The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre Do It Yourself (DITY) Gallery 1946 Chevy 1/2Ton in Utah - Here We Go

Hello All,

I don't really have a great story about the truck, but I want to get this truck back on the road.

About 20+ years ago, I traded my 1946 Dodge truck to a friend who had a 1946 Chevy. My Dad was a "Dodge" man and it was going to be hard to let it go, but my friend sweetened the deal with a 1978 Jeep Wagoneer. I ended up giving the Wagoneer to another friend that needed it more than me and I drove the Chevy for a year or two before tearing it apart.

None of these vehicles were mint, just old and still running.

I had big plans for the Chevy truck -- tear it down and build a show truck. I had the frame and front axle powder coated, but then life, a new house and work kept me busy away from the project.

Well, I'm ready to get started again. I have boxes of parts I ordered 20 years ago and old parts scattered in small bins. I wish I would have put them in plastic bags and labeled them like everyone on the forums says to do. I have everything and I took lots of pictures during disassembly, so that helps.

My plan now is to have a nice frame and suspension (solid base), but I want the truck to look like an old farmers truck.

Not planning to do much body work. I'm preparing to swap the ring and pinion to 3.55 gears so I can hopefully drive 60-65mph on the highway. Also, I'm swapping out the 216 engine for a 235.

Hope I can stay on track and motivated.

Well, it looks like it's time you got back to work on it.... work on it at least 15 minutes every day, no matter what. You will have it together in no time.

I really like the "15 minutes every day" idea. It gets you on the project even for a short time. Yesterday my 15 minutes had me working on it from 11am-4:30pm. But there have been days where I took 15-30 minutes and just cleaned up, organized and made space on my work bench for my next task.

Progress is progress. Learned to drive in my grandpa's 46 pickup. Keep us posted and ask any questions in garage forums and we'll do the rest.
What part of utah. Have kin in Provo Orem, and Mt Pleasant......may be in Utah in March for Root Tech.

I'm in Provo. Sometimes I think about moving back home to Colorado, but it has changed so much over the last 30 years.

When I installed the front axle, the U-bolts were a little too long for me, so I shortened them a little and added a few more threads. I think they look better.

I also got the front brakes installed earlier in the week. My plan was to swap to front disc brakes, but I felt it was too much to do at this time. Buying a front disc brake conversion kit, dual reservoir master cylinder, figuring out how to mount it, find a proportioning valve,... I'll leave this to a side project down the road.

I didn't paint the Huck bracket spacers and now I'm thinking about pulling it apart to do that. Then I'm thinking they sit behind the brake drums and no one will see them. We'll see if it keeps me up at night. Also, I cut the one lower bolt a little too short I think, so I'll get a new bolt to replace it - no biggie.

I've put nearly 10,000 miles on my 1950 in the last 3 years with Huck brakes. They work perfectly well. Don't waste time and money on discs.

Thanks Otto! I remember driving this truck years ago and it did drive and stop fine. I guess the big reason is safety? Dual reservoirs so you don't lose front and rear brakes at the same time. I'm hoping with everything being new, my brakes will be fine for quite awhile. I wonder if there is just a replacement master cylinder for a 1946 that just bolts in place. I've not seen any.

Time to work on the torque tube and swap the ring and pinion gears. The powder coating guy says I have to remove all the grease before sand blasting. This stuff was caked on pretty thick, but surprisingly it came off easy.

So now I'm getting into the part that scares me the most. At least I know I have a local shop that will help me if I run into problems. I removed the inner shaft from the tube and noted the bearings, oil shield, lock ring and nut,... and I removed the 5/16 inch dowel pin that holds the pinion gear. I just drilled one side and punched it out. The pinion came out with no issues. The pinion nut has a notch in it that keeps it from loosening. I tried to pry it up while attached to the shaft, but found it was easier to do when the pinion was removed and standing upright on the bench. In the mean time I'll start looking for a dial indicator so that I can measure the backlash when reassembling. Oh, and I'll need to get some of the yellow paint to see the wear pattern. What if I need additional spacing shims? Where do I get those? Or, if I use the two that I already have, will that be pretty close to fitting properly?

Note: I did find a pinion shim set at Chevs of the 40's. It came with 6 shims, two of each: .003", .005" and .010"

Just wondering - In the torque tube end nearest the transmission, there looks to be a oil seal or bushing about 6 inches inside. The Okie bushing is about 5 3/4 inches, so it doesn't reach this seal/bushing. I've heard you just leave it in there, but is there a replacement seal/bushing? My 3.55 gear kit does not come with this part. Just thought if I have this torque tube completely apart, why not replace everything.

There's a seal on the back end of the Okie bushing. At least there was on the one I installed. If you're installing an okie bushing, you'll be good to go.

Yes, there is a seal that I install on the Okie bushing. OK, I should be good. Thanks!

Well, a bit of good news for me. I was worried about getting the pinion nut loosened. I've read it could be torqued from 200 to 240 pounds. I took it to a friend today since he has a large adjustable wrench. We put the pinion in the vice and I first tried to loosen it without using an extension bar. It came right off! I was so surprised.

