tight shot of her smilin' (albit a tad crooked thanks to missing bolts on the bumper) face

[img]http://www.geekoasis.com/the46/frontgrill.jpg[/img]

Now my next thing to fix/correct is going to be the radiator. Today was the first time I really got a good look under the hood, and I noticed that the radiator cap was missing. When I looked inside, I saw quite alot of the throw rug and seat material in there, along with a gratiuitus amount of mouse poop. I'm guessing that since the cap was missing, that mice found the radiator a great place to nest!

I'm hoping i'll be able to use a shop vac to suck out the majority of the debris, then maybe remove the radiator and flush it out? If anybody has any experience with this sort of headache and can reccomend a course of action, I sure would appreciate it!

From what I know (not a lot) it would sound like an engine of 83.5 hp is a 216! Most of these trucks didn't have a 235 until they were 2 tons!

That's a fine looking truck with a lot of potential. The chrome looks great. The body doesn't appear to have more than surface rust. Sure hope you have a great time getting her restored. With those fine photos, keep us up to date with your progress.

Thanks!

Surface rust is all she has, and the body and frame are both solid as a rock.

I was a bit afraid of what the floorboards might look like once I got the debris cleaned out, but I was happy to discover the floorpans solid, as well.

Now comes my confusion with what exactly the truck is:

I was under the impression that it was a 1 1/2 ton, but after looking on the web, the chassis number of 5PWG suggests that this truck is a 2 ton. 5 meaning Kansas City KS, PW meaning late 1946 2 Ton, and the G indicating the truck was built in July.

Now to the engine confusion.. I found a website that states these trucks had the following engines:

The THRIFT-MASTER- 216. It's features were: In-line, OHV, Six Cylinder, Bore and Stroke: 3 ½" X 3 ¾", Displacement: 216.5 cu. in, Compression ratio: 6.5:1, Gross Horsepower: 90 @ 3300 RPM, Four Main Bearings, Mechanical Valve Lifters, Carburetor: Downdraft One-Barrel, model W1-575-S.

The LOAD-MASTER – 235. It's features were: In-line, OHV, Six Cylinder, Bore and Stroke: 3-9/16" X 3-15/16", Displacement: 235.5 cu. in, Compression ratio: 6.62:1, Gross Horsepower: 93 @ 3100 RPM, Four Main Bearings, Mechanical Valve Lifters, Carburetor: Downdraft One-Barrel, model W1-575-S.

My plate says 83.5 @ 3000 RPM .. seems weird that they'd spec engine HP at different RPM's than what they used on the plate.. but maybe the 'official specs' were rated that way so the smaller 216 didn't sound as whimpy?

I dunno.. I suppose i'll be tickled if I can just get it running and moving, regardless of what the engine size is!

On a quasi-related note, I happened to stumble across an old Chevy truck today on my way back home just sitting behind the neighbors barn. It's got alot of weeds sticking up around it, but it looks like a 1927. I might have to knock on the door and see if he wants to get rid of it!

Being new to this part of the country, it blows my mind how many super cool old trucks are just sitting out in fields rotting away. The low humidity here must be the only thing keeping these beautiful trucks from turning to dust years ago.

Casting number may be the only way to know with certainty what the motor is...

Look at the block near the starter.

Yeah, welcome to the Stovebolt Page, Fumblin! Sounds like you're being well taken care of. And heed Glenn's advice about the grouchy wrench benders around here -- just don't jostle 'em at feeding time and you be okay. Ignore them the rest of the time!

Wow, sounds and looks like a real solid rig there! And as Glenn says, you're learning about old trucks the same way some of us did (like me ) -- Just fumbling around until stuff starts to make sense. Only you're smarter than I was -- at least you're asking questions and reading this stuff on the Internet. Keep at it and before you know it, you and the truck will be bringing home trophies (Not to mention all the chicks you'll be attracting... Look at Jim Proffitt )

Again, welcome and don't stop asking questions -- we'll all do some learning here! Be sure to check out the rest of the web site, too -- we have Tech Tips, nearly a thousand trucks in the Gallery, lots of links, a few feature stories and commentaries and a Swap Meet.

Glenn,

Wow -- good answers! Did you say you wanted to be the moderator???


John

Fumblin,

Not sure if you are still looking for a manual, but most of the old truck parts suppliers will have the chevrolet 42-48 car/ 42-46 truck manual. It covers up to 1 1/2 ton trucks. The manual is well written 60 year old book. Very easy to understand and better than a chilton. Don't buy it off E-bay...the on line or catalog places are cheaper.

If you have not owned or checked into a 41-46 before, take care not to bend up the lower splash pan..it is right behind your bumper, underneath the grill. If you hook a log chain to the frame on the old gal to get her to the barn, you may bend up that piece of sheet metal. Yours is in great shape....not many are. Fiberglass is all I can find.

Nice looking truck...have fun with it...

congratulations on your truck i hope you enjoy it and have good luck in restoring it. i like old trucks too but there aren,t any around my area they have all been junked years ago i bought a few on auctions a long ways off and had them hauled home i hope to fix them up someday and i, still looking for more to buy have seen some on upcoming auctions on the net but too far off in ks and other places but willing to locate for others interested in them so they arent junked out.

