She started! - 68 LWB Step, Farm Truck - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

TruckinDaddy · 03-17-2005, 07:59 PM

A while back, in this thread, I got lots of good advice about starting my Grandfather's farm truck that had been sitting in a field for 12 years.

I just want to say, THANKS for all of the help!

After putting that advice to use, I got the old girl started today. She was coughing and sputtering for a while, but after ten minutes, she seemed to remember what to do. Once I figuered out the manual choke, she idled really nice for twenty minutes or so.

Oil pressure looked good and she sounded pretty strong. The temp guage was not giving any reading, so I did not want to run her too long. But it was a great thrill! I never saw any leaks, either.

I did not move her. I could not get her into gear. So I just let her idle for a while. But it sure was exciting, anyways!

Longhorn Man · 03-17-2005, 08:04 PM

makes you feel good doesn't it?

TruckinDaddy · 03-17-2005, 08:36 PM

You betcha!

I am only glad that the wife, the kids and one old, deaf farm dog saw my celebration. I would have a lot to live down if any of my friends saw that outburst!

TruckinDaddy · 03-17-2005, 08:42 PM

Oh, and I found out something. I remembered this truck having a wooden bed. But it has a steel bed floor now. Something did not look right, though. The steel floor is totally flat. None of the raised channels on the stock steel floor.

When I was under it today, I looked up and saw WOOD! Rotten, old, molded and mildew-ed wood, but I knew that she had a wooden bed! Under a farm-done steel bed replacement.

Hook'em · 03-17-2005, 08:52 PM

Good news. You still planning on hauling her back to Austin or you going to get her running out there?

Brainchild · 03-17-2005, 09:17 PM

You can't kill an old farm truck to easy.they're just like the guys that owned them,tough as nails,and stubborn as a mule.Congrats

BTW, we've all done the "listen at her jig"

boogie67 · 03-17-2005, 09:35 PM

You can't keep an old chevy down .Felt good to hear it run I bet.My 67 is an old farm truck too it had been parked 9 years sounds good but smokes.bougth it Brady tx.

TruckinDaddy · 03-17-2005, 09:37 PM

Hey Hook'em...

I think I'll still have to tow her back to town. It is only 45 miles to my house from the farm, but I don't think I want to mess with RRock's finest on the way. With 12 year old plates and inspection sticker, I would be a sitting duck.

Plus, I could not get her into gear for the life of me today. Lots of movement in the 3 on the tree gear shift, just did not seem to be engaging in any gears.

I found a place to rent a trailer for 45 bucks, now I just have to round up a big enough truck to haul her home. I can rent one here in Austin for 50 bucks, but I have to wait a while for the $!

TruckinDaddy · 03-17-2005, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brainchild

BTW, we've all done the "listen at her jig"

The wife was laughing her butt off at me, but then, she was grinning from ear to ear too, when our three year old yelled at her, "Mommy, I'm gonna ride with Daddy!"

Gary Lee · 03-17-2005, 10:32 PM

3 on the tree should be easier, crawl underneath spray the shifter arms on the tranny... remove one shift link, make sure it moves back and forth... put it back where it was... hook the linkage back up and do the other one... same deal if the tranny rods move in and out (with the motor off of course,,,) its probably your column shifter up on the column.... spray with a penetrating oil real good and then later spray white litium grease in the tube... make sure the two pawls are centered and with pliers you can pull, push one back and slide the linkage thing inbetween the two as all is centered... you can put a heavier grease dab it on the two shift linkage things the pick up the linkage and that should get er done... if it keeps dropping new cotter pins and slipping a washer or two on the linkages should help ease out some play...

Sorry, its really purty easy to do, but almost impossible to describe...

I am sure it'll be fine too.... hard to really mess up a 3spd unless you try real hard... the column linkage on the other hand can drop the shift linkage if a lil preventative maint isn't performed from time to time...

Lots a luck

**Palf70Step** · 03-17-2005, 09:35 PM

Since it was a farm truck, your granddad did the same thing the owner of mine truck did, they put in a flat steel plate as a floor since the wood would break upder the weight of cattle. It is so cool to get them fired and going again. Congrats.

TruckinDaddy · 03-17-2005, 09:41 PM

Bill,

I bet you are right. Unfortunately, the steel floor rusted through, and the wood has trapped all of that moisture for years. SO now, both are rotten.

