The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 1 ton is a 2ton? what have I got?

Hi,
New to the forum. I joined because I just bought a 1948 Chevrolet 3600 with a dump bed. Bought it off a buddies pictures from his phone.
I brought a 10k two axle car hauler. Got to the location after a 7 hour drive. Truck was beefier than any one ton! definitely at least a 1.5 ton. Maxed the trailer out and wagged the dog back home for 2 days at 45 mph. Bent the trailer a little in the process.
Got on this website and think I have deciphered the Vin# 21RWSH5245. Is this correct? Built in Janesville, RW = 2ton, S = special model, H = heavy duty, 5245th truck produced
Everything seems to be original. Wheels are a 10 bolt 20 inch split rim.
This truck is very heavy with the dump bed being a double ram and the bed sheeted in steel. I would have brought a bigger trailer if I had known.
Why the 3600 designation on the cab? Reading the foot notes I am guessing that this is a medium duty truck?

BTW, I have over 15 trucks that I am in various stages of restoration. All dodges from 61 thru 71 (except for a 1978 shorty box 4x4 with a factory 440) D100 thru D500 with a W300 in the mix and etc... Know my dodges like an encyclopedia. Know nothing about the older Chevrolet trucks.

My uneducated guess is someone swapped badges/body parts from a 3600 onto your larger truck. Your title should not say 3600. If it does someone has monkeyed it in the past and could come back to haunt you with your DMV.

"3600" would designate a 3/4 ton truck. "3800" would be a 1 ton. Neither one would have 20" wheels- - - -My 1959 3800 had 18" 8 lug tube type wheels with an oddball removable bead ring that did not split- - -it had to be pried off using a couple of cutout areas of the bead ring. 3/4 tons usually had 16" or 17" 8 lug wheels. A truck with 20" wheels would be 1 1/2 ton or larger. It's possible someone has swapped a "3600" cab onto the heavier chassis, as all the cabs from 1/2 ton up are the same size- - -different fenders, hoods, and other sheet metal from a bigger truck will bolt onto a 3600 cab pretty easily, though.
Jerry

That hasn't happened. I bought the truck from the son of the original owner. It was purchased new for use on the farm and according to him it was ordered as a cab chassis. His Dad had the dump bed installed.
In looking at the notes at the bottom of the spec page for Vin identification is the following.

Series # with "S" = "Special Model"
Series 31-3200 = Light Duty
Series 34-35-36-37-3800 = Medium Duty
Series 40-50-60 = Heavy Duty

So.. It seems like these trucks could be ordered in 1 to 2 ton capacity in various iterations.

Is this correct?

post a couple of pictures of the front hub, and rear axle. front dust cover on the wheel bearings on 2 ton are bolted on, 1 1/2 ton screws on, similar to a pipe cap.

As Jerry said, cabs were all the same, fenders on the 1 1/2 and 2 ton were wider.

20" wheels should be 1 1/2 or 2 ton.

Thanks for the responses.

I am pretty sure that it is a 2 ton based on the VIN and the info that Mike just shared. Yes the front hubs are bolt on.

Don't know if I am allowed to post pictures yet.

You got it almost all right...

RWS = 6400 Series (2-ton) with a 1-1/2 ton rating

H = Month (August)

5245 = Unit number starting with 1001. So you have the 4,245th RW out of Plant 21.

Mike B

Thanks Mike B,

That would explain why the previous owner was telling me he thought it was a 1 1/2 ton

You should be able to post pictures. See the instructions on the left side of the page.

Someone swapped the hood from a 3/4 ton truck. The same hood fits everything except C.O.E.

Mike

i'm pretty sure the hoods are not all the same
1/2 to 1 ton share a hood
1.5 and up have a different hood to accommodate the different front fenders which make the whole front end wider and with larger wheel openings, it's subtle but definitely not the same hood or quarter panels
only the cab is shared from 1/2 to 3 ton non COE right?
-s

35 mike Isn't the ton hood bigger ? To fit bigger fenders ??

