1949 Chevy 3600 Pickup: Be seated! Progress!

Those who took careful note of the pictures above will have noted that the right hand door was not closed.  It turns out the lock had been activated while the door was open and had rusted into position.  I figured I better deal with this.

I tried to remove the screws (all clutch head), but they were all too far gone, so I had to drill them out.  Some pics of the progress below.  PS: I really struggled to get the mechanism out as one of the welds had broken and it was catching on the sheet metal inside the door.  Once I realised this, it all below easier.





The contents of the bottom of the door!!


The lock mechanism as removed:



I'd tried freeing it up with Duck Oil, but when I realised that wasn't going to work I decided to try electrolysis for the first time in my life (I don't know why I haven't done this before!!!). Having Googled for instructions I realised I had all the bits except Soda Crystals, so dashed to the supermarket for those and then set to.

The parts needed:



Assembled:


Soda Crystals:


All connected up and starting to brew: (The instructions said about 1 tablespoon of Soda Crystals to a gallon of water).


The result (This might not look a lot better in a picture, but some of the parts became moveable after this):


I then soaked the whole thing in Duck Oil for a while, but on removing it realised this wasn't going to be enough, so I dismantelled the parts of the lock that I could by bending out the tabs that had been folded over (The following pictures were taken mainly for my own reference on re-assembly):






As you can see the pieces that were touching solidly were still covered in rust, whereas outer surfaces had benefited from the electrolysis.

So I grabbed my workshop metal sieve and dropped all the small loose parts into that, mixed up a new batch of Soda Crystals (stronger this time) and started a new session of electrolysis. Here's the start:


And two hours later:


I took all the bits out, it had helped a lot, but the process puts a black film on them. I cleaned them off and then started them on a new session, I'll show pictures of the final result next time.

What I can say is that the rotating bits that have not be dissembled are now playing balling and rotating freely after a bit of playing back and forth.

i was going to say straight off from your first picture 1 table spoon for a gallon is way too weak, more like half a bag in that bucket. looks like its chugging now !

Yeah, I'm pretty generous now.  At £1.19 for a bag, the cost isn't an issue 

I find Deox-C a bit easier easier than electrolysis for small stuff.

I always use my battery charger.
Works great!

Road trip with craigrk and his son Kyle to fetch a straight Chevy Straight 6 260ci motor, auto box and rear axle from a '53 Chevy truck to go into one if his three cars. The 47 Aerosedan or his wifes 49 or his 50 pickup truck.

Off to Colchester in Essex by 07.30 to meet them in Dartford and then onward.

The snow started just after I left home.

By the time we met.......

Craigs new to him 4x4 Ranger.



Slowly got more whited out. And speeds reduced quickly to below 50mph.



Happy days.








As we progressed the speed dropped right down to stop and start and an average of 25mph max.

Saw a lot of carnage and slippy stuff and cars in ditches with black ice.

But unable to stop on the motorway to change to high range four wheel drive despite trying on the fly.

Then from nowhere



With traffic as slow it was we took more than an hour longer than planned by Satnav.

Got there.

Loaded



Teenager waiting while we looked at Barry the selkers stuff.



Motor etc were in this before.



Making our way back the traffic was even worse.

Snow lovely though.



So this has taken 7 hours so far.

Craigs door to door including offloading the parts should take him to an 11 hour day.



Did we have fun

Yes we certainly have.

In the mean time I am now decided that Prozac is for sale and I want a 2x4 Super cab (not 4x4 Double cab) Ranger in reasonable condition.
Probably a Mk2 around 2002-2006 truck.

Interesting colour hoped for too.

Excellent choice in transport vehicle! As it's "new to you" I would recommend the following from one Ranger owner to another

Change the cambelt if it's not been done recently. 30min job if that, and I'd never even attempted one before owing mine.

Check the rad for signs of distortion, overheating is usually the only killer of these engines and 9/10 its the rad to blame, I changed mine last year when I found a small leak, when I removed it I found the rad had a nice curve to it...

Check the rear diff seal, they like to weep but it's a cheap and easy fix. Also the diffs like to rust and get pin hole leaks (in extreme examples) so clean and protect it ASAP as you cannot just replace the casing it'll be a whole new axle(which sucks)

Get the arch covers off and check for rust! Like yesterday! They rot like you wouldn't believe under those but if you catch it quick you can save the wings, I've just had one of mine replaced at great cost...

Finally, Milner4x4 are excellent for cheap parts. They also sell poly bush kits for these, which are well worth the investment, especially the front roll bar (which is not much at all)

Feel free to drop me a PM or get in touch is you need any help with anything. I've done most things to mine including clutch changes and the like and fitting parts from later MK3-4 rangers

This is a long shot.

But a worthy long shot because it is about keeping a car on the road.

My mate CraigRK has been offered a compete front axle for his 1950 Chevy truck that he is keeping standard.

Problem is that it is in Sheffield, he is down South near Guildford. The next few weeks to end May is crazy for him and he cannot collect and does not know anyone who can collect and hold it for him.

CAN ANYONE HELP PLEASE??

If so, please PM me or call Craig directly on +44 7718 526539

Message he sent me:

Do you know anyone in the Sheffield area who could collect and hold it. I’m not going to get there before end of May at the earliest
Happy to call him, but I don’t have anyone I could ask to hold it, so it would be a short conversation given his wife’s understandable sentiments.

This is where the axle is located: S10 5DP
Not sure if post code is right.



Photo of item.



Thank you all.

i have an old gunson battery charger which is 9amps, the needle flicked right off the scale when i tried electrolytic rust removal, charger got very hot. plus the solution is frothing like mad (which is hydrogen, dangerous) so it definitely needs calming