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

Much appreciated Paul! Sometimes a little encouragement helps to keep the project moving forward. Thank you.

My garage gets pretty warm during the day. Early morning or late evening seems the best time to work. I keep thinking about a small AC unit (maybe window mounted?), but sometimes the ceiling fan keeps it bearable to be working in their.

I have my steering gear box mounted, but I wanted the bolts 1/4 inch longer - just preference. Here's what came in the mail today. I think I can make it fit! 😜 They are shipping out the correct size today.

Utah, a friend of mine built a simple, temporary "box" in his garage to work on projects that he could easily air condition while he works without having to cool the entire shop.

He blocked off one area with a roll of sheet plastic over a pvc frame. He has a small window ac unit sitting on a table to keep the area cool.

I air condition my whole shop during summer, out of necessity. My shop is predominantly for woodworking and I have to keep the humidity levels pretty constant or it causes trouble with my lumber.
It’s a complete bonus to have a nice cool area to work on my truck while it’s 90 odd, and humidity is also 90 odd.

You’d be surprised how little it takes to get the humidity and temperature down to comfortable level.

In the garage by 6:30am to beat the heat. I took "15 minutes" to install the engine side pans and the exhaust. I did find a bent iron strapping that I believe holds the brake return spring. So, I removed the piece I fabricated earlier and I'll see if I can make this original setup work.

Also, I'm deciding if I should use the original downdraft tube from the 216 engine which would align with the existing hole in the side pan or go with the 235 tube and cut a new hole in the pan.

Use the 216 tube. Why do extra work and destroy an original part?

I would use the origional draft tube. As I think the draft tube was designed for that location to draft the gasses on your style of truck .Other tubes are bent different for different trucks or cars

You guys are right again! I grabbed the other downdraft tube that lines up with the existing hole, I clean it and added some paint. (I remember catching some grief for not painting the first one. 😜) The cap fits a little loose, so I might make a gasket to fit it. Also, I might try to fab something to use the support bracket that came with it. No threaded hole lines up, but there looks to be a side engine mount hole close by that I could use. Not sure I need it because the tube is very solid after tapping it with wooden block.

I don’t have any kind of support for the draft tube on either of my 235’s. It just seemed to be a press fit and leave it alone.

The Road Draft tube on my '58 has a support bracket coming off the oil pan rail.

I think that's the way it was mounted on my 216 engine. It is pretty snug right now, so I'll leave it unless it comes loose.

Mine has a bracket that doesn't connect to anything. I think the draft tube came from a different vehicle. It fits tight as a drum, though so I don't worry about it.

I checked both my ‘37 and ‘46, each with the 216. The ‘37 has a ‘39 version of the 216. It does not have a bracket. The ‘46 has the original, but rebuilt 216. It has a bracket. I have driven the ‘37 for 20+ years without any rattles or other issues without the bracket. Granted highway speeds have rarely exceeded 45 mph, so others might have different experiences? A photo is attached of the ‘46 bracket. ( I am unable to get photos to post directly with posts, lately. Not understanding why. If someone can doctor the link to correct that flaw, it would be appreciated.)

I drive 60-65 every week with no bracket and the draft tube hasn't fallen off or loosened up yet.

The cap on your draft tube, Utah, is interesting. Does it just twist on with big threads? Mine is press fit into the tube and I don't think it was ever meant to come off. Granted, its all dented up now but it definitely wasn't an easy open cap.

It just twists on with a 1/4 turn. It jiggles a little, so I'm probably going to add a thin gasket to snug things up. My other two tubes are like yours with the sealed ends. The tube in the picture is off my 216. I'm guessing you're supposed to add oil here?

Maybe, but wouldn't you just fill it from the top of the valve cover like normal?

I suppose you could add oil there, but it’s probably not ever a bad idea to add oil through your valve cover and get some extra lube along your pushrods and valve train.

I will definitely be adding oil through the valve cover.

The cap he has, if like that on my ‘46, seals well enough to not need a gasket?? Although, without double checking it might have a cork gasket on the cap inside surface? The earlier model 216’s don’t have any other opening to add oil. The valve cover is closed, except for the two bolt holes to mount the cover to the head. I am away from my trucks, so I can’t check right now.

That makes sense. Utah's engine is from 1960 or something so he has a filler cap up top as well as the one on the draft tube.

My original 216 had the valve cover oil fill cap.

I have some farmers across the street and they bought a big '60s flatbed truck a few years ago to haul hay bales. He asked me one day about adding oil because there was no fill cap on the valve cover. I didn't think to look for a draft tube with a cap.

I like learning new stuff!

A little break today, so I went to the American Fork Car Show - Steel Days. I didn't see any '46 trucks, but here are a few pics.

Looks like a nice event John. I'll bet your truck will be joining that kind of activity in the near future!

Still waiting for my radiator and thinking if there's any reason not to start working on the bed. Not sure I need to do anything more on the rear before setting the bed in place. I'm planning on new wood and bolts. First step is to clean out the bed and move some parts to the shed.

Are you doing anything with bed or the wood or just putting it back on as-0s?

My plan is to replace the wood, strips and hardware. The wood is pretty bad with holes in some sections. I took a peek under and the cross beams look like they are warped down a little. I'll need to press them straight. Also, there are a few broken bolts from removing the fenders. I'm not planning to disassemble the entire bed though.

A while back I fabricated a piece of angle iron to make a bracket to hold the brake and clutch return springs. But now that I've found my engine side pans and got them installed, I believe this is how the springs should be attached. At least I'm hoping it's correct. The second picture looks like the clutch adjuster is touching the brake spring, but when the toe board gets installed and the clutch arm is pushed forward and the adjuster will not touch.

Crazy what you’ll find after you invest time in fabricating something that’ll work, alright, but now your springs look like they belong that way.

John - While looking at your latest pedal and spring pics, something kept nagging at my brain that the set up seems a little off. So after a bit of web sleuthing I came across this post in the old VCCA Chat on a '46 Chevy 1/2 ton brake pedal return spring with some very good pictures and detailed dimensions on the spring extension rod and how your pedal spring layout should look.

Your last 2 pics above show you changed your springs, perhaps to try and get better function and less interference. But I think you need to go back to the springs you had, remake or find the correct length brake pedal 7" spring extension rod and adjust the mount angle on your Z bracket and things should fall into place and work they way they should.

Hope this may be of further help.

Edit Note: Kudo's to Kevinski who previously posted the picture and description from this thread in your Driveline thread that I posted here today.

When you replace your wood bed, remember that uneven moisture transfer through your planks is a sure-fire way to shorten the lifespan of whatever you decide to use.
Out west, the humidity stays pretty low compared to the east, but the concept is the same. It’s dryer in winter, and the humidity is higher in summer. Your wood bed is going to keep breathing all year long. Whatever finish or treatment you do on the top of your boards, do the same on the bottoms. That way the moisture transfer through your planks will stay even and your boards won’t cup.

At one point I thought I had ordered the 7" spring extension. I need to look on my work bench again. Looking at the picture you attached, I like that extension and the space it gives the clutch spring. I can bend the Z-bracket up or down, but the mounted end has a angled bend that sets the left/right angle. Also, it looks like both springs are the same in the picture. I ordered maybe 4-5 different springs, but I don't have any that look the same as in the picture. I do have pairs and will look at using the first ones again.

Thanks Paul. I'm debating if I'll clear coat or paint black. I like the idea of clear and seeing the wood grain, but a solid color seems to last longer? Trying to do research now and decide.

John - A quick peek into the 1929-54 Chevy Master Parts Book shows both the clutch pedal and brake pedal return springs are the same aminal. GM# 368244 - Spring, 26 coil, 3-5/16" long free length (Clutch Parts Group# 0.844 & Brake Parts Group# 4.655). I think IIRC you had a picture with at least one of those new (reproduction) with the sticker still on it previously posted.

On the Z-bracket, you could always trim a little off on the lower inner corner to allow it to lean over a little like in the VCCA picture. Wouldn't need to trim much as it only needs to move a few degrees off vertical.

Looking forward to seeing what you end up with.

For the kind of use and exposure to the elements your truck is likely to see, you could leave it bare and it would outlast you.

If I were painting it, I'd use satin black oil based paint over oil based primer. Coat all six sides of the wood prior to installation.

For stain, I'd use oil based, semi-solid Cabot stain. Even with semi-solid, you can still see grain.

You're truck's body is unrestored and beat up. I think original type pine boards, painted black would be more in keeping with the truck's overall original look rather than the incongruous appearance of a shiny oak bed that looks more like a dining room table than a serious work vehicle.

I put 8 coats of this on my pine boards. Its held up.

Boat varnish! I've been reading about that stuff. Thanks.

Doing a little clean up this morning on the truck bed. When I removed the running boards years ago, all the bolts broke off, so I spent some time getting those removed. Next I removed everything from the bed. The wood is pretty used up - dry and crunchy with some daylight showing through. Do I keep it that way? It would add to the "old farm truck" look. I did find some lever shocks, but have no idea how they got there or why I needed them? I wonder if they would fit my truck? At some point when I have the truck back on the road, I'll need to gather all the old parts and maybe list them in the "For Sale" or "Freebie" sections.

Any bets on how many bolts will break off in the next couple weeks? 😜

Otto, At one time I was thinking about that shiny oak bed. People would see my old beater truck and when they walked up to look closer, they would say, "Holy crap! Look at this bed!" But, I agree with keeping it looking a little more subtle. I still have some time before I decide.

Southern Yellow Pine board planks were used originally in production Chevrolet pickup bed floors all the way through about 1980. To remain faithful to the original: Treated pinewood planks, rip cut (three different widths) and grooved to accommodate the metal bed strips. The pinewood bed floor was originally painted Black in early models, later trucks were painted same body color on the assembly line (cutoff date not known). Didn't take long with regular use for the paint to wear through, revealing the bare pine grain.

Above technique was used in 1985 on my 1955.1 3100. The bed floor paint is long gone; however the treated pinewood floor has held up and weathered well; still in use today. It's a working truck.