Odds and Ends (A Review of What I Have)

Odds and Ends

I have not had much time to give the truck a thorough inspection but on Sunday I was able to look at a few things.  First off there is far more rust than I originally saw. Good news is that most of it is not so bad and can be cleaned, fixed, and repaired.

 As you can see the in the images there is lots of rust in the places you would expect it to be found. Edges of doors, floor panels, seams, fenders, engine parts, and so on.  The largest areas are those on the fenders and on the doors.  Again from what I can see, the hood, cab, and box all seem to be fairly ok.  I'm sure that over time I will be come better at identifying and cleaning up the cancer.  In the one image you can see the hubcap which appears to be fairly rust but it is all surface rust.  The fender of course is eaten through.  I checked online and found a new fender to be over $500.  So I might just learn to cut grind and bondo areas.  What do I have to lose at that price.

Other things I noticed were seals and weather stripping that is tired and worn out or missing all together.  The windows roll up and down nicely however they do not seal, since the inside felt or what ever the material is seems to be gone. You can see the channel that has creases in it is in good shape, so all I need is the insert part.  The metal trim around the edge of the window is also in good shape except for the peeling black paint.  Again that seems easy enough to fix. I will also open the door panel at some point and inspect the window mechanisms and make sure those are all oiled and functioning as expected.

You can also see that door panel with the modified arm rest.  I have seen parts online that indicate that the '59 came with arms rests but the ones installed interfere with the door handle so I'm sure that these were not the ones it came with.  More research is required.  I was also surprised to find the driver door handle without a lock.  But the passenger side has a lock.  Again was it a modification that was done wrong? 

And so it goes with the inspection.  Manufacturer plate with a gray overspray.  Found out that in the 70's the truck was repainted.  You can actually see the darker blue inside the engine, under the hood and inside the cab in spots.

Gramps also stored a container of light oil with a Folgers can as a base.  Two questions come to mind.  What is the oil for and why the Folgers can?  Next to that is something I have not yet inspected.  I think its a old fire extinguisher pump.

The visors are shot but might be able to be fixed with some vinyl material as the cardboard inset is still in good shape. There are new visors I could buy for $24 dollars.  If the bracket is in good shape this might be the way to go.

Dad and I started the truck yesterday and were looking at the carb to see where it was leaking.  We think we know where but very little is leaking.  However the temporary fuel tank drained very quickly.  We think the fuel pump is leaking into the engine.  So before I can move forward I need to replace the pump and see if that helps. Then of course replace the oil.  We also noticed that the radiator has some mineral deposits, which might indicate a leak.  So we will watch that and fix as needed.  I'll probably also flush the system during that time.

The fan belt also seemed to be ok.  Might want to buy a spare just in case.  The coil works as do the plugs and distributor.  The only other item that needs attention is the starter.  Seems as though the part that engages to start the engine does not do its job every time.  Takes 2-5 times before it cranks the engine.  Can I rebuilt this?

Inside the glove box I found the Qualified GMC Truck Service Stations from 1959.  Seems as though my local station no longer exists.  Also inside I found a Oklahoma Vehicle Inspection Certificate costing $2.00.  The mileage at that point was almost 85,000 in 1972.