TruckinDaddy · 03-17-2005, 09:44 PM

Boogie67,

She was smoking a little bit at the first, but settled down a lot after a few minutes. I was expecting a lot worse, since the tank still had gas in it from 12 years ago. I siphoned out a lot, but I knew it was still in there...

Hopefully I burned out the last of the old stuff today.

1STtimePRo'71 · 03-17-2005, 10:53 PM

Congrats. Hopefully you can take the little one out soon. Just like old times eh?

70 shorty · 03-17-2005, 11:14 PM

When I got mine running for the first time in 5 years last fall, even though it cut off after only a few seconds, I jumped out and yelled at my neighbor who was working in his yard, "did you hear it" he said yeah! It was the best feeling in the world. I had driven it about 5 years earlier around the block and had forgotten how loud it was. There was no missing it for any of my neighbors when it fired up! Congratulations. I was also told mine was used on a peanut farm most of its life. I wish mine had the sentimental value yours does. That would definitely be a good feeling.

TruckinDaddy · 03-17-2005, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gary Lee

I am sure it'll be fine too.... hard to really mess up a 3spd unless you try real hard... the column linkage on the other hand can drop the shift linkage if a lil preventative maint isn't performed from time to time...

Lots a luck

Gary, Thanks again. You rule! I might be out there again this weekend. I'll be taking your advice with me. Again.

1sttime:

Yeah. I was probably about my son's age when I got to take my first ride to see the cows with my grandpa! And I got to drive this truck in the same field where it is sitting right now, about 8 years later...

Green Machine · 03-17-2005, 11:24 PM

Congrats too !! - I don't know if anyone mentioned this before, but you should check the pushrods closely where they pass thru the slot in the head. Many times they rust badly there and then when they go up and down they act like rat tail files and wreck the guide slots. You can turn the pushrod end for end for temp fix. JMHO.

Robert1970C20rstbukt · 03-17-2005, 11:52 PM

It doesn't matter how old a farm truck is, they'll keep going. There's a couple farmers here that still run the old 50's Apache grain trucks 20 miles back and forth every day, you can't kill 'em.

67_C-30 · 03-18-2005, 12:35 AM

There's an old farmer around here that still uses a '63 GMC 2 ton flatbed almost everyday. Its got one of the old big V6's (don't know which cubic inch version it is) . The truck is ugly, beat down, loud, and rusty. You can hear that old V6 chugging up the road from a mile away. He talks down on newer trucks. He claims that he had a valve job done sometime in the 80's, but other that, he said that nothing has ever been done to the bottom end of the V6. I guess you can't complain when you get 42 years of service out of something!!

TruckinDaddy · 03-18-2005, 02:42 PM

Hey guys, Thanks for the advice and encouragement. She does not look like much, but after watching this truck waste away for a decade, I was as happy as our 3 year old at Christmas when she turned over and started.

Question... The manual choke? She idled pretty well if I kept the choke pushed about halfway in. It would stall out with the choke pushed all the way in. Sound right? The only chokes I have ever messed with are on my tiller and lawn mower...

**CPNE** · 03-18-2005, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TruckinDaddy

Hey guys, Thanks for the advice and encouragement. She does not look like much, but after watching this truck waste away for a decade, I was as happy as our 3 year old at Christmas when she turned over and started.

Question... The manual choke? She idled pretty well if I kept the choke pushed about halfway in. It would stall out with the choke pushed all the way in. Sound right? The only chokes I have ever messed with are on my tiller and lawn mower...

The choke has 2 functions:

1. Make the air/fuel mixture richer for cold weather starts
2. Allows for a faster idle engine warm-up

There is a detent on the choke mechanism that opens the thottle slightly to allow for fast idle. You can see this action if you have someone operate the cable while you observe the carb. I suspect when you pushed in the choke, the truck tried to run on slow idle and died? This is not normal and is probably the result of years of sitting, i.e. bad gas and gummed up carb. I suggest a cleaning and rebuild of that carb is in order.

Tell me more about your shift problem.

BTW, I think its cool what you're doing with Grandpa's truck

TruckinDaddy · 03-18-2005, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CPNE

. I suggest a cleaning and rebuild of that carb is in order.

Tell me more about your shift problem.

The cleaning and rebuild of the carb is on the short list.

When we went to drag it out of the mud a month ago, I kept thinking it was in neutral. Seemed to have a lot of play in the gear shift. But, we finally went under the hood and found neutral by moving the linkages by hand.

