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For years I have had Old Blue out in the back forty. It's a 1948 Ton and a Half 5 window Deluxe cab. It is very rough but, it's a 5 window Deluxe cab! So, this week I took it apart. I need another cab for a project truck and this one will work perfectly. It has a new style 235 in it too! For those of you who have never disassembled an entire truck before, it is for 56 year olds or lower! I am 57! It's VERY hard work and with titanium rods in my back, it's very slow going. In any case, my thought when looking at that daunting task was... Let's not and say we did! Here are a few things I learned that may help you along the way.
1) Besides wear gloves and sunscreen and use plenty of PB Blaster, The 1947 and 1948 Advance Design Cabs had only 3 places where the Cab is mounted to the Frame. Two in the front like all other years of this vintage, and only one in the center of the back. It is VERY hard to get to the back (nut side) of the bolts. There is no evidence of a mount from the inside of the cab. So, crawl underneath the truck (easier said than done) and slip a closed end 9/16" wrench between the very tight enclosure and the bottom of the cab. It's a blind area so you have to just feel around until you get it. Once the wrench is in place, because it's hard to keep it there, have your 1/2 drive impact with a 10 inch extension and a long 9/16" impact socket, remove the bolt. It is a stout bolt and very likely to break. It will take awhile so your arms will get very tired since the wrench does not like to cooperate. If you have two people, a breakover bar would be better since the goal is to break it off. It's about an inch and a half bolt so an inch or more that has rusted over 68 years. There are two bolts about 6 inches from each other that need to come out. They both broke off finally but not before lots of blood and sweat.
2) When taking the doors off of a 47 or 48 there is a little surprise for you. This was my first time removing the door hinges from those years. Every other 49-54 has a simple setup of three bolts and a little finagling to get it out of the cab. So when it would not come out I was wondering what Farmer John did somewhere in it's life with his arc welder. No, its a factory issue that is only present in 47/48. Another bolt down inside the middle of the cavity! I am very glad GM decided that is not a good idea and stopped doing that. The rust is bad back inside there and I was very lucky to get them out intact.
3) There is no 'inside the cab' gas tanks in 47-48, so the back of the cab has a nice metal shield around the back of it. I can see taking this metal valance off and cutting a hole for the tanks neck, but then there is the gas tank mountings and straps, etc. This project will have its gas tank under the bed!
I have probably taken over a hundred of these trucks apart for parts and/or restoration and never ran across these anomalies. Probably because it's not necessary to take hinges off to take the doors off, and it's rare I ever had to remove a cab. But when you do, here is the Heads Up! Seeya next week!
1) Besides wear gloves and sunscreen and use plenty of PB Blaster, The 1947 and 1948 Advance Design Cabs had only 3 places where the Cab is mounted to the Frame. Two in the front like all other years of this vintage, and only one in the center of the back. It is VERY hard to get to the back (nut side) of the bolts. There is no evidence of a mount from the inside of the cab. So, crawl underneath the truck (easier said than done) and slip a closed end 9/16" wrench between the very tight enclosure and the bottom of the cab. It's a blind area so you have to just feel around until you get it. Once the wrench is in place, because it's hard to keep it there, have your 1/2 drive impact with a 10 inch extension and a long 9/16" impact socket, remove the bolt. It is a stout bolt and very likely to break. It will take awhile so your arms will get very tired since the wrench does not like to cooperate. If you have two people, a breakover bar would be better since the goal is to break it off. It's about an inch and a half bolt so an inch or more that has rusted over 68 years. There are two bolts about 6 inches from each other that need to come out. They both broke off finally but not before lots of blood and sweat.
2) When taking the doors off of a 47 or 48 there is a little surprise for you. This was my first time removing the door hinges from those years. Every other 49-54 has a simple setup of three bolts and a little finagling to get it out of the cab. So when it would not come out I was wondering what Farmer John did somewhere in it's life with his arc welder. No, its a factory issue that is only present in 47/48. Another bolt down inside the middle of the cavity! I am very glad GM decided that is not a good idea and stopped doing that. The rust is bad back inside there and I was very lucky to get them out intact.
3) There is no 'inside the cab' gas tanks in 47-48, so the back of the cab has a nice metal shield around the back of it. I can see taking this metal valance off and cutting a hole for the tanks neck, but then there is the gas tank mountings and straps, etc. This project will have its gas tank under the bed!
I have probably taken over a hundred of these trucks apart for parts and/or restoration and never ran across these anomalies. Probably because it's not necessary to take hinges off to take the doors off, and it's rare I ever had to remove a cab. But when you do, here is the Heads Up! Seeya next week!
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