My Dad is 35Mike and he has been working on a 36 truck for a while now. Today it went on it's maiden voyage And I thought you guys would like to see all of the progress that he has made on a really cool project.

In 2005 my Dad and a friend of his found a cool truck and trailer in a field in Mo. The Truck was pretty far gone but the fifth wheel and trailer were very savable.

My Dad stared looking for a 36 truck to go with the trailer and found a great truck in south western Kansas. It was a 36 low roof 1 1/2 ton truck the only problem was that it had the wrong wheelbase. The truck was so nice, rust free, straight and original that he figured the wheel base could be changed.

As soon as he got the truck home he got it running but it did not seem to have much compression. This did not stop him from taking a ride around the field at my grandparents farm with no brakes. After this short ride the truck was stored for a while and was only worked on from time to time. But all the while my dad was gathering parts and making plans for the truck.

His plan was to remove the hoist and then shorten the frame 26 inches to make it into the short wheelbase model like the original. The head had been removed to find a number of burnt valves and was fixed with NOS pieces. King pins were replaced and the brakes were completely gone through.

A few months ago he moved the truck to Show Me Powder Coating his business so he could work on it inside where there was a lot more room and he could do things after work without having to go too far to get to it. Things started to move pretty fast at this point and there were a number of things on the truck that were not able to be finished until the truck was shortened.

So plans were made and with the help of my Dad's good friend Joel they got the truck to it's current shortened state in one Saturday morning and a few hours in the afternoon. The only piece they needed to do this was a shorter intermediate drive shaft and it happened to be one of the only pieces that was still salvageable from the original truck.

With the truck short the brakes could be finished and the motor was almost back together. In the last few weeks he has gotten a ton of things done. The back rest was recovered as it was the worst of all of the cushions. Before he got the motor all back together it was washed to get all of the years of grime off, the whole rear end was washed as well. A new windshield was installed as was the manifold and carb and exhaust. The motor started easily which was nice because he ended up putting new standard rings and checking rod clearances while it was apart. The pan and all of the engine tin was powder coated while it was off.

I live in WI and came down for a week visit yesterday and today my girls and I went to my Dad's shop to see the '36 and have my girls go for a ride.

I grew up around old cars, I rode home from the hospital in my folks '35 Standard Coupe. My first vehicle was a '38 one ton truck that was my sole transportation for a few years (I still have my 38). A few years ago I was in a bicycle accident that left me paralyzed, one of the things that I had come to terms with after my accident was the fact that I would not be taking many rides in prewar vehicles and this big truck was no exception.

My Dad had other plans. With the passenger side door removed and the use of a fork lift with a piece of plywood on the forks I was raised to the perfect height to hop right in. I was proud to be the first to take a real ride in the truck on it's maiden voyage. It rides a little rougher than my 38 (which I was not sure was possible) but what a great ride it was. We made a trip around the shop in the grass and then we took to the road to see if all of the gears really worked. Just as we were about to pull out onto the road I said "We are about to find out how round these tires are." The answer is not that round. It seemed to have plenty of power and zipped right through the gears as we ran down the road and the brakes seemed to work well. After we got back my girls all had a ride or two and I think it was quite a success!

There is more to come, the hood will be back on soon as well as the passenger side door, there is a new wiring harness that was waiting for the truck to be shortened, all of the vacuum brake parts that were on the original truck will be transferred to the this truck as they are redone. The next big step will be to mount the fifth wheel, it will need some oak cribbing under it but other than that it should not be much trouble.

The trailer is now rolling and the lift gear is freed up, there is still no deck on the trailer but the only thing keeping the two apart once the fifth wheel is on is distance. It should be quite a sight to see this rig running down the road again.

This is the original rig as it was found






This is the rig on moving day with every thing cleared away and off of it.








This is the new Truck (tractor)

More Pictures



This is the hoist that was removed from the truck

SHORT!








Here is som engine progress

More of the truck











New seat back cover, the seat bottoms will be next

Going for a ride!

WOW! Congrats!
Best Wishes, Don

Sam
Your dad and his offsider have done a good job and will be a something different when completed as I dont know of many early truck and trailer restorations.
Tony

Thanks guys. We are really looking forward to seeing the trailer hooked up again!

We set the fifth wheel on the truck for a minute last Sunday. Then pulled it back off to free up the latching mechanism and make sure it was working the way it should. We thought that it would not be a very good deal if the trailer came unhooked while running down the road.

It came apart easily considering how long it was in the field. There were two springs that had broken/rotted away that made it work the way it should. Moving pieces are going to get cleaned up and painted.

