The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1939 mirror and wheels

Recently in what can only be described as a moment of insanity I paid real money for a pile of crumpled rust that the owner represented as a 1939 3/4 ton. The good news is that most of it is there (but broken) and it appears ranch fresh. Baling wired on the tailgait was a 1951 New Mexico license plate. Probably the last time it ran. As I start to work my way through the truck, a couple of small questions come to mind. What did they use for an interior rear view mirror? I don't see one in the catalogs and many of the pictures of trucks I see don't have one.

I assume that this truck originally had artillery wheels but they are unfortunatly long gone. It has one wheel, however, that appears to be a heavy duty 16" x 4" wheel. It is drop center and has an eight spyder center as apposed to the four spyder center of the half ton. It look simular to the split rims that I see described in specs as optional for 3/4 tons of this vintage. Any idea where it came from? I found one more in a friends junk pile.

Another observation is that this truck didn't follow the rules when it was assemble. Instead of having small wooden bed blocks, there were one piece blocks that went all the way across the bed. I'm learning that factories didn't have just one correct way of doing things.

The fun begins. I may be getting to know Barry Weeks more then I would necessarily like to when it comes to missing parts.

I believe a rear view mirror was only an option for these trucks. I have seen some universal mirrors that appear to screw into the center windshield divider bar. Barry Weeks has been a great resource for odd peices I had a hard time finding. Whitney Haist is also a resource for 1939 trucks. He has a great website that shows the work he did on his 1939.

Bill Schickling

various websites with all kinds of information...

http://woogeroo.home.mindspring.com/autolinks/trucks.html#ctrp

http://www.stovebolt.com/links/trucksites.htm

Stange as it may seem today, 36-46 Chevy and GMC trucks did not have a interior rear view mirror as standard equipment. And I've never seen one listed as an option.

Hey Don, Welcome from another New Mexican. Great to have you aboard. I went to school in Las Cruces for a LOOOOOng time. Nice place for a big City. 39's are great. I know you will have a blast, even when it is driving you nuts like the rest of us.
Ralph

Yep, you usually only got an exterior mirror mounted to the driver's side door hinge on these trucks. Many have had interior rearview mirrors added to them, but you can't really see all that much through them. Pass. side exterior mirror is a very rare option to find. Repros are made, but the quality is... well, typical of most reproduction parts.

Is the wheel a split rim, or does it look like a regular old 6-bolt wheel from '39-'48 other than the 8 spyder deal? '37-'38 car and 1/2-ton pickup wheels are 6-bolt, 16" and have the 8 spyder centers. The 3/4-tons used 6-bolt wheels from '37 up until '46 when they went to 8-bolt, so '37-'38 wheels would fit a '39 3/4-ton.

Is this one of the trucks that was on ebay recently?

Barry,

Thanks for the info. The rims are drop center not split rim. From your description, they must by 37-38 rims. I'll keep looking for original rims (and an aftermarket inside mirror) but for now, I have an extra set of rims from my 67 that will work.

I don't think this truck was on ebay. From what I can tell, this truck came from the Roswell area of New Mexico. A fellow down by El Paso Texas found it in a yard in Roswell and brought it down to Southern NM. After about 8 months of some serious buyers remorse, he had second thoughts and passed the truck on to me. I think I'm the first person to touch this truck in 50 years. My first task was shoveling out the interior that included the remains of a large (cow size) animal. The truck has the look of a ranch truck. Looks like it spent a number of years bouncing over desert roads. Cracks and breaks all over the fenders and bed. The original owner must have had a stick welder and this was his fix for everything that cracked or was about to fall off. Even welded on trim pieces.

I will post a picture but it is almost embaressing to admit I paid real money for such a wreck. What can I say. I've always had a real weakness for 39-40 trucks. They are my absolute favorite.

Donf, welcome to my nightmare... I've got an inside mirror on The Ox... whether it is original or not doesnt matter because it works.

I've got some pix of tear down and the rodstoration too.

Rusty, Ok, I give. What is Ox... I guess I don't follow this board enough to get it. Can you give me more of a clue? Are your pictures posted?

Animal remains, cracks and breaks everywhere, stick welded trim? Geez, sounds like most of the '39-'40 PU's I've brought home. Welcome to the '39-'40 "club"!