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

Nice surprise when I returned from my trip to Colorado. New bed strips arrived and they look correct! I'll take them for powder coating tomorrow.

Kudos to Billy at American Classic Trucks Bedwood! He was easy to work with and kept me updated. He worked with the manufacturer to get new bed strips punched to my specs. He's a good egg.

Sanding and test fitting the bed boards and strips. I sanded too much on the first try and it looks uneven, so I'll put a second coat of stain and lightly sand again.

A little while ago when I was verifying the alignment of my engine, one thing was bugging me. When I installed the engine/transmission, I didn't like the way the transmission mounts fit to the cross support. The mounts were wider than the original and when installed they ride up on the cross support. I didn't like that, so I searched and found some mounts that were more like my originals. I got those installed tonight and feel better.

Interesting. What caused this problem? Were the first mounts for a 1960 truck? Are the new ones listed as fitting an AK or AD truck?

I’m curious too. Wrong mounts?
I’ve personally never had trouble re-doing my work, be it furniture, boat-work, or my truck. However, I start to question myself and my abilities when I’m faced with re-doing my re-work. 🤦‍♂️😂

Great information John on the part fitment issue. Appreciate your sharing what did fit better. Those tidbits are what can help fellow Bolters from having to redo their work too!

I ordered the first ones for my '46 and thought they were too wide (3 inches), so I ordered another set from a different vendor. The picture showed they were different, but they were the same. I thought they must be correct, but didn't like them because they were too wide and rode up the cross member support. Jim Carter has these new ones (2 inches wide), but they list them as only fitting '48-'54? I picked up mine from Rock Auto.

So you just looked at parts and ordered some for a 420 transmission that looked like they'd work rather than for a specific year and model?

Did you have to drill holes in the frame for the mounts since that trans wasn't offered in 1946?

Rock Auto listed two transmission mounts with pictures for my '46. I had one set already (Westar EM2073), so I ordered the other ones (Westar EM2060). They sent me the correct ones. They listed the EM2060 as 1st Design and the EM2073 as 3rd Design. Only $9.47 each. This was the first time I've ordered from Rock Auto.

Thanks Dan! Sometimes I work and forget to take pictures. And then wonder, "Would anyone care to know why I did something". But getting feedback validates what the "Stovebolt" is all about. Sharing knowledge and helping others.

Today I was able to install the rear window. After putting in the new grommet, I was able to slide in the window and locking bead in a few minutes. NOT! My gosh, what a struggle. But I finally got it done. Used some foamy window cleaner and a suction cup helped to control the window when moving it around. Had to take a break for lunch and cooled down. Second round was about 2 hours, but I can check this off the list.

I was getting irritated when I started reading your post, until I got through the first bit and saw that you were fighting windows and rubber trim just like all the rest of us. Congratulations on the win.

I watched a YouTube video and the guy was struggling for a bit, so I prepared myself for some suffering. 😉

Got a few things in the fire: Dropped off my gas tank and heater core to see if they can be refreshed. Also, I got the first coat of varnish on the bed boards - my sanding skills need improvement, but I'm OK since not many will see the results. Only 4 or 5 or 6 more coats!

Your heater core looks a lot better than mine. I bet it can be repaired. Mine would have been cost prohibitive.

I purchased an entire new core for $200 from Classic Chevrolet Trucks.

The switch is a Standard Motor Parts # HS92. It can be purchased anywhere - Rock Auto, O'Reilly, etc.

Thanks for the info Otto! My heater core had a small leak on one of the pipes. They will look at patching that, but to re-core would be about $300 per half circle. Ouch! Was that motor 12v?

So, the 1950 has the same heater core as my '46?

Looks that way. The heaters were after-market dealer add ons.

My heater is a 6v. Standard Motor Products makes a 12v switch that looks the same as the 6v one, part # HS 572. They have light bulbs behind the plastic knobs that glows brighter at higher speeds and dimmer at low speeds. Did you convert to 12v? I don't remember.

The round heater cores are available from other vendors without the tanks, etc. but were the same cost as the whole unit I purchased. My radiator shop also said it would be ridiculously expensive to recore it.

If your core can't be fixed, you can also use Jon G's suggestion and replace it with a homemade copper coil.

Yes - I'm converting to 12v. I want to find a 12v motor that might be easy to wire. I'll see if I can find that #HS 572 part. Thanks!

There is one available somewhere that looks the same as the original so there's no problem swapping it out. Check Classic Parts of America. I seem to recall them having a lot of heater parts. That's where I got the complete heater core for $200.

Ya. Just checked. They have a 12v that looks the same for $50.

www.classicparts.com

Man, I just looked at Classic's website and the $200 round heater core with all the framework, etc. is now $375.

Ironically, the HS-572 switch seems to be available everywhere except Rock Auto.

Car ID: https://www.carid.com/standard/intermotor-hvac-blower-control-switch-mpn-hs572.html

Summit Racing has it: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/SMP-HS572

Some good news today - My gas tank is good enough to clean and coat the inside. It will take about a week. Also, my heater core is repairable - just a small leak on one of the tube joints. They'll do both repairs for about $380. I told them to go for it.