I have two sets of fenders that are wider than stock, easily fit modern FWD front axle. Have large wheel cutout unlike stock 1.5 ton, narrow fenders. One came off school bus in mountains, other came off ‘42, not sure of tonnage ID. Sure make nice not to have front tires sling mud all over. I ton hood fits.

Ed

Ok, I have taken a few hours a day here and there over the past several months. To get the truck running.

After reading through the forums I made some immediate changes and also walked through some processes as described.

Pretty certain the motor is a 216 original. According to the previous owner the miles are original at 70,585.6. Truck rarely came off the farm and was mostly used to haul this and that from field to barn and etc. I guess its possible.

I put a new 6 volt battery in and tried the starter. Clunk! Then nothing. So, replaced all the battery cables with new #0 to the the bell housing and starter. New #2 cable from the bell housing to frame.

Pulled all the plugs and pumped about 1/4 cup of WD40 in each cylinder with a syringe and then drained the oil.

Drained about 5 gallons of bad gas out of the external frame mount tank, replace the cracked rubber fuel line that joined the tank to the steel line.

Installed new points, plugs, condenser, rotor, cap and coil.

Filled with new oil. Took about 8 quarts.

The carburetor looked really clean. Like a new rebuilt had been installed before it was parked in 1998. I took the syringe and filled the fuel bowl through the breather tube with fresh gas.

Another shot of gas down the the throttle body, turned the key and and it fired up immediately. Ran smooth with a number of exhaust leaks around the manifold. Fuel pump was working great and fuel was visible flowing through the in line filter.

Pulled the manifolds as a unit. The PO had welded a 2 inch schedule 40 elbow to the exhaust manifold. I left it. Just cut the 2 inch exhaust pipe back of where he had welded it in. I connected it back with a standard 2 inch exhaust coupler and some exhaust clamps. This was after I ran it down to the machine shop and had it surfaced as a unit. I replaced one of the studs in the head and coated a new set of gaskets with antisieze before installing.

Engine runs perfect and quiet. seems to be tight without any oil burning or excessive blow by. I did run a compression test before installing the plugs and all cylinders were 110 to 115.

Eased it into first gear and drove around the property a little. No brakes! But the hand pull emergency brake works very good. Engaged the PTO and raised the dump bed. Worked very smoothly.

Now I have a clear view of the drive train. It has a Browney. It looks to me like it also has a 2 speed rear end that does not have anything connected to it. I will have to investigate this. Don’t know anything about a Browney. Have to figure that out as well.

Now the starter is not fully engaging. At first I was afraid it might have a bad spot in the ring gear but after turning the motor by hand to different locations it seems to just be a starter issue.

So, time to pull the starter and see if its an easy fix. Starters are available at NAPA so I will probably just replace it.

Any feed back on the Browney would be appreciated.

Bought the truck just cause I couldn’t stomach it going to the crusher. Thought I would get it going and sell it to someone else that is in to stove bolts. I am primarily into old Dodges but… It was just as much fun getting this one running.

do you have a picture of the rear axle? it seems highly unlikely to have both a brownie AND a 2 spd, unless one of the 2 isnt original. id like to see the brownie too, just for the sake of it. someone might be able to ID it on here. there is a wealth of knowledge on brownies available on this board, and there were very few 2 spd axles used, so that shouldn't be difficult to identify. i would definitely keep it, if you have enough space, they're good trucks.

Most Brownies have a data tag, usually on a side, early ones were brass, later ones are steel. Numbers on tag represent ENGINE torque rating, I e 5531 can handle engine torque of 500 ft. lbs.
OD position is fwd, right. Google for ratios. Very simple design, output shaft might not have seal, reverse threads to keep oil in. No parts are available. If Tru-Stop disc brake attached, a bonus. Lube shifter ‘til rails are free, make new shift rods from water pipe or EMT.

Send picture when can.

Must have 20” wheels, if front cast hub threads in, 1.5 ton truck, if stamped metal, 2 ton truck.

Ed

What year is it? I see a RWS in 1948 as a 6400S 161” wheelbase 1 1/2 ton special with 15000 gvw.
http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1948_51truck/51ctsmA3.htm