The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 1937 GMC COE F-33HD...3B?....Spanky?

My brother has located another COE for his never ending collection, he does not have it in hand yet. He went over to the location ( 20 mins. away) and got a number off it, F-33HD. Is this a 5 ton Jimmy? It has 10 lugs on the wheels. What engine is in this beast, 426, 503? He is going nuts waiting to have it on the property.......3B?....Spanky?...

Hy 1936only, unfortunately my American parts books don't go back that far, my Motors manual for the period lists six engines for 1937, they range in size from 230 cubic inches to 400 cubic inches. The Motors manual does not reference engines to specific chassis so I can't tell you which engine should be in that truck, sorry I couldn't be of more help. Should I be worried that yours and your brothers collection will overtake mine in size??? Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Thanks, 3B, This ones rough but really interesting, my brother says the engine looks "slanted" and has auxiliary trans mounted on the aft end of the primary trans. We can't find a lot of info either. I thought it might be one of those 3 piece engines we talked about. As far as surpassing your collection..huh...no. Merry Christmas and Happy New year to you and your loved ones also 3B.

You mention that the truck has an auxiliary trans mounted on the aft of the primary. There was a post here on that exact subject a couple of weeks ago. Might be the same manufacturer. Just remember, we need pics! And Merry Christmas!!

Hy 1936only, more research has been done, and I find the F-33 is rated as a 2 1/2 ton, I still haven't been able to pin down the engine it left the factory with, hope that helps.

Thanks again 3B, I know that this might tax your library a tad. Is this first year Coe for GMC? I remember you saying that all the larger trucks 2.5 and up were GMC's not Chevrolets in the 30's-50's. How come so many engine combo's for GMC? Lots of questions. We are hoping this is a very large truck for it's day. Parts may be a little hard to find,... got one lurking around the barn 3B?

http://r.ebay.com/CvKfhT this might get you to pics of truck....maybe not. Still trying.

Hy 1936only, in my reference book GMC The First 100 Years, I could find no mention of C.O,E, trucks until 1937, however in one of my other reference books, GM The First 75 Years of Transportation Products, there are references to a 1934 T75 tanker and a 1936 F-61C. It must be remembered that GMC built trucks far in excess of the capacities of their Chevrolet cousins. I believe it is accepted that in 1937 GMC began producing cabover trucks that would compete size for size with their Chevrolet cousins, however they were alone in that market until 1939 when Chevrolet started to produce their own cabover trucks, hope that helps.

My Motor's also only lists up to 400 cu in engines. However, GMC built a 707 cu inch engine from the mid 30's until the late 40's. It was mostly used in fire apparatus. The only one I have ever seen had an accessory drive with a direct coupled air compressor and had two spark plugs per cylinder.

Heavy Duty GMC COE's began production in 1934. Medium Duty GMC COE's began production in 1937.

Well, the truck in question has arrived at my brothers shop last night at about 8p.m. My brother is trying to find some I.D. on it in the dark with a flashlight in 18 degree weather, what a hard core. I think the most exciting time is about the first 30 minutes we get ahold of one of these Big Bolts.....then reality raises it's ugly head. Good thing my Brother has an excellent set of COE GOGGLES on, he can see right past it.

I'm thinking these may be somewhat scarce, but parts will be very difficult to find. Hoping my brother will shoot some pics of it today. This ones rough but I guess that's half the challenge is resurrecting them once they died. He said the steering column is straight up and down also. I don't know why but these bigger Bolts really get my blood going.

I've got a few pics on my signature at the bottom of post. I'm not liking my Photobucket right now, something is not working.

Neat truck. I think that the auxiliary trans that is in the truck isn't an "auxiliary" trans. I'm sure that there will be some research on that down the road. It is a neat truck. Would definitely like to see it done!!

Yeah mrolds88, definitely an add on, the hole in the cab back was where the shifter went.....some peoples kids, strange.

That is a neat truck!! Wish I had that one, instead of the '57 that I have already spent a fortune on, and it still looks the same as when I got it......
Good luck and keep the pics. coming.

I got my COE out of Vay Idaho, which isn't far from Hope. I saw your brother's COE posted on Craigslist recently. The guy he bought it from posts some pretty unique rigs on CL. Is your brother in Spokane/CDA area?