Mice, snakes, birds and wasps love to make their home in old stovebolts. Guess they love 'em as much as we do.

Mouse eradication must be assertive, total, and thorough. Seats, radiator, wiring--nothing is off limits for these little pests. Once you remove the radiator, make double sure none of their crap has invaded the water jacket in the engine.

You have a bee-you-tee-ful truck and your're going to have whales of fun with it.

Ahora, Mi Stoveboltero Supremo, quisas usted piensa que ha buscado un nuevo portero (don't know the word for moderator). NO, senor. No estoy. Lo siento mucho.

That Glenn Foster has got tah be the coolest cowboy I know!
Adios, Kip

Fumblin46- In reference to the old bolts laying around, if you don't mind saying how did you find yours & what did you pay for the 46. I may want to do some pasture searches during the summmer time in your area as I need a Big Bolt.

You see the bed full of junk? I gotta take the bed full of junk. Thats the price I gotta pay.

Which isn't so bad, since most of it is scrap steel that the local scrap guy will take for free!

I've got 33 acres here, and have a large hill that has what I call a 'gully' on it from wind erosion. Over the years people have dumped everything from old cars (sans gas tanks and engines) and tractor equipment to old stoves and water heaters in it, I don't know if it was to simply get rid of the junk, or perhaps they figured having all that steel in the hole would help reduce further erosion. Worst case senerio, i'll just pitch all the scrap steel in the back of the '46 into that gully before I fill it in this summer with dirt.

There are lots of old cars and trucks sitting out in fields and pastures in this part of the country, all in varying condition. Some folks have grown accoustom to seeing them sit out in their land and won't part with them at any price.. while other folks will just about pay YOU to get them out of there.

I got a better look at the the '27 Chevy truck right around the corner from me yesterday evening, and I think i'm gunna leave it sit there. No hood, no engine, all the glass is gone, and the seat has rotted away to springs. The cab is surface rust, and the roof has a pretty big dent in it, like somebody dropped a cast iron stove on the roof.

I considered breifly dragging it home and putting it out by the front entry to the property.. maybe having the wife plant flowers in the bed.. but ya know, it's probably better to let it rust away in dignity than turn it into a flower pot!

So within a 50 mile radius of my place, there are alot of free and near free vintage vehicles to be had just sitting around waiting to have somebody love them.. altho alot of them were "in the yard when I bought the place" so you won't always get a title.

Driving around is one way to find them, but sometimes it's best simply to ask around. My '46 wasn't viewable from the road, since the barn, house, and garage were between it and the street.

I got lucky and got a title with the '46.. i'm not sure what you'd do with an old vehicle without a title besides use it for parts, or file for a lost title and hope for the best.

There are plenty of projects out in this part of the country for 100 men.. I don't think I want to tackle more than one at a time. I'll keep my ear out for available stuff, and if I hear of anything, will be happy to share it with anyone intrested!

Kip,

Help me out here, buddy, as my Spanish isn't so good (I speak Quebecois... that's another story). But isn't Glenn giving us his acceptance speech for becoming the new moderator of the Big Bolts Forum??? Yeah, I'm sure that's what he's saying, isn't it?

Gee, thanks Glenn!!! You da MAN!


John

http://freeaudioclips.com/player.php?id=1742

http://freeaudioclips.com/player.php?id=1741

welcome to the bolt, very nice pix of it,, I cant believe that Foster told you to send some pix, only took him about 3 yrs to that good luck with your project,,,regards,,,Fred

Foster ? as in Warren ? from Keller ?

John,
http://world.altavista.com/
Even though I darn near live in Mexico, I ain't got nothin on Glenn when it comes tah "speaky the Spinitch".
Ok guys I'll go back to where I belong.......
Adios, Kip

Dont worry John.
They are not talkin' about ya.

MT, Thank goodness!! I was so worried they were!

Whew!! Such a relief!

:p :p :p :p
John

Well we've had a rash of nice 50+ degrees days here, so yesterday my little brother and I went out to bring the '46 home.

The pasture was a thick soupy mess, but my trusty toy truck ('91 GMC JIMMY 4x4) pulled her right out of the pasture.

Unfortunately, my 19 year old little brother has spent more time playing video games than steering a big truck, and he put the truck in a bean field across the street from the pasture.

Now one might think that a bean feild wouldn't be nearly as soupy as a cow pasture full of cow poop and whizz.. and one who thought that would be dead wrong.

After about 2 hours of moving the '46 about a foot at a time, the Jimmy finally got stuck.

If it hadn't been for the '76 Dodge 1 ton power wagon 4WD that pulled BOTH trucks out of the mess, they'd still be sitting there today.

Sure, both my GM trucks have their pride hurt a bit after being rescued by a Dodge.. but having my big, beautiful '46 sitting here at home helps ease the pain!

Fuel tank and radiator flush is first on my weekend project list.. hopefully i'll get to try and turn her over by Sunday.

