The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Forensic 'bolters needed to identify!

Here's the situation:

I have 33 acres of land that has in one corner, been used as a dumping ground for all sorts of junk for many, many years.

Yesterday I discovered yet another "gully" with some more cars and a truck in it.. and much to my delight, there was what appeared to be a 40's model truck in there!

So down in the hole I went.. it appears to be the cab only.. sitting kinda upsside down and sideways, most of the passenger side is burried, but the driver side is exposed, and the door missing so getting access to the inside of the cab is easy.

Much to my joy, the instrumentation panel was still there, the glass still good, and most importantly, the SPEEDOMETER CABLE was there and in good shape! (I needed one for my '46 2 ton)

Long story short, i'm trying to figure out what year this thing is, and I suspect the cowl tag is on the passenger side, like my '46 is.. and that side is burried.

Here are the clues so far:

The headlights mount to the top of the fenders, just like my '46.. but they don't have those little "turn signal" lights on the top of the headlights.

The controls layout for choke, throttle, all that stuff seems to be the same as in my '46.

The instrumentation panel is rectangle shaped, just like my '46, and has the same "deco" style font on the gauges, but it is layed out a little differently.

I know it's a Chevy, because it says CHEVROLET on the dashboard.

The ashtray in my '46 slides out like a drawer from the bottom of the dash.. but the ashtray in this thing appears to have popped out from somewhere in the center.. remember i'm looking at this sitting on the ceiling of the cab.. so it's all upsidedown.

I know it isn't alot to go on.. if I could find a resource with pictures of Chevy dashboards from that era, that would help narrow it down.. and I suppose some pictures would help, too.

I'll see about getting out there tomorrow with a camera.. but in the meantime, if anybody has any ideas, lets hear 'em!

Here's my conundrum:

40 - 46 had the headlights bolted to the fenders, just like this truck in my yard.. but from what i've been able to find, the 40 - 46 trucks also had the same instrument cluster the "deco" design with the "rising sun" speedometer.

This speedometer is rectangle, and goes to 100MPH

Also, i've not found any example of headlights in a 40-46 without those clear lens turn signal looking dealies on top of the headlights.

So naturally, I thought.. well, it must be a '47.. but if im not mistaken, 47 is the year they put the headlights into the fenders, not a bolted on seperate unit.

I'll post pictures tomorrow of the instrument cluster and of the truck.. i'm going to try and wrap a chain around it and yank it out of there.

Could it be Canadian? I don't know but I am just asking.

I don't know if this will be of any help or not, but Sublime just updated his gallery page for his \'46 and he's got a great shot of his instrument panel.

Maybe you can also download it from his page and use it as a reference with the images that you retrieve.

:confused:
Peg

Well i went back out there today and did some more looking.. it's definately a 1/2 or 3/4 ton, and the bed is there too.

Unfortunately its mostly upside down and burried under god knows how many years worth of dirt.

The driver side door is missing, and theres ALOT of dirt in the cab.. about 20 minutes of digging exposed the drivers side rear fender and the side of the bed.. both rock solid.

Unfortuantely it would take a whole lot of digging to get it to the point I could pull it out, but I snapped some pics of the inside, of the rear fender/bed area as well as the front fenders that i'll post shortly (as soon as I get my PDA cradle configured to work with my PC).

So in short, it's got the look of a 41 - 46, but the dashboard and instrument cluster dosen't look the same as a 41- 46.. and it dosen't have the parking lights on the tops of the headlights.

Pics to come shortly!

Peg,

Sublimes tight shot of his instrument cluster is apparenty a shot of an aftermarket unit, not an original.. but thanks for the tip!

Ok.. I took my PDA with built in camera out with me today and snapped some pics and put them here:

http://www.geekoasis.com/4X

That will take you to an index, just click on each of the images to see it.

dashfull.jpg is the pic of the instrument cluster

fender.jpg is a shot of the fender with headlamp basket attached.. notice the louver/vent on it.