Rick,

The recovery and discovery phase of a new find is great fun. That sure is an interesting beast.

It looks like the auxillary gearbox is nothing more than a Chevy non-sycronized 4 speed transmission. Did the shifter go through the torched hole in the back of the cab? Unique implimentation.

Thanks for posting the images so we can explore this "new" truck.

Paul

I am sure that this has been hashed over in other threads, but are you sure it is a 37? It has the 37 style grille, but the cab body lines etc are later style. I know they mixed things up for the coe trucks. It has the circle on the inner door panels, my T16 has a rectangle or square pattern on them.

I spotted one very similar to this when I was in HS after I got my 37, wish I would have kept up in it's whereabouts as I would like to get one.

Jason

Looks like the main trans. is the predecessor to an NP-540 series, CI cover instead of Al, 4 shift rails, don't know MN?

Looks like the 420 was shifted on the ground, in anticipation of the next load/grade.

Grill looks like '39-'40, GMC casting at top of grill, looks like '36-'38 style grill, perhaps late '38?

Interesting what engine lives there, could be 259 Buick rebadged, predecessor to 228-302 series.

As jrpontiac has mentioned, alot about this truck has me scratching my head. It has the Heavy Duty '39-'49 cab which uses double crank out windshields,(smaller medium duty COE cab has one piece, single split crank out windshield) Has Heavy Duty large stud, 10 lug wheels, which were used on the Heavy Duty axles. It has the grille of the smaller medium duty COE's, & has the smaller block engine with plugs on the passenger side, as the smaller medium duty COE's use. The Heavy Duty GMC COE's used a larger 6 cylinder engine with the plugs on the driver side. The larger Heavy Duty COE's also used a different style grille.

Px doesn't match my spare GMC 302 or my GMC 239 that came stock in my '37 T18HD, similar, though.

Hi everybody, I am the guy who bought this truck, my brother is 1936only(rick), just to add more to your heads, this truck has torque rods on the rear end, I saw today on the engine where it says GMC casted on the middle section of the engine, it has three sections, the crank case and the cyl. bores and then the head, looking on line at other f-33 it seams that the front fenders are bigger than the ones I see on line, maybe somebody can give me a measurement of there fenders, on the tag it says chassis 200 and then straight weigh 23000,and F-33 HD, I don't think its a 2 ton truck by the look of it, its way to beefy. the engine is longer than any 302 gmc I have seen, way bigger, my brother will post on Monday the pictures I sent him and you will see how big the engine really is. I just want to know what it is and year, thank you for all your help, please ask me anything if I can help you come up with what it is. thanks Dan

I have already straightened out the front sheet metal, removed the front bumper, straightened out the head light bucket, I am going to take engine out when I get the chance to do it, I will take a lot of pictures. there is no rust anywhere besides the very small surface rust , it looks worse than it is. its very solid, yes it does need work but what doesn't.

I measured the valve cover and its 30 inches long, the front bottom lip of the front fender measures 28 inches. thank you again, Dan

Jrpontiac, I live in Laclede,idaho, very close to sandpoint , and I have bought 4 coes from that guy, a 39 chev, 42 chev,42-4x4 chev,and now this GMC. he said it was a 37,but when he listed it in a ad he said it was a 38. I think the guy he bought it from said it was a 38.Dan

Hy baldybenny and guys, a little research has yielded some more info, 1937 and 38 F33H models were powered by a GMC 286 cubic inch engine. This engine has the firing order 142635, it appears that this engine is a three piece design, with the cylinder bank being removeable from the crankcase. The cam is located on the same side of the block as the light/medium duty engines, so it may indeed have the spark plugs on the right side of the block. Baldybenny and 1936only thanks for buying this one and telling us about it, it is helping me expand my knowledge on this vintage of GMC, I hope the above information helps.

Thank you 3B ! it does help! whats funny is that on the front cover on the grill that opens that firing order was written on the inside of the cover. I cant wait to take this beast apart and see whats good inside. Dan

Look at the flat ledge at the base of the distributor shaft, to see if there are numbers stamped there. If it has a non rebuilt, or reman. engine, the engine displacement will be the first three numbers stamped at this location.

