New to '47-'59 trucks

[americanmusc1e]

Hi all, I have a 70 chevy C10 that I have been driving since I was 16 and I've been a member of this board for a while.

My Dad has a '72 K20 GMC Suburban that he is currently working on.

Today, My Dad, My brother and I went to pick up our newest addition. A 1949 Chevrolet 3800 stakebed, purchased new by my Dad's Great-Grandpa in '49. Dad's Great-Grandpa passed away in '51 and his great-uncle drove the truck for many years until he died a couple of years ago. the truck has been parked in a barn almost all of its life.

the truck has almost no rust, but it does have a couple of dents and light surface rust, the seat has a big hole worn in it.








is this factory????


the worst rust on the truck

[sn33kyp3t3]

Congratulations! That is a solid truck.

Mine had a turn signal like that one, although the one in your picture looks more "high tech" than the original factory one, it was optional, so that one is probably an after market piece.

Have fun with it! I look forward to seeing your build/modification/restoration pics.

-SneekyPete

[culp7]

more pics!!!!

[dwcsr]

Nice truck, not much in the rust department.

[av8tr33337]

really a nice truck to start with. What are your plans???

[americanmusc1e]

what engine was available in these trucks??? 216???? I thought the 216 had center-bolt valve covers. was there another engine available?????

[dwcsr]

your is a 235

[special-K]

man,that is sweet!That`s so awesome it`s a family heirloom.Look at those peddle pads.Not much wera at all.How many miles?
I`d have to stay 100% original with that one.Niiiiice....

[57ToyBox]

Nice project truck
Looks like it was well taken care of.
It must be nice to work on a truck when you know it Full history.
And when it's full history is within your family.

Great lookin trk ... I bet you and your family are gonna have fun.

[americanmusc1e]

Originally Posted by dwcsr

your is a 235

I thought the 235 wasn't available until 1954!! was the 235 only availible on the one-ton??? or was the motor changed out?????

[BlueJeep]

216's came in the one ton as well. It's probably been swapped out.

[americanmusc1e]

Originally Posted by special-K

man,that is sweet!That`s so awesome it`s a family heirloom.Look at those peddle pads.Not much wera at all.How many miles?
I`d have to stay 100% original with that one.Niiiiice....

it looks like it has 99,000 original miles

[americanmusc1e]

Originally Posted by BlueJeep

216's came in the one ton as well. It's probably been swapped out.

thanks,

you'd think that since its been kept in the family, I'd know if the engine has been swapped out, but I've been talking to my Dad about it and he's not sure

[americanmusc1e]

alright, we're trying to get it running, but we're having major carburetor problems!!! (carburetor is flooding internally and externally)

if this is not the original engine, is this the original carburetor???

the motor is blue with chevrolet script on the valve cover and peremiter bolts, and the carburetor is a rochester downdraft, but it has no number on it.

I assume its a 1954 or later 235, and that the carburetor is a 235 carburetor.

How do I get a rebuild kit for this carburetor?????

[1MADTEXAN]

Originally Posted by americanmusc1e

I thought the 235 wasn't available until 1954!! was the 235 only availible on the one-ton??? or was the motor changed out?????

There are 235s from as early as '42, but yours is a '54 or newer judging by the 4 perimeter valve cover bolts according to http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/en...tification.htm

This list of engine codes, http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/enginecodes.htm, can help you ID your engine. There's also a list of casting #s at http://www.inliners.org/ but the codes in the 1st list might be easier to get to.

Once you get that figured out you can go to a NAPA, Pep Boys, etc. and talk to them about getting a carb kit. Be sure to tell them you want a kit with an accelerator pump diaphram made out of a modern material since many kits for old Rochesters still use leather, which our unleaded gas with additives will dry out in a hurry.

[1MADTEXAN]

Originally Posted by 1MADTEXAN

Be sure to tell them you want a kit with an accelerator pump diaphram made out of a modern material since many kits for old Rochesters still use leather, which our unleaded gas with additives will dry out in a hurry.

Bleh, the accelerator pump has a cup--not a diaphram--and the leather cups are OK they just can't take heat and wear out faster than the Buna-N rubber type. If you live in an area where there's a lot of ethanol blended into the gas you want a viton (looks like blue rubber) cup since it doesn't break down so fast.

Rod & Custom has an article on all this here: http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/...uel/index.html

[OrrieG]

When I had the 235 in my 59 as a daily driver, I usually had to replace the cup every couple of years or so (around 16-20K miles). If you need a replacement carb I still have mine but it hasn't been on a running rig since 1985.