The way that it was mounted to the original truck left a bit to be desired. So we are not sure if we will use the mounting plate that came with it or do something different.

Here a a few pictures of it apart.

Your Dad, whom I have had the pleasure of dealing with and talking to, has done a great job. Thank you for taking the time to share this with us.
Richard

Great photos, thanks for sharing. And a great truck! We never get to see a rig like this. Please make sure and post lots of photos when this is done. And very cool, that you got the ride.

I think we might reasonably call this "An Ambitious Project!"

My Dad has quite a few old cars but it has been a while sense he had one that was ready to go, the fact that it is a truck is a big plus.

We got a few other things done while I was down. We rebuilt the carb and got the vacuum wiper motor working.

The exhaust is now on and done, it is way quieter than I remember my 38 being.


We got the hood windless on.

I just talked to my Pop to get the update on the truck for the day.

He got the passenger door hung but it looks like the wood in the cab is going to have to be replaced at some point. It is on and closes ok.

A plan for the mounting plate for the fifth wheel has been made and it out at the welders.

He got the the big pivot free on the fifth wheel. It was the last thing that needed to do before it went back together. it took a bunch of soaking and heat to come free.

A more final valve adjustment was made, so now the hood can go back on.

After we had the carb apart it ran better but was still not wanting to idle down like it should. It does not seem to be using the idle circuit. Just to cover the bases he put on a new set of plugs and checked the point gap and timing. The timing adjustment seemed to help but it is not quite right.

Next on the list is a good drive to get every thing up to temp for a good shake down run. After that he is going to reevaluate the carb situation.

Sorry no pictures today but he did not have a camera with him. I will be back down in the middle of Sep. and will take a bunch of updated pictures. I am planing on driving my 62 Corvair Monza Wagon down so I will post a picture of it for you guys. I think we might have to pull it up on the trailer for a Russell family picture!

Great pictures. I'll bet your Dad can't wait to give the grandkids a ride in it. I know mine enjoy my car.

I called for the update last night and the plan is to swap out the wiring harness today with an NOS cloth harness. The original is in bad shape and has been cut in a few places. We already put new wiring in the headlights and polished the reflectors as best we could. Wish him luck, it is job that is not much fun.

As I said the first part of the day turned out to be a bit frustrating as my Dad did not have a large enough flat head screw driver to remove the dash and it took a few trips out to find just the right thing. He did get some head way made though.

The steering wheel was pulled to replace the horn contact in the mast jacket and make more room to work in the cab.

The gauges were removed and cleaned. He had replaced a bad temp gauge and cleaned it while it was apart. This really made the other two look shabby in comparison.

Most of the wiring behind the dash is done. Tomorrow he is hoping to finish most of it up so he can start tasting every thing.

The oil bath air cleaner got cleaned and the mesh element has been soaking in gas and should be ready to go back together with fresh oil any time.

The original truck was set up with vacuum brake hook ups and controls. There was a hand operated trailer brake control on the column. My Dad was not sure if it could be saved but when it came apart it was not that bad. It is a Vel-vac unit if any one has any in site or advice they might want to pass along we would love the help. You can see it in this picture.

The truck is 2/3s wired. The dash is reinstalled with all of the gauges cleaned and looking nice. The speedo gauge face had a stain on it that would not come off so it was swapped for a better one.

The steering wheel is back with a new horn contact installed. The horn button that my Dad was going to use seems to have contacts that are a bit to short so he is going to look for one that will work. Every thing seems to work when he uses a wire to test the horn.

The motor is mostly wired, enough that he was able to start it.

The things that still need to be done are, generator, front and rear lights and fuel sender. The brake light switch needed different connectors so he is going to replace it with a new one.

My Dad took a few photos but left the camera at work, so when they are available I will share them here.

While looking around on ebay for Fruehauf stuff we stumbled on a photo with a truck and trailer almost just like this rig. Pretty Cool!

The horn itself is on and hooked up as well as the headlight wires. The lights are not working yet but my Dad thinks he knows what the trouble is.

The horn is still giving trouble and instead of pulling every thing back apart he is going to lengthen the contacts on the button.

The generator was hooked up but it does not seem to be working. A replacement will be at the shop tomorrow with all the pieces that will be needed to get it in tip top shape.

Here are a few pictures of the dash all back together with the cleaned up gauges.

Did you polarize the generator first?

I am not sure if he did or not. Do you have to polarize a cut out the same way you would a regulator?

I just changed that last post after talking to my Dad in the phone. He had an extra correct generator that came off of his 35 standard that needed to be fixed any way. He figured the worst that could happen is that it goes on the 35 when done.

