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Ok, here we go...

I started this project just about 20 years ago now. I've been looking at this old truck in a farm field for a few years and finally asked about buying it. The owner agreed to sell it and then we had to figure out how to get it home. Fortunately, it was only about 5 miles away, so we towed it home behind a tractor. Along the way at least one tire blew out!

See video here:
Bringing the COE home [youtu.be]

The truck was pretty solid, mostly surface rust. The right side fender was dented a bit and the grille was dented in also. The engine was free, but the transmission was hard to shift at all. The brake and clutch pedals were siezed up. I didn't even try to get it running since there was a mud wasp nest in the carburetor.

I've been working a lot on it lately, so I'll get everyone caught up as we go.

Nice truck is that a pickup watching you cut the tree down if so you will have to make another tractor run.Actually it looks like there are a few pickups ,you are surrounded.

There were several good candidates. Not sure what's left now though.
Take a look at these pictures.

So i decided to jump right in and disassemble! That's always the exciting part, seeing what's what. How is it put together, what does what and how is everything connected. What's good, what's bad. What can I reuse/refurbish and what needs to be replaced.

There was a stovebolt 6 of course, but I didn't know much about them at the time. It has a 4 speed gearbox with a reverse lockout. There's an updraft carburetor, complete with mud dauber nest. And of course all kinds of rust.

The doors had some pretty cool art. Looking back, I'm wondering if I should have just left it and not painted it...


BTW, the picture names are the date: YYYYMMDD_etc

I fell in love with those when I met up with a bunch of stovebolters in at a show in northern Indiana. There was one inparticular that a couple had redone, lowered, shorter tires, pickup bed very professionaly looking. And another one near here at the James Dean car show near where I live. It was bright red and dual cabs. He said he and his wife were on their way to Texas after the show. Keep the dream going, good luck.

Continuing to show pictures of the disassembly. I tried to take a bunch of pictures as I went. The camera i had at the time wasn't the best. Some of the pictures are a bit blurry, then when you go to zoom in, it's hard to see much detail.

I pulled the cab off using an overhead hoist. I made some "hooks" to grab the door openings. This worked pretty well. I left the steering wheel on and I was pretty sure I'd get the cab off with the wheel in place, but I wasn't 100% sure. I was able to twist the cab around enough to get it off and not have to remove the steering wheel.

The engine turned out to be a babbitt bearing 235. There was also a brake booster, which I didn't expect in this age of truck. It makes sense though, being a big bolt.

Farmdog,

Nice truck. You’re making excellent progress.

Keep up the good work and please keep posting your progress. I’ll be following along.

i really like that lift set up you have, very cool

My 46 has the original 215 it has 10MM spark plugs which I found unusual.

Stephen,

It'll help a whole lot with the images if you'd use a caption with them. (You have to type in what the photo is about.) It's an odd deal but, in the Attachment Manager, first box, you need to describe what the photo is (caption or tag) FIRST before you drag in or paste the image in to that box. As soon as the image has peculated in the box and is all *there*, as you have seen I'm sure, it automatically drops down to the stack at the bottom.

For some reason (an issue with the UBB program apparently), if you don't name an image, the image takes the caption from any previous image in the thread.

If you forget, it's very easy to delete from the bottom stack and try again, without saying the whole "session" is done.

Hope this makes sense. Not much about "Attachment Management" makes sense but we're all doing the best we can.

Thanks.

The same guy who I bought the truck from said he had another engine from a newer COE, but it had the same manifold setup. He knew that mine was cracked and kept this engine for just the manifolds. I went and picked it up. It was literally lying under a tree. I'm not sure there is much else worth keeping on this engine BUT the manifolds.

I continued to disassemble. I got the original engine pulled.

I also got two newer engines with modern bearings. One came from a car and the other from a pickup. Both 235's. I thought I'd use one of these as the replacement engine.

Give some attention to the one with the green valve cover.Check the casting numbers may be a 261

I checked the casting numbers. It's a 235. I don't know if a 261 would be similar enough to fit? There is only a fraction of an inch between the fan and the radiator. I'd be afraid it wouldn't fit and I'd have to modify sheet metal to make it fit, something I really don't want to do.

I disassembled the front brakes. The brake cylinders were a little to far gone for my abilities to do anything with them. The hardware is all intact and good for cleaning and reuse.

Taking the back brakes apart also showed that overall they were in decent shape.

