Chevrolet Truck Rebuild page 1

Following on from the restoration of the Chevrolet Wrecker, Jon moved onto a Chevrolet C15 GS van. As part of the restoration Jon visited various scrap yards risking life and limb to climb over piles of vehicles to find the ones he needed. Then with camera in hand, he took those all elusive pictures of roof hatches, back panels and light surrounds that would be useful as reference points when rebuilding the Chevy.

The truck was bought with the wrong body fitted to the back. The rear is thought to be late 1944, whereas the chassis and front end is late 1943. The pictures do not show the true scale of the rot that had set in with rust around many of the welds in the cab, and door panels that were flapping loose. In addition some accident damage was evident. The doors required 9 inches cutting off the bottom and new panels fabricating and welding in place. The history of the vehicle seems to indicate some rebuilding may have been carried out in the 50s. These first pictures are of the truck in its original state prior to any restoration starting.

The Chevy was transported home on the back of a trailer from Shrewsbury. I would be interested to know what happened to the half track in the background. Once home the serious work begins. The body was stripped off the chassis and as far as possible broken down into the component parts. Some parts required spot welds drilling out before repairs could be effected. Repairs can be seen to the headlight assembly, and new panels welded to the front of the body.

The gearbox was stripped to its component parts, cleaned and reassembled replacing parts as needed. The same care was taken over the differential, shown stripped then re-assembled.

If the part is worn out it needs replacing, and sometimes the only way to find out if a part is worn is to measure using a micrometer.

The engine was rebuilt and painted and placed in the chassis.

The basic framework of the truck can be seen stripped of all panel parts. Then begins the job of rebuilding the parts back onto the chassis. The rebuilt cab floor can be seen being offered up to the chassis. It will be moved forward before fitting in postion.

And here is the finished vehicle.

And a shot of the GMC engine from inside the cab.

This truck was featured in the July 2004 edition of Heritage Commercials, issue 175 (see www.heritagecommercials.com for details). The article explained the various problems encountered in the restoration including the replacement of the front cross member, and obtaining plans from Ottawa to help in making the rear body. The author was offered the chance to drive the truck, commenting on the unusual pedal layout with the brake and throttle swapped around. 5 years work went into completing the job, and all credit is due Jon for the work.