The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Is it common

Hi, I have the front fenders, the hood etc off my truck. It's a 52 3100. Is it normal to find an undercoating type material on the toe kick part of the cab? Also it appears where the fender meets the upright portion of the cowel that the area is leaded. Would this also be normal?

Joe

Not quite sure where you are describing, but I will take a stab at it. The undercoating was often done by the dealer and could be most anywhere. My suburban has it on the lower portion of the fire wall and inside the wheel wells too.

Is the portion of the cowl that you are referring to just above the louvers on the right side and proportionally equal on the left side? If so, that is a factory seam and yes it will have been leaded at the factory. You will also find a leaded seam on the roof pillars adjacent to the front windshield about the top of the vent windows or about three quarters the way up from the dash on the outside pillar..

GMONIZ, the undercoating seems to be inside the area between the cowel upright and the firewall toward the bottom.

The portion that seems leaded is the body and shows the curve of the fender just below the louvers on the passenger side.


Joe

Installing cowl panels

I believe this is the area that your referring to Joe. Except for the lousy red paint job,
this truck was pretty much as it was delivered: http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/image/116749767
This link will take you to the all the pictures of the body as the front clip was removed. Look thru them and I’m sure you will find one that will answer your questions: http://www.pbase.com/dennygraham/body_work&page=all

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

On my '53 it was leaded on the drivers side but not the passenger side. I always assumed it was just an old body repair..........

When they paved a lot of the old roads they used tar and gravel,if you drove on it when it was fresh it would undercoat your vehicle,this may be what you have.

Joe, if you have access to or want to order a1947-1954 Truck, Factory Assembly Manual you will find a discription of the welding and soldering of the cabs in Section 1, starting with Sheet 46.00 and for about another ten or so pages. Also in Section 14, Sheet 12.00 are the complete "Underbody Protective Coating Instructions" which outlines the undercoating procedures from the factory. Body Brackets, Underside of Floor Panels, Cowl Side, Cowl Side Rail, Fender Flanges.
So yes, they did undercoat from the factory where it is shown in the pictures that I linked you to.

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Good info thanks a bunch and yes Denny had the pic of where I was referring to, Thank you sir. I have pics of my truck but no account to upload to as yet. I didn't think they used undercoating back in the early 50's. Learn something new everyday. Also Denny yes I need to get one of those manuals.


Joe

Hey Joe, the only reason most of us sound like experts on these Stovebolts is because we've got a set of shop manuals in front of us to reference to. If your serious about working on your old truck and plan on keeping it for any length of time they're probably the second best investments you can make, next to joining the Stovebolt Forum.

A lot of these manuals and brochures have been archived over at Keith Hardie's site, TOCMP (The Old Car Manual Project). There is just an unbelievable amount of information available over there and I'd place his site as third on my list as the most important source for someone restoring a Stovebolt. http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/index.htm
The information at both the Stovebolt and TOCMP are open to the public free to anyone that wants to use them. But it sure doesn't hurt to make an offering to help defray the cost of maintaining these sites once in a while. Ya gotta admit, it's a whole bunch better than having to pay a mechanic or having to join some dues paying club to get the inside scoop on your project.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL