The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Things you found in your Stovebolt when you bought it ?

1946 gmc relocated after 30 years out of the family ,stored in the middle of a paddock got it home after a trip of 80 miles on the back of another truck ,unleaded on a ramp, then hi-ab crane into my front yard .

In the clove box was some registration papers dates 1967 with dads name on them (the truck was sold in 1973 1974 farm auction

But under the seat was a better find well a surprise actually
Nice King Brown Snake (yep bloody venomous) about 6 ft long
Fastest i have mooved for a heck of a long time ....

Just alot of wasps nests, and the original owners manual, jack, and jack handle (still in good condition)

Old coins dating from 46-62 and a load slip for fruit delivered to the co-op in 62.

Some fun stuff...some plastic "twinkie the Kid" rings. fuses, points and plugs, dash bulbs, old can openers (guess for oil cans). When pulling the glove box then heater, found a silver wedding ring.

Eric

In my 54 I removed the bottom of the seat and I found an old safety kit of three red flags with metal sticks, 3 cans that you take the lid off and pull a metal piece out that holds a wick. I guess you would fill it with kerosene and burn it as a flare. I also found a spray can that was labeled as a fire extingisher, a cool old jack and handle and lots of receipts from the original owner buying all kinds of things.

When I got my 55 (I was 16 and in high school), there was a can-opener forced into the key switch. The PO said that's what he used as an ignition key. Said he lost a bunch of the real keys over the years. When I removed the seat, I found at least 12 keys. Guess what they all fit? You guessed it!

There must have been a few thousand pop tops (things on the top of aluminum cans you open them with) in the rust bucket I bought. couldn't even pick them up with a magnet either. There was also about 3 inches of old weeds, junk and rat and mouse crap under the bench seat....I guess that's better than a venomous snake though! lol. A few wasp and spider nests too...just the norm......

lets see i found a steak knife jammed between the bed and a cargo box the po welded on the passenger side just in front of the rear wheel fender. and it was in pretty good shape. oh and lots of wasp nests and mouse poop . oh does the tree count that i had cut down that had grown up though the engine compartment?it only sat 8 years at the brother inlaws place .Later Earl

Earl,

you gotta post a pix of the tree in the engine compartment.

I though the 37 GMC's didn't use any wood...LOL...

Dave

found a "Tab" porno magazine from August 1967 behind the seat. Looked like it had been nawed on a bit by some mice but mostly still all there.

What had not fallen through the rust holes, on the tow truck home: cigerette butts, lots of coins, all of the bolts and screws that had been removed from the dash.

Found 11 cents, a dirty rag, quart of oil, fan belt, and later a kitchen knife stuck in the bed. Not too much else exciting.

Found a Playboy magazine behind the gas tank. I guess " momma " didn't know about his " mobile romper room " ?

Beer bottles, the thing that the battery lid bolts to, wood, chicken wire, a wiper blade, floor mats, a rug, gloves, and leaves in the bed. Leaves, holes, and let's not forget the POSSUMS UNDER THE SEAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1963 k10 --- Tons of skoal cans, old beer bottles, a couple of wrenches, nuts, bolts, wire, and rust.

i had a 1964 4x4 chevy. it was totally shot, but in the glove box was the orginal dana/spicer lockout info, and 4x4 factory instructions. and about a 1/3 of the missouri title.

Two Mercury head dimes,voltage reg,old fuses,bolts,metal, and nearly a 5gal pail of dirt. The glove box had many old registrations in it from the former owner Woodrow Wilson. No,I don't think it was the former president but that was his name.
Dan

I get so much amusement out of this thread.

Thanks for sharing folks!

Good stuff,

-W

Took out the plugs and removed the head, and I found a dead cockaroach in cylinder number 6. I'm attempting a complete restoration and have no idea the last time the truck was running. How did it get there - up the exhaust pipe maybe?

Maybe that, or if someone had the head off at some time?

My brother, I had to slap his a$$ around with 100$ bills untill he released the keys. Actually he needed the money ro finish his Kamen Ghia. Don't flame me it was HIS car and his choice to sell the 52. I got a good deal. The P.O. had converted to 12 volt, changed out the motor to a 235, and numberous upgrades. I would guess about 85% original. Not a bad buy for 4 grand and a daily driver.

I just cleaned out my 1951 1 ton two days ago, so this is fresh in my mind. It came out of a Kansas farm where it had been stored since 1981. The cab corners were packed solid with (thankfully dry) dirt and corn.

Under the bottom of the seat was corn cobs, sticks and twigs, leaves, turds of all sizes and shapes, skulls from unknown small animals(yes!), pieces of wire, small white insulators from an electrified fence, various shredded stuff looked like insulation, burlap sacks, brittle pieces of dead plastic garbage bags, a round cast iron piece of something that has threads on it, looks like a cap to something. There were various small pieces of wood and small rocks and stones carefully gathered and packed. I have heard of squirrels doing this sort of thing?

There were nests under the dash and on top of the heater. I have not finished yet, I could not get my arm behind the seat back (nor do I want to stick my hand back there when I can't see what is there), and the seat back is full of stuff.

You guys all had seats, floors, and gloveboxes in your ADs when you got them? I'm jealous.
Other than the oft mentioned rust and mouse evidence, I found $1.37, TWO rusty hood ornaments, half can of WD-40, two screwdrivers, a new oil filter (don't know what it fits), kick panels, lugnuts, a ZIPPO tapemeasure (sold it on eBay), and a newfound appreciation for antibiotic soap.

any new stories from any newly acquired vehicles?

-W

Hey Woog, I just remembered something I found not too long ago when I cleaned out the bed again. It was a F()RD dealership card from '91 or '92. I also found a coupon for a fish dinner that expired in '98.

