Chevy G-7106 restoration

Military Trucks 1/2 ton thru 2 ton, Wanted, For Sale (NO AUCTION or EBAY), and Knowledge Base
Post Reply
forestry4evr
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1916
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:09 am
Location: Western North Carolina

Re: 1942 Chevy G-7106 restoration

Post by forestry4evr » Sat Jun 24, 2017 3:52 am

42cargo wrote:Looks great, Paul.

That truck is June '42, correct? Interesting it has a serpentine grille. Mine was a June truck made in Oakland and had the later grille. Nothing saying mine was original, but I think it's an interesting observation.

John
It has been a while since the discussion of serpentine grilles has emerged. From all of the evidence I have ever come across, the serpentine grill disappeared from production at a time generally coincident with the addition of radio suppression equipment which would be late 1942 (fourth or fifth contract). John, I believe your truck was an amalgamation of several trucks as it had a few features that are commonly found in trucks assembled in 1943 and later. The cab M1 rack brackets and the shock absorber links are two features that I recall that yours had that never show up on 1941 or mid 1942 trucks. It is extremely common for people to build one vehicle from two or more non-operable like modeled vehicles.

Image
Shock link style found on later model G506 trucks.

In the time I have been on this site, I recall at least three people searching for a serpentine grill to install on a later year truck just because they liked the appearance. The "Chevrolet" embossed side panels are another example of personal preference parts often showing up on later year trucks. After all while at shows or out in public, how many times do you want to hear some self-proclaimed expert call your Chevrolet a Dodge?

Paul
1941 G4112 Chevrolet with Hercules dump bed


42cargo
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1794
Joined: Sat Feb 24, 2007 8:14 am
Location: Becket, MA

Re: 1942 Chevy G-7106 restoration

Post by 42cargo » Sat Jun 24, 2017 5:53 am

Hi Paul,

For sure mine had several oddball items. The carb was the type with the barrel extension for the air filter, which I'm pretty sure is mid to late war. The engine was a 216 from the '50s, so many of the clues that the original engine would have provided were gone. One of the side panels for the engine was marked Chevrolet, the other not. The one thing that probably dated it to mid war was the all steel cargo bed, which I'm pretty sure was original.

Looking forward to seeing more photos of your current project.

John

forestry4evr
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1916
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:09 am
Location: Western North Carolina

Re: 1942 Chevy G-7106 restoration

Post by forestry4evr » Sun Jul 23, 2017 4:23 am

Hey all,

After searching and collecting pieces and parts for a while, all the parts for the tail lights are finally ready for installation.

Image
Found some 1/8 thick scrap metal with a 90 degree bend. After some fabricating, I have some tail light brackets.

Image
After test fitting, the brackets are primed and painted.

Image
The complete "kit" ready for installation.

Image
Tail light installed, one step closer to DMV inspection.

Image
Back of tail light housing showing wiring guard...something that is often missing on these old trucks.

Enjoy!
1941 G4112 Chevrolet with Hercules dump bed

pintelhook11over
G-Major
G-Major
Posts: 870
Joined: Mon Feb 08, 2010 7:45 pm
Location: Southern California

Re: 1942 Chevy G-7106 restoration

Post by pintelhook11over » Sun Jul 23, 2017 7:32 am

Nice! Those brackets are Good to Go!!!
1942 G7117 No. 389946
1945 G527 Serial no.9218
USN CM3 NMCB "4"
Cat Field SVC/GPS installer
Cat Main shop Mech

Private Sector
G-Private
G-Private
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2017 7:28 am
Location: Massachusetts

Re: 1942 Chevy G-7106 restoration

Post by Private Sector » Sun Jul 23, 2017 4:00 pm

Those backer plates almost look like they were made from stake pockets.

forestry4evr
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1916
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:09 am
Location: Western North Carolina

Re: 1942 Chevy G-7106 restoration

Post by forestry4evr » Thu Aug 03, 2017 1:33 am

Hey gents,

Made a little more progress on my 42. Lately most of my attention has been on the dump body. Since old Gert spent her previous life outside the stake pockets sure suffered from corrosion issues.

Image
I failed to take a decent "before" image, but you can kind of see the generally poor condition of the original stake pockets.

Image
After removal of the channels, this is what lurked beneath.

Image
A closer look revealed a real mess. It would appear as though that this hidden section of the body was never painted, or it was just such a great place to accumulate debris (especially on a dump body) that the area never dried out.

