G503 Military Vehicle Message Forums

When I got this truck it was in very good shape. Missing some minor parts and a bed, but in excellent shape. Still had the original wiring harness, and all the lights and switches worked flawlessly. I was sad to take it apart!
Now that I have finished removing the old bed and begun to order parts, I figured I'd post some photos to show its progress and document the original parts that are still on it. I think the engine is a 1956 235. After she can get moving on her own, I'll work on the cosmetics which will not require a whole lot of labor, just attention to detail. The doors need the most work. The right window rolls up ok, but the left one is jammed. The cab skin is in perfect shape. No rust or cancer anywhere! Just a hole in the floor for the PTO lever.


This is when we picked up at the ranch it sat in for 20 years. You can see the dinky trailer we used to haul it (NOT RECOMMENDED!)







After a few hours with some emory cloth, I was able to recover most of the original paint and markings, which survived very well!







This is just before I started to strip everything out. You can see the dash is all complete minus the temp gauge.

Looks great. That is an outstanding find, and I really like the original markings. That would be outstanding if you could locate a vintage photo of your truck from one of the veteran band members.

Good luck!

The guy says one of the members has a photo of two trucks and two jeeps parked next to eachother. He has to borrow it and scan it for me. I am crossing my fingers!

F. R. Fox wrote:The guy says one of the members has a photo of two trucks and two jeeps parked next to eachother. He has to borrow it and scan it for me. I am crossing my fingers!

Right on! You probably feel like an expectant father...

Well, more like waiting to see if I have the winning lottery ticket............ "Expectant Father" would imply that I have a kid on the way, in which case my WWII hobby is over!

F. R. Fox wrote:Well, more like waiting to see if I have the winning lottery ticket............ "Expectant Father" would imply that I have a kid on the way, in which case my WWII hobby is over!

Just an analogy. Lottery ticket does have a nice ring to it as well!

Hi Farrell,

Thanks for posting the shots. Great to see your truck.

Are you going to be mounting a cargo bed on that or a dump?

John

That is the cargo truck. The dump truck is sitting next to it, not pictured. I'm picking up a cargo bed from Robin at Tower Park

That's great that you're getting that bed from Robin. If it's the one I'm thinking of, it's in really good shape.

Here's the link to some images of my cargo bed before I sold it. There's a shot of all the small parts like the mud flaps, braces and attaching hardware in case you need it for reference.

http://www.surfacezero.com/g503/showgal ... p?cat=1629" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

John

Been a while since I posted about the truck. We started working on the bed I got from Robin at Tower Park. Got it completely sand blasted, and primed. The 2nd day, we realized the stake pockets were filled with crap.




Couldn't get all of it, so we tipped it over. Glad we did! Ity was filled with rocks, dirt and all sorts of junk! After doing some touch up priming, we painted it!



You can see where I cut larger ovals below the stake pockets to aleviate any collection of water and debris.






This pig right here is a God send when sand blasting and painting!

Its nice to see a "Big" trophy being prepared for install! When large items like that are installed it is a very good feeling, along with it being good eye candy!

I noticed your U.S.A numbers are double stenciled like mine, they look like the older stencil is in a 4 inch format, while the newer stencil on top is a 2 inch format. I was lucky because someone got a big prybar and punched holes into the bottom of the stake pockets to prevent debris build up.

That is a nice compressor/shop for blasting, be sure to have your PPE!

I used as much of my old retaining hardware as I could, Try not to loose those Hex/Clutch screws for the data plates, Those are non-existant to my knowledge. Almost all of my original bolts have a "WC" marked on the head instead of modern hash marks. Does your dash say,"55 lbs"? The only place I noticed tire pressure values on my G7117 is on the front/axle inner splash panels, it was stenciled "Air 55".

Does it look like you have black paint in the "knooks n krannies" of the chassis?

Farrel, I am very happy to see you making progress with your Chevy. I think a big Happy Birthday is in order for your truck. I see that your data plate reads 9-42. Well it is Sept. 2012, she is 70 years old this month! .

I noticed your U.S.A numbers are double stenciled like mine, they look like the older stencil is in a 4 inch format, while the newer stencil on top is a 2 inch format.

I plan to replicate the larger numbers.

Does your dash say,"55 lbs"?

Sure does. It says "TIRE PRESSURE 55 LBS"

Does it look like you have black paint in the "knooks n krannies" of the chassis?

My chassis and cab and all of my small parts have black primer on them. You will notice on my hood next to the numbers the black primer peeking through the flaking paint. I didn't do the bed in black primer as I couldn't find any self etching primer in black .

The truck retains 99% of its nuts, bolts, screws and washers. It's pretty un-touched! Even all of th esupression system is still there. It is however missing the left and right splash shields. I've got most of everything for the bed including the up-rights and troop seats. I just haven't found any top bow corners yet.

Dave, I had not thought about it but you are right! I hope to have her done soon. I still need tires and a wiring harness. I cannot wait to drive her around!

I finally got to work on my truck after this long while. Unfortunately, it was short lived. The shop where it lives for now is receiving a new parking lot, and is set to get under way in just a few days. We were pressed to move her quickly. So we were forced to scrounge for good wheels to get her rolling!

When we first pushed her into the maintenance bay, my friend shrieked and started to yell all sorts of naughty words, cursing his brother. When I ran over to see what the trouble was, he pointed to my B.O. Drive light.....


His brother (the facility manager), got a wild hair up his a$$ and decided to move the truck him self the nite before, using a forklift. In his haste he smashed my light and guard. I spent about an hour fixing this mess. All of the spot welds were broken. The original Guid lamp has a crease in the hood that I will never be able to get out. I did fix the guard to where it was nice and straight again. The light looks fine aside from the crease in the hood from the guard smashing it.


The front tires were shot beyond all recognition. Luckily, the recent G518 trailer I found on Craigslist had good WW2 vintage tires that still held air! When we rolled her in the maintenance bay, I scratched my head and said, "well crap, I don't have a budd wrench!"........ No sooner did I utter those words that I stumbled on this.....


Pnumatic budd wrench! Booya! Made this job a 10 minute cake walk!


After that ordeal we jerry-rigged the bed onto the frame and got her ready for transport to her temporary home. (the girlfriend's house!)


We squeezed her onto this heavy duty trailer the shop has. The only crappy part is the ramp is short and almost vertical! We had to use a forklift to get her on.

After we got her to the girl's house we went and picked up a WW2 1,000 lb bomb I had found at an antique shop. (they thought it was a bbq) WTF?!..... This will go to a friend for his M-6 Bomb Service Truck restoration.





So far, I got the hydrovac rebuilt and ready to go, and I was able to acquire an original complete wiring harness for about $350! After she gets back to the ramp, and after a good washing from the recently repaired hot water pressure washer we have, I will work on the wheels and brakes. She will get all new wheel cylinders, master cylinder, and brake shoes.

I still have to save up for the ever increasingly expensive 7:50 x 20 tires. This is the most expensive chore on the list

Subscribed! Man I want one bad! I guess I'm gonna have to try to trade my Jeep to be able to afford one though.