Goodness - Doesn't feel like I'm getting anything done on the truck lately. I'm waiting for the gas tank and heater core. I have been applying varnish coats to the bed boards though. I have 2 coats on top and 3 coats on the bottom. I believe that's enough for the bottoms and I'll start adding more to the tops. I'm still waiting for my powdercoated bed strips. I did get all the tops on the bolts painted black so they'll match the black bed strips. Otherwise, I've been helping my neighbor with a wooden fence - just finished it today. Maybe I can clean up the dash gauges a little bit.

While waiting for a coat of varnish to dry on the bed wood, I stopped by the Provo Car Show. It's a small show downtown, but had a few nice cars. I was looking for some Stovebolts with inline-6 engines, but no luck. Seems everyone likes to swap for V8 power.

I found the same thing John. I talked to a lot of car friends about what I was considering. When I told them I was thinking about building a 6 for hp, they universally tried to talk me out of it. They seemed to have forgotten about inline 6 power, and the only option in their minds was a SBC. I suppose it’s a tried and proven swap, but so were inline swaps before V8’s became so popular. I’m glad I stayed with an inline 6.

Having been in the high end of guitar collecting my whole life, the want to return a 1950s
GIBSON guitar to its un modified form is the only way to get the money for them. For those ,its about the feel and sound of the guitar originally.
Old things have a tendency to be changed for personal reason or performance. I feel the same will hold true
with these trucks...eventually. How fast do you need to go? I see around me, rich dudes modifying cars and trucks to their
own personal want only to try and sell it 6 months later with selling points. I get mine to a safe driving condition and ...drive it.
I recently made the decision to keep my stovebolt 235 in my 58

It’s funny, many of us prefer to look for/buy vehicles as they are unmolested,…..then proceed to modify them….
Been guilty of that myself with more than a few sports cars, trying to not fall into that (so much) with my truck, but it came to me with the T-5 so the ship had already left port…

Chuck

Well, I did swap in a 235 and I'll convert to 12v, but in most cases it looks like it belongs there.

It's possible to get almost 260 cubic inches, pressurized connecting rods, and approximately 9:1 compression with an engine that looks exactly like a 216 from the outside. It also uses pistons, connecting rods, and main bearings from engines 30+ years newer than original.
Jerry

Last coat of varnish this morning. Probably not perfect, but lots better than it use to be. I also picked up my powdercoated bed strips, so I'll give the varnish a few days and hopefully get started on putting the bed together this week.

They look pretty shiny John. Big improvement over the originals, which may have only been expected to survive 40 years or so.

Not the perfect wood finishing job, but it will look good in the truck bed. From a few feet away it looks black, but as you get closer you can see the wood grain. Lots of variation in the finish from board to board. I got the three center boards in temporarily and working to get the side boards in position so that I can mark where the holes are drilled for the angle strips. The powdercoating made the square punched holes tight, so I had to file just a little bit to make room for the carriage bolts. Let's see - six strips with seven holes each...

Fitting the bed boards today. Added some protective tape on the side boards, marking where to drill the holes from the angle strips and then temporarily putting it all together. Kept measuring the diagonal on the bed to make sure it stayed square. Tomorrow I'll pull out the side boards and use a Q-Tip to varnish the holes I drilled. I'm reading that on 1946s the front two mounting points are bolted from the bottom and the rear mounting point uses a carriage bolt from the top side. I'll need to pick up a 1 1/2" Forstner drill bit to recess the offset washer.

Looking at the bed this morning and now I'm second guessing the finish. Wondering if a flat/satin finish would be better? I believe you can paint over varnish with a light sanding, primer and paint. Oh well, guess I'll think about it today.

Also, I'm not satisfied with the outer edge boards. When drilling the holes, they were very close to the edge and some even broke through. The board was 7 1/8" wide and maybe it needs to be 1/4" or so wider. I'll look at them again when I pull them apart today. My other thought was no one will ever see them and I should just leave it alone.

Maybe just steel wool to take down the sheen (without redcoat?

Chuck

I'm going to take them to my cabinet maker friend and get his thoughts.

You can cover gloss varnish with a semi-gloss or satin varnish. Just sand it down the same as you have between all your other coats. You can go the other way too, if you decide you want gloss, and you started with satin.

I didn't know varnish came in different sheens. Thanks Paul!

Did a coat of satin clear on one board. Still a little wet, so I'll wait until this afternoon and compare. Still not sure, but I'm liking the satin finish cause it's not so shiny. But on the other hand... 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Just my opinion, for what it’s worth; leaving your box with its work clothes on, I think the satin is the way to go. Take away all of the gloss boards when you judge. They’ll throw your eye.
Look at one gloss plank and then look at one satin plank. Heaven forbid asking your wife for her opinion, but sometimes a neutral party can provide valuable insight.