I've never owned a modern car. Every car I've owned was built before 1973 and every truck before 1980 (95 F150 is my mom's).

Every vehicle in my signature line has a single reservoir system with the exception of the Ford trucks. I have never had a brake failure due to a leak anywhere in the system.

I'm sure you, like virtually all of us with antique cars, is obsessive about checking every aspect of the vehicle frequently. Keep an eye on everything and fix stuff as soon as it starts to go bad and you won't have any trouble.

Yep - I like doing preventative maintenance on my vehicles. Some of my friends are puzzled and wonder why I don't just fix things when they break. I tell them I don't like being stuck on the side of the road.

Going to try and work on the ring and pinion tomorrow. Changing out bearings and installing the pinion. Then, get the ring and carrier bearings swapped.

I got to tell you that pulling the carrier bearings had me puzzled for a little while. I was trying to figure out a way to use my two claw puller, but with no center to pull against I was stumped. I ended up using a 32mm socket and found a thick washer to use on top of the square hole. Then my impact gun made short work of it. This morning I had to walk away and think about it or think about where I could take it for help. Seemed like an all day process, but now it's done. I also have the pinion ready to go back in - maybe tomorrow.

Still trying to find where I can buy some pinion shims. I have the two original shims and don't really know if I'll need more or not. I've read to go with my original two shims and add a 0.010" shim to start. I think I'm going to just start with the two I have and look at the contact pattern and see if I need to add or not. Once started on the process, I don't like to stop and wait days for parts. Oh well, let's see how it goes. I did look in the box for any shims that may have come with the 3.55 kit from Patrick's, but I didn't see any.

I took "15 minutes" today and got the new pinion gear install. I stood the torque tube on end and let gravity help me. Next, I pressed on the carrier bearings and maybe I'll tackle the ring gear later tonight. To stand up the torque tube I used an old U-bolt I attached to the side of the bench and a piece of wood on the ground. It worked pretty well.

Update: I did get the ring gear mounted on the carrier tonight. Wow, that was more work than I thought it would be. I'm worn out! No more work until tomorrow.

Installing the carrier and wished I'd have three hands, but was able to get it in. I adjusted the backlash to about .007" and checked the contact pattern. I think it looks good - pretty much in the middle.

Looking good. I like when you show you work arounds and specialty tools (socket with puller and the spanner wrench). Bolting the tube to the bench was also creative.👍

John

Thanks John! I'm no expert on any of this, but I'm trying to do everything I can myself. It's been a good learning experience. Always happy to post pictures - someone told me I can never post too many pictures. Sometimes just one picture will help someone with their project.

Looking good .you make it look easy.

Finally got the rear axle housing back from powder coating and it looks pretty good. I spent time today cleaning all the sand grit from inside the tubes. Pushed through some rags and scrub it with a nylon dish brush that fit the tube nicely. I'm really glad I did this step - so much debris inside. Also have my overload springs (is that what you call them?) and rear springs ready to install. Haven't checked the mail, but I think my pinion shims are here and I can now continue with the gear install.

If you got sand inside the tubes, I would go nuts with a pressure washer inside it to be SURE you got all the sand out. You don't want ANY to get into the bearings or gears. I wouldn't be satisfied getting it all out with rags and a scrub brush.

Thanks Kevin! My friend has a pressure washer and he can help me this afternoon. This will definitely make me feel better about making sure it's clean.

I have almost the same job in my future, except with an open drive. I appreciate you jumping in front of me and documenting your swap. I’m hoping your job makes mine go smoother.

I got a package of six pinion shims and I believe there are two of each size, but I don't know the sizes. I don't have a dial caliper to measure, but my friend has one (he's a retired machinist). I want to find out the measurements of my original two shims and then get the measurements of these new ones before installing any on my pinion gear. I could probably go to Harbor Freight and pick up a tool, but I'd probably never use it again and I've never needed one in the past.

Update: Measured the new shims, two of each: .003", .005" and .010". My two original shims were: .016" and .021".

Thanks Paul. I'm just going slow and easy. Watching videos and reading a lot.

I didn’t have much use for a dial caliper until I had one. Now I use it all the time. It’s a tool I reach for pretty constantly for checking drill diameters, screw wire diameters, measuring engine parts, the uses are endless. You can find them fairly cheaply.

UtahYork, even though you don’t have a story on your truck your amazing great detail in the restoration will be something to have. Keep up the good work👍

Thanks Donald! Everyone on this site recommended this forum to help document my work and all of them said to post lots of pictures. Plus, you get lots of helpful feedback from those with previous knowledge and that has help me through the process. I guess the biggest plus is all the "cheerleading" to keep me motivated and moving forward. "15 minutes a day" is the battle cry. I was visiting family for Thanksgiving and I'm itching to get back in the garage today. Your support is very much appreciated.

