The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Well, I got the '48 home yesterday

It was about a 200 mile round trip with a borrowed trailor and the first time I hauled anything that big. I was more nervous about whether I had it tied down good enough than anything else. Anyway, I had no problems, it was an uneventful trip other than having a number of people flash me a thumbs-up as they passed me on the highway.

Here are my initial observations after unloading it and putting it in the barn.

The brakes suck. I could see evidence of at least two wheel cylinders leaking and I had to pump the pedal to get any stopping at all. Also, the brake pedal is rubbing against something hard enough that I had to pull it back up with my foot.

When I put it into 1st gear and press in the clutch, I hear a grinding noise which I assume is the throwout bearing.

The old 6 cylinder starts right up and sounds real good. I don't think its the original 216, but I haven't had time to look it over to determine exactly what it is.

The stearing wheel is not original. It has been replaced with one that isn't modern, but is a smaller diameter.

Somebody carpeted the floor and moved the battery to the bed. I don't like that and will probably replace the carpet with a rubber mat so I can put the battery back where it belongs.

The frame is in really good shape. Almost no rust on it.

The aluminimum wheels and wide tires need to be replaced with original style steel wheels and skinnier radials. Its really hard to stear.

There are no lights on the rear. I would like to install reproduction tail lights and turn signals. The turn signals will also require lights up front.

That's it for now. Here are links to a few photos from right after I unloaded it.

1948 pic 1
1948 pic 2
1948 pic 3
1948 pic 4
1948 pic 5
1948 pic 6
1948 pic 7

I apologise for the last three pictures being so large.

Wow, that looks great!!!!

Looks great! did I see you on the highway through St Louis? Jim D

Sharp truck! Is the battery just sitting out in the open,in the bed? Or under the bed?

Nice looking project. You have a heck of a lot better start than most of us had.

Very Nice

Do you have any information on the Bed?

I think you will like the changes you are planning

Good Luck

Very nice looking truck. On the T/O bearing noise, make sure to check the pressure plate. I fought what I thought was a pressure plate noise for a long time. After 3 T/O bearings and an engine swap, it turns our that my pressure plate was the problem. The taps were loose and causing the thing to rattle when 'unloaded'....

What's the inside of the bed look like?

I know it's not orginal, but I like the chevy logo on the back of the seat.

Sharp. Like the gas tank upgrade.

The stuck brake pedal is symptomatic of weak cab mounts or wear. They usually sag on the drivers side because that is where people sit the most. It is a fairly simple fix lift the carpet to see where it rubs, then loosen the bolt holding the pedal to the shaft move it until it clears, then retighten. Great truck!

Thanks for the comments. I know I'll have a ton of questions once I get to start working on it.
48jim1ton - probably not. I picked the truck up in Wentzville and headed West for home.
olddaze - the battery is just sitting loose in the bed, right behind the cab. The previous owner made new cables out of heavy guage welding cables.
DADS50 - the wood bed is solid, but pretty ugly. It's older treated wood with no trim strips.
DMGfifty - I've only driven the truck about 200yds (up the driveway and into the barn). The noise seems to be intermittent and only in 1st gear. When I backed it off the trailor there wasn't any noise. In fact, thinking about it, there wasn't any noise when I loaded it on the trailor. When I shifted from 1st to 2nd there wasn't any noise.
Does anybody know if there's a way to move the battery back to its original location, but keep the carpeting?
Also, what's the easiest way to determine what engine it has? I'm assuming it isn't a 216 since the valve cover attaches with 4 bolts at the sides, not 2 through the top.

The easiest way to determine what engine it is is to look up the casting code at http://www.inliners.org/

to me ugly is pretty

It did not look like a bed from a 48. But im not sure.

Nice truck!! I think the bed is off of a 1954/1955. You should be able to move the battery back & still have the carpet. I put a battery disconnect so that I wouldn't have to mess with the battery. Again nice job on the truck......

I wouldn't be surprised if the bed had been replaced at some point in time, but its news to me. How does the bed on my truck look different from a '48 bed?

cool truck!

The top edges of your bed are flat, and only the 54-55 trucks had that style of bed. On the 47-53 (and earlier) trucks this portion was angled. It looks like your bed is off a 54-55.

Thanks for the input, I'm already starting to learn something.

Well, I checked the engine casting number this morning. Its 3769716, which is a '58 - '62 Chevrolet 235 according to the chart a Inliners. Since I already knew it didn't have the original engine I guess this is a good thing.

I'd like the story on the fuel tank and the filler outside of the bed if you can find out. I've been wanting to move mine out of the cab and under the bed and I like the way that one looks.

Joe

Not trying to hijack this thread, here's a quick answer.

The first years of the Advance Design trucks had their gas tanks under the right side of the truck between the frame with the filler tub coming out the side. The panels and suburban used an almost identical tank that rested between the frame and under the back portion of the cab. The tank and straps are being reproduced by Jim Carter and the swap would be an easy one.

Looks like a diamond in the rough and not so rough. good luck.