The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 1950 Chevy 6400 - husband and wife team project

Hello! Just purchased my wife and I's first together project, a 1950 Chevy 6400! Started browsing this forum in the couple weeks preceding her purchase, and it was very helpful in making the decision. I'm a Tractor-trailer mechanic by trade, so these little carburetor powered engines are new to me. Looking forward to sharing the journey.

Welcome! Looks like a nice place to start, but plenty of room for project-ing and making it your own.

Looks like it is running and driving already?

Glad you decided to post in here after your first post in the Midwest Bolter Association spot in the Sidelot .

Thanks for sharing your story and pics. Very nice condition for a starting point and I have to say I am intrigued by the lift bed winch set-up. Not something we see very often.

Dan

What happened to the headlight between the first photo and the second? I assume it's still a 6v system?

Buy a set of Philips or Wagner 6v Halogen headlamps. They're about $8 each and illuminate the road as good as any modern headlight system.

I changed the lights out as soon as I got her home, and I've gotten her to start and run on her own as well. She's not drivable, the tires are way worse than they look, and she won't stop at all, even with the hand brake. I just got off the phone with a guy in town who might have some wheels for me to try so I can get new rubber on her, as she's got the RH-5s. Thank you all for the welcome! I posted here first but the other post got cleared first while I'm in my probation

The winch appears to be a very much homemade system, and I was surprised it all worked when I got her to run on her own. Thanks for the welcome!

Welcome to the 'bolt. Thanks for the pix, we love pix.

welcome to the site! I have a daughter and son in law at Whiteman AFB in MO.

Your truck looks to be in nice shape. Good score. A bunch of us will be getting together this coming September in Independence. It'd be nice if you could join us.

Welcome to the Stovebolt.

John

I'll try and keep everything updated and keep an eye out about the roundup. I'll try to swing up there to say hi at the least.

Glad to see you are out of moderation and a full-fledged Bolter. Contrats.

Keep regular check on Midwest Bolters since they'll have more than one event during the year. They've got a new (Gdads51) Stovebolt Ambassador working in there!! Plenty for him to do and one of the things is to pull together some events in the area where Bolters can meet up for a bit.

In good hands.

Welcome!
Looks like a nice, solid old truck! Keep us posted on your progress.

Getting work done as I can, wanting to get "Luisa" here back to her former glory! Look who has front lights! I'll add more as I do more. Still waiting on the bulbs for the bumper lights to come in.

That's a pretty nice looking truck. I reckon there are lot of these old 6400s kicking around down here. Matter of fact, I know a logger who uses one with a bunk bed he built. I think he only uses it for moving logs around the yard but it's still in use and that's what counts.

Millenemech That looks great,nothing better than trucks with the markers all lit up ! I turn mine on at 5 am so I can see to get around out there, then head out for my coffee run !! Nothing better than a winch truck,you really learn with those,big Tulsa 20,000 winch with gin poles and a tail roller plus skid plates under the duals, chain em up under the tail roller !!

Millenemech I want to tell you about helping a neighbor move an oil field pulling machine on an 80's big block tandem axle truck. Wow heavy and awkward,with a rat 366 or 427. Then we got back to look at the winch truck,another 80's c 60 with a braden winch another tough piece,it was a factory A/C truck but someone had converted the A/c compressor over to be an air compressor,not understanding that the compressor has to have lubrication somehow. The truck had 2-position gin poles,really heavy poles,3/4 line on the spool,tough piece, needs a tail roller and skid plates.

Nice! Love the look of the old girl. I'm looking forward to seeing the progress. Just getting really going on my 67 7500 myself. Keep the pics coming.

Hello! I'm sorry if this has been answered before, but after letting Luisa run for a bit (supervised, but only loosely), I returned to find all my coolant on the ground and her very hot. It turns out that, with the warmer weather, and after sitting for years before hand, that I am now missing a small area of fins in the upper corner of her radiator. Does anyone know if the radiator on these bigger trucks was any different than those on the smaller trucks? I'm having trouble finding anything that will fit check anything higher than a 1 ton truck. You can see the damage in the rightt half of the second picture. Thanks in advanced!

If the tubes on the radiator have been pinched off (was a somewhat common repair for a leaking tube way back when) and the open tubes are restricted by corrosion and crud, then the flow thru the radiator may be too restricted and the coolant pumped to the top of the radiator won't be able to get down thru the core and back to the engine. I'd recommend pulling the radiator and getting it looked at by a shop (although radiator shops are getting harder to find.) I've had radiators "rodded out" (literally removing one tank and sticking a rod thru the tubes to clean the crud out) to fix them.

I had my the radiator for my 1948 re-cored.

Millenimech Try the radiator shop,I think Carter's have radiators but they are expensive. If you could stand an aluminum one suppose you could do that. In the olden days,as Kevin says ,they'd use a briggs and stratton re-coil starter spring to "rod em out". My two big 6400 original radiators are still OK at 75 and 72 yrs. old.

We have a radiator shop near me, I'll see what they can do. It looks like a plug of some kind came out in that corner, hopefully they can do something with it. I'll keep you all posted when I can make it happen. Thanks!

Millenimech Might have been a gob of epoxy in there.

It's been a while. Took the rear wheel ends apart to try to see if I could at least get new wheel cylinders on and the parking brake working again. Drums are serviceable, as are the left side shoes. Both sets of shoes are fairly new from a wear standpoint, but it looks like the right side wheel seal never took. Shoes are soaked. Anyone know where I can find linings? I have a rivet press.

Your local tractor trailer shop should be able to fix you up.
Id also consider going ahead and doing both sides.
If they don't them ask where they get them relined...
When i worked with a shop servicing them we sent them all out to be relined. Good luck.
( lots of folks have good luck with NAPA.)

Glad to see your still at it with your truck. Sorry to hear about the soaked brake linings. I've done a bit of web searching tonight and can't find any sources for lining kits (original GM# 605380) or lined shoe replacements (original GM# 3660048).

You might try to check out local big rig truck shops that may be able to reline those, or at least give you a lead on a clutch and brake relining shop. IIRC, the linings are 3" w x 16" long.