Well I did it... I bought my very FIRST Chevy..... yuppers... After years of running fords..Stude's.. binders..and other odd makes of truck.. I now own my first Chev... and it's a Big-Bolt at that..lol here's a photo on the way home with it...
My 49 2-ton It's a 49 2-ton with steel flat bed and grain racks.. It spent it's whole life hauling grain from the wheat fields on the palouse in eastern Washington.. When I found it, it hadn't been licensed since 1990... and had been sitting next to an old shop.
Ahhh but true to the dependability of the old stove-bolt? it started and ran..in fact I drove it the 70 miles home with only minor issues....
one ..every time I stepped on the brakes??? it sounded like the rear brakes were going to eat themselves up..lol.... and two? the kingpins had more wobble? Than a toddler learning to walk...lol Tore the rear breaks apart??? and <smile> only problem was that the return spring on both sides??? well?????? they were broke.... No problem...I hade some in stock... along with a NORS set of kingpins.....
The reason I "happened" to have the parts in stock???? Is simple... In fact there might even be a few of you that I've met over the years....
Over the years?? I've bought out over 400 old Western Auto stores of their "old stock" Wizard brand parts.... and spent several years (70's into the 90's)... as a vendor on the West Coast swap-meet circut...... along with running my own shop in the Seattle-Tacoma area.....
Yes.. even though I'm no longer doing restoration work or chasing parts buy-outs anymore..(on a commercial basis)... I still have ALL my old parts books.. and interchange books... some going all the way back into the 1920's and earlier on many applications.. You'd be suprised as to how common some of those old parts actually are??? if you have the old number?? and know where and how to look for the modern version....
Michael...
formerly:
Northwest Classic
parts and restoration
'49 Chev 2-ton
'65 Chev 35ft school bus
misc British cars (do you really want to know??)
,nice truck.I'll probably need you're help sooner or later(I'm on my first rebuild).I have a 53 4400,welcome to the big bolts