Projects Opps, I bought GM iron

One of these days I will figure out how to use this website properly You can tell I am still a newb when it comes to posting.
Anyways
I will start from the beginning and I will try to make it quick since I've tried to do this three times now.
Saturday morning I went to an estate sale Here in Southern California with two of my friends.
One of my friends was hot and heavy over a Ford Mustang 2 that was pre-smog (It's not my dream car).
Anyways He struck up a deal to buy the car So we came back 4 or 5 hours later with my a trailer to pick it up. While he was tying the car down with help from another friend I was busy talking to the estate sale people I asked what cars were left since the sale was over and I was told the Chevrolet truck was all that was left.
After a couple of minutes a deal was struck and I now owned this 1934? 1935? 1936? Chevrolet truck (one ton?)
I know nothing about this truck other than I did not want to see it go to a scrap yard so I purchased it and I will be bringing it home (either today which is Monday or tomorrow).
I was hoping somebody could give me a positive identification on it maybe tell me what the six cylinder is inside of it It looks like a 216? Does anyone sell the wood kit for it How about the brake hydraulics you know just basic questions.
I am not sure if I'm going to keep it or if I'm going to resell it As I have a ton of projects already but cars are like dogs they all need their forever homes. So I got to figure out if I'm going to be this trucks forever home or if I am just a no-kill animal shelter lol

 

Also I forgot to mention (and I don't dare try to hit edit because that's how I screwed it up three times).
I will try to get more pictures of it when I get it home hopefully today I will post them.
I really dig this truck for some reason but then again I like pretty much every old car and this truck looks like it is very complete so is it worth me putting in some effort and a few bucks in it or should I just send it?

 

Neat truck...it's kinda big, so you're probably gonna have to spend some time figuring out what you might want to do with it.

Someone could have swapped in a different engine, but it probably came with a 207, which was before the 216. Take a few pics of the engine and post them, also look for the numbers on it, we'll help you figure it out.

Brakes would be mechanical if original, eh?

Look here

https://www.gm.com/heritage/archive/vehicle-information-kits

for a pdf file that tells you a lot about the trucks, how they are built, how to identify them, what the numbers mean, etc.

 

Nice truck!

paging @cactus1

 

I agree with Squirrel, it probably has the earlier inline 6 that doesn't really interchange with the 216/235/261 family. Not really a big demand for those, although if the intake/carb/exhaust manifold is still on it, that might have some value.

It's a neat truck, I'm glad someone saved it. And if space became an issue it'd be easy to take the cab and sheetmetal apart and stack it, could probably get it all on one large pallet, and get rid of the frame and drivetrain if need be.

 

I am on a half acre so as long as my neighbors don't complain I should be good on storage.
The hard part is going to be getting it home because I don't think there's much if anything is still attaching the cab because all the wood is gone.
I am trying to work out a time now to figure out when is a good time to pick it up but as soon as I pick it up I will snap quiet a few pictures of it.
I don't mind it size I would actually still use it as kind of a work truck but I would imagine tires cost probably more than the truck is worth That is the bad thing.

 

I have no idea if the brakes are mechanical or hydraulic I know it's right in that era where everybody was switching over to hydraulic brakes.
I looked at it for probably 3 minutes maybe and I bought it, I am pretty clueless but it is right up my alley as it is broke, was fairly cheap and appears to be pretty complete

 

That GM heritage website is awesome I didn't know it existed thank you

 

Those trucks are dumb…

Check out builds by @Plowboy and @fern54( hmmm, can’t remember his hamb name)

 

This isn’t about to turn into a jimmy haulin hogs? Is it? He he.

 

Now you could go crazy, look at the thread by @Jalopy Joker about Sacramento closing down/etc. you’ll see a dual wheeled, rear engine wheelie truck with what looks like a Blown BBC

Or, power it to pull your trailer and you’ll be smilin and stylin

 

Here’s the thread JJ made

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...-sacramento-raceway-sept-22-today-23.1301801/

 

I once had a 36 Chevy truck cab and it did not have the wood framework in the doors. If yours has wood in them then yours might be a 34? Just guessing.

 

those two jeep wagons need rescuing too

where are they at in so cal? pm me if required

 

Boy if you weren’t so far away I’d offer to rehome it for you. But I’m in Indiana. Love old bigger trucks!