Image
A fellow metal guru Chevy restorer friend comes to the rescue with some much needed replacement stake pocket material.

Image
Careful removal of the compromised side panel sections as it would be negligent to hide all of that rust underneath the new stake pockets.

Image
A little cut and paste of new metal.

Image
Grinding down the welds of the patches...welding upside down is relatively new territory for me...make sure you tuck your sleeves in your gloves! Reminds me of the saying "If you a not a good welder, you will become a good grinder"...well I am still waiting for the good welder part to come along...but getting much better as I loath grinding.

Image
The new stake pocket ready for installation. I decided to cut out a section of the interior channel allowing for an exit for debris that will inevitably find its way into this assembly.

Image
One step closer... You know a quality IPA tastes just so much better when sampled enjoying the completion of a project. Ah the good life!

Hope you all enjoyed the progress and maybe even learned something, and more importantly I hope you all had some time to play with your trucks!

Paul
1941 G4112 Chevrolet with Hercules dump bed

42cargo
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1794
Joined: Sat Feb 24, 2007 8:14 am
Location: Becket, MA

Re: 1942 Chevy G-7106 restoration

Post by 42cargo » Thu Aug 03, 2017 4:33 am

Looking good, Paul.

D.R.H.
G-Major General
G-Major General
Posts: 3472
Joined: Sat Jun 05, 2010 2:51 pm
Location: Evergreen State

Re: 1942 Chevy G-7106 restoration

Post by D.R.H. » Thu Aug 03, 2017 4:53 pm

Paul, it is good to see that someone else has the foresight to drill holes in the stake pockets too. I installed new stake pockets on a friends truck about 4 years ago and had the same brilliance of foresight. By doing so, I think they really look as though they have been spot welded back on. Nice job. :)
In Loving Memoriam: George R. Hancock. 20 Mar. 1938 - 11 Jan. 2017. U.S.A.F. 1956 - 1962. R.I.P. Dad.
In Loving Memoriam: Ann Hancock, 08 Mar. 1934 - 25 Sept. 2021. R.N. 1960 - 2005. R.I.P. Mom.
Thank You BOTH for always being there.

My YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaMKEv ... M3g/videos.

forestry4evr
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1916
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:09 am
Location: Western North Carolina

Re: 1942 Chevy G-7106 restoration

Post by forestry4evr » Sun Aug 06, 2017 5:15 am

Thanks for the support guys, it is much appreciated.

Made a little more progress on this old dump body. This installment addresses the rear body corners. As folks who own one of these models know, water accumulates and is trapped at the rear gusset leading to rust out. The rear stake pockets also seem to catch more junk in them especially on a dumper, especially since the rear stake pockets had absolutely no drainage holes engineered into the original design.

Image
Here is what I started with, not much to salvage here.

Image
Left side corner viewed from behind. Metal looks more like Swiss cheese...as my dogs would say "ruff ruff ruff".

Image
The right side is pretty much the same condition.


Image
Compromised material removed...no turning back now...yikes!

Image
New bottom surface installed.

Image
Newly fabricated 1/8 think "banjo eye" reinforcement plate plug welded onto the rear corner gusset.

Image
Outside view

Image
Corner gusset tacked in.

Image
Stake pocket installed. Although not perfectly correct, I decided to make a drainage cutout to enable debris and water to escape the pocket. All of the other pockets had ~1 diameter holes in the bottom allowing for junk to escape.

Image
Corner assembly viewed from inside the bed.

Image
Corner assembly welded/sanded/primed, and ready for action.

Image
Rear view of corner assembly.

After a little tweaking, the tailgate now works from both upper and lower hinges as designed. The tailgate was kind of a mess as it was bowed in the middle and twisted. With some careful "messaging" with a front end loader, the tailgate was bent back to a more useable form. Thanks John for your basket case tailgate...I think I have successfully made a silk purse from a sows ear!

Hope you all enjoyed,

Paul
1941 G4112 Chevrolet with Hercules dump bed

D.R.H.
G-Major General
G-Major General
Posts: 3472
Joined: Sat Jun 05, 2010 2:51 pm
Location: Evergreen State

Re: 1942 Chevy G-7106 restoration

Post by D.R.H. » Sun Aug 06, 2017 3:24 pm

Hey Paul, that port-aft stake pocket/corner looks great!! How did you make that "keyhole" ? It looks perfect!
In Loving Memoriam: George R. Hancock. 20 Mar. 1938 - 11 Jan. 2017. U.S.A.F. 1956 - 1962. R.I.P. Dad.
In Loving Memoriam: Ann Hancock, 08 Mar. 1934 - 25 Sept. 2021. R.N. 1960 - 2005. R.I.P. Mom.
Thank You BOTH for always being there.