I ended up buying new wheel cylinders all around. I also had the shoes re-lined at a local tractor repair shop. I didn't think I could find new shoes anywhere, but really, I didn't look. (Maybe I should have?)

The front frame horns (I think that's what they're called) had some issues. a bumper bracket bolt was broken off on the passenger side. The driver's side also had a broken bumper bracket bolt plus the two studs for the fender bracket were rusted off.

I media blasted the front end of the frame. I think it was called Black Blast or something along those lines. It's a black slag type material. It was about $5 for a 50 lb bag, so I thought it wasn't too bad of a price. I didn't want to use sand because of the silica dust.

When the front section was done, I used some rust converter to go over it. The picture shows a bluish tint, but it wasn't that pronounced in real life.

What was the reasoning for the COE design?

This might answer your question? [en.wikipedia.org]

Check this one out! This would be amazing to see and drive.


Twin engine six wheel steer COE truck [thedrive.com]

I had the engine rebuilt at a local shop. The guy running the shop had quite a reputation of knowing the straight sixes. He did an excellent job. I had him put on the original harmonic balancer so everything would match up. I put the original 6 volt flywheel on because i wanted to keep the starter with the floor pedal. I used the original 6 volt starter even though I'm converting it all to 12volt.

I got a new short water pump and had to also get an adapter plate for it to work on this engine. There is no way I could get by with a longer water pump because the fan is right up against the radiator as it is. There is no room for any change. I also used the original upper radiator hose and thermostat assembly.

Between the original manifolds and the spare one, I chose the best one. They both had cracks. I took it to a local welding shop to repair it. After repairing it, he milled the mating surface flat. This caused a gap between the intake and exhaust manifolds of around 1/8". I drew up a spacer plate in Autocad and had a machine shop make it with a CNC plasma cutter.

I blasted the rear part of the frame. I did the same treatment as I did on the front section.

I struggled and struggled trying to get the shaft that the pedals pivot on to come out. I thought it was a press fit and I could pound on it to get it out. I didn't want to go baliistic and break something. I did a bit of research here and found that there is a roll pin holding the pivot shaft in place. Once I found that (it was hidden in gunk), I was able to drive it our and the shaft came out nicely. I was able to clean it all up. It was pretty hard to move the pedals before, there was a lot of old dirt and rust in there. I don't think I could have gotten them working well again without taking it all apart.

I rebuilt the transmission (basically cleaned it out). It didn't really need much. I cleaned up the case and powder coated it. I also got the bellhousing cleaned up and painted. I assembled some of the pieces.

That frame and its components are sure looking sharp! Keep it up. Very interesting build started here.

The heater was attacked next. I don't know if it's original or not. I totally disassembled it. There was a mud dauber nest I had to clean out of the heater core. Some of the shafts that the flaps were on were worn down where they went through the housing and rusted pretty bad. I tried some muriatic acid on the flaps and the fan blades. That seemed to work pretty well dissolving the rust. I then washed them off good and dried them thoroughly. I media blasted the heater housing. To replace those worn and rusted shafts, I carefully ground the welds and old shafts off the flaps. I used new 1/4" rod and welded them in. Once I had everything cleaned up, I powder coated the pieces.

On reassembly, I put in new rubber grommets and springs. I also was able to source a new motor. I just cleaned up the nameplate as best I could without destroying it. Fortunately, the original knobs were in good shape, so I reused them.

It actually came together quite nicely. I like working on a small section of the project like that to be able to feel like I'm making progress.

I took the rims to a local company to have them blasted and powder coated. They did an excellent job.

The previous owner had some drive tires that he just gave to me. I was amazed at how good they were, that saved a bunch of money. I had to buy a couple of new tires for the front. When i went to get them mounted, I had to buy a few of the flaps ( I think that's what they called them ) and a few new inner tubes. They ended up looking really good.


I don't think they'd fit on my pickup very well.

This is the oil filter. I cleaned it up and then powder coated it. It turned out pretty good.

I sent some parts out for re-chroming. I wasn't sure if they could be saved or not. They came out amazing!
It was better than new in my opinion.

I got the engine and transmission mounted. I got a few of the engine accessories mounted. As the transmission sat, I found that it was leaking oil. It was leaking through some of the bolt holes. So I took it apart and sealed all the bolt holes. The seals seemed to be holding ok. So far it's still dry on the outside, so that's a good sign.

I had several carburetors so I chose the best looking one. I ordered a rebuild kit for it. I completely disassembled it and cleaned it up. I put in the new parts and reassembled it. I got it installed on the engine. I removed the governor and didn't reinstall it. That changed some of the connections, but nothing I couldn't adjust for.

