Features Daily Driver Period Correct Traditional Hot Rod Time Machine

Very Cool.

 

Subscribed, what was the problem Hiker??

 

The truck in my avatar was daily driven for 16 years, from 1993 to 2009. Virtually never garaged, so rust got to it in the end. I'm just starting to work through the rust now. I want to get it back to being my daily driver because I miss it so much, and I want to do it all again. It's important that when it breaks, fix it properly. That way they improve over time.

 

Alright, I figured I would fill you guys in more on what happened....

When I first got the truck it had a different generator on it, that was turned up to charge more. It was just perfect for running halogen lights and a second taillight. About a month before I took it off the road the pulley on it started to self destruct, so I swapped it out for another gen. I had around. I knew I was gonna need to turn it up, so it could keep up with the modern lights, but never got around to it. Fast forward to last night, and I was sitting at a bunch of red lights, and made a couple quick stops one after another. I park and go get some dinner, come back outside and it's not cranking fast and I killed it pretty quick trying to get it going. So anyways, at this point, I figure I'm on a tow truck home. So i go back to my favorite bar and get rip roaring drunk and flirt with lots of pretty ladies..last call comes and I Call AAA at about 1:30, they say the won't be there for an hour or two....great.... but a truck was there before I could even walk back to my truck. FYI AAA makes a great designated driver.

So this morning I throw a charger on it, and it fires right up . Everything is charging okay. But it needs more when at a stop with the headlights and brake lights, so I fixed the original generator and put it on and everything seems good.

 

Here is my photo dump of the last week.

Last Saturday at a beer taste. Raining...


Last night

Today

Another rainy night. No windshield wiper. Rain-x and no fog does wonders. .

 

Damn, that's a cool looking little truck !

 

God I love this truck! @Hitchhiker you think it might be worth it to ditch the halogens?

Love that you're driving this daily...'street cred'!

 

I thought about it, but the turned up gen, makes up for them. It's seems to be working good. I just have to remember to run the lights during the day.

I do have a set of 1952 dated guide sealed beams I was running, but one of them burned up. Can those be repaired?

 

I love that truck.

 

Hi hitcher.Nice looking truck.Keep the updates coming.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

 

Not really. You can cut the lens off and epoxy it to a modern unit, or if your beams are steelbacks, you might be able to cut the old bulbs out and solder/epoxy in new ones. I like the smoothness of the early sealed beam lenses.

Do your Guides look like these;

 

Yep, they look very similar.

 

i hear someone makes a led headlite bulb for the stock lights. that should be low amperage.

 

Just pulled mine out and looked 'em over; the bulbs are soldered to the steel backs...should be pretty easy to solder new bulbs in.

 

Following along. Keep it up Hitch.

 

I'll have to pull mine out.

 

Thanks for all the truck love everyone, here is another from today. I took it out on the freeway today, Cruises 55-60 pretty easy. My old motor was very tired, this "temp stocker" is much better. I can't wait to get some more power out of it. here is one more picture

 

This rules!!!

 

Nice truck h hicker I admire what you are doing..stock ride hight looks better on these old girls IMO.
Yours is what counts though, it's your truck, cool truck either way, good luck with it.

 

Hey Hiker,
You have unlocked the secret.
You pick the time, and if you let it
the car stays there.
Live in the moment, you'll never get old.
Whenever you drive it will be the time you pick.
That's why many of us do what we do.
Not to hijack the thread but for support....
My avitar hasn't changed much in 11 years on the road.
I have told this story many times.
When I got it it was 1952 and I was 18 years old in my mind.
I was actually 54. Now I'm 65 and the car is still the same.
When I drive it's still 1952 and I'm srill 18!
And I've commuted 50 miles a day for over 2 years,
driven every month in a year. Get the groceries, deliver parts,
Hit the cruise ins, and the shows.
Who cares if it rains or snows! About 45,000 miles!
Great truck, great thread, great attitude.
Keep it up and you will be Hard Core!

 

Such a great little truck man!

 

Looking good Matt. I have followed the build from day one and am enjoying the story. The truck is cool for sure. AND...typical model a charging fun. Stick with the generator. It will make for some good stories...LOL.

 

That is a beautiful truck. I hope you are @ 5'6-7" tall and weigh in the mid 150's to 170's cause there is very little room in those cabs. My '49 chevy 1/2 ton dd/only vehicle is a just right fit for me @ 200 lbs and 5' 11". I have overdrive and do a few 1k trips every year.

Keep on keeping on, did I say 'I love your truck?'

 

Well, my little freeway excursion blew out my manifold gasket. I have installed a new one of those, and surfaced the manifold. I must have had some bad leaks, its very quiet now and runs so much better. I also ran into the problem with the transmission and shift tower. Unknown to me I had a 39 tower on 37-38 gears and after about 100 miles the shifting got to be not very positive and it started popping out of third. This was a unknown used transmission, I was talking with a buddy and showed him the pictures of it and and he quickly figured out the problem and sent me the part. I got the correct small fork top on it and it's doing much better. shifting feels much more positive and its not popping out of gear now. Gave it another grease and checked all the bolts. Good to go again.

 

Running great! Just thought I would jump in with a photo dump. These are all pretty much from different days.

 

What part of Seattle you running around in? Looks like west seattle. I grew up down in Federal way..

 

Man that thing is damn cool. I wish I had the guts to daily my old cars......weatherstripping is too expensive so they stay garaged.

I treat them like show queens but theyre rusted trash haha

 

IIRC, there was an article on doing this with T-3's in Rod and Custom a couple years back?

 

Awesome shot!