My YouTube Channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaMKEv ... M3g/videos.

42cargo
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1794
Joined: Sat Feb 24, 2007 8:14 am
Location: Becket, MA

Re: 1942 Chevy G-7106 restoration

Post by 42cargo » Mon Aug 07, 2017 5:52 am

Looks great, Paul.

I did a similar operation on my dump body as well.

Image

Dave, to make that eyehole for the chain I got two arbor bits for my drill. One was the large size to cut the main hole and the other was a smaller one, the width of the slot where the chain fits into. I laid out the keyhole pattern on the metal and cut the main hole and then the smaller hole at the bottom of the key. Then I used a saber saw to cut the distance between the big hole and the small one. A little filing and it cleaned up great. I cut a similar hole on the sheet metal part and then welded the two together. (Theoretically, that step could be eliminated by welding the two together first and then cutting them as a unit.)

If I had had access to a Bridgeport, the operation would have been much easier, but since I didn't I made due with what I had for tools on hand.

Hope that helps.

John

kelley
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1582
Joined: Tue Aug 28, 2012 4:17 pm
Location: Massachusetts (The Pay state)

Re: 1942 Chevy G-7106 restoration

Post by kelley » Mon Aug 07, 2017 3:56 pm

Great looking corner/Body repairs, You guys are some Kick Ass Welders! I'll bet you could weld anything but the crack of dawn. :wink:
Kelley

42cargo
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1794
Joined: Sat Feb 24, 2007 8:14 am
Location: Becket, MA

Re: 1942 Chevy G-7106 restoration

Post by 42cargo » Mon Aug 07, 2017 5:11 pm

I wish I had a fraction of your welding knowledge, Jon.

forestry4evr
G-Colonel
G-Colonel
Posts: 1916
Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2012 9:09 am
Location: Western North Carolina

Re: 1942 Chevy G-7106 restoration

Post by forestry4evr » Tue Aug 08, 2017 1:20 am

Hey Jon,
Before actually having my first cup of coffee this morning, I first misunderstood your comment of "weld anything but the crack of dawn" as "you weld as if you were on crack". I like your interpretation more than my caffeine deprived/early morning interpretation! Thanks for the support, but I am still a better grinder than welder...making baby steps toward proficiency, but getting there... I appreciate your willingness to offer occasional welding tech support as it has helped.

On a relatively random note, why do posts show the time in only the pacific time zone yet when writing them they show the actual time? At the time of this writing, it is 0537 eastern time not 0237 as it will show on the post. I may get up early, but I am not an insomniac.

Dave,
I sourced the thicker 1/8 plate with the banjo eye pattern from a guy up in north or south Dakota. I sent a hand drawing to him and he made me four plasma cut pieces for $8 total...cant beat that! I transferred the pattern to the 16 ga gusset and drilled the corresponding 1-5/8 and 1/2 inch holes. I used a cutoff wheel to cut the straight sections. Seems to have worked out for me.

John,
I didn't realize that you had done so much restoration work on your old truck body. Where did that dump body come from?

Paul
1941 G4112 Chevrolet with Hercules dump bed

User avatar
retro-roco
G-Brigadier General
G-Brigadier General
Posts: 2494
Joined: Thu Mar 27, 2003 10:54 am
Location: Bloomington, IL, USA

Re: 1942 Chevy G-7106 restoration

Post by retro-roco » Tue Aug 08, 2017 5:05 am

forestry4evr wrote:
Tue Aug 08, 2017 1:20 am


Dave,
I sourced the thicker 1/8 plate with the banjo eye pattern from a guy up in north or south Dakota. I sent a hand drawing to him and he made me four plasma cut pieces for $8 total...cant beat that! I transferred the pattern to the 16 ga gusset and drilled the corresponding 1-5/8 and 1/2 inch holes. I used a cutoff wheel to cut the straight sections. Seems to have worked out for me.
Wow, that was a great price! probably cost that much to ship them to you??
Kirk Gustafson
359th Infantry Regt. 90th Div. WWII HRS

1942 Chevy G506 1-1/2 ton 4x4 Cargo
1943 Ben Hur water trailer


Post Reply

Return to “Trucks 1/2 ton thru 2 ton”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 58 guests