Sorry this isn't hotrod related, more NOS, but you guys were recommended by another board. I'm an operations manager at a large brewery in Pennsylvania that's over 100 years old (not Yuengling!). About 4 years ago we were tearing down an old shed and we found a 1938 1-1/2-ton Chevy truck. It was in sad shape but still bore the original painted doors with the brewery name and PLCB numbering and all. We sent the truck out to be restored (I'd wanted to do it myself but that got shot down) and got it back about a year ago. The truck is now in nearly-perfect shape. Unfortunately no pics, because it was rolled into the warehouse and it's quite dark in there. I'll get some soon. Since I'm really the only guy at the brewery who's into old cars and trucks the care and feeding of the truck has fallen to me. We've had a lot of personnel changes and I don't even have the contact info for the guy who restored the truck. Can anyone point me to a useful website where I might find info about taking care of and operating these trucks? I've owned lots of antiques and had experience driving and working on many more dating back to 1927 but before I touch this I want to know what I'm getting myself into and do a little research. I also need to file for a ***le (truck was bought by the brewery in the '30s and never left the property) so I'll have to dig up a serial number and all somewhere. Hopefully I'll get the ***le and tags sorted out by next spring and I can start driving the truck in parades and cruise nights and such. Pics to follow, if I get it rolled out of the warehouse sometime soon. ***Edit: speaking with the ex-caretaker I found out that despite an engine rebuild, the truck overheats on a normal drive. They've added an electric fan and removed the stat as hokey band-aids. Any common failure points on these cooling systems (it's the 78-hp I-6) or is my next step a compression check?*** Thanks, Darel <!-- / message -->
You might try the "Stovebolt Page". The site is totally dedicated to the old chevy trucks we all know and love.
Yup..www.stovebolt.com. Great site over there, I frequent it a lot. The engine was rebuilt, but what about the radiator? Critters tend to get into a lot of small places when these trucks sit around for long periods of time.
3x's for the stovebolt.com, you may also post it on oldgmctrucks.com, very similar group of members also good at helping out. That said, i would consider getting the radiator cleaned up, my 37 gmc radiator was full of 'bars leak' etc and did not flow much at all. now after a rebuild it cools a bbc just fine. no reason the 216 would cause it to over heat. btw, the cooling systems on these were very low pressure, if you put a higher pressure rad cap on it, it may start leaking elsewhere. something else to check sounds dumb, but is the mech fan on the right way? i think that it can go on both ways. other big thing on these trucks to keep up on is the brakes. if they set too long, they tend to quit working in a hurry, i don't know why.
Might find some helpful information here, though this is more sales literature than service manual. http://www.gmheritagecenter.com/gm-heritage-archive/docs/Chevrolet-Trucks/1938-Chevrolet-Truck.pdf
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