'54 R-100 Preservation

This project wasn't so much of a build-off as it was a rehabilitation and preservation. Before I go into what we all did to it, I should tell you how I came across it. I'm a high school teacher in the Pierce, NE area and was volunteering at a parking lot that the school was running during the Lambrecht car auction last August. I was telling another local about a R-100 that was out at the auction but in really rough shape that sold for almost 8 grand. He mentioned that he had one as his first truck and still had it in a corn crib a few miles from town but didn't want to sell it out of fear that it would get chopped and hot rodded. I told him that if he ever wanted to sell it, that I like to preserve these old trucks. Over the next 4 months I ran across another guy that had a pair of S-series trucks down by Grand Island for sale and spent all my disposable income (I'm a teacher so it really wasn't that much to begin with) on them. About a week before Christmas, we got a call from the Pierce guy saying he thought it over and was ready to sell the truck. Two days later, after convincing my dad that it would make a great father-son project and was worth his investment in, we went to Pierce and got it.

The guy we bought it from was the second owner and had had it since the early 70's. It was completely original and had very little rust other than the surface from sitting in an open shed for the last 20-30 years.

This spring, my dad and I put a new battery, plugs, points, and carb kit on the truck. It runs "like a kitty over a bowl of milk" but smokes some. Looks like this winter we will probably overhaul the motor. The gas tank had a good 2 inches of thick, black tar like goo in the bottom of it that came out pretty easy with a pressure washer. After it was cleaned out, we patched a few pinholes of rust with JB weld, put a new float on the fuel gauge, and rebuilt the fuel pick-up that had rusted into 4 distinct pieces. The old rubbers carcasses were just that so we got a new set of bias-ply tires on the old girl. There were some issues with the breaks that we quite haven't sorted out yet but we have good pressure in the front wheels. Will probably have to pull the hubs and put new pads on but will do that this winter along with the overhaul. In areas the paint was still good but others were pure surface rust. Being that the rest of the truck was all original, we didn't want to take away for it's history. To protect the rust and keep the original appearance, we rubbed the entire body down with boiled linseed oil. We thought about clear coating it but weren't happy about the idea of a glossy finish. I'm very pleased with how she turned out and so is my dad. We really don't have any further plans for it other than the overhaul this winter. As for now, we are just enjoying driving it around and taking it to local fairs and a parade or two this summer around Albion.
I'm only posting a picture of her after we took her out of the corn crib and an after picture but I have many more over on my flickr page so please check them out. https://www.flickr.com/photos/104090368 ... 817068423/

Before -
1954 R-100 - Bard Find by coakes00, on Flickr

After -
IMG_1618 by coakes00, on Flickr

very nice looking truck. Consider that rebuild very carefully, you may not really need it, Are you using 30wt oil in the engine? You might have a hard time finding rings for that rebuild. Others will speak up soon I am sure.
Just my thoughts.

I could be in the minority here, but I REALLY enjoy PATINA.
Some of my friends laugh or shake their heads at the notion.
I LOVE what you've done and usually strive to achieve what you have!
Great job! I will follow suit, time after time.

Well done sir, well done.

Why Boiled Linseed oil? I know my Dad used to use in on gun stocks and I know it's used as a furniture finish, but on metal? Is is greasy or does it harden?

-Jake

I like that truck and I wouldn't touch a thing. I am thinking that a little oil smoke is not unusual after the piston ring have taken a set from decades of sitting. Keep the revs down and try loading the engine on a few hills and the rings may just start working again. It wouldn't hurt to get the engine up to operating temperature a few times and give it another oil change. 15-40 oil will work well with this old engine. Before you get swamped in all of the BS about DETERGENT OIL. Do the research with GOOGLE. It isn't what you might think.

Nice truck, looks good with the hot oil treatment too! I see from the additional pictures that you have your LST, so you should be able to ID the original color, which I'm guessing is red. I like the colors it has matured into and I can tell you from experience that if you want it done right, a repaint will be time and . Right now you have conserved it as it became, up to you if you want to take it back to the way it originally looked. I would opt to leave it in this look, it is quite a head-turner now! I remember somebody once advised me to treat a faded Pontiac Star Chief's faded paint with a coating of kerosene, maybe it would have worked in the same manner, but since I didn't follow that advise, I'll never know.

Nice truck! It is in really nice condition and has a nice patina on it. It is nice that you have taken steps to halt the rust, that is always my issue with leaving patina, most people don't seem to worry about further rust. You can adjust the gloss of clear coats by adding flattener, right up to completely flat, so if you decided to that is still an option.

I have had great success freeing stuck rings and valves using Wynn's Engine Tune UP. It is just an oil additive that breaks down carbon and cleans things up and it really works.

Matt, does that Wynn's product (I grew up near Irwindale, CA where I think Wynn's started) have to be removed via an oil change immeiately? How long do you run the engine with it in?
I ask because I've witnessed BG Products cleaner seize a six cylinder Ford in about 10 miles.
It liquified the gunk and stuffed up the oil pickup in the bottom of the pan.
Everyone likes "clean" but a really aggressive cleaner might be too much sometmes? These old engines without PCV valves, detergent oil, and full-flow oil filters really can fill up with muck.
Don

That is why I always recommend a drop the pan and clean it as a first step, make sure there is a good screen on the oil pickup tube, Then after you have "broken" free all the rest of the Gunk in the engine, do another oil change! After a 100 miles or so, do another oil change! That is if you have not torn down your complete engine of course. Oil is Cheap compared to a complete overhaul. just my thoughts.

I have never experienced any issue with leaving the Wynn's in for awhile. I normally do aim to pour it in a day or two before I change oil but I once ran with it in there for a full month without issue. I have used it in at least a dozen engines over the years with nothing but positive results.

I first started using it in an old lawn mower that would barely run and after putting the Wynn's in I used that mower for several more years before it finally gave out on me.

Dropping and cleaning the pan is never a bad idea, in my experience there is ALWAYS some sludge in there no matter how clean you think the engine is.