 

I say build a car hauler or something like that out of it. That is a nice truck and like you I am always bringing home a stray or two just because they need love too

 

Chevy went hydraulic in 36, looking at hood and non skirted fenders, its not a 36 . Im thinking more 34, because of the dash, hood and fenders, maybe. Mitch

 

Congratulations on saving that old truck. I always look at an old work horse like that and imagine all the trials and tribulations it’s been through. When pulling a steep grade in one of those you better know what RPMs it makes it power. And be ready for the other side for sure.

 

I just wanted to mention to everybody the truck has not came home yet hopefully this weekend.
I got to say it would make a really cool ramp truck hauler...

 

The were in San Dimas.
There was actually three Willys wagons all of them sold as a lot.
The estate sale people pretty much sold everything on the property other than a late 1940s canned ham travel trailer which I might try to buy if it is still there when I pick up the truck (What can I say I'm a glutton for punishment and I restore everything cool). I think the only reason why no one bought the Chevy truck that I bought is because it looks intimidating with all the wood rotted away and being a 1 ton or larger truck I would imagine it does not have a lot of value But I am only speculating. All I know is I think it's cool looking and that was enough of a reason for me to buy it.

 

Alright I got it home.
I have no idea what I am going to do with it. I will say it is pretty complete, And I see what everyone's gripe is, Chevrolet trucks are full of wood, I think the doors are even wood. I disassembled half the truck just by taking the pieces out and putting them in the back of the towing pickup just to get them home so they wouldn't fall off on the 40 mile drive home (no tools were required).
So far what I see is 3 wheels are completely wasted, the gas tank is totally spanked as is the seat back and bottom along with all the wood which appears to be completely rotted or bug ate Then it has normal cancer that you would expect on an 85 or 90-year-old vehicle honestly in that respect I don't think it is too bad although my buddy thinks it's horrible which I guess for a California truck it is slightly worse than average but I personally don't think it's too bad.
It's just all the wood is gone I don't even have anything to make patterns off of And because of this it makes the truck look really bad.
At least now I know why you don't generally see Chevrolets older than about 1937 being driven around as hot rods or stockers because they were all probably recycled when the wood rotted back in the '50s and '60s.
Still a neat truck and I don't have full on buyers remorse that I get probably half the time I bring home a new bucket of a car so that is a plus.

As promised I would get a few more pictures of it so here they are...
I have no idea if I want to keep it or if I want to turn it into parts for my Model A pickup (by selling it). Ir do I want to trade it off for some 50s or 60s toilet of a car that I can cobble together to be a cruiser because man do I miss having an old car to semi daily. I got some thinking to do.

 

It appears to have wood framing in the doors so I guess that makes it a 1934?

 

Do away with the wood and steel it out.

 

You can call me a sick and twisted individual if you want but I sure do like that truck!

 

Looks like a '34. This truck is sending out some very cool vibes. I have always wondered if original drawings of old vehicles like this got ever got archived somewhere. Maybe they were for a while and then got destroyed? I guess some were and some were not. How great would it be to pull up some microfilm and get the drawings for the wood. They probably never thought about someone trying restore these things 90 years in the future.

Someone should make it live again. Here's another '34

 

Literally no tools were needed for removing the body panels.
I did use tools to cut off the rusty bolts but they were no longer holding anything. My goal is to make some kind of similar to factory wood frame to reassemble it all. What a mess.

 

Looks like a good start for a big ass woodie Check out this thread over on the Barn for a Jail Bar woodie build.
Truck based woody - The Ford Barn

 

My neighbor (that bought the Mustang 2 that I briefly mentioned in an earlier post when I bought this truck) came over for a few minutes to see my progress and he said it's ready to be a tiny house ...
Something like this↓
I think I would rather Woody wagon it than build a "motorhome" that being said I got all the bits so I am going to attempt to reassemble it I think.
As soon as I get the cab together I'm going to try to get it running which that might be a challenge also but we will see.

 

Does anyone have one of these trucks that they can show me a few pictures of the floor area I am trying to figure out what mounts the a pillar area at the bottom of the front egge of the door across the running board to the back of the cab and what bolts the back of the cab to the floor I assume it's all wood but I just don't know for sure.