Projects 1949 M47 pickup. Basement barn find!

awesome thank you thats really great info about the dash pieces. I haven't looked inside the cab yet to see what it looks like. hopefully its all there and not so brittle its useless.
that said, i have a little lathe and some aluminum bar stock so i could make up some fun knobs fairly quickly/easily.

 

Your not sure if the engine will pass between the house and the fence? How are you going to get the cab through the same location....

 

Alright I'll be the first to ask, does it come with a title? I'm glad we don't have that title stuff down here, just engineer hoops to jump.
Check into hiring a crane for a couple of hours or a bunch of boofy blokes that work on nightclub doors to lend some muscle. Nah, that won't work. The muscles are for show, not to be strained. Better off with a couple of brikkies or contractors who know how to move stuff.

 

Very cool find, I had thoughts of you finding something in a basement and wondering how to get it out!

 

Engine is currently mounted in the frame. The engine will fit out by itself for sure, but I'll likely have to pull it from the frame and then do the frame itself on a trip.
The cab should also fit sideways, but not going straight out.
I wish I could roll it out as a roller, but I know that won't fit because bushes and fences. The cab is really the only question mark to be honest. I might have to get some burly dudes and lift it over a fence into a neighbor's yard or something....who knows!



Vermont and Ontario both do paperwork with a bill of sale. Ontario a sworn affidavit, Vermont just whatever. Vermont doesn't require residency to get a registration so you can get the reg and then transfer it to your state. Vermont is specifically for vehicles over 15 yrs old.

I think an off-road wagon will work alright. It's just not going to happen when there's snow on the ground.
I'm just really glad I'll get to look at everything tomorrow and be able to get a good idea of how much of the truck I can find.

Oh yeah the house is on a slight grade so one side of the basement is open to the yard, sort of. There's a wooden wall with insulation (but no drywall) I will have to dismantle and then rebuild to get these things out of the basement, the wall went up when the truck went in. Another reason why it has to wait til spring, too cold to be opening up this guy's basement to the elements.

 

Don't feel bad... Henry had to partially dismantle his shop to get his first build out, too!

 

You can do it, type in the Hippo thread here.

 

Lord knows it wouldn't be cheap, but could somebody pluck it out of there with a crane or helicopter? Might be able to get it out more intact or as a roller that way.

 

Alright here's a mega upload of a bunch of photos. I managed to turn the motor over very easily, wasn't stuck at all. Tossed some marvel mystery oil down the spark plug holes before I tried to turn it so there's oil on all the cylinder walls now too. I took some measurements and I might actually be able to roll it out of the basement, into the yard, and then next to the house between the fence as a roller without any of the body on it!

This is a whole lot of stuff. It looks like the vast majority of the truck is there and I still gotta go back and find some more smalls. I did find the steering column and steering wheel and all four wheels for it too.

No carb or air cleaner, so I need to source that.
I bet there's a lot of "small things" that are gonna kill me building this, but hopefully not!

 

Neat stuff!

It's a snow blower, the design is pretty typical.

 

Is a free “shag” (carpet) included?

 

Yep. Some other "friend" or relative may get wind of this and decide it's valuable, and claim dibs.

Just an idea - check the glove box, maybe there's papers in there.

 

Well, just nailed down a garage.
Moving the truck into it the week between Xmas and New year's and I'm gonna start in on it right away!

 

Great to see so much motivation , keep it up.

 

no pictures but this morning I went back and dug for more parts for this truck
i found just about every single piece i was worried about finding.
carbs, air cleaner, pedal assembly, distributor, generator, coil, steering box, freshly refinished shackles....the list goes on and on.

the biggest bonus is that i found the front hubs for the front axle assembly so i will be able to attach the front wheels and wheel the truck out of the basement, into the yard, between hte houses and up the hill to the trailer to get it to my garage. we measured the widest part of the frame and weve got six inches to spare between the house and the fence too!!!! like a hotdog in a hallway!

this is a HUGE relief to not have to physically carry the whole frame....itll just be a weird wheelbarrow!!

 

I don,t know how the neighbourhood is there but i,ve read plenty of posts over the years where the meth heads or scrappers swiped stuff of the trailer or out of the pickup while the boys were out back somewhere loading up the wheel barrow or cart. So who is watching out for your stuff while your in the basement ?

 

I remember looking for info on my ‘42 PU (Ford) and finding out about the Mercury’s, man if I could have come across the front grill section from a Mercury PU, I’d still own that old Ford

 

i actually did get a day time picture of the inside of the cab. its the only part that has been exposed and not in the basement. the floors are likely toast, and theres one definite repair in the front drivers side, but the rear cab corners are solid.

I also found the ashtray in a box thats missing in this picture!

 

we dont have to worry about that in this neighborhood, but also this will be a multi-person project. I've loaded plenty of stuff over the years and know to always have eyes on the truck.

 

You haven't priced a helicopter or crane lately, have you? And I know @MTL Tony doesn't want the liability of something like that.https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...4B50F0840B4320E8F8154B50F0840B4320E&FORM=VIRE

 

hahaha oh wow would that be a disaster!


moving some panels into my garage on thursday and then gonna mount the front suspension/wheels over the weekend for a tuesday move!

"sorry son, christmas is delayed....we need to go work on the truck in a dank basement"

 

Moved all the parts of the truck today except for motor/trans in the frame, axles, wheels and cab. All that is coming on Tuesday with a proper trailer.
These parts haven't seen daylight in forty years!!!!

 

Does anyone know the name of the panel that supports the headlight and I guess also the grill support that goes there as well?
Are those still being made? Or do I gotta find an old piece somewhere?

 

Classic Auto Parts in Okc (others too, I'm sure) It's for an F-1 but I'd bet they're very close if not the same.

 

glad yer saving this truck, looks like a big model car kit but the instructions got lost.
good luck with it.

 

HI; I restored the same truck a'48 M-47 . In the center top of the firewall should be a small stamped tag with vin # ect. the tag is held on with 4 tiny screws. The Blue color was a Mercury only dark blue on mine. The wheels were the special 16" X5" wide ones and the tailgate had the FORD cut out and a MERCURY stamped steel plate spot welded in. I may have an extra plate. Low production and special truck. good find. Newc

 

The original color on mine is dark blue! I do have the vin tag still there!
If you'd be willing to move along that mercury stamp I'd love to buy it from you. The tailgate and seat are supposedly the only things missing so that mercury stamp would be great to have for when I get another tailgate!!

 

Maybe the tailgate is being used as a shelf somewhere in there and you just have,nt seen it yet.

 

Are you speaking of the radiator support?

Edit: Nevermind, I see the piece you’re missing in the pic.

 

Ah....another update!
Just found a front end an hour away for a solid price. I'll be able to use the rad support and the headlight surround and grill support and move the hood along as "art" in the city to recoup some if not all of my costs.

Pretty excited!