I had the brake shoes re-lined, that wasn't cheap. I put in new wheel cylinders and reassembled the brakes.
I had the brake booster rebuilt at a place in New York. It sure looks much better now.
For the hubs, I got new bearings and new wheel studs. The old studs were pretty rusty and pitted.

Those brakes will be good to go for many years now. Looking good!

Good work. I've always liked the COE. I'm enjoying following along with you.

Very nice job, keep up the good work!!!🛻

So in these posts I'm kind of in a dilemma. What I've been posting has been several years back. I'm not going into much depth and trying to get everyone caught up. I figure once I get caught up, I can then go with posts related to what I'm actually doing real-time. BUT, there are things I'm doing now that would like to post about, but at this rate it'll be a while before I get there.

I see a few options and i think I'd like some feedback for the direction I should go.
1- Keep posting in chronological order, to eventually get caught up (maybe in a few months?)
2- Continue to post old stuff and intersperse the current stuff. (Might be confusing?)
3- Post only new stuff (missing in-between stuff)

Or any other ideas??

As a teaser, I'm including a current picture.

I'm going to flag this for John to see what he has to offer.

I did some thinking on the matter ... got those little grey cells just a goin' ... and here's what I came up with, FWIW ...

I think you should keep going chronologically with your *Journal* and post questions about what you are doing currently in the appropriate Technical Forum. Just remember to include your outcome in your Journal at the appropriate time.

A Journal is just that -- A record or diary of your experiences and progress. There really doesn't need to be a lot of conversation there of a technical nature. I know I have been guilty of this too in my own Journal and I am going to do better to post *my* question in the appropriate forums.

Discussions regarding how to do this, that or some other task (by you) should go in a Technical Forum.

If you post something in your Journal about something you did and how you did it .... and somebody has a question about what you did, or needs a little amplification of what you wrote, well that's fine but it shouldn't turn into something that belongs in a Technical forum.

I realize that this distinction is vague, highly subjective and possibly esoteric ... but give it a whirl, make a judgement and do the best you can. There's no Inquisition that will boil you in used motor oil if you don't do it perfectly ...

I'll do the same

John

When I started my journal, I was also in the same situation. Fortunately, I documented everything I did including the date it was performed since day one of the restoration. Once I started my Journal I posted chronologically including the date it was performed, until I caught up. I had eight months of work to catch up on. My only mistake was I posted too much too soon trying to get caught up that the Moderator had to remind me to post one or two postings a week to keep the ‘bolters interest. I was posting two or three days worth of work on a daily basis trying to get caught up. It wasn’t until the following spring that I actually got my Journal caught up. All along, I posted my issues I was looking to get help with in the “Shop” forums and kept those out of my journal. What I included in my Journals, was my progress, success’s and failures, and my thoughts as I was plodding thru the restoration. I sometimes left links in the journal back to those “Shop” forums for those that wanted the details of the work performed.

I love COE’s, wish I had a shop big enough to work on them, and appreciate the enormous job your doing restoring this old beauty! Keep up the great work and I’ll be following along!

Since I had the engine installed, I had to give it a try running it. At this point I had the electronic ignition installed and the carburetor rebuilt. I used an old gas tank from a snowblower and a used battery. I didn't have any cooling system, exhaust pipe or charging system, but I wasn't going to run it very long.

I turned on my switch to the ignition (old washing machine switch ["resources, not junk"]). Then I pushed down on the starter lever and it cranked! That was pretty exciting in itself. I kept cranking and soon it sputtered and came to life! Wow!

I ran it for a couple minutes maybe. It was enough to rev it up and down a bit. It sure sounded good. That was a big morale booster!

Congrats on getting the engine fired up. I know that feeling and experienced it a couple years back when I got my 235 rebuilt and started. She will be moving on it’s own power soon and you be like a kid with a new toy! Keep up the good work!

I installed the brake booster. I had it rebuilt and when I was talking to the guy at the rebuild shop, he asked if I found it at the bottom of a lake. He thought it was pretty bad. I guess I didn't know any better. They did an excellent job and it looks like new. I also installed a new master cylinder. I ran the brake lines, vacuum advance, and fuel lines also. I used nickel-copper line for most of it and it sure makes bending so much easier.

I took the differential cover off to inspect the gears. They seemed to be in good shape and were clean. I cleaned up the cover and sealed it back up. I filled it with oil and marked that off my list.