The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Re: What did you get done on your 'Bolt today?

I pulled the whole front axle and suspension out of my 46 1/2 ton, gonna wrap it and ship it to nastalgia sids for a 3in drop setup

What started as simply chasing down an audible electrical short turned into gutting all the superfluous wiring then replacing the main lamp switch and pulling, rebuilding, and refacing the gauges and reseting and refacing the odometer.
...might end up replacing the entire harness at this rate.


Speedometer and Odometer

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Not completely happy with the new odometer decals but watcha gonna do...
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Finished speedometer.
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Combination Meter

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I've repainted the needles and refaced the individual parts of the combination meter but it was late so I still need to take pics and reassemble it.

Building a new wiring harness is not a bad idea. If you buy a generic harness you can
add extra circuits for extra goodies.

Started welding in the driver's side patch panels. Got the outside one stitch welded, and only have the inner panel. I have some roof holes from previous lights and such that will have to be plugged too. I have the inner old piece cut out and the new one fitted and ready to tack in.

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Got the king pin locking bolts out, dust caps off and tried to get the king pins out. No luck today, filled em up with PB Blaster and gonna let em sit. Maybe I'll have success tomorrow. Got the brakes off the rear end, both sides. Spent some time scrapping off the years of grease and dirt from the frame.

Finally got round to removing the ill fitting windshields.
Plans are to do a "How to" series of pics.
This will include the cutting of the glass for anyone that's interested in having a go themselves.....

Now that will put you in your own element. I look forward to a professionally treated training video, especially the part about installing the stainless windshield trim.

Ha! Sorry Jim,no pro video just a series of stills and narratives.
Plus if it was a video,you probably wouldn't be able to understand my accent! lol.

Here's a taster....

Next installment will be marking out and cutting the glass,stay tuned......
Once i've completed the install,perhaps the mods will add it to the Tech Tips section.

If you can find me a good,unmolested and original set of trims at a reasonable price,i'd happily show you how to install them!

Finally got the king pins out and then cleaned up the spindles. Drums off the hubs in prep for disc brakes. Took some pics and I plan to document and post the conversion as it progresses. Also spent some time degreasing suspension parts. Couple more weekends and (hopefully) I'll be done with the cleanup and prep.

Heck John, I'd send you mine (never used) if seapost wasn't so expensive.

Over the Memorial Day weekend with the help of my father and father-in-law we installed new roller bearings on the front, all new drums and shoes front and rear and bled and adjusted the brakes. I ended the 3 day weekend with a little "test" drive in my driveway. I need a few more weekends like that and my truck will be on the road!

It's hard to believe they assembled these trucks in about 2 man hours.

now that would be some magic, one man assembling an entire truck in 2 hours

Bill

*At the turn of the century (1908) it took about 14 hours to assemble a car by hand. If in doing so 5 people did the work, that would be 14 hours X 5 men = 70 man hours. In 1913 Henry Ford sped up that time to 95 minutes with his assembly line. I don't know how many men did the work so technically, if 1,000 workers working at the Highland Park plant completed a car in 2 hours that would be 2,000 man hours.

Back to your regularly scheduled programming: Got the 2 speed rear axle in our 45 1.5 ton freed up, works great! How nice going up a hill, to leave it in 4th, stomp the clutch and pull back on that long lever! (Manual shift Timkin double reduction)

Finally got www.rustyfiftyone.com live. ...that counts, right? It's essentially the journal I keep for the ol' girl.

Bluemeanie, nice job on the journal. Truck looks like a nice ride. I love the patina, looks great buffed out.

Thanks 54hydramaticFL! It was a bit of work back dating everything from random emails and various threads I've posted on different sites.

Great job Eric,the journal makes for interesting and entertaining reading,thanks for the link.

Thanks Jock!

I got the oil changed in the engine, transmission & rear diff.
I removed the rear diff cover hot wash it repainted & reintalled it with new bolts, turned out nice. I noticed I had a fuel leak at the top of the fuel tank where the neck connects. Will have to burn some fuel before I pull the tank & fix. Oh this was all on the '48. Laters

Put driveshaft in hooked up carburator clutch and shift linkage. Put in radiator with new hoses and heater hose. I tried to drive it in the yard but it didn't like the flat tire on the back. Oh well getting closer.Larry

You should have said SHE didn't like the flat. That's why we give them female names. lol

Well I elected to buy her a new battery instead of a tire so she will just have to be happy with what she gets.Larry

Is it a Big Bolt? Those tend to be HE around here it seems.

Ennyways, cut and flared the gas line, and installed a new sediment bowl/filter next to the carb. Then pulled off the left front wheel and drum, and put in a new brake cylinder. Last of the leaks fixed! Jacked him off the ground and did a proper brake adjustment.

Whaddya know, Hucks got plenty of power when they're set up right, b'golly!

No big bolt, just a little GMC 100.Larry

I took advantage of the holiday today and got my windshields redone.(pics to follow.)
Made good progress with the glass so I then started to strip out my grill in readiness for removing the front fenders,i've still to paint the underside with POR-15 and fit all the seals and gaskets.
Got sidetracked and started stripping out the damaged grill bars.
I've decided to use my original grill meantime until I have sufficient funds to buy a new chrome one.

Engine and tranny out,laying on a furniture dolly in the garage floor.sheet metal came today! now I gotta strap the engine down so it doesnt wanna go where it wants too.real excited for a Monday, my back's gonna pay for it later but I think the ol'girl is tryin to tell me something,going to a bone yard this week,already found my temporary front brake drums looking forward to going there for a couple years now,we'll see..............story continues

Got the right rear wheel parking brake hooked up. Still working on the left side.

Yesturday, I replaced all the seals in the transfercase, remounted it to the transmission, connected both drivelines on the 1953. Getting closer for a test drive.....

My new wheels came in from Wheel-Vintiques today.
Smothie
Now for painting and then pics.

Very nice Jim,I sincerely hope you haven't ordered those hub caps in the picture!
How to go from Hero to villain in no time flat......

Those hubs have been a major irritant since I bought them 4/5 years ago. Being from the "old school", I thought all wheels were like those in the 50's and had the required tits that allowed a hub to the snapped on. That's why I bought a set of Camero rallies without checking for the needed tits.
They do say Chevrolet however.

you probably did it....but test fit them before you paint them. Not sure if you ordered a special back space or not.

nice shoes

Got the LEFT side hooked up. Finally, all the lever/shifter/thingies sticking out of the floor work!

Yeah I checked on that, however the 3/4 ton truck's frame is 11.5" more narrow than the 1/2 ton. Therefore back spacing is not a big issue.

Spent the last few evenings welding up the stake pockets & all of those annoying extra holes in the bed!

Hey Robert,since you did your door handles etc,there's just no stopping you!

LOL the next things he'll be welding up with be those holes we call doors.

this is from yesterday.I went the hour down and back to pick up the front drums,brought them home and they fit like a glove,was taking the new drum off,putting the old one back on,installed tire,bent over to pick something off the floor and BAM!hit the top of my head on the inner cowl panel,go to emergency room,ask for a band-aid,they gave me 3 staples instead.all in all it was a great day,spent quality time with my son and gained a new scar for the top of my head