It may be hard to see, but to the right of the headlamp, there is a plastic thing bolted to the fender which was probably the base for the turn signal lamp.

fenderandbed.jpg is just a shot of the drivers side rear fender and the bed wall after I unearthed it a bit.

fullview.jpg is a shot of the way the truck is sitting.. big gaping hole is where the drivers side door outta be.


dashpic1.jpg and dashpic2.jpg are if you haven't already guessed, pics taken while hunched down inside the cab. Look at how close the ground level is to the dashboard.. that'll give you an idea of how much dirt is in the cab.. alot!

Other observations I made is that since the truck is basically upsidedown, you notice there isnt the usualy "lift out floor" that you'd expect to see in a '46.. theres just a panel that looks like it would have given limited access to the transmission.

Also of note is the absence of the floor emergency break.. instead, it's a lever that comes down out of the dashboard right about where your left knee would be if you were sitting in the truck normally.

I suppose with some excavation and alot of work, a fella could get her out of there, sand blast the parts, and maybe lay it on a new frame.. but thats a whole lotta digging.. and no telling what kind of shape the part of the body thats burried is going to be in!

Are you sure it's a truck and not a car that was cut into a truck?

I'm not really sure of anything, other than I cant seem to find a car or truck instrument panel that looks like that.

Now it could be that at some point somebody changed some things around.. who knows.. i'd have to actually dig it out to see, which, being the curious fellow that I am, I might just have to do!

I'm getting a bulldozer out here in the next week or so, and I imagine with some chain, the dozer with have enough muscle to yank it out of there, then I can get a better look.

Who knows.. I might get it yanked out of there and decide to sit it on an s-10 chassis!

Sounds like somebody used some old vehicles to fill a blow-out. Try this for some exterior i.d.
http://www.chevytrucks.org/resources/artguide.htm

Well, here I am sticking my face into this "mystery" because I love this kind of stuff.

At first I was going to suggest that it might be a 47 first series, which while they were warmed over 46's, there could have been a touch of the 47 second series in there - like the emergency brake location.

But now after seeing the fender and the small little "grill area" or what looks like part of the grill at the bottom of the fender, I have the same question Barry has - is it a car that was made into a truck? Maybe it's the front part of a sedan delivery? :confused: OR is it a utility vehicle - you know the car coupe that had a truck bed in it? My reason for suggesting such is that the fender almost looks like a 39 car fender.

I love this - let's figure it out!!

That was my thought too Joe. '39 car. Hard to see for sure, but fender and dash aren't truck in my opinion.

I think what ya got is a 37 or 38 coupe delivery.
jbennett
40 burb

There dosent seem to be any distinct seperation of bed and cab, which i'd expect to see in a truck.. it's like the cab just kinda turns into a bed.. which might lend creedence to the theory that it isnt a truck at all, but instead either a car converted to a truck, or some sort of "suburban" kind of thing.

If somebody recognises that dashboard and can put their finger on what it might have gone in, that might offer some additional clues as to what it might be.

I've decided that come heck or high water, i'm going to yank that SOB out of the hole and set her upright on level land.. so lets keep guessing and tossing out ideas and we'll see if what it is comes anywhere close to the educated guesses!

Just don't wreck it when you're yankin' on it!!!

If you weren't so far from me, I'd bring a few shovels and meet you up there!

I tend to agree with jbennet. I think it's a Coupe Pick Up, except that front fender tells me it's a 39.

Chevrolet offered Coupe Pick Ups in the late 30's. I don't remember seeing any older than a 37 and I'm not sure just how many years they were made. Essentially they were a Coupe body, but the factory, or even a dealer, would remove the trunk lid and slip a pick up bed into the trunk. If you know how big the trunk lid is on one of those late 30's Coupes, you know a pick up bed would fit easily. When a purchaser bought one of these vehicles, he, or she, would get the trunk lid in the deal so if they ever wanted to pull the bed and go back to a Coupe, it could be done. Chevrolet never designated this type of body with any other prefix designation then the normal car prefix designation. A 39 car was a "JA".

Fumblin 46, when you get down in the dirt, I would be surprised if you didn't find a bed in the trunk of this vehicle.

Good luck and be careful!

The more I think about it, the more I think I outta do a archeological style dig around the vehicle before I start thinking about pulling it out.

Not knowing what it is under the earth, just wrapping a chain around the part sticking out and pulling it out might not do anything more than further destroy it.

