ericmac Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 Looks like a really great show. I remembered reading about the great events in California but missed this one. It looks like a great event. Thanks for the inside story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipdang Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 On 8/24/2021 at 4:31 PM, ramair said: Scuba nut, thank you for the compliment, actually the only reason it has moved along is the example others have set on this forum along with their help and advice. Having a best friend that restores cars for a living is pretty important also. I had to laugh when I read your quote “I hope you live long enough to drive that car”, I hate those backhanded compliments. A good response might be “I hope you live long enough to see me driving my car and my smile thinking of what I accomplished “ oh by the way I am 63 and feel that I need to pickup the pace. I have 10 more projects I want to finish and using that last one as a example I will have to live another 500 years! I will include a picture of my next project Tell me what this is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zipdang Posted August 25, 2021 Share Posted August 25, 2021 On 8/24/2021 at 4:31 PM, ramair said: Scuba nut, thank you for the compliment, actually the only reason it has moved along is the example others have set on this forum along with their help and advice. Having a best friend that restores cars for a living is pretty important also. I had to laugh when I read your quote “I hope you live long enough to drive that car”, I hate those backhanded compliments. A good response might be “I hope you live long enough to see me driving my car and my smile thinking of what I accomplished “ oh by the way I am 63 and feel that I need to pickup the pace. I have 10 more projects I want to finish and using that last one as a example I will have to live another 500 years! I will include a picture of my next project Tell me what this is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted August 26, 2021 Author Share Posted August 26, 2021 (edited) Zipdang, this is a 1917 Holt model 45 caterpillar tractor, Holt tractor was one of the early adopters of the track layer system. This came about because in the Stockton area (Where Benjamin Holt grew up) of California had great soil that would grow great crops, unfortunately the soil was a peat type soil and in the early days of mechanization the typical steam or large internal combustion engine tractor ,meant that the tractor was heavy and on wheels, which meant that it would sink. Holt decided to put their tractors on continuous rails to distribute the weight equally. Probably the most famous model was the Holt 75 which was a very long tractor with a turning wheel in the front, unfortunately as it was pulling a large weight in the back it would not turn well with the single wheel in the front, in 1915 they came up with a new model that they called a muley(45) that was the first tracklayer that could turn by stopping one of the tracks, which is what we have had now for near 100 years at caterpillar and others. A very rare model today because most of the production was sent to Europe during World War One to pull canons in France, most never came back, I will try and post some video of a friend that has one and the start up procedure, Edited August 27, 2021 by ramair (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted August 26, 2021 Author Share Posted August 26, 2021 My apologies as I could not add the Holt 45 start up video, I will work on including it by talking with to someone much younger than me 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted August 27, 2021 Author Share Posted August 27, 2021 (edited) The best solution that we could come up with for the floor mat issue. My friend Scott has some pretty talented upholstery guys, they attached felt to the bottom of the mat and the edges have a black binding, not 100% original, but not a bad compromise Edited August 27, 2021 by ramair (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chistech Posted August 27, 2021 Share Posted August 27, 2021 That mat looks great and with what’s available out there today, you didn’t have to compromise much. We have to be creative and think out of the box. The hemmed edges are great and should help with any tearing. The new mat material seems to rip easily. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted August 27, 2021 Author Share Posted August 27, 2021 Chistech, since we were finishing off the interior , I was unhappy with how close the steering wheel was to my body, those cabs have shrunk since I was 12 years old. We took the seats out and we clipped a inch off the springs on the bottom and took out some padding in the backrest , overall the seat is 1 1/2” lower and backrest is 1” farther back, does not seem like much , but it was either that or wait for a diet plan to work before I could drive it comfortably Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chistech Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 14 hours ago, ramair said: Chistech, since we were finishing off the interior , I was unhappy with how close the steering wheel was to my body, those cabs have shrunk since I was 12 years old. We took the seats out and we clipped a inch off the springs on the bottom and took out some padding in the backrest , overall the seat is 1 1/2” lower and backrest is 1” farther back, does not seem like