During and after WWII my grandfather had a John Deere and Ford dealership in the upper midwest. New cars and tractors were nearly impossible to get. To keep the business going he got into military surplus. He bought and sold many GMC 6x6s. The first ones he bought he brought back to the shop from as far away as Texas, cleaned them up and repainted them in civilian colors. They sold out in days. Trucks were convoyed from the place of purchase with a couple of adults and a bunch of high school students for drivers. As the convoy got closer to home, farmers would see them, call their neighbors and head to town. By the time the trucks got to the shop a line of buyers would be waiting. Many were sold the same day. The dealership also had a few halftracks. One was sold to a contractor, he mounted a Bantam cable hoe on it. It was still digging into the 1970s.

Know this “will it run” is not your favorite thing to do but gotta feed the algorithm! Good episode!

@lifeafterourloss

3 ай бұрын

Thanks! I had higher hopes, thought it would do as good as the crane will it start. You just never know. 😊

Oh man, I want one! I'd put a flat bed on the back, and set it up for towing a trailer, and it would become my haul truck. I wouldn't touch the body at all. New seat, replace all the wiring, and drive her. That's one sexy unit right there sir!

@lifeafterourloss

3 ай бұрын

Thanks! We do have the other one the 1942. In my mind that would make a great hauler for a freshly rebuilt caterpillar D4. 🤔

@colin8532

3 ай бұрын

@@lifeafterourloss I was thinking a cummins (even though I'm a chevy guy) but the cat D4 would just be WAY cooler!

@lifeafterourloss

3 ай бұрын

Maybe I could squeeze a 453T Detroit Diesel in it, 😂. Got to keep it GM. 😊

@colin8532

3 ай бұрын

@@lifeafterourloss took the words right out of my mouth sir! If you do that, I'm moving down there and becoming your neighbor

@lifeafterourloss

3 ай бұрын

@colin8532 Well, I'll put it on the project list. Way down on the last. I'm going to need subs in the six figures before I can think about a project that big. 🤣 You never know. 🤔

Yep, that could be quite a jem with a little work.

Yeaaaa finally the truck's running!🎉🎉🎉

She just needs some love, A good clean & fresh fluids and filters, And she'll come back to life, P.S I love your video's!!

@lifeafterourloss

3 ай бұрын

We're going to give it a little bit of TLC. Glad you're enjoying the videos, 😊.

We got spark, we got soark.....love it. So glad you got it to run. I would have loved to have seen the cleaner run that fast!!!😂😅

My dad had one of those my friend

Lol at the dog

Excellent choice of vehicle! Glad you are able to save it and give it a good home

Thanks!

@lifeafterourloss

3 ай бұрын

Thank you Cheryl!

Things like the speedometer as still available as NOS as are the gauges with just a little internet searching , buddy just did that with his CCKW

I'm amazed that this truck dose not have the oil bath air cleaner installed? Usually machines this old or made for the military had oil bath air cleaners. I would say the mouse dropping out of the bellhousing was one heck of a surprise. With the alloy covered wires these tend to go bad in very dry or very humid weather. I'm amazed this thing is as complete as it is. I can also see the cabin dose not have much room for a tall guy to sit in.

@lifeafterourloss

3 ай бұрын

I'm pretty sure the carburetor is a replacement. The Originals were Zenith or Rochester. The one on it right now is actually a holley. I made it incredibly difficult to find a rebuild kit. The good news is, I found one. I also picked up new wires points and condenser. Hopefully I can get it running for a little bit longer of a duration. The mouse really surprised me as well! 🤣

@SuperMAZ007

3 ай бұрын

@@lifeafterourlossI would say there are likely almost zero things you can get for this old truck from Rockauto or NAPA. Your grandfather took at least so much care of the vehicle you don't need to go look for major components. Some of the stuff you can fabricate and some of the missing pieces will eventually find the way to you from swap meets. Restoring a vehicle that is this old and incomplete is a real nightmare.

So many things to do! 😮

@lifeafterourloss

3 ай бұрын

The punch list keeps growing. This episode was fun to make and a long time in the making. Thanks again for your support Tom always appreciate it! 😊

That’s cool can’t wait to see it driving on her own steam 😀🇨🇦

@lifeafterourloss

3 ай бұрын

Hopefully this summer. A carburetor rebuild kit and a bunch of other tune-up parts just arrived.

Just found you guys! I'll watch and like as many videos of these old trucks as you put out.

@lifeafterourloss

Ай бұрын

Thanks Sam, and welcome to LAOL. 😊

The right hand wire is the positive at the battery on these trucks

@lifeafterourloss

3 ай бұрын

This one was converted to 12 volt at some point. It had quite a few upgrades, including the Holley carburetor. I had a hard time finding a rehabil kit but I got one.

@heartland96a

3 ай бұрын

@@lifeafterourloss I didn’t look at the battery , yes that’s a common thing to change , the starter will take the extra volts fine , as you know and with 12 volt lights there isn’t much else

Great job

Those mice get into every nook and cranie. We had a John Deere 55 combine, and the mice had filled the piston cylinder full of pegion grass seeds. They must have gone through the exhaust pipe and into an open exhaust valve.

@lifeafterourloss

3 ай бұрын

That's funny. Those mice really do work hard. That must have been a real pain to clean up. We used to have a John Deere 55. My Dad absolutely loved that Hercules engine. Said it was the smoothest six cylinder ever! At the end of every season Grandpa would squirt Marvel Mystery oil into the intake until it killed the engine. That was how he winterized it. It always started the next year.

@badzbradzgoodyz6477

3 ай бұрын

I was only about 10 years old then. Ya, those Hercules engines were tough. Dad bought a 95 John Deere, and us boys thought we really had it made.

Needs 454 and keep the excavator

It had the crane dredging buck and back hoe

@lifeafterourloss

3 ай бұрын

I have a dragline bucket clamshell bucket and the backhoe is on the 1942 truck. I think it was a very popular conversion after the war. 👍

It was a navy see bees ww2 all factory made that way

Great job guys thanks for sharing