Yes.

Man that would have been nice, but it is still not working. The replacement should be done soon I hope.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Lots of ground issues that my Dad is chasing down trying to get the lights to work the way they should. He now has the head light bucket grounded well but transferring that ground to the reflector is proving to be a pain.

If anyone has any insight on how the reflector is supposed to be grounded to the head light bucket we would love to here about it. It seems like a system that would not have worked that great even when every thing was brand new.

Here a few links to videos of the truck in action.

This is the first ride in the truck.

This is us pulling back in the shop, if you look closely you can see day light under both front wheels as we bump up on the concrete.

This is the truck soon after my Dad got it.

The parts for the fifth wheel are finally back from blaster. Now all they need is a little pant and the fifth wheel will be back together.

The time is getting short to get the truck on the road. My Dad is hoping to have the truck and trailer at the local steam show in a couple of weeks.

These are really great! I know not too many people are posting anything - but I bet there are a whole bunch of us watching and following your story. Keep it coming! Love the videos.

What are the plans for the trailer? What's it going to look like?

Thanks.

I guess I have not said much about the trailer. From every thing we have been able to find (witch is not much) it is a 36 or 35 trailer. When they drug it out of the field one of the wheels was locked up as was the landing gear. They got both free and moving well. The trailer uses the same wheels and tires as the truck and my Dad has enough mounted for the truck and trailer and a spare for each.

It would have had a flat deck on it with boards running length ways on the trailer. He is hopping to have the deck material sawed out of old phone poles at the steam show as they have a working saw mill.

The trailer has only single wheels mounted on it right now but other than that it is ready to be hitched up to and go for a drive.

All of the vacuum mechanical brake components are there on the trailer and the plan is to get them working at some point.

Here are some more pictures of the trailer when they got it.

The mounting plate for the fifth wheel is back from the shop and is not quite what we had in mind but it will have to work for now.

The latch parts for the fifth wheel are back from the blaster and are painted.

My Dad has is hoping to get quite a bit done on the truck tomorrow. I think the main things on the list are sorting the lights and mocking up the fifth wheel so the mounting holes can be drilled.

Wish him luck!

I check into you post everytime you post something. Really enjoy it. You guys are doing a great job. Wishing your Dad lots of luck.

Glad to know that people are enjoying the coverage!

I just got an update on some of todays progress.

All of the lights are working. The headlights turned out to be a real pain, the harness in the lights was not staying where it should. Some of the wire in the sockets were being allowed to touch witch caused havoc. After sorting this out the park lights work as they should and the headlights seem as bright as you could ask for. He did forget to check to see if the dash lights are working.

The tail lights went better. A matching second light on the passenger side was added and they are both wired up and working with the new brake light switch. At some point turn signals will be added but for now it is old school all the way.

All that is left it hooking up the gas gauge, installing the rebuilt generator and cut out and repairing one fuse holder under the dash. When this is done it all of the electrical will be fully operational!

When I talked to him he was headed to assemble the fifth wheel and install it on the mounting plate. One bolt was broken off during disassembly but it broke with quite a bit of it exposed, hopefully it will come out with out two much trouble. After this he will need to make a pair of wood stringers to go between the plate and the frame before final install.

This coming weekend is the Steam show, lots of small stuff to do!!

Here is the drivers side light before wiring.

Last update for the long weekend.

The fifth wheel latching mechanism is back together. There is a big spring that had rotted off that proved hard replace. In the end three starter solenoid springs stacked seem to fit the bill. My Dad is not sure it is going to work but I think that it is going to work great . We will find out when the truck backs up to the trailer for the first time.

The hunt for just the right spring/springs ended up taking most of the evening. Still need to remove the broken bolt and drill 16 big mounting holes. 4 Days to Go

Well today we have progress and a set back.

My Dad finished up the wiring under the dash by fixing the broken fuse holder. He also hooked up the gas tank sender witch went a bit crazy. He is going to look into that shortly.

He also got the mounting plate marked and made some oak stringers to go between the fifth wheel and the frame.

With the under dash stuff done, working lights and the all important insurance taken care of he went for a shake down cruse. And what a shake down it was. The rear tires are not round and the fact that the truck has no weight on it and the short wheel base made for a loud and bumpy ride. He took it to the gas station to add some fuel and then headed back to the shop, along the way he could smell fuel. Back at the shop he found that the tank must have hole that is up on the side of the tank. After draining a few gallons of fuel out the leek stopped. He is not going to worry about this for now as the rig will be trailered in and it will just be creeping around the show.