And yesterday, it never seemed to go out of neutral, even if I moved the linages by hand.

I am going to go out this weekend and lube everyting up that I can get to. Greasing the shift selector was suggested earlier, but I assume I would have to pull the steering wheel. And I don't think I am ready to start tearing too much apart. I would rather wait until I have it sitting at home.

70 shorty · 03-18-2005, 03:05 PM

It should run with the choke all the way off when it's completely warm. You shouldn't have to have it partially closed. Now what you need to do to fix this, I have no idea, but I know it should be all the way open when it's warm.

Gary Lee · 03-19-2005, 02:41 AM

all the lube is doable under the hood... have some one go thru the gears calling them out as you watch from under the hood.... It'll come to you... its almost so simple, you'll be shocked... these trucks are simple by nature.... trust yourself... its easier than you think... if you could get it running.... you can get it shifting!!! It is the brakes you need to take your time and caution with.......

03-17-2005, 07:59 PM	#1
TruckinDaddy What's that funky smell? Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 610	She started! - 68 LWB Step, Farm Truck A while back, in this thread, I got lots of good advice about starting my Grandfather's farm truck that had been sitting in a field for 12 years. I just want to say, THANKS for all of the help! After putting that advice to use, I got the old girl started today. She was coughing and sputtering for a while, but after ten minutes, she seemed to remember what to do. Once I figuered out the manual choke, she idled really nice for twenty minutes or so. Oil pressure looked good and she sounded pretty strong. The temp guage was not giving any reading, so I did not want to run her too long. But it was a great thrill! I never saw any leaks, either. I did not move her. I could not get her into gear. So I just let her idle for a while. But it sure was exciting, anyways! __________________ Mike S 68 C10 Long Step (Pretending to be a Long Fleetside) Grandpa's Farm Truck 3 on the tree, 307, No power brakes or steering Factory Options - HD rear spring and Ammeter/Oil Gauges My truck blog My Car Domain page

03-17-2005, 08:36 PM	#3
TruckinDaddy What's that funky smell? Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 610	You betcha! I am only glad that the wife, the kids and one old, deaf farm dog saw my celebration. I would have a lot to live down if any of my friends saw that outburst! __________________ Mike S 68 C10 Long Step (Pretending to be a Long Fleetside) Grandpa's Farm Truck 3 on the tree, 307, No power brakes or steering Factory Options - HD rear spring and Ammeter/Oil Gauges My truck blog My Car Domain page

03-17-2005, 08:42 PM	#4
TruckinDaddy What's that funky smell? Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 610	Oh, and I found out something. I remembered this truck having a wooden bed. But it has a steel bed floor now. Something did not look right, though. The steel floor is totally flat. None of the raised channels on the stock steel floor. When I was under it today, I looked up and saw WOOD! Rotten, old, molded and mildew-ed wood, but I knew that she had a wooden bed! Under a farm-done steel bed replacement. __________________ Mike S 68 C10 Long Step (Pretending to be a Long Fleetside) Grandpa's Farm Truck 3 on the tree, 307, No power brakes or steering Factory Options - HD rear spring and Ammeter/Oil Gauges My truck blog My Car Domain page

03-17-2005, 08:52 PM	#5
Hook'em Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Round Rock, Texas Posts: 858	Good news. You still planning on hauling her back to Austin or you going to get her running out there? __________________ Hook'em

03-17-2005, 09:17 PM	#6
Brainchild Still drivin' a Rat Rod Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Monett Missouri Posts: 4,925	You can't kill an old farm truck to easy.they're just like the guys that owned them,tough as nails,and stubborn as a mule.Congrats BTW, we've all done the "listen at her jig" __________________ Rusty Member #13872 Instead of saying.....you are a discomfort in the back of my front.....one should be able to say...... you are a pain in the a$# 71 GMC LWB 49 Chevy 85 Chevy G20 Check out my website

03-17-2005, 08:04 PM	#2
Longhorn Man its all about the +6 inches Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Hilliard Ohio Posts: 2,693	makes you feel good doesn't it?

03-17-2005, 09:35 PM	#7
boogie67 Registered User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: waco tx Posts: 584	Farm truck You can't keep an old chevy down .Felt good to hear it run I bet.My 67 is an old farm truck too it had been parked 9 years sounds good but smokes.bougth it Brady tx.

