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Yes, the upper piece was bolted through the cab. The tool tray did have two bolts that went through the same rib as the gas tank.
The truck was titled as a 1948. The VIN however starts with a 9. I read somewhere that the 9 were for 1949 - 1951? We had the same deal with the Chevy we had. It was titled as a 1951 but had all the trademarks of a 1952. Some on a different forum thought it could have been sold as a late 1951 late in the year and Chevy had switched over to the 1952 style early. Were there any other "tell-tell" things I can look for to determine if it's really a 1948?
The 9 would indicate 49-50, the format was changed for 1951. The serial number is normally located in 3 places,
1. The only legal one, is stamped in the pass side frame rail near the motor mount.
2. On the inside of the glovebox door, the Rating plate.
3. On the firewall, passenger side, the Patent plate.
There are also more codes stamped into the upper firewall, the location varies depending on which plant it came from. These codes will give you the original color and date of manufacture.
The 9 would indicate 49-50, the format was changed for 1951. The serial number is normally located in 3 places,
1. The only legal one, is stamped in the pass side frame rail near the motor mount.
2. On the inside of the glovebox door, the Rating plate.
3. On the firewall, passenger side, the Patent plate.
There are also more codes stamped into the upper firewall, the location varies depending on which plant it came from. These codes will give you the original color and date of manufacture.
Great info! Thank you! Curious to see what the frame stamp says. Thank you for the link also. Look forward to reading through it.
Mine is a 51 and the stamp is located here. Your mileage may vary...
And use something not to abrasive to uncover the stamp, as they are not deep into the frame. A Scotch brite pad works. Coarse sandpaper might actually remove some of the stamp.
Had a few hours free after dinner last night so my son and I decided to tackle the drivers side rear fender. Lug nuts were difficult to get off, but with a little soaking in penetrating oil and some easy solid pressure, they broke free.
Here are some of the bolts while they were still intact (yeah, didn't go so well)...
As hinted at above, we broke off most of the bolts that connected the fender to the bed. Most, unintentionally. A few.....
Success!
Rust is a little worse than I had originally thought...
Cavity left from homemade rear bumper...
Overall, the fender is in pretty good shape. The front lower part that goes below the running boards will need to be addressed. There was a little where the fender meets the bed...
Biggest lesson learned is that we are going to have a tough go at this working in the side yard. Pretty narrow. Once we get some more disassembled, I think rolling in and out of the side yard to the driveway wont be that big of an issue. Right now, I need to put a concrete pad in the side yard so that we can jack it up and leave it for a while if needed.
Any suggestions to help remove the rusty bolts with the round heads? Once the started spinning, we had issues. I tried to pry a screw driver in between to create some resistance and that worked on a few. A few others, I was able to get some vice grips locked onto the sides of the head. A couple, we opted to chisel out.
I hope you don't mind all of the pictures of the dis-assembly. I was hoping to use is as documentation for when things go back together. And yes, they will go back together. We will get this done! Starting to waiver on the "rust rod" plan though. I really like the look but obviously am going to need to make some patches and not sure how that's going to blend in. I'm sure we can get creative.
Lastly, what are your thoughts on the CLR/Scotchbrite treatment? My son and I are going round and round on weather to just leave it as is or try to remove some of the surface rust. The top of the cab and hood are to that point of being a dark red rust color. Kind of a cool look. I just don't know what it's going to look like after the CLR treatment. We are going to experiment on the inner side of the tailgate and see what happens.
Hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July. I really hope that by this time next year, we can take this to a fireworks show....under it own power!
Bedsides and beds in general typically aren't worth messing with. With your rust so extensive, you can't feasibly repair it and make it look like it should. Replacement panels are available, and cheaper than the bodywork necessary to repair what you have, and will look better in the end.
My take on the whole patina thing is once you touch it, you've lost it. By definition, patina is the natural changing of a surface as it oxidizes. You can't save it or preserve it by any artificial means. If you sand it, coat it, touch it in any fashion, you've destroyed it. If you like it, as is, leave it alone. There's nothing I hate more than seeing someone wasting perfectly good paint by putting it over rust. I think it looks like crap. It's in no way natural, or of any kind of "patina." You wouldn't walk into a museum and slap clear over the Mona Lisa. My 2c.
If the "bolts with round heads" holding the fenders on start spinning, you're golden -- torch or dremel off the nut. The fender bolts are spot-welded to the beadsides at the factory and usually if there's a problem, it's that the stud breaks off from the head.
I have to agree with Wayne on bed repairs, although I don't know if raised panel beds are repro'd? If you had to go straight side (51-on style) you'd also have to buy new rear fenders.
I have to agree with Wayne on bed repairs, although I don't know if raised panel beds are repro'd? If you had to go straight side (51-on style) you'd also have to buy new rear fenders.
Bedsides and beds in general typically aren't worth messing with. With your rust so extensive, you can't feasibly repair it and make it look like it should. Replacement panels are available, and cheaper than the bodywork necessary to repair what you have, and will look better in the end.
My take on the whole patina thing is once you touch it, you've lost it. By definition, patina is the natural changing of a surface as it oxidizes. You can't save it or preserve it by any artificial means. If you sand it, coat it, touch it in any fashion, you've destroyed it. If you like it, as is, leave it alone. There's nothing I hate more than seeing someone wasting perfectly good paint by putting it over rust. I think it looks like crap. It's in no way natural, or of any kind of "patina." You wouldn't walk into a museum and slap clear over the Mona Lisa. My 2c.
The reason we bought the truck was because of the way it looked. I need to remind myself of that.
Originally Posted by ALBUQ F-1
If the "bolts with round heads" holding the fenders on start spinning, you're golden -- torch or dremel off the nut. The fender bolts are spot-welded to the beadsides at the factory and usually if there's a problem, it's that the stud breaks off from the head.
I have to agree with Wayne on bed repairs, although I don't know if raised panel beds are repro'd? If you had to go straight side (51-on style) you'd also have to buy new rear fenders.
I have a Dremel stuck away in a box somewhere. I'll dig it out!
We'll try to get creative with the rust repair. This was never intended to be restored. Putting new sheet metal just goes against what we wanted. We'll figure something out.
Well, the wife decided to go out of town for a few days so my son and I decided the sneak the truck in the garage and get some work done! He did most of the work during the day while I was at work. He said he was going to get up early and work before it gets too hot in the garage. That didn't happen.
Passenger side fender...
I'm assuming this didn't come from the factory this way....
Looks better from the other side...
Not quite as rough as the other side...
Well, except for...
This is the only one that survived intact...
This little booger and his sibling on the other side just wouldn't budge. Thought better against putting a flame to it....
So, came at it from a different angle..
Since he already ruined the screw driver...
We did get his tetanus booster the day before...
Nothing salvageable here. I will save the wood and use it as inlay for a coffee table or something....
Daylight!
Were these "multi-purpose" back in the day?
Should I stay or should I go????
Bed removed....
Any suggestions on the best way to tackle this? I want to cut off the bumper and it was welded on to the frame. Grind the welds down?
I'll bet you are having so much fun you can hardly stand it !!! Put the boy on t grinder w/ some safety glasses & let him go on the bumper welds . Not much he can hurt .
Looks like new bed sides are in the future parts list .
Don't feel bad about all the rust issues . Been there done that TWICE !!!
To avoid cutting the frame I would use a cutoff wheel on a grinder to cut the bumper brackets close to the welds, then with the bumper off grind away the welds.
06-29-2015, 08:40 AM
