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your Trucks History


Brent B3B

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these bigger trucks sure got used. in getting the build card for mine, I learned it was ordered by the US Navy and afterwards it possibly served as a fire department fleet rig.

do you know the history of your truck or have a guess how it was used?

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  • 9 months later...

I still need to get the build card for mine. After I got mine home I was just looking through it and found a plastic envelope with proof of insurance and such from the owner before the guy I bought it from. Also in the envelope was a bunch of pictures. There was also a bill of sale for $200 dated in 1995. I suspect that was for tax purposes... or maybe he did buy it for $200. I am guessing at about that time (mid to late 90s) is also when the cab got painted silver. I know the previous owner never took the truck off his property and he owned if for about 7 years. He used it to build a gravel driveway on his property. This was all in the upper peninsula of Michigan. 

 

Then as I was cleaning up the flaking paint on the dump box I found it used to say "Coal." So at some point it mus have worked as a coal hauler. I am guessing that maybe this was also around the same area.

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  • 1 year later...

I still need to write in to SCA to request the build card for my truck as I think it would have a pretty interesting history being a 1948. All of the information I got from the previous owner about its history was that it was his grandpa's grain truck in Rexburg, Idaho. On the side of the passenger and driver's side door are: "L.V. Sorensen Rexburg, Idaho". I wasn't able to turn up much through internet search of the name or location so it might remain a mystery. It did have sides for grain hauling but they were fairly rotten so I pulled them off and will be replacing something with a little more visibility. The dump bed works great though!

 

I did discover from the serial # that it was the 618th B-1-J to roll off the line which I thought was pretty neat. It does however have a 251 flathead from a 1962 WM300 Powerwagon as its engine so I don't know if the original froze up in the Idaho cold and cracked or if the old worn out engine just got replaced. The carburetor is a little wonky and I'll have to ask some folks to help me figure out what's missing from it and where to get a rebuild kit if I can't find anything from a forum search. Its got a 5 speed with the strange shift pattern but I don't believe its any sort of overdrive, top speed is around 50mph (with iPhone gps) downhill. 

 

Thats all about the history I know on it but I'll be lurking around and asking questions as I fix up the truck that has been fitfully named "Clifford" because its a big red dog!

 

 

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  • 10 months later...
  • 10 months later...
On 9/22/2020 at 1:08 PM, wallytoo said:

a year late, but nice trucks, hayden and goddom!

 

this is my ‘48 b-1-fa-152 that i recently got back on the road after almost three years with a blown motor...

 

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Wallytoo, I know this is about a year late but welcome to the big boy club! You've got a great looking truck and more importantly, its being used! Mine unfortunately is still sitting waiting to be restored a bit but seeing yours gives me a little motivation to get wrenching on mine! Hope all is well!

 

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12 hours ago, Haydenh said:

 

Wallytoo, I know this is about a year late but welcome to the big boy club! You've got a great looking truck and more importantly, its being used! Mine unfortunately is still sitting waiting to be restored a bit but seeing yours gives me a little motivation to get wrenching on mine! Hope all is well!

 

Been also looking for an update on your truck Haydenh! ?

we need to get him back on the road.... 

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4 hours ago, Brent B3B said:

Been also looking for an update on your truck Haydenh! ?

we need to get him back on the road.... 

 Slow progress but I feel like I'll be able to focus a bit more time and effort on getting things back to road worthy condition on the weekends again. I tried using some MMO and it did seem like it made a little difference, but I'm not sure it made a big enough difference, at least the carb has been rebuilt I guess. So I'll check the distributor and wires and see if they're in ok shape. If its still struggling, smoking out of every filler and draft tube on it, and just not running right I'll have to tear into the engine.  Might not be a bad Idea just to get everything refreshed and maybe remove the old power wagon governor and long bolts for the carb. 

I luckily have a family friend who just retired that has extensive experience with the older vehicles that he used to wrench on with his dad (dad was a mechanic in the 30s and 40s) and I might be able to pick his brain about how to go about a rebuild. I definitely need to get the truck back out on the road within the next year or two!

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On 8/3/2021 at 10:23 PM, Haydenh said:

 

Wallytoo, I know this is about a year late but welcome to the big boy club! You've got a great looking truck and more importantly, its being used! Mine unfortunately is still sitting waiting to be restored a bit but seeing yours gives me a little motivation to get wrenching on mine! Hope all is well!

 

 

mine has been running great since getting it back on the road a year ago.  missed it for those 3 years after the rod end went through the side of the block.  but, it has been worth the wait.  i've put almost exactly 900 miles since then according to the odometer (more actual miles, because the odometer drops out regularly in 4 speed hi-range), so likely 1100 to 1200 miles in reality.

 

the replacement engine (251) runs nicely, and clearly has more power than the 237.  it does not start quite as nicely as the 237 did after sitting overnight, but once it has been started, it will restart quickly the rest of the day.

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13 hours ago, wallytoo said:

 

mine has been running great since getting it back on the road a year ago.  missed it for those 3 years after the rod end went through the side of the block.  but, it has been worth the wait.  i've put almost exactly 900 miles since then according to the odometer (more actual miles, because the odometer drops out regularly in 4 speed hi-range), so likely 1100 to 1200 miles in reality.

 

the replacement engine (251) runs nicely, and clearly has more power than the 237.  it does not start quite as nicely as the 237 did after sitting overnight, but once it has been started, it will restart quickly the rest of the day.

That’s interesting that the 251 doesn’t start as well. Maybe it’s something to do with the mechanical pump allowing gas to flow out of the carb? So does your truck have a 2 speed rear end?

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yes, it has the eaton 1350 2-speed vacuum shift.  i like it a lot.  makes the truck more driveable.

 

i should mention that the carb is the one from the 237; not sure why the starts aren’t as “instant”.

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