03-17-2005, 09:37 PM	#8
TruckinDaddy What's that funky smell? Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 610	Hey Hook'em... I think I'll still have to tow her back to town. It is only 45 miles to my house from the farm, but I don't think I want to mess with RRock's finest on the way. With 12 year old plates and inspection sticker, I would be a sitting duck. Plus, I could not get her into gear for the life of me today. Lots of movement in the 3 on the tree gear shift, just did not seem to be engaging in any gears. I found a place to rent a trailer for 45 bucks, now I just have to round up a big enough truck to haul her home. I can rent one here in Austin for 50 bucks, but I have to wait a while for the $! __________________ Mike S 68 C10 Long Step (Pretending to be a Long Fleetside) Grandpa's Farm Truck 3 on the tree, 307, No power brakes or steering Factory Options - HD rear spring and Ammeter/Oil Gauges My truck blog My Car Domain page

03-17-2005, 10:32 PM	#10
Gary Lee fixer of 72 GMC LWB Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Newnan GA Posts: 111	Congratulations!!!! 3 on the tree should be easier, crawl underneath spray the shifter arms on the tranny... remove one shift link, make sure it moves back and forth... put it back where it was... hook the linkage back up and do the other one... same deal if the tranny rods move in and out (with the motor off of course,,,) its probably your column shifter up on the column.... spray with a penetrating oil real good and then later spray white litium grease in the tube... make sure the two pawls are centered and with pliers you can pull, push one back and slide the linkage thing inbetween the two as all is centered... you can put a heavier grease dab it on the two shift linkage things the pick up the linkage and that should get er done... if it keeps dropping new cotter pins and slipping a washer or two on the linkages should help ease out some play... Sorry, its really purty easy to do, but almost impossible to describe... I am sure it'll be fine too.... hard to really mess up a 3spd unless you try real hard... the column linkage on the other hand can drop the shift linkage if a lil preventative maint isn't performed from time to time... Lots a luck Last edited by Gary Lee; 03-17-2005 at 10:35 PM. Reason: typos

03-17-2005, 09:35 PM	#11
Palf70Step State of Confusion! Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Gulfport, MS USA Posts: 47,083	Since it was a farm truck, your granddad did the same thing the owner of mine truck did, they put in a flat steel plate as a floor since the wood would break upder the weight of cattle. It is so cool to get them fired and going again. Congrats. __________________ Bill 1970 Chevy Custom/10 LWB Fleetside 2010 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner SR5 Double Cab - DD Member of Louisiana Classic Truck Club (LCTC) Bill's Gallery Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift. Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God! Last edited by Palf70Step; 03-17-2005 at 09:40 PM.

03-17-2005, 09:41 PM	#12
TruckinDaddy What's that funky smell? Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 610	Bill, I bet you are right. Unfortunately, the steel floor rusted through, and the wood has trapped all of that moisture for years. SO now, both are rotten. __________________ Mike S 68 C10 Long Step (Pretending to be a Long Fleetside) Grandpa's Farm Truck 3 on the tree, 307, No power brakes or steering Factory Options - HD rear spring and Ammeter/Oil Gauges My truck blog My Car Domain page

03-17-2005, 09:44 PM	#13
TruckinDaddy What's that funky smell? Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 610	Boogie67, She was smoking a little bit at the first, but settled down a lot after a few minutes. I was expecting a lot worse, since the tank still had gas in it from 12 years ago. I siphoned out a lot, but I knew it was still in there... Hopefully I burned out the last of the old stuff today. __________________ Mike S 68 C10 Long Step (Pretending to be a Long Fleetside) Grandpa's Farm Truck 3 on the tree, 307, No power brakes or steering Factory Options - HD rear spring and Ammeter/Oil Gauges My truck blog My Car Domain page

03-17-2005, 10:53 PM	#14
1STtimePRo'71 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Lake Crystal, MN Posts: 656	Congrats. Hopefully you can take the little one out soon. Just like old times eh? __________________ -Cory 1967 2 Wheel Chevy

03-17-2005, 11:14 PM	#15
70 shorty Where's my beer? Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Glen Allen, VA Posts: 1,772	When I got mine running for the first time in 5 years last fall, even though it cut off after only a few seconds, I jumped out and yelled at my neighbor who was working in his yard, "did you hear it" he said yeah! It was the best feeling in the world. I had driven it about 5 years earlier around the block and had forgotten how loud it was. There was no missing it for any of my neighbors when it fired up! Congratulations. I was also told mine was used on a peanut farm most of its life. I wish mine had the sentimental value yours does. That would definitely be a good feeling. __________________ 70 C10, shortstep, .30 over 250,Hurst shifted 3 spd parts hauler. Holley 390, Clifford Intake, Header, ported cylinder head, unknown bigger cam. 79 Corvette L82, 4 spd, black, red interior, headers, flowmasters, and unkown bigger cam. '03 Grand Cherokee Laredo, 4.0 4x4 daily driver. 165K miles, and runs great '08 Tahoe LTZ 4x4 155K