much , but it was either that or wait for a diet plan to work before I could drive it comfortably Make it work for you. No one will know these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chistech Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 Hey,is this what you were talking about a few posts back? It’s a scale die cast for sale on CL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted August 28, 2021 Author Share Posted August 28, 2021 Chistech, the Holt model is of the first steam tractor on tracks, notice the front steering wheel to guide tractor, I will include a picture of the most popular gas powered model 75, it still has the wheel up front, it worked ok on large fields. I am including a picture of the rare model 45 ,first model without wheel out front, it turns real sharp. This is the one I am restoring. A quick note, Holt patented the name Caterpillar to describe their tracklayer system and eventually when they merged with their competitors the Best tractor company in the twenties, Caterpillar became their new name. The model number was the drawbar horsepower, in the late thirties they started using a single digit number preceded by RD and latter just a D. The RD was to honor a man from another country that had past away decades before, his name was Rudolf Von Diesel and now you know the rest of the story, 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted September 2, 2021 Author Share Posted September 2, 2021 (edited) I have not posted much on GMC , mostly working on small things, today we have the spare mounted in the holder and got the very rare spare tire lock to work. I was very lucky that under the seat was the original jack, handle, lug wrench and the spare tire lock and the removable bracket that the lock uses. I did not find any of the GM wrench’s or hand crank. I think the spare is going to look good when I get the hubcap on. Tomorrow’s project will be to mount the front bumper, license plate brackets ect. Then exterior door handles Edited September 2, 2021 by ramair (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunchaser Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 When is the radiator cap going on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted September 2, 2021 Author Share Posted September 2, 2021 I have friends that have a standby replacement radiator ornament in case theirs get stolen, unfortunately I only have one and I am lucky to have it, it required much begging, pleading and wine before I was able to pry it loose. I will enclose a picture of it, I will install on truck once it is backed into my garage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike "Hubbie" Stearns Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 Nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted September 3, 2021 Author Share Posted September 3, 2021 Today’s photo with bumper installed 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chistech Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 On 9/2/2021 at 12:07 PM, ramair said: I have friends that have a standby replacement radiator ornament in case theirs get stolen, unfortunately I only have one and I am lucky to have it, it required much begging, pleading and wine before I was able to pry it loose. I will enclose a picture of it, I will install on truck once it is backed into my garage Unfortunately, there's bad apples in all aspects of life. When you have it on your truck at a show, stay around your truck. I was told that people have stolen the EC-2 carbs off of 32' olds like mine because the upper piece of the carb is used on Auburn V-12's and the Auburn owners pay a mint for them. I now have collected two spares and will offer one up for sale after I restore it. Your truck is absolutely spectacular! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted September 4, 2021 Author Share Posted September 4, 2021 Chistech, I would hate to spend another 20 years looking for one. This was a one year only cap and it was optional. They made just under 12,000 pickups in 1936. To get the cap you had to order either a delux cab accessory group which was chrome headlight buckets, chrome windshield frame, armrest on driver door, sun visor, dome light and hood ornament. I believe this package brought the price up from $515 to $585, so ask me how many of the delux might have been sold ? My guess not many, or the hood ornament could be purchased for $15 and I believe a few were sold that way. A nice man who restored his 36 found one and he personally cast some copys, he promised to make one for me. The first one he did came out with some minor flaws, so he started over unfortunately he died and was not able to complete it, his family told me that before he died he said how disappointed he was in not finishing it for me and this is from a man I never met in person. RIP Mike, not many left like him. In 1936 the larger GMC trucks had a similar cap, it had 3 feathers or stripes instead of the 4 that the 1/2 ton had. In 1937 GMC did away with exposed radiator cap and that was that . I believe the one I have is a original and had been replated, thanks Patrick! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S. Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 ramair, your GMC is a beautiful restoration. Really appreciate the work on the pick up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted September 5, 2021 Author Share Posted September 5, 2021 Thank you for the compliment, however to be truthful I have had a lot of help from friends, this forum and a professional shop to get this project done. I really wish I would have pushed myself harder 20 years ago, darn, would of, could of should of ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laughing Coyote Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 (edited) Beautiful truck indeed. That hood ornament looks pretty straight forward and could probably be CNC'd out of a piece of aluminum and have it to where it could mount to a regular cap. That way you can drive it with it on and know one would know it's not original. You wouldn't have to worry to much at a local show and if it's a big show you could swap out with the original when it's judging time. Enjoy your hard work, you've earned it. Edited September 5, 2021 by Laughing Coyote (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MERRILL Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 That GMC is the adult version of the Chevy pickup. It is beautiful !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunchaser Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 Here are the two styles of GMC radiator caps, the small truck has the three black lines, the larger truck has two black lines as a well as about an inch longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted September 5, 2021 Author Share Posted September 5, 2021 Sun chaser, what is your opinion on survival rate of T-14’s and hood ornaments ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwchatham Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 Great truck and an even better story ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted September 18, 2021 Author Share Posted September 18, 2021 (edited) I was wondering if anyone has a suggestion on where I could find a standard radiator cap for my truck. The original one is pretty beat up and rusty. As I stated before I only want to put on the GMC winged ornament on when I am around the truck. I found out today that there is a additional item that is different between the Chevy and GMC. The radiator neck is a lot smaller on the chevy. Remember that up until the early thirties most vehicles had a threaded neck and by the mid thirties most cars had the more modern cap that was hidden under the hood. So what I have looks like the non pressure cap that I have seen on mid thirties tractors. I will start calling vintage tractor companies and see if I have any luck.I have enclosed a photo of the backside of the cap along with the long awaited picture of the truck with the deluxe radiator ornament cap. Edited September 19, 2021 by ramair Forgot a word (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted September 20, 2021 Author Share Posted September 20, 2021 I think I found a cap that will work, it is about a 1/2” smaller OD, found it in my tractor parts collection. Believe it or not it is a gas cap for the international farmall letter series gas tractors, our farm used model C, H and M models. I recently retired 8 of these tractors as I felt it was too risky having employees drive 75 year old tractors without safety equipment, like roll bars, seatbelts and neutral safety start protection 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted September 21, 2021 Author Share Posted September 21, 2021 (edited) Three days before I have to load up for the pickups first car show. My friend Scott has pretty much taken care of loose ends. The door handle exterior escutcheons are in along with the door handles. These chrome plated brass pieces that are repops kept cracking and failing as they were to brittle when crimped. So they were annealed then sent to plater to be chromed again . Next was a crazy backwards running speedometer. This was caused by buying 3 transmissions to make one good one, come to find out I bought three 1935 Chevrolet transmissions that were supposed to be identical, “ now see small print” except they changed the back case because the speedometer cable entrance into the transmission now has a hydraulic brake master cylinder in the way, so in 36 they moved the speedo drive to the top of the case and changed the direction of the speedo head. This required some phone calls and a little time comparing part numbers . In the end all good, Scott was even able to change that back gear case without unhooking the torque tube rear axle , something you can’t do with a Chevy , because the longer wheelbase GMC has a 10” extention to the driveline. Next on the list was the poor shifting 3 speed transmission, i had a truck transmission shop rebuild this transmission for me with all NOS parts that I was able to buy over the years ( thank you Northeast transmission) however the transmission did not have a crisp shift, way to much slop. We found that the trans shop did not properly place the shift tower guide plate in its tangs, lucky for us it did not require a total disassembly. Tomorrow it gets a few miles of driving then a appointment with the muffler shop. I ordered replacement header pipe, muffler and tailpipe. The header and muffler were correct the tail pipe just does not look like it belongs, so tomorrow that will be replaced with a new one, fortunately we have a sales brochure with a picture of it, getting close. My next story will be about all the fun and games to license and title in the state of California. Those of you outside of California will be saying thank goodness we don’t live there and of course those that do live here do not want