So i'll probably do some more exploratory digging and see if I can get a better idea of what it is.. then there is the "crunch" factor.

Its sitting mostly upside down, which means it was probably rolled in there.. I may find a totally crunched roof once I move the few tons of dirt out of the way.. not to mention they probably had a reason for cutting the engine, fuel tank, steering wheel, axles, AND frame off it before rolling it down the hill.

Most of the vehicles on the property are like that.. no frames, engines.. nothing but the raw bodies sitting in the hill.

I figured they just used the bodies to help ease the wind from further erroding the holes, or "gullys" as i've come to call them, and removed the engines and tanks and stuff to be more "enviromentally friendly" about it.

BUT..

In the same hole, you can find a gas tank that looks an awful lot like the tank in my '46, as well as several oil pans and valve covers that look a whole lot like the ones on the engine of my '46.

Fender, Light bucket,grill space says '39 car to me. '38 still had the lights on the grill shell.
I had a '38 that the dash was very similiar. I think cars and trucks shared the same instrument cluster around then too.
my $.02

I did some more digging.. and it's definately a two door coupe.

What I thought in my limited digging was the top of the side of the bed was actually the bottom of the window hole.

Not sure what they're worth.. after looking on eBay, I thought it might be cool to dig it out and slap it on an S10 frame, but man.. thats a lot of digging, and it would still need a drivers door, an interior, a hood and grill (assuming the rest of it is solid and not bent all to heck).

Pretty much the enitre inside is filled with dirt that fell in thru the driver side, and to give you an idea of how deep the car is burried.. I thought it was just a truck cab!

I may have to just cover her up the rest of the way, say a prayer, and let her rust in peace.

Did a little looking in second edition standard catalog of trucks, think it's a 39 chevy coupe delivery. front fender has vent louvers. 40 fenders different.no vent louvers. different grille. coupe delivery made till 1945 In 1946 coupe delivery did not return to chevy line up
either way not many out there.
jbennett
40 burb

Those Coupe Deliveries are fairly rare from what I hear (overused term, but Chebby apparently didn't build many). Could be a cool project, or a good sale, if the underground parts haven't returned to the ore state.

:rolleyes:
I did notice, Fumblin46, that you said it "was definitely a Coupe." But I don't think you ever concluded it is a Coupe Pick Up. So it may be just a Coupe. Right?

You guys got me all ecxited (I just love old cars and trucks that havent really been found yet). What else do you have? Can you post a bunch of pictures of any other old vehicles you have? Thanks, Bob.

You've got me curious. When it comes out I'd sure like to see a bunch of pics. If it rolled down a hill into that spot how much worse could you make it by attaching a tree strap and some chain to that bulldozer?
I, for one am always interested in the story behind the wreck.

So if it's a coupe/pickup, maybe you have one of the original Chevy SSR's :p You know the new ones go for about $40,000

Well I say it's definately a coupe because I dug down some more along side what I thought was the bed (right there above the fender) and discovered what I thought was the top of the bed was the bottom of the window hole.

So, at least on the driver side, it's got a window behind the door.

I'll charge up the Sony camera today and go out and take the "tour de yard" of all the stuff out on the property.. theres alot out there covered by other vehicles, and some stuff you only notice once the wind has blown the tumbleweeds around a bit.

I've spent most of the last week between "real work" and building fence for pastures, so i've not had alot of time to really deticate to the project.. not to mention I still gotta get that new pressure plate put in my '46 2 Ton.. everytime I talk about digging it out the wife looks at me with that "Don't you have more important things to do??" kind of look.

Installing the invisable fence for the dogs.. finishing the fence for pastures, and finishing the calf pen, so I can get those 3 1 week old calfs off my front porch will probably take presidence over digging up an old relic.

The bulldozer idea seemed like a quick and dirty way to get her out fast, but that coupe is FULL of dirt, and burried to boot.

Since there is no frame, it's just the body.. i'm afraid wrapping a log chain or tree strap thru it and pulling it out will probably do nothing but rip apart what little bit of the body is sticking out.. or if it does manage to pull it out in one piece, it'll likely end up pretty mangled.

So at least digging out around the body and removing at least SOME of the dirt from the inside is in order before I start trying to pull it out.

