1949 Chevy 3600 into a daily driver

[Coach529]

Weekend in the life of Henry!!

Friday of course we picked up our engines, intake and headers. We also swung by the local Scrap metal place to take a peak. Scored an old AD windshield mounted rear view mirror and some old Desoto hub caps to hang on my garage wall. Score!!

Saturday was a busy day. Trip to the dump with used oil jugs, and a bed full of grass clippings.

My wife and my youngest (Colton) were sitting on Henry between errands because he is obsessed with it!! Only 1, but already hooked on old trucks!!




Then it was off to my in laws farm to haul the motors to for storage. My wife drove our other truck out with the engines in the bed and later my older son, Ryder, and I came out in Henry.

Unfortunately after 12 miles of 65mph.......we got hot. Had to sit by the road for awhile until it cooled down. Not a huge deal. Beautiful day!!

Same thing happened on the way home.

Local radiator shop wants $100 to rod the stock radiator......think I am going to buy a 4 core alum and call it good.

Today I spend some time tinkering. Installed the bump stops in the rear notch. Made some speaker boxes for a couple 6 x 9's I had ordered and wired them in.

Made a quick trip to the storage unit with my Wife and Colton. She has not sat that close to me since high school!!




Finished off the night giving him a bath..........on a beautiful evening!!

[NEWFISHER]

Henry couldn't have found a better home. +1 on the aluminum, you never know if therad shop $100 bill will fix it or find more issues with the core.
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[H.I.]

I agree with fisher about you may spend the $100 on the radiator and then something else go wrong with it. I bit the bullet and put a new radiator in my 53.

Henry looks great and looks like he's going to enjoy a long, useful life with you and the family. That's awesome. It's great to see an old truck being updated and a whole family enjoying it rather than some high end paint job and leather interior that spends its time under a car cover and in/on a trailer.
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[Dan in Pasadena]

When I had my original radiator rodded out it ended up being full of holes near where the tanks met the core top & bottom. I was already into the shop for having them remove & pressure test it. I bit the bullet and had them totally disassemble/repair it.

Ended up costing me nearly $400! That would have been ok cause its as new BUT my top tank was/is dented up. They tried straightening it and it looks like hell. I shoulda bought an original copper one. Damn.
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[Yewhi]

Love this Picture! Awesome! I'd be framing that one.

[wood1]

Nice work, sits just right!! Glad to see you driving & having fun with it..

[_Ogre]

great picture of colton
truck looks good too!

[Russell Ashley]

It's great that your family is supportive of your hobby, makes it a lot more enjoyable. That pic of Colton is a keeper, but your pics are always top notch. What kind of camera do you use?

[Rude Dude]

Great pictures of the family in the truck looks almost like a Commercial or Advertisement, beautiful shots!

[mknittle]

Originally Posted by NEWFISHER

Henry couldn't have found a better home. +1 on the aluminum, you never know if therad shop $100 bill will fix it or find more issues with the core.
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Yeap sometimes the crap that plugs up a radiator also plugs holes.

[Coach529]

Thanks a lot guys.....Henry has truly become part of the family.


Yesterday I had a long day at work and did not get home until 8pm. When I got home my wife, Kennedy and Colton had just come home from a walk. I had just pulled Henry out of the Garage and was going to take a short cruise and pick up some fast food for supper.

Kennedy asked if she could come with and next thing Colton was practically crawling out of his stroller to come with. The 3 of us had a great cruise on a beautiful evening.

[Coach529]

Originally Posted by Russell Ashley

What kind of camera do you use?

I use a Nikon D90 with a Sigma lense.

If light conditions are good I also use my phone a lot.

[Coach529]

2 week update.

I am not sure on the exact miles, but he gets driven almost daily unless it is raining.

The more he gets driven the better he runs. Starts awesome and purrs like a kitten. No issues there what so ever. Knock on wood.

My heater control valve leaks when I close it. Not a huge deal, I am going to bypass it for now and order one. No need for heat for a while.

Steering is nice. I did tighten up the steering box a little bit, but I think I need to do it some more. No wandering or pulling.

Brakes are awesome. The pads are broke in now and no issues with stopping power.

Handling. Good considering the ride height and amount of travel. On some sharper edged bumps I get a tooth rattling slam. I am probably running out of travel. The back is far worse than the front. I also think the shocks I have are probably a little soft for the application. Might have to invest in some Bilsteins.

Constantly chasin rattles which is to be expected. I guess I should just turn up the radio louder.

Thanks for the inspiration and help guys. It has been a blast.

Henry is far from done, but I will be taking a break for the summer.

I sold my existing garage and on Friday some house movers are moving its new home. I have some concrete to break up and then pour a new slab. Then I will start building my dream garage. 24' x 42' with 10 sidewalls and a complete bonus room upstairs. Should be a fun project......looking forward to the added room!!

[solidaxel]

You may want to go another 3 to 4 feet higher and maybe as bit deeper so you can sack two deep while you are building, IF you have the room.
I just finished this and ........................ I should have gone a bit deeper!!
You may want a lift in the future and 10' is a bit low.
two by's and sheeting comes in 10' length from H D

[Coach529]

Unfortunately with the footprint I have available, 24' is as deep as I can go. I would have preferred 26' or 28'.

10' sidewalls is all I can do due to local building codes.

[solidaxel]

Well I am sure you will enjoy yours as much as I do mine.
It sure beats the olden days on the dirt under a tree!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Coach529

...Constant chain rattles which is to be expected. I guess I should just turn up the radio louder...

Can I make a suggestion? "G&R's57GMC" suggested to me to swing by my local bike shop and ask for a bike inner tube out of their trash can. You DON'T want one off a mountain bike. I tried it and they fit too loose and look sloppy. The roadie tube fits nice and tight.

I put tire dressing on it to get rid of the talcum powder they all have. My chains are just rattle can chrome paint.

[Coach529]

Henry is still alive and living a life of leisure. Daily cruises to haul the kids around, or a milk run.

Hangs out on the curb sometimes and attracts all sorts of attention!!



A lot of changes over the past 60 years. 1949 vs 2009



I was haulin broken up concrete to a local pit and spied this out of the corner of my eye. Hmmm......next project? Maybe.

[old yelr]

Looks like a good candidate!

[Low Elco]

Henry's got a good life. Nice job, and nice family, Coach!
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[Dan in Pasadena]

Go buy Henry's brother! I'd have to have a GMC if I ever did an A.D. truck.

"Henrietta"?
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[Zach B]

Wow. That's an amazing truck. Good shape from the start. Those old headlights last forever.
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[av8tr33337]

I agree, don't waste your money getting that old radiator rodded out. I used to do that for a living and I can tell you from experience that in a lot of instances the slude and sediment in your old radiator is sometimes the only thing keeping it from leaking. Especially if it's going to cost you $100.00. Throw another 25 or 50 at it and have a new one.

You've got a really nice family there to BTW. Nice to be able to share your love of old trucks with them and not have them look at you like your insane

[Coach529]

Originally Posted by av8tr33337

I agree, don't waste your money getting that old radiator rodded out. I used to do that for a living and I can tell you from experience that in a lot of instances the slude and sediment in your old radiator is sometimes the only thing keeping it from leaking. Especially if it's going to cost you $100.00. Throw another 25 or 50 at it and have a new one.

You've got a really nice family there to BTW. Nice to be able to share your love of old trucks with them and not have them look at you like your insane

Thanks. This truck has truly turned into a family affair. Soo cool!!

[dubie]

i love the amount of curb appeal and character this truck has. In my eyes, it's the perfect daily driver just the way it is. I'm glad you're able to drive and enjoy it bud.