Cpl Dirk Hradec
Test Drive
- Location
- Western Colorado
I was recently asked if I wanted to help work on this old truck. It looked like a fun challenge, something bigger than I've attempted before, and like something that may have great results, so I said "Sure!"
The truck runs, is drivable, and has been converted to a 12 volt system. It needs some minor mechanical work and major body and interior work. I have limited knowledge of these vehicles. Mostly, that by today's standard, the mechanically simple inside, have lots of steel outside, and everybody stops what they're doing to watch when one drives by. I believe the owner of this truck suffers from poor organization skills when it comes to projects like this and my role will be primarily to keep things focused and probably lift heavy objects. As far as I can tell, the bulk of the work involves getting this truck repainted, and new glass installed. I'm pretty sure we can handle the interior work ourselves.
Here's a view of the driver's side.
The rust visible at the bottom of the cab is the worst of it as far as I know. The "window" appears to be a scrap piece of plexiglass slid into the space to try to keep some of the elements out. The regulator is inoperable.
Here's a partial front and passenger side view.
Note the hole in the windshield. Lets lots of water in. You can see where the old paint was sanded off and a coat of primer was applied. The body still rusted through the primer. Gonna have to do that again. Also there are a few holes in the door where various mirrors were attached and removed....
Here's the interior.
It seems pretty clean but will quickly deteriorate if it is left unprotected. So far, no rust on the floor and no holes in the seat. You can see the driver's side door is in pretty bad shape. The speedometer goes up to 90. I didn't read the mileage.
So anyway, hopefully that'll be a back burner project for the coming year. I've looked up a classic car owner club here in town and look forward to hearing ideas from them. Unfortunately I think most of them are all in warmer climates for the next two months or so. In the meantime is there anybody here with experience/ideas?
The truck runs, is drivable, and has been converted to a 12 volt system. It needs some minor mechanical work and major body and interior work. I have limited knowledge of these vehicles. Mostly, that by today's standard, the mechanically simple inside, have lots of steel outside, and everybody stops what they're doing to watch when one drives by. I believe the owner of this truck suffers from poor organization skills when it comes to projects like this and my role will be primarily to keep things focused and probably lift heavy objects. As far as I can tell, the bulk of the work involves getting this truck repainted, and new glass installed. I'm pretty sure we can handle the interior work ourselves.
Here's a view of the driver's side.
The rust visible at the bottom of the cab is the worst of it as far as I know. The "window" appears to be a scrap piece of plexiglass slid into the space to try to keep some of the elements out. The regulator is inoperable.
Here's a partial front and passenger side view.
Note the hole in the windshield. Lets lots of water in. You can see where the old paint was sanded off and a coat of primer was applied. The body still rusted through the primer. Gonna have to do that again. Also there are a few holes in the door where various mirrors were attached and removed....
Here's the interior.
It seems pretty clean but will quickly deteriorate if it is left unprotected. So far, no rust on the floor and no holes in the seat. You can see the driver's side door is in pretty bad shape. The speedometer goes up to 90. I didn't read the mileage.
So anyway, hopefully that'll be a back burner project for the coming year. I've looked up a classic car owner club here in town and look forward to hearing ideas from them. Unfortunately I think most of them are all in warmer climates for the next two months or so. In the meantime is there anybody here with experience/ideas?