What in Tarnation?

[deuce5wndw]

Gary you do the neatest projects! Love the truck and the woodie! I love the power of diesels also and have a couple of 7.3 Ford trucks. The new AACA magazine has a great article on diesel engines. Cummins entered one in the 1931 Indy 500 and finished 13th and did the whole race on one tank of fuel without stopping. They also drove a Cummins powered Auburn from NY to LA with a total cost of fuel $7.63!!!!

 

[Zeke3]

Cummins also put a Diesel on the pole for the 1952 Indy 500 race. Check out this video and compare the Cummins car to the others. Its a beautiful race car.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc3cN0SEPfE

 

[RKS.PA]

Zeke, that is a great video! Thank you for posting the link. Amazing that once running, there was nothing electrical going on in the car!!

 

[deuce5wndw]

Thanks for posting Zeke. You're right that is a beautiful car and very impressive performance.

 

[GB SISSON]

Hey Zeke, I gotta agree with the other fellas! I just did a search to post onto this thread and hadn't seen these. That car is gorgeous. I recently read a book 'The diesel oddesey of Clessie Cummins' . A great book and lots about the early racing and cross country jaunts in oil fueled flivvers. I came on here to give my latest report. This ol tonner has been my 'go to' rig all summer for any trip into town (24 mile round trip). I have spent the summer chasing down rattles and engine noise with a vengeance. Been lining the floors, hood ,firewall and anything else with dense , heavy stick on sound deadening. With amazing results. Once I got the engine noise under control I started chasing the squeaks and rattles. Yesterday it was bike innertubes on the tailgate chains (huge). Today I went to the lumberyard and hauled home a bunch of 2x stuff and it climbed our toughest hill accelerating in high gear. Like the race car my truck would run without a single electron except the fuel cut off is electric and it needs electrons to stay open. I could install a pull out stop cable instead, but I like the electricity for the lights and heater. This truck has been a really satisfying project and it pretty much does the town run on a gallon of fuel. Fuel gauge system needs some work before I can nail down the numbers, but at 210 cu in (3.4 liters) it does a tremendous amount of work for it's displacement. With seven 3" main bearings and six 2 1/4" rod bearings I probably won't wear it out soon. When I'm not out enjoying my tonner, or out in my boat, or working, or seeing the grandkids, I am slowly amassing the parts I need for trhe 255 cu in 8ba that I am planning to build this winter for the woodie wagon. My std merc crank has be machined to 10/20 and the block pressure tested and hope to drop at machine shop a week from Friday when I take the tonner off island on a 3 day diesel oddesey of my own. Gonna show that old country girl the mainland!

 

[Mart]

Great update, GB.

 

[cas3]

^^ agree, all good news

 

[GB SISSON]

I got home last night about 9:30 in the dark. The interstate portion of the trip was but 26 miles according to google. I unscrewed the speedometer cable because it's so far off with the GM trans etc. I had a great trip, saw some of my old engine/tractor show buddies at the work party we had. Here are some details relating to the first trip to the land of 40 mph plus. According to the treatise I downloaded about the development of the onan L634 aka cummins 6AT, it was designed from the ground up to produce electricity all day long at 3600 rpms. It was tested and rated at being able to overspeed up to 5000 rpms at short intrervals with no damage. I covered the 26 miles of interstate in exactly 27 minutes running between 2700 and 2800 rpms for the most part. I ran at 3100 for a while and there was plenty left over. This evening I looked at the Spicer chart showing rpms at various speeds. The specs I typed into their calculator were the following.... rear axle ratio 4.86, tire diameter 34", speed 60 mph. Typing in other speeds I came up with these numbers. 58 mph= 2860 rpms, 63 mph=3026 rpms, 75 mph=3602rpms. At these higher speeds the truck accelerated well. It was at full boost and responded very well to the throttle. I stopped at 3100 which is about 64-65 because I didn't feel the rest of the vtruck was up to it. I had hoped to install seat belts before the trip but worked late the night before. Anyway, it was a great success and well liked at the work party. On the way home I met up with a guy from craigslist selling an onan 2 cyl miller welder which I unloaded today into my trailer of unknown origin that uses a tonner axle without the third member. 5 on 6 7/8 pattern. It was easy to find where I parked in the ferry line. I don't know how the others find theirs when the come out of the mall. EDIT: 16.85 mpg

 

[cas3]

good story GB, great lookin truck, i am jealous !

 

[petehoovie]

I love this truck!!!

Life is good!

