In A&P school, and Auto Shop IIRC, we were taught to do three measurements at top, middle and bottom. All the engines were donated, the instructor had seen the measurements for years, and had a pretty good idea if we were doing it right. Mr. Barber was a great instructor.
my dad had a 67 bronco with the 3 on the tree and the vacuum wipers. 289 V8. thing would go anywhere. would rattle quite a bit though and was prone to rusting out in a few areas, esp where the top bolted to the body.
bet you wish you had that now.
The 48 Chevy wasn’t the first truck I owned. The first was a1937 Ford 1/2 ton with a 65 hp V8. I paid a whole $15.00 for it. Next came a 1951 Chevy 1 ton (3800) with a 10’ box. It was my favorite, but too big to get into the garage. I hated having to scrape the windows every morning before driving to work.
They were rusting when they left the factory. Surprised that isn't a normal rust area like some other areas.
I had a 53 Chevy PU when I bought the 46. put the 230 6 cyl from the 53 in the 46. the 46 also had the awful oleo swingarm "shock absorbers". I cut the shock mounts off the frame of the 53 and welded them to the 46, then swapped both axles. this gave the 46 a much wider stance and a better ride. that 230 6 cyl idled so smooth that you could be standing next to the truck couldn't hear it. the steel was so thick on them both that you could pound on the fenders with your fist as hard as you could, and they wouldn't dent. being rounded also helped I suppose. sometime after the picture above was taken, I painted the 46 Corvette Sunfire Yellow. when I was prepping for the paint job, I found a few small spots that had lead body filler. had never seen that before or since.
HS buddy had the SS hard top, 4 speed. I tried to tell him he should never sell it. Two weeks after he did, to a 16 yo, kid wrapped it around a phone pole. Even though it was a GTA, sure wish I had ended up with my Dad's '67 Mustang.
This talk of old trucks has me thinking about another project I bought about year ago. Picked up a '37 dodge truck. Kind of a cobble together project truck, new modern rear end with disc brakes, modern front end under it. Found the 300 inline six and mating 5 speed gearbox for it now. Just need to get started on it! lol.
