OldIHC

This Iowa native arrived by trailer a few days ago. I have spent a few hours cleaning decades of candy wrappers and old beetle shells out of the cab. The previous owner (PO) claimed that the truck was running. He couldn't remember if it was running on 12 volts or 6. Under the hood, I found a dead 12-volt battery, a newer Purolator / Facet solid state fuel pump and what appears to be the original generator. I plan to complete the 12-volt conversion as a first step.

About the truck:
The keen observer will see the split rear window and may recognize that the cab is older than 1956, perhaps 1954. The PO stated that the cab swap had happened very early in the truck's life. As a result, I do not know for certain what model the truck is. The door tag reads S-112, the body emblem on the older cab says R-110, and the serial number on the door does not match the number on the frame. The engine appears to be the 220 mated to a 4-speed floor-shift transmission. It is rear wheel drive.

About me:
I am a novice working in limited garage space. The truck has to share it's 2-car garage with our daily driver. I plan to slowly work through problems as I find them rather than tear the truck down to the frame and do a full rebuild. I don't weld, so body-work will come later and probably by a paid professional.

Welcome to the site, if you have any questions we will be glad to help you.
Bill

Welcome to the site! It looks like you have a good, solid starting point.

Dean

Great project, I look forward to your updates. You should buy a Mig welder, trust me once you own one you will wonder how you lived without it! These old trucks are pretty forgiving to the novice bodyman so you may just be able to save a ton of money and tackle it all yourself.

First drive:
The original electrical system is in a shambles. Two of three wires to the regulator are disconnected. The modern fuel pump, original generator, and coil may be the only things connected to the ignition switch. I bought a replacement battery, but hesitated to connect it. Finally, I decided that I probably wouldn't do any more damage by trying to start it in the same configuration used by the previous owner.
The engine turned over easily, but didn't start after a few seconds of cranking. Pulling out the choke (disguised as part of the heater knob) did the trick. The starter wailed the next three times I turned the key. On the fourth attempt, the engine fired up. First gear took us gingerly out the garage. The engine sounded rough until I remembered to take the choke off. It ran smoothly as I reversed into the garage.
I was elated to find that the old truck was running, steering, shifting, and braking.

Afterward, I opened the hood fearing that I would find a smoking generator, and a battery spewing acid. Fortunately everything looked OK. In the bright sun after the first drive, I could see a tendril of vapor rising from the oil cap on top of the engine. Is that normal?

Not to unusual, but watch it. More than likely you had oil leaking around the rings and valve guides from sitting.

My thoughts only

Bits and Pieces

This is all simple stuff, but I find that without long experience, simple problems can appear as insurmountable as the truly difficult. There are two hood releases that allow the hood to swing open from either side or be removed completely. The linkage from the release lever on the passenger side slipped off, and I saw that it was missing its retainer clip. The clip was present on the driver side linkage (see picture below), but I doubted that I would find the little retainer clip easily.



To my surprise, I found a box of theses little clips at AutoZone. They are carburetor linkage clips. I wonder if these clips were originally used for the hood linkage or if a previous owner put them in place.



The previous owner commented on the truck's poor fuel economy. He had been surprised to run out of gas after a short drive to town. In fact, the throttle linkage to the carburetor had come loose. The engine stopped getting gas, but the tank was far from empty. It appeared to be missing a cotter pin. I found these next to the linkage clips for the hood release.

Sometimes it just takes looking around for what is really wrong. Doesn't it always seem like the "obvious" things are the ones that elude us for the longest time?

Generator replacement with alternator

As wired by a previous owner, I was unsure what if anything the original 6 volt generator was doing with the 12-volt battery. The truck would start and run, but I did not know if either the generator or battery would be damaged by continued use. A local starter and alternator shop provided a one-wire 10si alternator with a correctly sized pulley mounted and a universal alternator mounting bracket. I have seen similar items marketed by tractor-parts websites. The new bracket attaches to the original generator bracket. It allows for the shorter modern alternator to fit where the longer generator used to be. The adjustable mounting arm for the top of the generator could be used without modification, but I found that the alternator fits only at the extreme limit of its adjustment.

Look for a slightly "shorter" v-belt, some place like CarQuest should carry them, that should give you some adjustment for belt stretch. My thoughts anyway.