 

[GB SISSON]

Still my Go To rig. With so many other trucks, I rarely drive it in inclement weather. I did install electric wipers which ended up being a pair of boat windshield wipers. The one behind the glove box was so easy and the one behind (in front of) the instrument panel had me tearing my hair out. I finally got the sound insulation thick enough and that helped the winter heat as well. Somewhere around the end of August I was asked by the same cinematographer from LA if I would be willing to let them use this truck in a video made for two local brothers, 16 and 18 years old who are billed as 'Brograss'. The song is John Prine's 'Summers End'. Prine had just died of covid. I told my friend Geoff, Yes that would be fun. A few days later we met at 6am at the Doe Day fire hall to begin filming. The 18 yr old drove the truck through many shoots over the next three days. He was raised to drive a stick so had no problems whatsoever. It's been a while, but Geoff is a real stickler and won't send a teaser until it is just right. Hope to share this video with you soon. It is quite a song and video if anyone cares to see the original version of 'summer's end', by John Prine. Here are some random pics of this project. The middle one is my kid and me. He doeas all the fine work that I can't see, like changing glow plugs way down under the manifolds..... I will also add one of the VERY foggy morning in August at the fire hall where we started filming.... Still gotta download the foggy morning one. Maybe tomorrow. Why do I have to always write a damn novel?

 

[petehoovie]

"Here are some random pics of this project. The middle one is my kid and me. He doeas all the fine work that I can't see, like changing glow plugs way down under the manifolds..... I will also add one of the VERY foggy morning in August at the fire hall where we started filming.... Still gotta download the foggy morning one. Maybe tomorrow."

 

[cas3]

great lookin truck GB. in about 1978 or so, i was living in an old cabin outside LA. and we were approached about filming a breakfast cereal commercial at the place featuring grizzly adams. it was a dreary drizzly day, and in the mix truck, about 10 small tv screens, they could make it a blue sky sunny day. me and my buddy's had lotsa fun, and made a little money to boot. grizzly was bitten by the racoon, a deer wouldnt stand still, and when they finally got a good shot one of our cats would run through the background . CUT was shouted, and grizzly was pissed. he was a jerk, showed up in a ferrari, and spent much of the day in his trailer doing god knows what. fun for us hillbillys to see a hollywood production. cant wait to see your rig in the video. sorry for the drift, just a little humor for the folks

 

[Sid the Maineiac]

I have thoroughly enjoyed your build of this tonner and the antics that got you there !lol
I hope no one is offended because it is not "pure " but a variation of possibilities for all to
muse and enjoy!If you don't enjoy, just skip it ! Always enjoy your offerings ,GB, keep
them coming and enjoy the hell out of your new ride !

 

[GB SISSON]

Thank you Sid. I'm thinking I started this thread primarily about installing the diesel engine, but many of you may not know much else about this tonner. About 5 years ago I was at the Portland Or swap meet with a buddy. He called me and said he found a 47 one ton. I only wanted an express so I asked if it was a pickup or stake or what. He said cab and chassis. Of course I still had to look. I saw long running boards and the bed sides ratchet strapped flat on the frame rails, along with the head board and tailgate. The rear fenders and other parts were stacked with the junk behind it. It was titled in Oregon but had the original pink slip from 1947. First owner was Rimrock Lodge, Old Station California. They are still in business with a bunch of small wooden cabins and a general store. I made the deal and met the seller half way in Centralia Wa. a few weeks later. Some assembly required. I had seen a red tonner, all original, faded paint for ten grand in Texas. I couldn't swing it and then the shipping. But it stayed on my mind. I knew I could re-create it with this. Also I had sold my faded red 38 tonner daily driver 15 years earlier after my divorce to help finance buying my house and property back. I just had to 'get my tonner back'.....

 

[flatford8]

Gary.....in post #152, is that a wooden phone booth behind you?.......Mark
I love your truck!!!

 

[truckdog62563]

Rear fender envy! I need a set for the tonner MH. Do you have the market cornered on rust free Jailbar Express bed pieces Gary? Stu

 

[GB SISSON]

Gary.....in post #152, is that a wooden phone booth behind you?.......Mark

No Mark, it's a bread display/sales rack I made for our grocery store from reclaimed wall studs salvaged from a 1906 house. The wood shelves are out of it in that picture. And Stu, I just have the market cornered in Western Washington. I have one more tonner PU that has decent fenders, but they are attached to a pretty nice truck. One day It will get that nice red H six in the corner of my shop.

 

[truckdog62563]

I hope this year (post vaccinations) will allow me to get back to yard visits. Seems the northwest is where these things are best preserved. I have an extra Express bed, but of course it has the 48-52 fender studs. They can be relocated to accommodate the earlier fenders. But first comes freshening up the mechanicals, so body pieces aren’t the first priority right now. Stu

 

[petehoovie]

No Mark, it's a bread display/sales rack I made for our grocery store from reclaimed wall studs salvaged from a 1906 house. The wood shelves are out of it in that picture.