[americanmusc1e]

Originally Posted by 1MADTEXAN

There are 235s from as early as '42, but yours is a '54 or newer judging by the 4 perimeter valve cover bolts according to http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/en...tification.htm

This list of engine codes, http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/enginecodes.htm, can help you ID your engine. There's also a list of casting #s at http://www.inliners.org/ but the codes in the 1st list might be easier to get to.

Once you get that figured out you can go to a NAPA, Pep Boys, etc. and talk to them about getting a carb kit. Be sure to tell them you want a kit with an accelerator pump diaphram made out of a modern material since many kits for old Rochesters still use leather, which our unleaded gas with additives will dry out in a hurry.

thanks for the links!!! I figured out from the casting #'s that the motor is a 1955 235.

I got a carburetor kit and we rebuilt the carburetor (put on points, condenser and plugs too) and now it runs, it still needs an Idle adjustment though, It won't Idle,

although the brakes aren't working, we took it for a little test spin and It drove really good

I'll try to post a video and adjust the Idle tomorrow

thanks for the Info folks!!!!!! this site is wonderfull

[Fred T]

That old one ton filled up your trailer!

If you can get it to idle, it looks like you have a manifold gasket leak.

Don't expect the old truck to run fast. It should have gears that are around 5.14.

Brakes can be a challenge. They are Huck brand. I think you can get shoes and cylinders, but the drums aren't made.. I need to get back on my conversion project. Trying to swap Hucks on my 52 3/4 ton to 69-70 Bendix with self-adjusters.

[Bigblue29]

I missed this post earlier! nice old 3800 you got there. If you ever need a new water pump, youu have a fun time with that! The 235 conversion was done on mine long ago too. Good engine!

Good luck. Post more pics when you get a chance!

[americanmusc1e]

Originally Posted by av8tr33337

really a nice truck to start with. What are your plans???

Our plans are to stop the surface rust, and fix the few small rust spots and dents, and then paint it black, as original.

we also plan to make sure the truck is mechanically working properly

I'm not much of a stock restoration person, but considering the shape of the truck and its family history, it will be kept mostly original, the seat will be fixed and the stakebed redone and anything that needs fixing will be fixed. Because of the lack of money and funds, no full restoration is planned at this time, we just want the truck to keep from deteriorating any more than it has.

since the engine is not original, when its time for a rebuild, I might consider a 292 or simular L6 (no V8) with a few speed parts. Keeping it mild enough for the stock original drivetrain.

[57ToyBox]

Originally Posted by americanmusc1e

Our plans are to stop the surface rust, and fix the few small rust spots and dents, and then paint it black, as original.

we also plan to make sure the truck is mechanically working properly

I'm not much of a stock restoration person, but considering the shape of the truck and its family history, it will be kept mostly original, .

At the very least, that's what the old girl deserves.
Looking forward to seeing the finished pictures.

[OrrieG]

Throw a vaccum guage on it. In the old days that was one of the primary dianostic tools. Chilton and MOtor manuals from that time have a whole section dedicated to interpreting what is going on in an engine from the vaccum. Like Fred said could be manifold leak, other vaccum leak, distributor vaccum problem, fuel pump pressure issue, etc. Also just sitting for a while the valves or rings might be a little sticky or not sealing well.

[americanmusc1e]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

Throw a vaccum guage on it. In the old days that was one of the primary dianostic tools. Chilton and MOtor manuals from that time have a whole section dedicated to interpreting what is going on in an engine from the vaccum. Like Fred said could be manifold leak, other vaccum leak, distributor vaccum problem, fuel pump pressure issue, etc. Also just sitting for a while the valves or rings might be a little sticky or not sealing well.

Our problem was simple, we checked for vacuum leaks and found none. Then I looked at the Idle speed screw (not Idle mixture, but Idle speed) and saw some shiny threads, Like it had recently been screwed out from its original position, needless to say, we started the truck and turned the screw in and it Idled.

I adjusted it by ear for now, Later I'll throw a Tachometer on it and adjust it to the correct speed.

[americanmusc1e]

what kind of Oil does this thing take??? (1955 stovebolt 235 for those of you who didn't read the above posts) Detergent or Non-detergent???? or does it matter????

I'm not a fan of running synthetic on older engines that are not freshly rebuilt 'cause it tends to leak out faster than it should. So I'll put conventional oil in it.

I'll post a video soon!!!! thanks for all the help!!!