Just got a '43 G8T

[RickWG]

All 4 manuals showed up today (was beginning to wonder about that) so now I can move forward with the mechanicals. Going to borrow a friends 1in air impact over the weekend so I can get the lug nuts loose.

Kid (12yo) finishes school for the Summer break at the end of next week. She will be with me for 4 of the 8 weeks so she will be enlisted to work on the truck & gain some machanical aptitude & knowledge.

[68427vette]

you may want to check if the lugs are reversed thread on the driverside??/ before you start hammering...

[RickWG]

you may want to check if the lugs are reversed thread on the driverside??/ before you start hammering...

I already knew they were LH thread

[68427vette]

there were LOTs of parts on evil bay last i looked!!!

[RickWG]

Slowly working on dents & dings.. & getting the oilcan out of the roof....

[RickWG]

Headlight buckets undergoing resto (pics later), found tires in Long beach

Still need a starter handle/crank

[RickWG]

Good freaking grief.... Just had my own AutoZombie episode...

Today I was working on the headlights... get em all part, cleaned up a bit & head over to AutoZombie to get some lights....





Pimple Farm behind the counter decides to *help* me look for them.... They had FOUR round headlights in stock, 2 small, 2 large. I grab the large & ask for H4 fittings to go on the back. He finds them & asks how many I want...

Me: "Just a couple"

Pimple Farm: "So thats 2 headlights & 3 connectors then"

Me:"No, just two"

Pimple Farm: Oh,ok

[Bodger Baz]

truck looks good, we dont see vehicles survive so well in the UK, rust gets hold of them quick.

Whildt in Louisiane this week i spotted a G8T outside a hardware store, the body seemed to in good shape and the dashboard was still in place but no engine or transmission.

[RickWG]

[jmgpw]

Hi Rick,
Welcome to the world of the green machine. From the looks of your "find" I think you have a real diamond in the rough. Always liked those trucks. I think you should definitely try to restore it as close to original as you can.
You probably have found out by now but if not a few observations for you. The black button on the dash next to the panel light switch is the original starter button. The number on the dash data plate is the truck serial number. The number on the hood is the military registration number. The 2 numbers never match.
As for the 12 volt conversion, you can do that, but for the sake of originality I'd keep it 6 volt. You already have the starter and generator. If they are rebuilt and you put in a new harness anyway you'll have a head start on the right stuff. The naysayers may scoff but a good 6 volt system works fine. Alternators are great but there is nothing wrong with a good generator system either. By the way, all the old Fords of that era were positive ground.
Looks like the three holes in the left fender near Bubba's turn signal are for the blackout driving light. A bracket bolts to the three holes and the blackout drive light then bolts to the bracket. It looks like a mini headlight with a hood over it. I think the two holes over the headlights are for the blackout marker lights. They look kind of bullet shaped with an odd rectangular lens. The driving light was controlled by the blackout driving light switch on the dash. It would only go on when the normal light switch was pulled out to the first position. That would turn on the little bullet lights in the front and a pair of blackout lights in the rear ( built in with the military tail light setup). You can learn all about that stuff later. When you pull the headlight switch out to the second position that turns on the normal head and tail lights. You'll notice it won't pull past the first position. Before you can get the second position you have to depress the small button on the lower left of the switch in to the right and that will free the knob to come out to position 2. It's that way so in combat the headlights couldn't get switched on by mistake. If you keep the magic button depressed you can pull the switch out to a 3rd position. That allows only the brake lights to work if you don't want any other lights to show.
That's enough of my rambling for now.
Good luck with the truck and keep us posted,
John

[RickWG]

This one is defintely neg ground, so maybe the wiring has already been messed with. The 2 holes above the headlights are where I removed the guards yesterday to make getting the headlights back in a bit easier.

Just a quick bit of subterfuge with the lights as I had a city truck parked out front last week taking notes. Also going to hit the front of the truck with a couple of rattlecans to make it look slightly more presentable. Don't want them threatening to write me up for another derelict vehicle.

Fenders will be removed, straightened & reinstalled one at a time over the following weekends when the city guys aren't on the clock. Ditto with the grill. Need to reshape my treestump a bit before I start hammering on it.

Once it's all straight it can go to the paint shop. I can get it done at the local college for materials & pizza. Might even enroll for a semester & paint it myself. Easier than trying to rent a booth

[RickWG]

Open to offers on this truck, dealing with some pretty serious health issues.

[Sgt. Hancock]

Rick, great find! Did you know that your truck came with a Budd Mfg. bed? It is the same bed that the Chevy 1&1/2 ton was issued with. It would look great restored back to its' original glory. Good luck buddy, have fun and keep us abreast of your progress.

[RickWG]

As much as I'd like to carry on with this, it's just not possible. The health issues have just about cost me my home at this point, so I need to sell it like yesterday. 661 675 5750. Rick.

[RickWG]

14 months later & not one call....