Golden Jubilee
Posts: 741
Joined: Sat Jun 29, 2013 12:58 am
Location: Central IL
'55 R-122 rehab
My project is a '55 R-122. It has been a farm truck for a good portion of it's life. The door tag indicates that it is a 127" WB truck and was shipped with a 94hp SD220 (@3800rpms). The increase in horsepower (as I understand it) was to offset the automatic transmission that the truck was born with. As a '55 it has a 1606 cab code S-Line cab with the larger vent windows, push button outer door handles, and single piece rear window. The R-122 designation (if I'm correct) indicated that it was a 3/4 Ton truck (R-120) with an aux spring package for increased load carrying abilities. The door tag indicates max GVW of 6500lbs.
I tried to get a line sheet for my truck but have been told that the records for this truck were no longer available. I've been scratching around the truck and manuals trying to piece it together. It has a 1606 code cab. A code 1402 rear axle (4.11 gears), An F-170 front axle, and a Ross TA-122887 steering box. The trans is a non-original T-9 floor shift 4spd (possible a code 1320?). No syncros here... lol. The brakes are 12"x1 3/4" on the front and 12"x2" on the rear. 6 x 7.25" bolt pattern steel split ring wheels wrapped in 16"x7.5" bias ply tires. The truck was originally painted Magnolia Ivory #9. No dome lights, no arm rests, a left side sun visor only, no radio, no door panels. I still haven't determined if the interior cardboard panels are maroon or brown. The heater was the standard model for the year with defrost vents in the dash. The bed is 8' with a tailgate that normally hinges at the bottom. However, if you leave the top pinned and throw the lever on teh right side of the box the gate will hinge from the upper point. Grain bed gate? When i bought the truck it also came with steel bed extensions. I understand that these aren't very common- cool. The rear bumber is made of diamond plate and I still haven't determined if it was homemade, a dealer accessory, or just an aftermarket piece.
My plan for this truck is to restore it mechanically and repair the large rust holes/dents. The exterior will be left alone for now. I shudder to think what it would cost to make this a "show truck". I and my wife want to use the truck for various things including going to the hardware store, tooling around town, going to drive-ins and fairs. I want to be able to tow a 16' float (cars/ garden tractors) with it as well.
I'll post more later, but here's what the truck looked like when I brought it home back in January of this year.
'64 Porsche 356 C
'68 and '73 BMW 2002s
‘14 VW Passat SE TSI
3 Vintage Sears garden tractors ('66-'74)