G506 Class 525 (G7133) restore

[jeffhuey1n]

Started working in the engine bay and found I need to reach both side; inside the cab and inside the engine bay. Door does not want to come off easy

 

[nattieleather]

So, are you going to restore it as a fire truck in it's original configuration as it came from the factories or are you just going to set it up as a cargo trucK?

 

[jeffhuey1n]

Fire truck,but not in its original configuration. I don’t have a bed for it so returning it to a cargo configuration won’t work. I’ll be able to use its original tank support, hose reels, etc. however, the big water pump up front is broken and is removed. Getting a replacement will be difficult. I want the truck to be parade ready by July.

 

[jeffhuey1n]

Yesterday I pulled the drivers door in order to have one hand on the bolt head under the dash and one hand on the nut on the firewall. Loads of fun! Since I’m getting the firewall cleaned up, I figure pulling the dash will help. One thing I found amusing, there were three turn signal switches; two on the firewall and one under the dash. Every time it quit working they musta just wired in a new one .

 

[m1010plowboy]

Hey, there's something wrong with your pictures. All the rust holes under the windshield molding, rust in the bottom of the doors, the window tracks, even the hole in the floor with that transmission looking thing is missing details like loads of dirt packed around leaky seals. You're even missing the rust from the back corner of the drivers door. Yes sir, something wrong with the pictures.

Dag nabbit Jack Daniels you've found yourself a very unusual and special truck. That skin on the inside of the door looks new. That should make my work load for getting this on the road a little easier. Not as much clean up as I thought we'd have. How far are we going with this tear down? I'm getting kinda anxious to start putting it back together already.

 

[jeffhuey1n]

I’m going to pull the firewall components and get rid of all the white/red paint. After that, the cab will get cleaned up and finally the frame. Then I’ll put her back together and paint her OD just like during the war. At that point I’ll start rebuilding the bed/water tank/etc to get her looking like a fire truck again.

 

[jeffhuey1n]

Not much done today. Got the voltage regulator and one of the stray voltage boxes off the firewall. Got most of the insulation hardware off the drivers side, getting the center is going to require inventiveness. There’s oil lines and stuff in the way of the screws holding the fire extinguisher bracket. As they say, “adapt, improvise and overcome”.

 

[jeffhuey1n]

It’s been too darn cold the last few days. Throw in a migraine that lasted two days... nothing got done. Got out today to continue the campaign to eliminate all white and red paint. I pulled the glove box door then removed the glove box. Everything came apart fairly easy. Also going after the removable dash parts that get in the way of depainting the cab/dashboard.

 

[jeffhuey1n]

Continuing the disassembly of the dashboard. Got the steering wheel off and I’m going across the dash, removing pieces parts to get at the whole dash to make all that white paint go away. Note: according to David Doyle’s book about the G506, all models of the Chevy 1.5 ton have 3 spoke steering wheels. My steering wheel has 4 spokes. Some sneaky bugger installed a bomb service truck’s steering wheel, which had 4 spoke steering wheels. The 4 spoke ones look better IMHO.

 

[jeffhuey1n]

What a pain. No really, I hate working behind the dash. I can say that this project has been properly christened because I cut my hands and bled all over it . Anyway, got the instrument cluster disassembled. The temp gauge is kicking my backside. Just can’t figure out how to disconnect it. And the manual isn’t very helpful. So, the instrument panel removed, check. The switch panel removed, check. Removed two trim pieces outboard of the dash removed, check. All the wiring has been disconnected. All the support brackets are disconnected or removed. I can get the dash to move a little but I missed something underneath. I’m done for the night... got to get the first aid kit out and patch my hard earned wounds.

 

[m1010plowboy]

I recall that one day I didn't bleed working on something with a motor. To fast strong, too slow smart. Might need to use that theory on the temp gauge. If you don't get it I'll follow up with the guru but I think it's a violent pull.

Grew up around the 40's chevs so really appreciate seeing those dash pics. That curve sure kicks the motivation in gear to find a dash like that I can sit behind. Keep those pics coming!

 

[jeffhuey1n]

Finally got the dashboard out. Had to remove the steering gearbox mount bolts. The dash has to rotate up in order to clear everything under it and the steering column was in the way. Tried to do things a bit easy and just remove the pitman arm... nope, not going to happen. Pics below. No rust at all on the dash metal. There’s some surface rust around the vent that’ll need cleanup. Have to get the insulation removed as well as the fire extinguisher bracket. Once all that is removed I can finish getting the firewall cleaned up. After that, time to get serious about paint and greasy, oily dirt removed. I’m hoping I can start painting within the month but that’ll depend on the weather.

 

[nattieleather]

Could your steering wheel be from a CCKW? The truck might have gone through a depot rebuild at some point and the 4 spoke wheel was put on....you know grab one from the pile of parts kind of thing?

 

[hndrsonj]

Where's the updated progress pictures Jeff? It was just a little snow.....

 

[jeffhuey1n]

Could your steering wheel be from a CCKW? The truck might have gone through a depot rebuild at some point and the 4 spoke wheel was put on....you know grab one from the pile of parts kind of thing?

Not sure if it’s a CCKW wheel. If I find a part number, I’ll see what I can find out about it.

 

[jeffhuey1n]

Where's the updated progress pictures Jeff? It was just a little snow.....

Just a little snow? How’d you fare?

 

[hndrsonj]

Just a little snow? How’d you fare?

Well you can't even see the back gate, the CONEX has about 4' in front of it, and the doghouse has snow halfway up the roof.

 

[jeffhuey1n]

Well you can't even see the back gate, the CONEX has about 4' in front of it, and the doghouse has snow halfway up the roof.

Just another sunny day in paradise!

 

[jeffhuey1n]

Nothing done due to the snow. I get migraines from too much light exposure. With all the snow and bright sunny but cold days, it’s brutal going outside. Hopefully the snow will be gone enough for me to get back to work today.

 

[jeffhuey1n]

Finally got out and get some stuff done. Got the fire extinguisher bracket off, dash supports and oil filter assembly. The firewall is pretty nasty so there’s going to be some heavy cleanup before too long. Getting what few pieces left to get out of the way to I can get the sound proofing removed. I’ll be painting over the white as there’s no feasible way of removing the white paint. The rust around the vent is going to require some work. The rust is only on the surface but nows the time to clean up the area. Pics: