August 2011 truck adventure, the 1918 Model "H" Pre-1930 trucks Truck Talk
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9:10 pm
Rusty Driver
December 12, 2009
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If you have not read my June 2011 truck adventure please read it before starting this one as it has the prelude to this adventure.
After winding through the forest and trying to avoid the most dense poison ivy we finally came to it, and there it was, a forlorn sad looking but yet quite personable little Model "H" truck. The wood wheels had sank into the earth about 6" and rotted away to the point the rims of the hard rubber tires were falling off them. The box was in like condition, the floor completely gone and the sides kind of falling down over what was left of the crosspieces. The headlights unfortunately had been stolen along with the dash tag. Only a piece of the wood steering wheel was still dangling from the spider.
I made the owner an offer then and there but he said he wasn't ready to sell it just yet.
And we had forgotten to take the camera back and get photos, a mistake I didn't really realize until we were back home. And the truck was about 3 hours away and to remember details later is often difficult. And I didn't remember to look the engine over thoroughly for cracks if it had been left with water in it. In fact I wasn't 100% sure whether it was an "H" or an "F". What to do now, then I remembered an old car acquaintance lived in the general area (about 40 miles) so I gave him a call and told him about my situation (I also mentioned there was some Model "T" Ford stuff there). He said it sounded like a fun adventure and as luck would have it his son had a ball game that weekend nearby. So after a few phone calls it was arranged for him to meet the owner and take some photos for me. And these are the photos that he took for me.
http://s641.photobucket.com/al…..20Vol%201/
To be continued!
Bill
PDF 10:31 pm
Golden Anniversary
December 9, 2009
Offline
11:20 pm
Golden Anniversary
December 10, 2009
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John
I have seen/got one that worse than this one.
Bill
Motor looks to be in good condition, whats the hood like, wheel rims are they any good to use or do you need some.
awaiting on the next installment.
Trevor
5:13 am
Pile of Parts
December 13, 2009
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Bill
Thanks for keeping us posted. Mine was equally rough condition. Overall the engine, hood, and frame look great. These trucks are tough to restore when you don't even have 4 wheels to roll it on. Also something broke on it because they left it in the woods. Please give us all the details of getting it home. Jim
6:56 am
Golden Anniversary
March 5, 2010
Offline
Did I see a lycoming tucked in there? I did I did tee a puddy tat!! lots of work there, but after following Trevors thread, and Al (by-the-by, where is our friend?) I see it can be done!
2:38 am
Rusty Driver
December 11, 2009
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3:39 am
Golden Anniversary
March 5, 2010
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Most of us would say, "forget it"! why's that? Most of us like it much easier, but for some of us the opportunity AND the vision present at the same moment, and know with the resources available, the job/hobby/obsession can lead to the result guys like MM, Trevor, Al, and a few hardy visionaries have proven. I have vision, but no opportunity, no shop, no money, but I know something very, very special when I see it. All I have to refer to is my model of a Cord with its Lycoming, but I know what I saw there! one of the rarest remains ever. Headlights can be rebuilt. I'm right, aren't I?
7:49 am
Rusty Driver
December 12, 2009
Offline
Some time had went by after my friend John had gotten the pictures for me and one day the owner called and said he was now ready to sell the truck. He gave me a price that left me a bit speechless as I had been researching cost to get the wheels remade and new solid tires and the combined cost of the truck and tires/wheels was about going to put the project beyond what I could justify spending. After a few days I sent an email giving him an offer, explaining about the cost for the wheels and tires alone and he accepted my offer. So I now had bought the truck!
I got together with my friend Don and made arrangements to go get the truck before the Midwest Old Threshers show. Else going to get it would need to wait till September and I didn't really want to wait that long.
We had had about a month and a half drought, but guess what, the weekend that we went to get the truck is when the rain came. We ran into rain roughly half way to Chicago and it looked very gray to the east. Maybe we could luck out and it would just be a band of rain and we could run out of it. Checked Accuweather on my phone for Lockport which was close by and it showed it to be sunny! WRONG! When we arrived it had already rained there and made things muddy. Thanks to Don's expertise driving we were able to get the trailer in reasonably close to load. We didn't back in as close as we may have been able to as we wanted to keep the truck on higher ground. Good thing to as we hardly got started with loading when all heck broke loose with a genuine Midwest gully washer thunderstorm! Also complicating loading was this huge beautiful old Oak tree that has probably been there since before the area was settled. This placed the trailer at about a 70 degree angle to the truck and about 25 feet away. I had brought along a supply of planks and some car dollys that my brother in law had made. The plan was to put the dollies under the rotted off wood wheels and the planks under the dollies. The plan failed due to the slight side slope that caused the dollies to keep going sideways off the planks.Time for a new plan of action. What we did was to jack up the front wheels and place the good part of the wheel on the plank and winch forward until the wheel got to the bad part, jack up again and reset the wheel to the good part and the winch again. The right rear wheel which would not turn we just skidded on the plank and in this case the rain and mud helped to slide this wheel along! After numerous resets of the front wheels we finally got winched up onto the trailer and the rain stopped and of course the mosquitoes came out to visit us. We took what was left of the box off and set it in the back of the pickup so as not to loose any of it or especially any of the box hardware. Checking the rear fenders I found they were on held on with wire so they came off and went into the pickup also.
Now it was time to see if we were stuck where we set or if we could get out. Luckily we were able to get moving and with some mud slinging and Don's driving expertise we made it out to the paved road OK! What a relief!
Here is a link to photos of this segment of the adventure!
http://s641.photobucket.com/al…..20Vol%202/
Enjoy! 
Bill
11:29 am
Pile of Parts
December 13, 2009
Offline
Bill. Thanks for sharing your adventure of getting the truck with photos. The truck looks pretty well preserved with some paint on the hood and original red paint on the frame. The Model H is a nice size to transport to car/truck shows and is a well engineered to be a reliable runner. I guess we each have to decide how far we want to go with our restorations. You might consider just having 3 of your wheels repaired. I hope that rubber tire process for fork lifts works out because Canton Bandag is so darn expensive. Acetylene headlights are available on Ebay although seem to be a bit pricey recently. Jim
2:53 pm
Golden Anniversary
December 10, 2009
Offline
Bill
Fantastic story and very nice old girl.
I didnt see a powered winch on the trailer was all that loading done the good old fashioned way with a block and tackle.
Cant wait for the next chapter with the unloading.
Keep us all informed withe the journey as it has been very interesting so far.
Trevor
3:12 pm
Golden Anniversary
March 5, 2010
Offline
Totally fascinating! many of us (it would have been a good crowd) would loved to have stood by, rain or not, to watch and partake in this amazing drama. Speaking just for myself it would have been an unforgettable memory. Or maybe we could have lent a hand, not getting in the way of course
thanks so much for sharing. waiting for the "rest of the story"!
She's a jewel and found the best home!
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