03-17-2005, 11:24 PM	#17
Green Machine Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Estherville, Iowa Posts: 3,371	Congrats too !! - I don't know if anyone mentioned this before, but you should check the pushrods closely where they pass thru the slot in the head. Many times they rust badly there and then when they go up and down they act like rat tail files and wreck the guide slots. You can turn the pushrod end for end for temp fix. JMHO. __________________ 1968 C10 307 3spd Long Fleet ------ http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=201103 1970 C10 305 Super T10 Long Fleet --- http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=202285 1971 C20 383 TH350 Dana Posi ----- http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=206894 2001 GMC Sierra 1500 C3 6.0



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03-17-2005, 11:52 PM	#18
Robert1970C20rstbukt Registered User Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Beeville, Texas Posts: 1,943	It doesn't matter how old a farm truck is, they'll keep going. There's a couple farmers here that still run the old 50's Apache grain trucks 20 miles back and forth every day, you can't kill 'em. __________________ RJD 1984 Chevrolet C30 welding truck 454/SM465 1977 GMC C15 pickup 350/TH350 1970 Chevrolet C20 pickup 350/TH400 1970 Chevrolet K20 Suburban 454/TH350 1969 GMC 8500 478M V6/5 spd winch truck

03-18-2005, 12:35 AM	#19
67_C-30 I have a radical idea! Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Sweet Home Alabama! Posts: 6,513	There's an old farmer around here that still uses a '63 GMC 2 ton flatbed almost everyday. Its got one of the old big V6's (don't know which cubic inch version it is) . The truck is ugly, beat down, loud, and rusty. You can hear that old V6 chugging up the road from a mile away. He talks down on newer trucks. He claims that he had a valve job done sometime in the 80's, but other that, he said that nothing has ever been done to the bottom end of the V6. I guess you can't complain when you get 42 years of service out of something!! __________________ '67 C-30 Dually Pickup 6.2 Turbo Diesel, NP435 ‘72 C-10 SWB , 350 4bbl, TH350 '69 C-10 SWB , 250 L6, 3 OTT '69 GMC C3500, dump truck, 351 V6, NP435 '84 M1009 CUCV Military Blazer 67 C-30 Turbodiesel build thread http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=254096 My trucks http://s226.photobucket.com/albums/d...ediafilter=all Member of the 1-Ton Club!

03-18-2005, 02:42 PM	#20
TruckinDaddy What's that funky smell? Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 610	Hey guys, Thanks for the advice and encouragement. She does not look like much, but after watching this truck waste away for a decade, I was as happy as our 3 year old at Christmas when she turned over and started. Question... The manual choke? She idled pretty well if I kept the choke pushed about halfway in. It would stall out with the choke pushed all the way in. Sound right? The only chokes I have ever messed with are on my tiller and lawn mower...

03-18-2005, 03:05 PM	#23
70 shorty Where's my beer? Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Glen Allen, VA Posts: 1,772	It should run with the choke all the way off when it's completely warm. You shouldn't have to have it partially closed. Now what you need to do to fix this, I have no idea, but I know it should be all the way open when it's warm. __________________ 70 C10, shortstep, .30 over 250,Hurst shifted 3 spd parts hauler. Holley 390, Clifford Intake, Header, ported cylinder head, unknown bigger cam. 79 Corvette L82, 4 spd, black, red interior, headers, flowmasters, and unkown bigger cam. '03 Grand Cherokee Laredo, 4.0 4x4 daily driver. 165K miles, and runs great '08 Tahoe LTZ 4x4 155K

03-19-2005, 02:41 AM	#24
Gary Lee fixer of 72 GMC LWB Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Newnan GA Posts: 111	all the lube is doable under the hood... have some one go thru the gears calling them out as you watch from under the hood.... It'll come to you... its almost so simple, you'll be shocked... these trucks are simple by nature.... trust yourself... its easier than you think... if you could get it running.... you can get it shifting!!! It is the brakes you need to take your time and caution with.......

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