1941 Chevy G-4112 restoration

[forestry4evr]

Gentlemen,

Thanks for the kind words. Chad, you are doing great with your build. It wont be long before you are riding around. Dave, yes I am familiar with the poem/song Teddy Bears Picnic. Ironically my wife sings that song to make noise when we are out in the woods and it smells like bears may be near...seems to work as we haven't gotten mauled yet!


Another thread on this site inspired me to get my Chevy's out for a morning photo shoot. Always a blast to drive not only one but two of these old beasts.

Paul

[Frank USMC]

You should put a couch between the two of them....
Like my end tables?..

[forestry4evr]

Hey all,

Okay, so this is pretty neat! You know how the original GI fuel pump has the primer handle?


Image of G4112 fuel pump priming handle with spring.

I have never really done anything with this primer handle since the novelty wore off soon after installation several years ago. The other day I took Audra out for a nice long ride. She hadn't been out for several weeks nor has it been started. Around here, the fuel in the carburetor bowl will typically evaporate after a few weeks leading to longer cold start cranking as the fuel pump has to refill the carburetor bowl before the engine will start. If the truck sits for less than 3 or so weeks it starts quite easily. Yeah, I know, that means the truck isn't being driven enough. Anyway, I often hand prime a truck that has sat around for a period of time so that it does not have to crank longer than needed. My normal version of "priming" is to spray a short spurt of carburetor cleaner directly into the carburetor throat immediately before starting which allows the engine to fire a few seconds which typically is sufficient time for the fuel pump to replenish fuel into the carburetor. This time I thought I would just use the fuel pump primer. Well, it may seem obvious, but man that worked great! In spite of some of the engineering shortfalls on antique machinery, this feature is just so practical. Oftentimes folks will convert a 6-volt to 12-volt because of battery starting capacity issue complaints. The priming handle idea was a great method to work around the limiting factors of the 6-volt system while still providing suitable service.

Hope you all enjoy!

Paul

[forestry4evr]

Hey all,

Still no real "deep in the woods" mechanical or restoration items to report. Old Audra just seems to need just a reasonable amount of preventative maintenance to keep her clicking along. We went on a super nice fall drive yesterday, one of my favorite runs.



Here is a short (very short) clip of the Chevy grinding up a real steep section of switchbacks. Thought you "gearheads" would enjoy hearing the sound, third gear and pretty tightly wound up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aK-DIF4wTk

Enjoy!

Paul

[zippog506]

Hey Paul,
That has to be the shortest tease video on record. 5 seconds! Cmon. Beautiful pictures of the Carolina woods and subject! As nice as it is, I still like that winter forest shot the best. Great photography. I have taken several of my photo shots to Costco and gotten 2 x 3 posters for around $15.00. A very reasonable price. Keep the pictures and the videos coming for those of us whose chev's are still garage bound. Appreciative as always, Dave.

[42cargo]

Looks good, Paul!

John

[Tonywan Kanobby]

Paul. I swear ! You must have gone to the same school of videography I did ! And that's not a particularly good thing.

But hey, it's still cool, so keep it up.

Tony

[forestry4evr]

Paul. I swear ! You must have gone to the same school of videography I did ! And that's not a particularly good thing.

Tony

Wow Tony, that's cold...but unfortunately there is some level of truth. Yeah the video was so short it was more just a tease than a video. I requested to my videographer to take several 30 second clips but it seems that there was some communication disjunct. Maybe next time...

Weather forecast showed some dreaded four letter word starting with "S". Hope it doesn't end this years joyriding as they really salt the roads heavy where I live and Audra is on a no salt diet.

Hope you all get some time to play with your trucks!

Enjoy!

Paul

[Joe Gopan]

Paul, your hard work and craftsmanship is paying off. What's next after Chevrolets?

[forestry4evr]

Paul, your hard work and craftsmanship is paying off. What's next after Chevrolets?

Ah, the skies the limit! No plans right now. Thanks for the kind words.

[kelley]

I really didn't care for the video (it was too long), but those Chevy pics are really nice.

[forestry4evr]

Hey All,

The cold, snowy and especially salty conditions have essentially ended the driving season for old Audra. Taking advantage of this down time, I figured it was a good opportunity to swap out the 1942 transfer case in my early 1941 truck and install a correct numbers matching case I have had sitting around for 4 or 5 years.


Image of cleaned up nice November 1940 transfer case casting...thanks Phillip, who knew this could ever be sourced

The thought occurred to me that I had never replaced a G506 transfer case from below before as I always done them with a tractor when the truck cab was removed during restoration. A little fabrication was required to make a stand to hold the transfer case using my trusty old K-mart floor jack that I bought back when I was 15 years old!


Image of my fancy transfer case pedestal


Checking to see that I have proper upper and lower limits.


Tada!, brutally low-tech but it works.

The next order of business is to build a correct transfer case for an early model G506 which technically for the YP models are termed G4112 trucks. These first run trucks do not have the transfer case mounted parking brake drum as they were designed to have rear wheel parking brake systems similar to the civilian models at the time. There are exceptions of these less common transfer cases built without a parking brake exist on the telephone body trucks equipped with the midship winches made throughout the G506 production.

Now the fun starts. Getting all the pieces together for one of these gearboxes can be a challenge.


Image of just a small portion of all the pieces needed for reassembly.

Stayed tuned.

Paul

[Tonywan Kanobby]

Hey Paul.
That’s really cool. I’ll be following along and maybe be wanting to pick your brain on the Tcase rebuild. Picked one up recently from Dave and at the very least should grab up the bearings and seals necessary.
Looks like a nice lifting set up you have there. Careful, it’s heavy, at least to this ole dude. More than an SM420 anyway. Take it easy guy.

Tony

[forestry4evr]

Hey all,

Got a bit sidetracked. Progress is moving along with the transfer case project, or at least submitting images. A warm woodstove on a cold snowy morning has enticed me to take some screen time.

While assembling the parts for this project, I noticed that there was a disagreement in gears.


Image of helix gears. Note that there are three left and one right...

Consulted my handy Genuine Chevrolet first addition assembly manual to read:


Image of Chevrolet first addition assembly instructions.

Needed to source another right helix. Interesting to note that in this early box, it is possible to assemble the helix gears incorrectly unlike the later G506 versions that have the transmission/drive gear shaft integrated with the helix. If installed backwards, what would happen? Would it run backwards? Not really wanting to know the ramifications, I really wanted to be certain of the "left and right helix" descriptions so as a confirmation, the assembly diagram was consulted. Here is where it all gets a little interesting.


Image of first addition manual parts description. The constant mesh gears are highlighted.

Here is where things get confusing... A later 1942 G506 parts manual also has a part diagram. Notice the direction of the helix gears.


Image of 1942 G506 parts manual. Note helix gear directions as compared to the first addition manual.

A quick fact finding mission of actual parts reveals:


Image of drive gears. Right gear is from a G506 with the integrated shaft and helix for the external drum brake. Notice the direction of the helix.

Looks like I found an editing error in the 1942 G506 parts manual. Confused the devil out of me for a little while.

More to come...

[D.R.H.]

Hey Paul, that is a great catch you made. I have a transfer case that I need to disassemble and clean up. It has extremely low wear on it throughout. So I'll be remembering what you've found when I pull it apart.
Oh yeah, a wood burning stove does help take the bite out of the air in the more northern latitudes as well as provide a bit of positive motivation.