Most of the soil around here is sandy.. which contribtes to the problem of digging something out thats already in a hole.. tossing the removed dirt/sand up on a bank ends up having it all fall back in once the pile gets about 3 or 4 shovels full.. it would be alot easier if the thing was burried in flat land.

how many old cars and trucks were in the gully

Bunches.

I know a guy selling a crane for $3500.. might have to buy that some day.. that's what it'll take to get most of that stuff out!

what kind of old stuff was down there

Beg or steal a back hoe.

Chevy sold a coupe pickup similar to what Hudson and Terraplane had in 1936. The bed slid into the trunk compartment in stages, so you could have the bed part sticking out a portion, or all the way out, or all the way in. These cars had the rear side coupe windows, so, if you're sure you're looking at a coupe, cool, but it might be the coupe pickup, too!!!

Your pictures don't come up at all.

Fumblin46, Did ever get anywhere with getting some of the old Iron out of the gully? Let us know keep us updated if there's been any progress.

Yeah, Keep us posted. I love a good treasure hunt. I've got to hand it to you Fumblin', I'm not sure I could get anything else done until I discovered what treasures were lying at the bottom of those holes.

I got caught up with working on the trucks that WEREN'T burried, and haven't done anything with it in some time.

Sometime around September or so I thought i'd try to pull the early 50's 4 door chevrolet out of the way.. went down there with the 2 ton, wrapped a chain around it, but couldn't get it to budge.. the dualies on the back of the 2 ton just spun in the sand.

It would take a heavy duty winch and steel cable to get that stuff out of there, and it's just not been high on my priority list.. and Jed didn't have his shovel with him when he came to say 'hi' on his Thanksgiving visit!

Did you delete them or is my firewall too carefull again? Can't wait to see the pictures

"And Jed didn't have his shovel with him when he came to say "hi" on his Thanksgiving visit!"

My apologies Fumblin,

If only I'd have known...

There is alot of stuff out there in your neighborhood just waiting to be got! I'm serious about that weekend road-trip up there.

I'm betting you and I can get into all kinds of trouble.

My FIL is here this week. He reports he saw a 41-46 half-ton over in Minatare. Thinks he saw it advertised for around $500. If that's the case, I may be up there sooner than later.

There was a '42 advertised in the paper for $500 awhile back.. I posted the contact info in the spotting area here.. I think Patrick called on it and was going to come get it, but when the guy said he didn't have a title, he decided against it.

I called the people a few days later and they said they sold it.. then about a week or two later I saw it in Minatare.. there's a guy over there who gathers up old trucks from all over, and he musta bought it.. since it was the same truck sitting out front.

I stopped to B.S. with the guy.. he had a '46 1.5 ton sitting there that looked like he dragged it out of a pasture with no tires on the front.. I asked him about the grill, and he said he was going to use that grill for the '42 1/2 ton.. so i'm guessing he was going to either fix it up and drive it, or fix it up and haul it to a show and try and sell it.

Before I left he asked, "You wouldn't happen to have any '41 thru '46 titles, would ya?"

Not sure if thats the same '41 thru '46 1/2 ton your FIL is talking about or not.. haven't been back down that way in several weeks to see if he ended up sticking a FOR SALE sign in it or not.

Those pics got deleted some time ago during server cleanup.. one of these days i'll go back down there and snap some more pictures.

Fumblin,

I would imagine it was probably one in the same. He said he had seen it in the paper also, then had noticed it sitting down by Minatare.

Don't know if he will or not, but he said he's gonna do some checking on it. There's a pretty decent 1.5 or 2-ton sitting in a field over in Broadwater I've been bugging him to check on too.

There's certainly no lack of old stuff sitting around up there in your neighborhood. Just really gotta like the big and weird stuff to get a deal.

Used to be a guy there in Minatare that had a car I really wanted. Sat there for years but I could never track the owner down. It was moved out a couple of years ago. Haven't seen it since.

It was a 1941 Packard limo wagon type car, with a humped up top. Kind of looked like a cross between a hearse or an ambulance, but had 4-doors and a back seat. In back, it had a large swinging type door, kind of like you'd expect to see on a hearse.

Always thought it would have been a neat grocery getter or "hauler" of some type.

I wish I had a gully like that