The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 54 almost ready to roll

Well, a few more weeks and my dad's old 54 3600 will be back on THE ROAD! Motor was rusted tight (had a cracked head we didn't know about) and it sat for 11 years not running. So, mom says, you boys do something with that truck or put it for sale. Brother and I discussed it and thot there was NO WAY we could sell dad's ol' green! So, we find the 'stickage' was #5 was rusted tight, severl concoctions of wd-40, spit, brake fluid, diesel, knock'er loose and gas and a pine post and 2 lb hammer and wallah! Piston was up and moving again. New rebuilt head and assortments and after 20 miles of smoking, ol' green quit that habit and idles like a top now!!! All new brakes, used 16.5 wheels, new tires, new gas tank and other odds and ends in lighting and soon I'll be motoring ol' green 400 miles home from the Black Hills in SoDak to the desert wasteland in Colorado. Ol' green has been a farm truck and a firewood hauler, so she's got some bruises and the paint is mostly gone, but I'm proud as PUNCH that the brother and I got the old truck resurrected and will use it as my hunting - hauling truck. Can't WAIT!!!

Sounds great

Do you still have your dad so he can wish it was his again?

Congratulations on getting it back on the road

Have you got any pictures yet ?

MOST excellent!!!!! Good on ya.

Great News,
Glad to hear the engine is runnin' fine
"The Cast Iron Wonder" if only they built 'em
like they used to!!!

exactly how did you unstick the piston and how long did you let it soak?

millburn, way to go. Makes my heart proud. This is what the hobby and old trucks are all about. I know it means more to you than a new one!!! Keep it. Enjoy it. DRIVE it. Nice story to.

Well, we lost my Dad in 1995 (he was 56 and juuuussst starting to enjoy a couple of the good things in life) so, it made this project even more important to our family. My son, who is 13 now, wants to learn to drive using Ol' green and I told him someday he and I would read a book on how to paint and we'd try to paint it. (read disaster!). That piston in #5 was stuck so tight that we couldn't break it loose by towing the truck and popping the clutch in gear. We tried that a couple of days in a row and EVEN with the head completely removed! She was stuck BAD. I think we soaked all the cylinders for a month with brake fluid but then when we pulled the head, we saw that the rust ring that had built up on top of the #5 piston wasn't letting anything seep past. So I took a very thin bladed knife (one of my mom's paring knives *don't tell her*) and carved all the rust off the piston top and poked the knife blade in thru the rust until I hit the top ring. THEN we poured the knock'er loose in on that cylinder and it soaked a day & nite before it started weeping thru past the rings. Another night of soaking and we started smacking that almost perfect fit pine post on top of the piston with a 2 lb mallet. After maybe 20 try's throughout the day of smacking and re-adding knock'er loose, I noticed that when my brother smacked it, I could JUST BARELY see the fan belt jump. DONE! We dropped the piston in the cylinder as low as it would go, (down stroke) honed that cylinder and prayed for the best. We got lucky I think! Rings seem fine and she's purring like a stovebolt six ought to!

Sorry about your dad.

Congratulations on getting her running. What a great story.

Great story, (about getting the truck running). It reminds me of that Jimmy Stewart movie "The Flight of the Phoenix". I darn near well up when they get that engine turning over.

did i hear right you did not disconnect the rod from the crankshaft, you pounded on the top of the piston? I have a 250 inline 6 in a 54 truck that is stuck. Right now i have the head off and i clean the cylinder walls above the pistons and soaking it with oil, gas and brake fluid since 08/04/06. Any other sugestions? your fathers memmory lives on through the old truck!

John, yeah that's what we did. We figured it was gonna get beat on one way or another and either break all the rings, break the piston or break LOOSE! We were a little spooked because as lack of luck would have it, the piston was ALMOST at bottom dead center (thank geese it wasn't or there would not have been any way to get it to go down OR up). But we had about 3/4 of an inch of travel left downward so we just kept smackin' it. Like I said, my brother had found a pine post that was almost a perfect fit in that cylinder and was nice and square on the bottom to fit the piston top and we happened to have a 2 pound hammer to 'tap' it with. Didn't get real WILD hitting it, just three or four good 'raps' on the post every hour or so and I think we may have rapped on another 'free' piston or two also in the process (to get upward thrust on the rusty one also). I think my brother and I both tried to wiggle the piston back and forth in it's hole but it was hard to reach and I don't THINK that this did anything except make us feel better. Only thing I would sugget on yours is to use some form of VERY thin penetrating oil. You want something that can easily penetrate past those rings. Also, you can't have my mom's paring knife, but get a razor blade or exacto knife and cut into that piston to cylinder wall space to get the penetrating oil started. Don't forget, this is a TERRIBLE way to conduct engine repair, and most mechanics are cringing and sweating at most of my posts, but I grew up with coat hanger wire exhaust hangers, duct tape seat covers, vise grip door handles and having to park on a hill because the starter was bad for a lot of 'lean' years... Love every memory too!

AWSOME... POST SOME PICS OF OL'GREEN WE WOUILD LOVE TO SEE IT...

Sounds like a successful campaign, congrats.

Kyle

When ol' green gets home I'll throw the digital camera on it, but I can tell you now... it ain't purty! But, it's back on the road, so that's step one!

If it's ugly, and it runs, it ain't ugly!!!
-Lurch

rmillburn, i took your sugestion. i went to home depot today and purchased a round piece of wood. with a sluge hammer i hit every piston once or twice it broke loose. i will clean all the cylinder walls put a new head and valve cover gasket and change the oil. i should have it running next weekend. thanks

John, I hope you got as lucky as we did! So what kinda truck / motor was it? Why was it stuck? Here in a couple more weeks I'm going to go up and get my 54 and drive it home! YEEE HAWWW!

its a 77 chevy 250 in a 54 chevy truck. the motor was running before i installed it. it most likely got some water in it through the carb. last night i bolted up the 350 trans and x member. this weekend i will put a new head gasket adjust the valves change the oil. i need a new harmonic balancer

Soooo, you're just itchin' to get your '54 rollin' too, huh? Cool! Well, good luck on the project, I'm glad you got that motor free'd up and I wish you luck! I did THIS and you might try it too, I ran a bottle of marvel's mystery oil in my 235 at first to help clean up any of the rust and other YUK in the motor that may have come from the rust. Just a thought... I'll run it a while (not too long, maybe 500 miles) and then change back to the straight 30... Good luck! randy

mr rmillburn i got my brother in laws 54 running the 250 motor sounds fine. i put atf in the 350 trans and gear oil in the 8.8 disc brake rear end. tommorow i will jack the rear tires off the ground and check if the turn when i put it in drive. if the 350 trans is ok i will do a brake job. a ex 3600 shortened to a 3100

it went into drive ok i am not worried about reverse or low at this time. i will plumb the brake lines from the 7inch booster/master combo to the 4 wheel disc brakes tommorow and wedesday to will go to the muffler shop. thursday i will do the finishing touches and friday i will take a driveable chassie to the labor day cruise god willing!and supprise my brother inlaw

Well, John, sounds like you done good. Man, isn't it AMAZING that our old motors were rusted stuck, got beat loose and run great now? Yeah, I shortened a 3/4 ton one time and did the whole v-8 and TH350 thing on a 1951 I had. Had alot of help from a shop friend. Lot of work. Glad it's working out for you.