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This is how
our latest project arrived at our shop. It is an older
restoration of a nice quality truck from western Canada. We are
told it was owned by a teacher who used it to teach a high
school shop class. Over all it was fairly well done. It was
driven to Toronto by its current owner. |
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The truck
was all stock except for a conversion to a 12 volt electrical
system. The stock 216 cubic inch engine, 3 speed column shift
and torque tube drive line are to be reused. The blue corduroy
upholstery will be returned to stock. |
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Restoration
started by totally dismantling the truck. All parts are
inspected at this time and decisions are made as to how each
part will be repaired. The original grille will be sent out to
be chromed to add a little sparkle to this old work horse. The
customer wants to restore the truck as original as possible with
the only additions being options that would have been available
when new. A couple of exceptions will be made to make the
vehicle safer to drive. Disc brakes, seat belts and radial tires
will be added for peace of mind |
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The front
sheet metal has been removed and we are preparing to remove the
216 cubic inch engine. The original 3 speed transmission has
been jumping out of 3rd gear. A color change and
transmission repair is what prompted this restoration. |
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The area
pictured here is of the box sidewall in an area covered by the
wood floor. As more parts and paint were removed we found many
more areas that needed work. |
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Here our
body man, Wayne, is stripping all the paint and old body repairs
to see what work is required. The quality of work we intend to
perform can not be applied over old repairs as trouble may
surface later due to the unknown quality of the previous
repairs. |
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As
previously mentioned, the quality of previous repairs is never
seen until old work is removed. This is the original floor that
was hidden under a panel, under the carpet. Undercoating had
been applied outside and this was not discovered until
dismantling. |
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After
replacement panels were installed, everything looks stock once
again. This and the previous photos may be hard to recognize as
the cab has been removed and is lying on its back. This area is
directly under the driver’s feet, the round hole is for access
to the master cylinder for filling. |
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This photo
shows the typical work found hiding under what was a good
looking rear fender. All old bondo was removed, and as much of
the dents were removed as possible. A much smaller amount of
filler will be used to perfect the finish. Today’s fillers are
of much better quality than in the past and are perfectly
acceptable to use in restorations. |
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Certain
panels are available to use in many restorations. This area of
the lower front fender where the running board attaches was not
one of them. New fenders are available, but the owner wanted to
retain as much of the original metal as possible. We made this
panel in our shop to replace an area that had been repaired at
least 3 previous times and was rusting out from behind.
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The new
panel is installed here. A little more work with the grinder
will make this panel impossible to detect from the inside or the
outside after painting. Overlapping patches one on top of
another to cover rust only makes that area rust even faster as
you trap moisture between the panels. |
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This is a
fender that is finished, primed, and a guide coat installed. The
guide coat is just a paint of contrasting color that is sprayed
over the primer, to aid you in finding the high and low spots in
your body work when you do the final sanding before painting. |
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Here is the
cab painted the new color that is a match for the original the
truck was painted at the factory. Every effort is being made to
restore this truck as original with the addition of some
available options that it may not have had. |
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A rebuilt
engine is painted the correct factory grey and is almost ready
to install. If you know your Chevy engines, you may recognize
that this is not the original 216 the truck was built with. This
is a later 235 cubic inch motor we decided to use as the
original was damaged and needed rebuilding. The 216 is known as
a “Babbitt pounder” as it has no pressurized oil feed to the
connecting rods. Babbitt is an early type of metal used as
bearing material. This bearing type combined with the lack of
pressurized oil feed makes this engine good for low RPM use
only. The later motor we are using has modern oiling and new
style bearing inserts as well as the added advantage of slightly
more cubic inches for added performance. The differences in the
2 motors are very hard to see and all the old parts will bolt
back on. |
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The frame
was sand blasted to prepare it for powder coating. After
cleaning, rust holes were apparent under the rear spring
mounting brackets that were unseen before. Removing the brackets
revealed the holes you see here. |
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This is the
piece we fabricated to fill the hole left after cutting out the
rust. It was hard to see as the holes were covered by cross
members riveted to the inside of the frame. |
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This shows
the bracket installed after repairs. Once powder coated you will
not see the repaired area. Powder coating was chosen as they
have factory correct colors and it really is a bullet proof
coating. Rocks thrown by the tires will not chip as paint would.
The owner drives this truck, it won’t be a “trailer queen”. |
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The original
torque tube rear axle has been dismantled and sand blasted as
this too will be powder coated. When reassembled all new parts
will be used including a new crown and pinion gear set. An
Arizona company makes a 3.55 to 1 gear ratio which will make the
truck capable of running today’s highway speeds without
stressing the new motor. This truck was only designed for a
highway speed of about 50 MPH. Another small concession to the
originality we are trying to keep, but it is unseen and adds
greatly to the drivability of the truck. |
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Another
small change was to add power disc brakes. They to will be
unseen and just add a measure of safety to go with the new
speeds available. We are also returning to the original 16 inch
rims, but with radial tires, which will replace the newer 15
inch rims installed sometime in the past. |
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The frame is
now powder coated and reassembly has started. The power brake
booster and dual master cylinder are installed. They will be
invisible from outside as they mount in the stock location under
the driver’s side floor. |
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Engine,
transmission and rear axle are in, making this one a roller! |
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We have
installed the cab and all we have left to do is the rest! The
yellow canister marked AC is an oil filter we added. These would
have been a dealer installed option as these motors were not
built with an oil filter. That is our progress to the first week
of April. Stay tuned for updates as the work progresses. |
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| A minor
change has occurred since we introduced this project a few
months ago. The owner decided the original factory dark green
did not suit the truck so a change was made to this lighter
color. |
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| It was
also decided at this time to change the interior color also as
the dark paint made the cab dull inside. Two tone paint jobs
were available when this truck was new, but they were not very
common. Trucks in the 50’s were work vehicles with little
options available. Certainly not the luxury cruisers we know
today. |
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| One of
the options that was available was a chrome grill. Ours did not
come that way but we are adding only those options that you
could buy when new. Disc brakes for safety and a reproduction,
original style AM FM radio are the only non original items. |
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engine is complete but has not run as yet. Oh yes, one other non
original item is an alternator in place of the generator. That
was already on the vehicle when it arrived. |
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| Here we
are adding original style pin striping to the cab and the rims.
Gord Brooks from Niagara Falls is handling the brush duties. |
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| The rims
are painted as was available when new. We went to the extent of
locating 4 original 16 inch rims to replace the incorrect 15
inch rims that were on it. The chrome hubcaps add a little
sparkle. |
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| The bed
was reassembled with the wood that was in it on arrival to our
shop. It is a little dusty here but adds a nice finish to the
truck. Not much load carrying in this old girls future. |
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| Almost
complete. We are still waiting for the seat to return from the
upholstery shop and the original gauges from the rebuilder. We
should be test driving soon. |
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