I Acquired A Truck, Now What To Do With It

[ClassicTractorProfessor 5,314]

Last week at work I was talking with our part time secretary and she asked me if I would help her this weekend with moving an old truck out of her yard. The old truck she is wanting out of there just so happens to belong to my grandfather (he and her father in law have been farming partners for years). So I told her I would talk to him and see what he wanted to do with it. Talked to him after work and he told me to take it and do with it whatever I wanted to. The truck in question is a 1971 Chevy C50 grain truck. It was last tagged in 1996, and it's been at least 15 years since the truck has ran and was parked. 

 

Spent the better part of the day yesterday trying to get it to run, with no luck. I can get it to turn over about a half revolution and stop, pulled the starter and turned it backwards about a half revolution and it stops again. My first thought was a stuck valve, so I pulled the valve covers and all the valves move as they should. But just to eliminate the possibility I completely backed off every rocker arm and turned the engine over with the same results, my next thought is probably some rust in a cylinder not allowing the rings to move past it. The spark plug that came out of the number 6 cylinder did have some rust on the end of it. I've got the cylinders full of Marvel Mystery Oil now letting them soak so we will see what happens in a few days. 

 

Now for the question of what do we do with it. We don't really have a use for a grain truck around our place, but we do have a lot of downed trees and brush that needs cleaned up around the farm, thought about removing the end gate and using it for hauling brush and trash to the burn pit, provided we can get it running. The truck is sitting on 9.00-20 tires (which are almost impossible to find) on the old split rims that no one in the area will touch anymore, and both outside duals need replaced. That got me to doing some research into converting it over to modern 22.5s, those wheels are right around $350 a piece, so I'm looking at $2100 just in new wheels and then anywhere from $3-500 a piece for new 22.5 tires. In the process of researching this I ended up on YouTube and went down that famous rabbit hole that we should never go down. I saw a few projects where people had swapped the C50 cab onto a C30 chassis. That got me to thinking I have an old 79 K20 sitting in the pasture with a blown engine, how cool would it be to graft the 71 C50 cab onto the K20 4x4 chassis, custom built flatbed, and drop a big block and 5 speed in. 

 

Please someone tell me I've lost the few marbles I had left 

 

Here is the truck 

[ClassicTractorProfessor 5,314]

And here is the old junker that would donate her frame to this crazy idea I have brewing in my head

[Pullstart 62,852]

Bryce, you landed yourself a real keeper!  There really is no wrong way of looking at this relic!  When we bought our first truck from her grandparents, there was a C-60 flat bed in the driveway.  I mentioned that the house is sold no matter the price, if the truck comes with it.  He said that’s not an option.  Fast forward 10 years and we are selling the place, and the truck still sat there.  I never messed with it, because “it wasn’t mine,” though the law of abandon probably should have said it should have been.  I asked him if he had any plans to get it out of the driveway, and he said no.  We were in a time crunch to get moved out and sell the house, so I called a scrap yard to come take it.  It was a sad sight to see it hauled out.  It even had the classic “small window” in the cab.  Even if it were just only sitting there in my drive again, I miss it!

[Achto 27,571]

7 hours ago, ClassicTractorProfessor said:

That got me to doing some research into converting it over to modern 22.5s, those wheels are right around $350 a piece, so I'm looking at $2100 just in new wheels and then anywhere from $3-500 a piece for new 22.5 tires.

 

Might be cheaper to find an old school bus that has good tires on it.

[953 nut 55,223]

Sentimental value and the wow factor of a survivor like that will get you in trouble every time.  If you want it as yard art then go for it!  If you just want for hauling brush I would suggest using a trailer behind a tractor.

7 hours ago, ClassicTractorProfessor said:

That got me to thinking I have an old 79 K20 sitting in the pasture with a blown engine, how cool would it be to graft the 71 C50 cab onto the K20 4x4 chassis, custom built flatbed, and drop a big block and 5 speed in. 