Spanky, I looked for a pad and there is not one there, its just a boss for the dist.,unless I have to take out the dist to see it.but from what I can see its just a round boss hole for the dist, I have looked for any flat spots that maybe there would be some numbers but so far I come up empty, the engines on a factory slant and you would think that if it had any numbers it would be on the drivers side(manifold) because of the slant. I did see on the head the GMC casting ,and on the center part of the engine. I have to take out the dist anyway so I'll do that today and see if there is anything under it. thanks for your help. Dan

I removed the dist. and no marks or number, its just a round cast boss, there's a small flat section that connects with the block but nothing there. the search continues ....

The 2nd Edition of Motor's Repair Manual illustrates a water pump on an F-33 with a 286 engine. The 286 appears to be a flathead with a 3 5/8 bore by 4 5/8 stroke with a 4.90 compression ratio. 90HP @ 2600 RPM. It looks like 1938 was the last year it was used which is about the time that type of engine became obsolete. However, it is very possible that it may have been repowered with a later model engine. Truckers have always done that. The picture of the engine you post is an overhead valve. I have strong suspicions that the truck does not have the original motor. It might not even be a GMC motor. It could be something like a Waukesha.

Hy crenwelge and guys, my fifth edition Motors truck and tractor repair manual lists all GMC engines as overhead valve except the 213, 223 and 230, hope that helps.

My second edition is kind of confusing. The 286 is illustrated with the section that has tappets, but then it is also listed along with a 239 and a 257 as having rockers. So I think it is safe to assume that it was an overhead engine. So the engine pictured could very well be original.

Well here it is in black and white, I just got a factory brochure from GMC 1937 and its a 4 and 5 ton range brochure , I got it on ebay from ours friends in Canada, This is what it says.... The F-33(4 ton) were 6 lugs and the F-33HD(5tons) were 10 lugs, they came with a 286.4ci valve in head type, 3 5/8 bore and a 4 5/8 stroke, 90hp at 2600rpm and 205ft.lbs. at 1000-1800rpm. the F-33 did not have radius rods on the rear axle but the F-33HD did. this truck has the radius rods, when I was in the cab I shifted the shifter and I think its a 5 speed trans, the brochure says they had a std. 4 speed and a optional 5 speed underdrive and a 5 speed overdrive, on the F-33 they had gear ratio of 6.50 to 1(std.)or a 5.625 to 1 and a 7.20 to 1 (optional)and the F-33HD had 6.43 to 1 (std.) and a 7.16 to 1 (optional).so what I have is a 5 ton with a 286 engine and from the pictures in the brochure its a 1937 truck. I want to thank all of you guy for your input and help on this truck, and my brother will send more of the pictures on Monday. Dan

Does that brochure show the front sheet metal. I'm still curious about that grille. I know the '39-'49 Heavy Duty grilles have broad horizontal bars, & no vertical bars. Never had any '37, & '38 Heavy Duty literature. I guess it's possible the '37, & '38 medium duty, & Heavy Duty trucks shared the same grille, just different fenders. I always took for granted that they were the same as the '39-49's.

It does show the same grill as what's on my truck, the Deluxe had chrome radiator grill bars, the only thing I need to know is I think the front fenders are bigger than the smaller COE trucks, my fenders measure 27.5 inches from bottom front lip, outside to inside, maybe not but it seems like it in pictures I see on other trucks, maybe somebody who has a 37 COE could measure for me to be sure, I know its a 37 because of the steering shaft is straight up and down as the 38 are forward .Spanky this brochure has many other spec.for both F-33 and F-33HD like axles,brakes,clutch,engine,equipment,frame,fuel tank,propeller shafts,radiator,radius rods,springs,steering gear,transmission,wheels and tires, and dimensions .

Good to know. Next time you see that brochure for Sale somewhere let me know. I'd like to have a copy of it. Do you have a ebay item number from your bidding ?

Spanky, I sent you a PM. and if I do find another I will buy it and let you know. Dan

Benny, got the message. Thanks.Would you believe I have a couple of those big truck hubcaps, like in those brochure pictures.