Been gone a week and returned to my pinion shims in the mail. Looks like I have two of each: .003, .005 and .010. My two original shims were: .016 and .021. In the Tech section there was a suggestion to use my two original shims and add the .010" shim to start. I started with just my two original and tooth contact looked a little high, so adding something should bring it down a little. Not sure if .010 is too much, but I have to start somewhere. I don't mind taking it apart again - I'm liking the experience.

I've been thinking about the wheels and tires. Some say they are using 215/85-16 tires to replace the old 6.00x16 or 6.50x16 size tires. I think I want to change to radials since many say they ride much nicer than the old bias ply tires. I've also seen some R700x16 tires mentioned. I'm headed to the local tire store tomorrow to dismount the tires and tubes. Not sure my old rims can run tubeless or not, but I'll get them cleaned up before buying any new tires.

Got the tires removed from the rims this morning. That 5th rim on top was sitting outside for 20+ years and the inside does not look pretty.

The tire guy said he could find 215/85-16 tires, but no white walls. White lettering, but no white walls. I'm looking at maybe getting a 1-inch or 2-inch white walls. Not interested in white lettering. He's going to research and get back to me.

A few weeks ago I called around to see who could turn my brake drums. NO BUENO! Everyone said to just buy new ones until I told them it was for a 1946 truck. I called a local hotrod friend and he pointed me to a transmission guy who knew a guy that was retired. He might be able to help me because he had a machine shop in his home garage. I dropped them off and today he called me to pick them up. To my surprise, he not only turn them, he also sandblasted them for me ($120 for everything). I was not expecting that. He said the drums were in pretty good condition and only had to take a very little amount off. I was going to paint them black, but now I think I'm going to just clear coat them. I cleared the rear brake drums and they don't look bad. Well, I don't think they look bad.

I'm going to replace the wheel bearings to roller bearings, so I'll need to knock out the bearing races next.

Sweet👍

John,

If you want whitewalls, Check out Diamondback Tires. They sell only modern radial tires with any size whitewall (or blackwall, red stripe, etc) you want.)

They aren't cheap but I looked at the price of the "regular" tires in the 85 series and they're about the same price.

Look at the Diamondback Auburn Deluxe. It's a radial tire made to look like a bias ply tire. They don't have that horrible radial bulge like most metric rqadials have. You can see the pie crust on the sidewall at the edge of the tread instead of the tread that wraps over onto the sidewall on most modern radials.

I have them on on two Cadillacs and they look perfect and are the best handling tires I've ever had on them.

www.dbtires.com

Here's a link to the Auburn Deluxe 750R16 https://dbtires.com/product/auburn-deluxe-radial-15-16-sizes/

When you find the exact Diamondback you want, I was told by a guy on this forum that he ordered them from Summit Racing for the same price and got free shipping. Diamondback charges $20 each to ship.

I noticed that they have 3 1/2 " wide whitewalls and larger listed but they'll make them any size you want. The whitewalls on the Fleetwood in the photo are 2 3/4"

Thanks Otto! I can find a lot of 215/85r16 tires for under $200 each, some lower than $150. Right now I'd rather not spend $300 per tire for a truck that won't get many miles. Just looking for a one inch whitewall, nothing to wide. Maybe I can live without the whitewall stripe? Do you know if there are other 16-inch sizes that others are using on these old trucks that fit the original 4 1/2 inch wide wheels?

I hear you on the price. I don't know if you'll be able to find whitewalls in a "normal" 16" tire. They're getting hard to find on relatively common 15" tires these days. I looked at the 85 series tires but didn't like the look of most of them. The treads were too aggressive and most looked like off road tires. The ones I did find that I liked were $200+.

I like the look of blackwalls on the truck so I found some 75 series Firestones on Amazon for $94 each. That was 3 years ago, though.

The "75" and "85" number in metric tire nomenclature refers to the height of the sidewall relative to the width of the tire. A 225x85 R16 tire has a sidewall height that is 85% of the width of the 225mm tread, or 191.25mm. Double that number, convert it to inches and add it to 16" to get the approx. overall diameter of your tire. That gives you approx. 31" in diameter.

Anyway, you can look at other 16" tire sizes with similar widths and calculate the overall diameter (unless the tire seller lists it in the specs) and shoot for something close to the original size with a shorter sidewall height.

My tires ended up being about 29" in diameter, I think.

The larger diameter enables driving the truck at 55-65mph without revving the engine so high. The smaller the tire diameter, the higher the engine will have to rev at all speeds.

One thing to think about is that the tires will be on your truck for a relatively long time. You don't want to "settle" for something you're not happy with after they're installed.

I've found that the extra money spent on something for my vehicles that I really wanted or needed is soon forgotten when I'm enjoying the vehicle. I've already put 10,000+ miles on these tires. When It's time to replace them, I will spend the extra dough to get tires closer to the 30-31" diameter since I drive on the freeway every week.

I do like the look of the thinner whitewall look, but I'm not dead set on them. And yes, I don't like the aggressive off-road looking tread. I'm just looking for an All-Season type tread. I have a little time before I could really use them, so no rush right now. I appreciate your input.