I found a brass keychain tag that had the dealers agency name, a registration number for that particular vehicle and was stamped with a guarantee that postage would be paid if the keys were dropped in any mailbox.

On checking Google Earth, the old dealership address in Royal Oaks, Michigan is now a social services office and the dealership has moved from the center of town to the outskirts.

The vin number indicates that the truck was manufactured in Atlanta, the tag implies the truck was sold in Michigan. I purchased it from Gainesville, Georgia and now she cruises the highways in Central Florida.

Dave

I bought my 53 from my uncle before he passed. The truck has been in the family since 1956 so I didn't want to let it get away. Never knew or had any reason to ask about the first three years of it's life mostly because it wasn't mine. That changed a little after I purchased it but my uncle soon died after the purchase and I figured any history of the truck had died with him. It sat for about ten years before I started the rebuild and was in the process of removing the cab and behind the gas tank, along with most of the other stuff mentioned in these threads, was a dirty faded envelope. Not expecting much I ripped it open to see what had laid there for the past half century and low and behold there was a PA change of address form identifying the origional owner, year and serial number of the truck and his electrical contractor business. No doubt he filled it out in 1953 laid it on the back of the seat it slipped down behind the gas tank not to be discovered for 55 years. It's in a frame on my shop wall now.

On my 3600 last year(just now getting tot his post) I found a drive in movie ticket stub dated june of 1965. Old insurance and registration cards, An old cassette tape(no radio in truck let alone tape deck) Two old rotary style jacks, Old receipts from 1967. one or two hundred cigarette buts in one of the cab corners(the one on the passenger side by the filler neck) and al capone's vault(just kidding about the vault)

My 58 GMC 1 ton was purchased new by my great uncle.I got it in the early 90s before he passed away but let it get away from me shortly after.Bought it back early this year from the same man who got it from me.He had done nothing to it but drive it across his field a few times and put it in a barn.When I got it home I got in the glove box and found several reciepts from when Indiana used to have vehicle inspections,a reciept from the co op for 6 new tires he bought in 1967 and I believe the same tires are still on it.The coolest thing was a reciept from the Indiana DMV for a transfer of license plates, it has the vehicle listed that the plates were being transfred from was a 1926 Ford.The man that I got it back from told me alot about the truck,he told me he worked at the dealership my great uncle bought it at in 58 and had serviced the truck the first few years.He told me the truck was purchased as a cab and chassis and the wood grain bed thats on it was built by a now out of business local company.

My '56 panel was a U. S. Army mail truck. I found the "milspec" plate on the glove box door, but nothing in the glove box. It was gone. In the back, there's a little "shelf" up along the roof line.
There must have been 20 or more 35mm film cassettes in there. They were painted gray and had a bunch of odd numbers on them but nothing else. Who knows what was on them or if they had been used.
The film inside was melted into a brown mass.

Les

In my 52 1 ton PU I found a milk cap (the old round paper kind) in the seat back, it was from a dairy in NY state.
I'm in VA, and at the time I remember thinking "Wow, someone drove this truck from NY to VA!"
I could not imagine that someone would ride that slow old truck for so long.
Then fast forward 6 years and I personally drove from NY to VA, and thought nothing of it, 50-55 mph. The trip from NY to home even started with a detour to the west coast..

Grigg

In the 54 I found an old license registration from 77 and an extra distributor. Oh, and a huge mouse nest.

dead mice, a nudity magazine, a quarter from 1956 the most odd things I had found was in the gas tank a flashlight a pair of pliers, screwdriver and rocks still have no clue why they were in there?

Rocks? My wife must have been there. She collects rocks. Your quarter reminds me I found a '40s wheat penny on my trailer while un-chaining a '45 GMC I had just drug home. Must have bounced out on the trip. Amazing it stayed on the trailer.

in my 46 1/2 ton chevy,
at least a dozen various size hose clamps, the top 1/2 of the original gas tank, the bottom 1/2 has gone from rust to dust, and an ole pe locker pad lock. the old master locks w/ the keys in the back. cleaned it off oiled it up and being a pe teacher, had the key. did not know when i bought the truck it came w/ a security system!

cool stories just read all 28 pages

In the 62 2 1/2 ton dumptruck I found rat droppings 3 inches thick. There was a heavy duty snatch block (pulley) on the floor board, I have that on the trailer now. In the glove box was a spare fuel filter cartridge. I used it after fixing three holes in the gas tank. When I pulled the seat out I found the spring that I guess was used to hold the jack in place. The seat was long gone history so it went to the dump. I replaced it with seats out of a Buick. I replaced on brake cylinder at about $75 and then sold the truck when I realized I had 7 more cylinders to go. I got my money back out of the truck at least.

In my 49 of my great uncles I haven't looked much but there is a screw driver, ratchet, and asocket and best of all no rust or mouse droppings.

In my '51 GMC (that had sat since 1976:

Glove box:

wooden handled small screwdriver
Woodmen of the World plastic keychain
rotten workgloves
busted points
loose cahnge

Under seat:

Big plastic sheet
a BIG snake skin - tha

thankfully w/o the snake

David B

dirt, chicken bones, mouse turds and half of a PB magazine

66 chev 1/2 ton shortbox fleetside, dist cap and rotor from napa still in the box, turn signal flasher, 2 bulbs, assorted fuses, hamm's brewery can opener, and a small notebook with nothing wrote in it..

RUST




OK so I found a-lot of the other items mentioned bulbs, nuts, oil and brake fluid cans. The neatest was probably the hand crank for the engine (52 3600 w/216)

KSTT

A good friend of mine bought a very used 37 Chevy pickup about 15 years ago, it had many owners and was used and abused. When he lifted out the old seat, he found an original GM tool kit in mint condition and was in it's original GM box. Some guys have All the luck!