The other thing that gave trouble was the carb, it did not want to stay running at idle and seemed bad at every thing except running down the road. He is going to try a later carb as a next step.

When I talked with him he was hoping to pick up the repaired generator and the long bolts that will hold on the fifth wheel.

Just a few day left!

When I talked to my Dad after work today he was following the truck as it was being trailered to get the fifth wheel installed. They have to drill a bunch of holes and bolt every thing together. The generator is fixed and may get installed tonight as well.

Oh man we are getting close!

Generator is on and working well and the fifth wheel is 90% mounted.

After work today they have to redo some of the holes and bolts and it is ready to hook up to the trailer tonight. I have been promised some pictures of the event and maybe a video. We shall see if the old guys can work the camera!!

Here are a few pictures of last nights progress.

The two are one once again

When my Dad got to the truck this afternoon they installed the last few bolts and then it was off to the trailer.

Vid #1

Vid #2

Vid #3

Vid #4

Vid #5

That's Awesome! When is the last time that trailer moved?

Best we can tell over 60 years ago!

Sam,

Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures and videos. I nominate this for the "best topic/thread of the year". You have provided some very interesting and enjoyable information. Keep the progress coverage going. Since I know your dad and have visited him at home, with the '35 coupe, and been at the shop, it is even more interesting. I'm looking forward to the next trip to St. Louis so I can stop by and see the truck first hand.

Jerry, I remember sitting in Howard's 34 when I was a little kid, kept me from touching all of the cool clocks in his shop while he and my Dad talked. So glad that it has gone to a loving home and glad you like the thread!

I spoke with my Pop and they got the outside duels mounted and it is ready to be loaded for the steam show this weekend. It sure looks like it should, can't wait to see it with a deck on one of these days!

The Fruehauf trailer and it's original '36 truck were purchased in about 2006. We moved them to Joel's house and parked the trailer in the spot where it remained until tonight.
My memory of our conversation with the seller is that the rig was loaned to a neighbor, sometime in the early 50's. The truck came home with a ruined engine and was parked in the spot where we found it in 2006.
Since tonights's pics and videos, outside duals have been installed and it really looks like a trailer now.
Tomorrow night... load the Fruehauf on my brothers gooseneck trailer, load the '36 on Joel's trailer, be ready to pull out for the steam engine/tractor show first thing Saturday morning.

Mike

Ready for the show!

Before


After


Loading

That's real progress!
Richard

Hey Everybody,
The truck and trailer went to the steam engine and tractor show this weekend and was a HUGE hit. People loved them and seemed to understand and appreciate my "Barn Find " theme.
The truck performed admirably, always started and stopped when requested to do so, and made it through the parades both Saturday and Sunday without stalling or overheating.
I do, however, seem to have a slight rod knock and a rather sizable oil leak at the timing cover seal.
My transmission top has considerable wear and it is sometimes difficult to find low or granny low gears in all that sloppyness. I guess I will be looking through my extra transmissions to see if I have a tighter top. Anyone got a procedure for refurbishing the shift tower area??
It took two trucks and trailers to get us there and back. Luckily it was only about 19 miles away.
My friend, Richard, was there with his nicely restored 1929 Chevy wrecker. It has always been a wrecker, not something made up during restoration. I wish I had thought to get a photo for you guys. I will try to stop by his house and take some pics some time soon. He also has the COOLEST unrestored 1928 LP 1 ton on the planet. I'll get some snaps of it also.
I will continue to work on the '36 seats, glass, etc. while I consider my options with the engine.
ALSO, I suspect that my light switch has given up. It is a truck only, 1936 only item. Anyone got an NOS one out there to sell or trade for something I might have? I will post in the classifieds.
Sam might be posting another little video from the show.

Mike

Sorry it has taken so long for another update.

I was down this weekend in my Corvair and got the see the rig in person, it sure is nice.

My Dad has there local car show this coming weekend that the truck will be at. After that is will go back to his shop for some more work. The gas tank needs some work, it needs a new light switch, the front cover is leaking oil, the cab mounts need work, both of the doors need new glass, and it seems to have slight rod knock at idle.

Here is the truck at the steam show. The 40 COE school bus next to it is my uncles.

Here is a Vid of the truck on the move.

More work is being done on the truck.

My dad has the gas tank out of the truck and found the the top half of the tank has quite a bit of rust holes. He is going to look for another tank but may just get the original repaired.

He has been trying to hunt down the engine knock and has yet to figure out which rod if any is the culprit. The front cover has a leak so when that is part he will check every thing there.

The rear cab mounts are also on the list while the tank is out, this should help with door fit.

And last the hand brake is all hooked up and working as it should.