 

Please someone tell me I've lost the few marbles I had left 

If you do decide to go for it      

[Pullstart 62,852]

Very similar, I have/had (I haven’t checked on it in a while) open offer to come take this ‘64 GMC 6000.  It’s got a 671 Detroit Diesel and twin stick transmission with the hi/low rear end if I recall.  The grain box is a dumper and when my buddy bought the farm 3 or 4 years back he drove it to it’s current resting place.

 

 

[squonk 41,104]

That 79 cab looks like it would bring good money. 

 

And that 71 Sheetmetal was used several years. I remember in around 81 at the Chevy dealer we got a brand new school bus in with the exact same front end

[squonk 41,104]

3 minutes ago, Pullstart said:

 

 

 

 

Gotta get it just to yank the horns and compressor off for Norman! 

[peter lena 8,625]

@ClassicTractorProfessor   what an opportunity ! to oil preserve that patina !  penetrating oil .mineral oil , kerosene , surface rust , not total rust / rot thru is   salvageable , done a number of those . rather have a period correct , finish than rust thru any day , see practically new trucks every day with rot thru , get a tyvek suit mask , gloves , especially closed areas , seaming , spring mounts . just a suggestion , pete

[Skwerl58 704]

You are going down the right thought path about saving the truck. The 2 piece wheels and tire size are issues that farmers face to keep these old trucks going. Achto made a great point about the school bus tires. The cab swap sounds good and GM was known for using the same parts for years so you may have a not so complicated swap. If you have the time and means you should go for it. These are good looking trucks and with some work can last a few more generations.

[Pullstart 62,852]

What about more modern super singles for wheels and tires Bryce?

[ClassicTractorProfessor 5,314]

8 minutes ago, Pullstart said:

What about more modern super singles for wheels and tires Bryce?

Hardest part is finding wheels with the right bolt pattern

[Pullstart 62,852]

12 minutes ago, ClassicTractorProfessor said:

Hardest part is finding wheels with the right bolt pattern

Are those 5/10 lug wheels?  Motor homes ran 19.5” wheels I think.  Our C3500 HD does too.  I’m sure there are reasonable adapters…

[Tractorhead 9,064]

Great Story, 

i find also optical it‘s definitely a keeper.

 

Are those 2 way rims you mentioned means snap ring types?

i had snap ring rims on my old Mercedes Motorhome for a decade and i loved them.

they just wasn’t able to keep the Air when i bought it.

To solve that i drilled the Vent hole a little bigger until i can inserting tubes and it was good to go for small movements.

It was firstly made as a „quick and dirty“ fix only to keep the Truck movable but after few Miles i moved the Truck i learn to love em.

 

Than i just put few actual rubbers on it because the old had elephant skin and try how far they will go.

to make a long story short

10 years later i sold my Motorhome with it’s 7-th set of rubbers but still the same Tubes in them.

 

Drove all in all more as 300.000 km with that Rims and tubes with just few Tyre problems what also newer rims could not prevent.

but the fixing of a tyre depends just 20 minutes on a sidewalk.

Jack it up

drop all Air by removing the valve

opened the snapring remoce the Rubber with the Tube

change the tube into new rubbers

Reassemble it

reinsert the valve

fire up the Truck to fill the Tyre back again with it‘s own Air compressor.

Dejack it

drive !

 

That where the time i learn to love em.

You just need a crowbar and a tyrechange goes allmost anywhere allone even if the rims be mounted.

Keep a sparetyre without rim was much easier to carry with me.

save weight and i never feared any tyreproblem.

[87 416-8 horse 420]

I like the idea of the frame swap. Since the patina is perfect I would do a wipe on clear coat.

[ebinmaine 67,484]

16 hours ago, ClassicTractorProfessor said:

Please someone tell me I've lost the few marbles I had left 

 

Bryce. You've lost the few marbles you had left. 

 

And as stated above.. awesome project no matter what you do. 

[Handy Don 12,217]

18 hours ago, ClassicTractorProfessor said:

Please someone tell me I've lost the few marbles I had left 

I dunno, this all is WAY outside my expertise but it does sound like something pretty cool and exciting.

Marbles might be overrated and you can always collect more! 

[Achto 27,571]

Sure miss my marbles. 

 

Edited May 13 by Achto

[SylvanLakeWH 25,557]