Rusty Fifty One

Finally found some free time to get out to the garage. …ended up having to take a week long vacation with nothing planned. It poured all day but we got her running.

My friends Travis and Bryan came by to help with the timing from the ground up. I was right, the dizzy spun so we had to pull it out completely, reset the oil pump gear, replace the rotor, re-gap the points and plugs then reassemble correctly, time with a light and adjust idle at the carburetor. We dialed everything in 100 times better than it ever has been since I, and I would imagine the previous owner, have owned it.

The rain let up for a bit so we took her out for a spin around the park then grabbed our other cars and went for a celebratory burger and beer. Good times!

Thinking ahead, summer is around the corner … So I picked up 1940-50’s Trico vacuum powered, twin blade, column mounted defog/cooling fan. …and another for a NOS Trico fan thats missing its cage.

Come spring, with all the parts I have sitting around, this truck is gonna get decked the f out!

Also got a NOS Service Record/Travel Log clip on mirror.

And found, in a box of stuff in the spare room, a 6v spotlight given to me by my former father in-law. Turns out this exact type (mine is sans the GM stamp on the handle) was offered as an accessory by dealers in the 50’s.

Its fun collecting period correct accessories but I gotta get the damn thing running and lowered asap.

Its a 1921 Protex “stop” lamp. Thought since the ol’ girl’s 6v tail lamps were so dim I should add a third brake light. It’ll get mounted in the back window off to one side or the other, not sure which yet tho. …D side probably. Need to repaint the inset area black.

Looks like the no start issue is a result of the dizzy jumping time. I think the bracket slipped and it spun until the grease cap hit the push rod cover.

Unfortunately its still cold out and the garage is too tight to work in. Hopefully I’ll have it back on the road within the month if we get a warm day or two.

The bad – New plugs, wires, points, coil, cap and rotor installed. Nothing.

The good – Finally got the old girl into the garage where she can stay warm and cozy for the winter! I was worried I’d have to leave her outside in the rain and snow but with the spare motor still on the hoist and positioned sideways against the back wall she fits. There’s about 1/4 of an inch between the intake manifold on the spare motor and the rear sill under the tailgate, 1/4″ between the top of the carb stud and tailgate bottom edge and maybe 5″ from the front bumper to the door and 4-5″ between the roof and the celling. And thats with no rear bumper and 60yr old sagging springs.

Bessie died on me about a mile from home yesterday and the girl I recently started seeing met me where I was stranded with a cup of coffee. While I waited for a tow I started to trouble shoot out loud and she surprised the hell outta me by rattling off a few very realistic possibilities. …could this be heaven?

She’ll turn over no problem and backfire occasionally (Bessie, not the GF 😉 ) but I just can’t get her running. The starter rolls it with out the coil wire just the same so my guess is spark … the back fire says its intermittent. I have new coil and plug wires I’m gonna throw on tonight. Might need to find a new ignition coil though…

Found a ’50s rear window gun rack for the vintage Derrell Strawberry Louisville Slugger that I picked up a couple weeks ago. Holes were already drilled into the inner skin around the back window so I figured, whynot.

Drove to Indiana to pick up one of Nostalgia Sid’s 4″ drop axles from fellow Bolter, Dan S. While there, I took his 49’s tired old 216 off his hands along with it’s three speed transmission and steering box.

Technically this is as plug n’ play as it gets with this type of thing. Mount the axle, connect the brake line, bleed the brakes and bolt on the wheels. Having come off Dan’s ’49 3100 though, the brakes are the Huck type while Bessie, being a ’51, has the later self adjusting Bendix type. From what I understand the Huck brakes are prone to fade more so than the Bendix type, and require more frequent periodic adjustment. Parts are a bit more expensive too. Lucky for me they only have a couple hundred miles on them after being rebuilt. I figure I’ll use them until they need another rebuilding or prove to be a pain, after which I’ll look into rebuilding my front Bendix drums or doing a disc conversion. Either way, I’m replacing the single reservoir master cylinder with a dual.

Plug for Nostalgia Sid – www.droppedaxles.com
Two plugs for Dan – www.48chevytruckrebuild.blogspot.com – www.whetzeltracetravelers.webs.com

Got the new carburetor on yesterday afternoon and she runs like a champ! Still need to dial it in a bit but she’s ready for a few more cold day runs before getting put up on blocks for the winter. I’m hoping this cures some hesitation issues she’s been having. The old one was a bit warped and in need of a rebuild and I got the new one cheap from an old timer who rebuilds em and sells on ebay. Plus I’m thinking about running a dual carb intake down the road.

Carburetor, new vs old … I’ll let you decide which is which.

Got bored over the weekend so a couple friends (Brett and Greg) came by and we went to work making Bessie a patina’ed two-tone.

Its hard to tell cause the photos came out so bright but we took a power sander and a ton of paper to the top after we painted it. I’ll be working on it a bit more each day over the next couple weeks.