I dismantled the doors to install new glass and channel. I could only find one of my clutch head screw drivers, I believe it is the 5/32. It was too small for the screws in the '36 but I had no choice but to use it.
The drivers door was missing the trim piece at the top so I thought I would go out to Mom's woods and harvest the trim and some extra screws from the old '38 parts truck. I was armed with my NEW, larger, clutch head screw driver. Much to my surprise, the '38 1/2 ton had all straight bit screws. Not a single clutch head to be found. I harvested the needed trim piece and got some regular screws to replace the sheet metal screws someone had used on the '36.
I took a look at the '41 while I was there to see if it had a good rear glass frame. What do you know, it was LOADED with clutch head screws. JACKPOT, I thought, until I realized that these screws required the smaller screw driver, which I had not bothered to bring along.
I am anxious, now to look at my '37, '39 and '40 trucks to see what kind of screws were used on their doors. I'll report my finding here.

Mike

Dad, my 38 does not have clutch heads in the doors.

I really like that 36 and while driving my 37 last night was thinking about finding or making a 37 road tractor to haul my 37 1/2 ton,how I would like to find a vintage trailer to go with it but it probably would not work too well in hauling cars as being too high in the rear.

Very nice thread, Sam. Your dad had mentioned this to me and I finally found the time to sit down and absorb all the work you and your father have done. It is now very easy to really appreciate your efforts and I will take some of your experiences with me on my own project (2 1936 1.5 ton Panel Trucks to become a Bakery Delivery Truck). I look forward to the day when I can put my kids (and grandkids) in the cab with me...

I am really glad that everyone is enjoying the project. My Pops has worked very hard on it. I will be down for thanks giving and hope to take a few updated pictures.

I know that he is still working on the tank and door glass.

I spoke with my pops for a bit tonight.

He has been tackling the rear cab mounts on the truck. The cab was low in the back because the mount holes were broken out. He has reinforcements made to fix the broken pieces. Having the cab in the right place is going to be a big help when the doors go back on.

I had promised to post some more pictures of my Uncles JD's 40 COE school bus. I will post some details on the bus soon

Over the winter my Dad has made some progress here and there on the truck. The Next big hurdle is going to be rear cab mounts witch he has just about ready. And a gas tank that was swiss cheese at one end. I was down for spring brake and we JB Welded the bad end of the tank, there were tons of pen holes mostly on the upper half of the tank end. I mixed up The JB Weld and painted over all of the holes with a stiff brush. I do not think that he has been able to fill it and see if we got all of the holes but I think there is a good chance that the tank is back in working order.

The truck had some rear brake line trouble end of last season and so he needs to bend one new brake line and keep from loosing those special banjo bolts. I think he is going to be on his third one. After the tank, Cab mounts and rear brakes are done it should be ready for some road time.

After our above things are tackled the next big thing will be a new front main seal. I do not think he is looking forward to pulling the front clip of the truck to too this job but the seal is getting to be pretty bad.

The truck continues to run well off a gas jug as he starts and moves it in and out of his shop ever day. He does the same with a Model T running gear, I was joking that he is probably the only guy in the country that daily drives a 36 semi and a Model T even if it is only a few feet. LOL

No pictures of the tank I am afraid but I know that there will be some photo worthy moments this summer. It had just been a while sense I had last made an update.

As mentioned above the rear cab mounts were broken threw the floor of the cab, today the reinforcing patches were installed. The new mounts will be next and with the cab fastened properly than the doors can be refitted after they have the new glass installed.

My Dad also said that he got a different generator for the truck that just came back from the shop getting a rebuild. He had been using the generator off of his 35 standard coupe and now it is back on the car.

He also tested my JB weld patch of the gas tank for the truck, it seems to be holding. It will be nice to hook up the fuel system the way it should be, right now it is running off of a can.

I think that he is going to try to get some pictures of the cab repairs for us soon. Stay tuned!

Well, I got some bad news about my JB weld gas tank fix, after sitting over night with fuel one of the large holes gave way. My Dad called JB weld to see what was up as it had been over three weeks before he had time to try the tank, so it should have been cured well. They said that because I used brake clean on a rag to wipe the tank clean that the mix was compromised.

Any one ever heard of this?

It is going to be a pain to clean off the tank for another repair.

This is interesting. Keep us posted as to how this progresses.
Would like to know what they consider a usable cleaner.

It was Acetone and one other, My Dad will tell us.

Only acetone and lacquer thinner, per JB Weld tech.

Seems odd, when I think of all the stuff which has been repaired with JB with almost no cleaning of any kind.

Mike