Chevy G-7106 restoration

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forestry4evr
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Chevy G-7106 restoration

Post by forestry4evr » Sat Oct 24, 2015 3:48 am

Well here we go again...I was looking over the shop and came to the conclusion that I didn't have enough things to do over the dismal dark days of winter and I had contemplated bringing my other truck back from the farm. Turns out I called my local roll back service guy looking to plan for a time to get the truck moved. It just so happened that the driver was immediately available, and a hour later the truck was in the carport! Funny how things work out sometimes. Called a psychiatrist acquaintance to tell him what was going on, and it was determined that little to nothing can be done with an interminable G-506 addiction.

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"Audra" and "Gert" G-506

The new truck, which I think we will call "Gert" is also a Hercules dump bed. It is really not new to me as I have had it for a few years and have slowly torn it down as time permitted. I have also spent the last few years collecting parts and reconditioning components so I hope this build will go much faster than with Audra. Okay, here I am going to say this in public...I hope to have this truck moving under its own power by this spring.

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Here is the truck back on recovery day.

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Back at the farm where she sat out for a while, it was later moved to inside a barn where it languished.

The odometer showed 27,xxx miles on a freakishly original dumper truck that apparently died and sat for a very long time. It was obviously hillbilly owned as all of the repairs were incredibly obvious as they were all low quality and sometimes hilarious. "Fixes" with house solid copper wire, asphalt tar, baling twine and wire were typical. Fortunately she died early and the repairs were not too numerous, but "preventive maintenance" apparently was never a term muttered in old Gert's previous households.

My goals for this truck are to bring it up to correct operating condition with everything working as it did the day it rolled off the production line. This truck will get a 1958 235, original transmission, and I think I am going to run the 12 volt system as found on the donor engine.

I spent some time tearing down the cab getting it ready to remove from the frame. The old cab is more rust than metal, and a "new" cab from Arizona will be installed. While heating and beating fasteners off, I inspected the frame and to my astonishment I found absolutely no cracks or distortions. Since I was told this truck was last used to haul rock on a rugged mountain tract, I was surprised to find the frame in such good condition. Frame rust is also very minimal. So far, so good...

Stay tuned...

Paul
Last edited by forestry4evr on Fri Aug 11, 2017 5:44 am, edited 2 times in total.
1941 G4112 Chevrolet with Hercules dump bed


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rixm37
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Re: 1942 G-7106 restoration

Post by rixm37 » Sat Oct 24, 2015 11:18 am

Standing by !!

Tonywan Kanobby
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Re: 1942 G-7106 restoration

Post by Tonywan Kanobby » Sat Oct 24, 2015 11:47 am

Yeah, I thought this truck was the one you already had. Very cool.

This spring, eh ? :wink:

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Re: 1942 G-7106 restoration

Post by 42cargo » Sat Oct 24, 2015 12:16 pm

Paul,

Was that a pioneer rack on the passenger side engine panel?

John

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Re: 1942 G-7106 restoration

Post by D.R.H. » Sun Oct 25, 2015 12:19 am

What is better than ONE G-506 truck? TWO G-506 trucks in the same carport!! Paul, next time you drive near your local hospital, stop in for a check up. 'Cause you definitely have an illness !!!!! :)
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
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Re: 1942 G-7106 restoration

Post by forestry4evr » Sun Oct 25, 2015 3:03 am

Got the wild hair to remove the cab. I was going to wait until I could get some folks together to lift off the old cab, but I guess I got impatient. With a stripped down cab, my wife and I were able to slide the cab to the front where I could pick it up with a front end loader. Within a short period of time (much shorter than I thought it would take...how often does that happen?), the cab was off.

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Old cab "ready for lift-off"

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Sort of looks like some strange COE?

The frame condition is still looking surprisingly good given the past use story and corrosion. Once the cab was off, I noticed many (most) failed rivets on the transfer case cross member. Guys check those rivets well as these seem to fail quite regularly which will lead to cracks/fractures in your transfer case housing.

The front body frame bracket rivets seem to fail quite often as well. The driver side bracket nearly fell off. The bracket has made with 4 holes, but only two are drilled on the frame. It seems as though 4 rivets would have been a good idea. I wonder what the thought process was here?

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Down to the frame...deja vu moment?!
1941 G4112 Chevrolet with Hercules dump bed

kelley
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Re: 1942 G-7106 restoration

Post by kelley » Sun Oct 25, 2015 4:02 pm

Paul,

I think they might have been concerned with the number of holes that are in that small area of frame. Sorry to hear you have all the loose rivets, are you going to replace with bolts or solid rivets?
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It's really great that you and your wife get to spend some time together turning wrenches and talking truck repairs. We too like to spend time together working on stuff, In fact, here's a recent pic of me and the Mrs taking the tractor out for a spin.
3-wheels-tractor.jpg
3-wheels-tractor.jpg (33.98 KiB) Viewed 6856 times
Kelley

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Re: 1942 G-7106 restoration

Post by D.R.H. » Sun Oct 25, 2015 4:22 pm

A couple of things Paul. Having the "Commanding General of the Post" on the job with you can only speed the process of restoration. And, having the right front wheel already clean and painted, you have made a come too far to stop and will therefore HAVE to finish the 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.