Fumblin- don't stop with a radiator flush- Find a good shop and take the radiator to them-tell them do whats necessary. You don't want to pull this out again, so do it right now. And I'd use this philosophy with the whole rest of the resto- Do it right the first time, don't try to save a nickle. Good luck

Fumblin46 - nice truck!

you will find this useful, eventually:

secrets of surface rust removal revealed

http://hotrodders.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=55679

--

step by step method of surface rust removal - with pictures, more questions and more involved replies. Worth checking out.

-W

p.s. looks like a true IRWIPI submission.

Thatns for the link! It'll come in handy when I get to that phase of the trucks comeback.

Engine flushed, new plugs, points, wires, coil, rotor, cap, and battery are all installed now.

Starter has been pulled, cleaned, switch contacts cleaned, and good to go.

Horn works, lights work, voltage gauge works.. just waiting on the new flywheel (since my flywheel ring gear was shot) and i'm going to go for a start!

Once the engine is running and the truck is moving forward and backward on her own power, i'm going to tackle the brake system.. then pull off the bed and do the paint/body and re-attach the bed with new wood.

Slowly but surely!

Still looking for that "option 210" mirror for the drivers side door, tho!

Be careful with that mouse poop. Hantavirus is alway a threat, and about the worse thing you can do is blow it out with an air compressor and put all that junk in the air to be inhaled.

Use bleach, maybe a mask...

I may have missed some things in your adventure. Did you squirt a little penetrating oil in the cylinders and around the valve stems. Did you pull the distributor and spin oil pump with drill to make sure oil passages are clear and oil pump is functioning.. After letting prenetrating oil set rock engine by hand with spark plugs removed to make sure everything is freed up. Nothing like the thrill when it springs to life.

Another thing you've proably already done disconnect trucks fuel tank (unless you've already drained it and got the trash out) and use a remote tank or jug, so you have fresh clean gas. I've found marine portable tanks work well plus they have a primer bulb.

I've removed the tank, flushed it, sealed it, and put it back.

When I had the valve cover off I sprayed the valve springs with WD40 to be on the safe side, but I gotta say, she looked like a fresh motor when I pulled the valve cover.

When I was pulling the tank, and under the truck to loosen the bolts for the under seat tank, thats when I discovered the rot on the flywheel inspection pan.

I sprayed the crap out of it with WD40 and with some time and the help of a wire brush, I got it pretty clean, but the ring gear had a spot of "gnarled" teeth.

With the truck in neutral, I was able to crank the flywheel all the way around several times to inspect it, so i'm taking that as a sign that the engine is free... and you can feel it's got compression!

I did pull the plugs before hand and shot some WD down into the cylinders to help free 'em up.

You know, I pulled the truck home without having to so much as put air in the tires. This thing as been sitting for 20+ years, and the tires still had air.

Nebraska weather is dry.. it keeps these old beauties in pretty good shape. Even the stuff you see in the bone yard looks pretty good.

nice truck i have a 42 1/2 ton pick up but next truck will be a big bult for a rollback bed

My favorite years are the '41 thru '46. If I can find a 1/2 ton in that year range in half decent shape for under $1500 i'm gunna bag it.

It'll be tough, since alot of them have been hacked into hot rods, or bought up and restored.. but somewhere out there.. behind a barn or in a garage somewhere she's sitting waiting for me to discover her!

We just bought ourselves a big one just before Christmas, and it looks really similar to yours. We started out a year ago with a 46 3/4 ton and have now own a 45 2 ton. You have gotten further with yours that we have with ours, we lined our with xmas lights and parked it in the front yard! Both can be seen at the gallery.

I know that I have loads of learning to do with a big one. Best of luck with it!

Tempest

Congrat's Great Truck!!
I'm a new Big Bolt owner too can't wait to work on mine.
Sounds like you'll have it running in no time.
Mongo

Hi guys,

Just reading this post with a great deal of interest as I also have just purcheased my first 46 1 1/2 ton. have to get it home before i can start fixing it up. Got it for $1000 AUS so around $800 US but at the moment is around 3000 miles from my home town... transport organised it should be here by the end of April.

[img]http://photo.starblvd.net/46chev/1-1-1.jpg?i=1110654870[/img]
[img]http://photo.starblvd.net/46chev/1-1-2.jpg?i=1110655065[/img]
[img]http://photo.starblvd.net/46chev/1-1-3.jpg?i=1110655204[/img]

The truck started it's life in the RAAF and then was bought by a fire department after the war. This is as much as I know about it so far.

Cheers
Jason.

Jason,

I see you are fairly new around the 'Bolt. Wecome, mate (I think I said that right, I'm more used to sayin' "Howdy, pard!")

Congratulations on your "new" truck. Good pictures, and of course, we want more!

Look at that license plate! You have a keeper.

Fumblin46, Nice truck.You should think about pulling of your header panel as mice like to take up residence there also.

JBlanchard, thats a cool truck, man! WHat is that they got on the back of it?

The '41 thru '46 style is my all time favorite!