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Re: 1942 G-7106 restoration

Post by stacey » Sun Oct 25, 2015 4:30 pm

Beutiful country Paul. You are an inspiration to us all.

forestry4evr
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Re: 1942 G-7106 restoration

Post by forestry4evr » Mon Oct 26, 2015 2:45 am

kelley wrote:
It's really great that you and your wife get to spend some time together turning wrenches and talking truck repairs. We too like to spend time together working on stuff, In fact, here's a recent pic of me and the Mrs taking the tractor out for a spin.
Ha, that is too funny. So if the Mrs. loses a little weight do you have to find a hub/wheel/tire or just have her hold a bag or rocks? In reality I think the "help" is more in the form of conscript labor as I don't think I have ever heard the words "hey honey, what can I help you do on your truck today?". Great fantasy though... I guess she tolerates the hobby which is okay.

As for the rivets, I am not as high tech as you are so grade 8 bolts with lock nuts will be the route I am taking. You have a good point on the number of holes (and subsequent potential for frame cracks) the designing engineers were willing to put in the frame. It is always easy to lob grenades at a long gone designer.

Dave, I started getting parts together for this truck several years ago (ie the painted wheels), so some things should progress with apparent lightning speed...I hope.

Good to hear from you Stacey, that rolling chassis I got from you yielded many parts, thanks. Your spot in the world is beautiful as well, we had a great time vacationing in Southern Utah and Northern Arizona.

Paul
1941 G4112 Chevrolet with Hercules dump bed

forestry4evr
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Re: 1942 G-7106 restoration

Post by forestry4evr » Sat Nov 14, 2015 3:00 am

Gentlemen,

I have gotten this old girl torn down to pretty much to the bare frame. Last week I degreased and pressure washed the entire frame and while it was still relatively wet, it was sprayed with Ospho so the acid would wick into all of the lap joints and crevasses. Other than a couple of "bubba" brackets (which have been removed) there are no alterations or breaks/bends/tears in the frame. All four of the shocks were tested for leaks, and believe it or not all still had fluid in them and they had proper dampening function. A thorough pressure washing and purging of old fluid and they are back on the truck...yes you read correctly...parts are already getting bolted back on!

Sorry I was not so good at photo documenting the deconstruction, but here are a few images:

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T-case hung to bleed out after a thorough exterior cleaning.

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All of the mounting holes are all in real good shape on this t-case plus there are no cracks in the housing...so far so good.

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T-case in the shop available for disassembly during the dark days of fall. Note the absence of red oxide or black primer but a presence of an odd algae green color under the WW2 OD. I have never seen this "primer" before, have any of you?

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Hercules dump cylinder being removed. I had feared it would be difficult to get this chunk out with the equipment I have, but it turned out to be relatively easy...no bed removal necessary. I have since delivered the cylinder to a fabrication/hydraulic shop to repack/seal all of the dried out sealing components. I was fortunate to find an old timer guy that had actually seen and worked on these internal reservoir cylinders back in the day. He was quite taken back to see one still "in the wild". Lets hope he can find appropriate packing material.

Hope you all are having a good time with your OD green projects.

Paul
1941 G4112 Chevrolet with Hercules dump bed

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Re: 1942 G-7106 restoration

Post by 42cargo » Sat Nov 14, 2015 5:38 am

Nice work, Paul. Fun to watch your progress.

John

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Re: 1942 G-7106 restoration

Post by cooler king » Sat Nov 14, 2015 8:41 am

I enjoy reading your posts and viewing your photos. It would be a great benifit to me if you could share with me what the old timer who is rebuilding your hoist comes up with for packing. For the large gland nut on the driveshaft on your hoist. Mine has been leaking . Tighting the gland nut helped but did not fix. Perhaps he will have a part number? or a substitue of a better way with modern seals. The ram on mine bleads down internally after a few hours. I can live with that. I would appreciate any information . Thanks

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Re: 1942 G-7106 restoration

Post by DCook » Sat Nov 14, 2015 10:36 am

I have a civilian 1 1/5 ton 42 Chev that was civilian version of the dump truck. Do you or anyone have much info regarding the 2 wheel drive versions? I have restored the whole running gear and it runs great. I need to finish a little of the body work, and the dump body.
Thanks
Dana Cook
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1942 Chev 1 1/2 Ton Dump Truck
1951 M37 W/W, Heater, Field Radio
1953 M43 Parts Vehicle
1958 CJ3B Navy Jeep

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Re: 1942 G-7106 restoration

Post by kelley » Sun Nov 15, 2015 2:35 am

Looks great Paul,
At the pace you're working you will be driving it it the spring. Is this going to be your firewood truck?
Kelley


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