to be reminded of the fact. We should have a guessing game , A how many trips to the DMV and B how many trips did the California Highway Patrol came out to Verify ? Actually, Highway Patrolman wanted to help, DMV not so much Edited September 21, 2021 by ramair (see edit history) 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chistech Posted September 21, 2021 Share Posted September 21, 2021 I too ran into speedo issues with the 34’ pickup I restored. Because I installed an altered 37’ rear axle, the truck got hydraulic brakes so I needed to hang a master cylinder. GM made a one year only master cylinder bracket/pedal assembly in 36’ to convert from mechanical to hydraulic brakes. This bracket put the master in the way of the speedo cable into the tail housing so they changed the bottom entrance to a top entrance to clear the master. Fortunately, because I changed the gear ratio to 3.55, the truck needed a ratio adapter to speed up the cable to the speedometer. I got an offset one which allowed me to route the cable over the master even though the tail housing has the bottom entrance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted September 21, 2021 Author Share Posted September 21, 2021 (edited) Chistech, yes very similar problem except in order for it to work I needed to reverse the cable direction as the 1936 speedo accepts the new rotation when the drive outlet moves from the lower position to the top of the drive case. I will enclose a picture of a friends transmission so others will know what we are talking about Edited September 21, 2021 by ramair (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted September 21, 2021 Author Share Posted September 21, 2021 (edited) Forgot to add photo Edited September 21, 2021 by ramair (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericmac Posted September 22, 2021 Share Posted September 22, 2021 I look forward to seeing the final results. This is a beautiful truck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted September 22, 2021 Author Share Posted September 22, 2021 (edited) Eric Mac, thank you, ever since I looked at it for the first time 50 years ago I loved the Art Deco touches with the short cab, almost looks “chopped” along with the coolest artillery wheels. Here is the picture from yesterday’s shakedown run Edited September 22, 2021 by ramair Picture change (see edit history) 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted September 29, 2022 Author Share Posted September 29, 2022 Hi all, I have all the usual excuses for not posting any news on my pickup, you know, I can blame it on changes at work, family, health ect. While some of those excuses were a factor, maybe laziness? Anyway a update for the past year, in September of 2021 my truck was officially finished ( we know that they never are) we took it to The Ironstone Concours in Murphys Calif. for those of you that have never heard of it I would rate it as one of the top 5 shows in California, around 400 cars from horseless carriage on to Dusenberg then cars in the fourties’, fifties and sixties, no modified need apply. I signed up for the tour the day before the show, my truck had 4 miles on the odometer, when tour was over I had 104 miles on it. Sometimes people refer to the first run after a restoration “a shake down tour” well I will tell you that the 100 miles that we drove that truck on had more potholes than pavement. The pickup ran great as a matter of a fact it accelerated up hill better than I thought it would and the original hydraulic brakes were exceptionally good at stopping. The next day we showed the pickup at the concours, one of the few that has a commercial class, we had some great pickups in our class. We got a award of merit along with 2 other very nice trucks and a dodge panel van got best of class 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 @ramair you modestly neglected to mention that THIS year your truck took 1st in Class! Congratulations! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 Here is a ~23 minute long non-narrated video overview of the 2022 Ironstone Concours. @ramair truck appears at 4:17 and 21:31. Sadly, no coverage of the 5-car Pierce-Arrow class and a couple of other older classes (bias, much? 🙂 ) except for some good footage (14:11, 16:07, 16:52) of 1st in Pierce class and BEST OF SHOW 1933 Pierce-Arrow V-12 Model 1242 convertible sedan owned by the forum's own @Bob Jacobsen Ironstone Concours d'Elegance 2022 - CLASSIC CARS in GOLD COUNTRY - In the Garage with Steve Natale - YouTube Ragtime Racers at Ironstone Vineyards - In the Garage with Steve Natale - YouTube 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lahti35 Posted September 29, 2022 Share Posted September 29, 2022 (edited) On 9/29/2022 at 10:50 AM, Grimy said: @ramair you modestly neglected to mention that THIS year your truck took 1st in Class! Congratulations! Well deserved! Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Good job Ramair!👍 Edited September 30, 2022 by Lahti35 (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted September 29, 2022 Author Share Posted September 29, 2022 Grimy, I will add a picture from this year. I think most people that attend this event want to come back, I like to say it is like Pebble beach use to be 30 years ago. The sponsors want everyone to have a good time, just enough of a crowd that you are never lonely in the show field, but not so many people that you wished you were somewhere else. Now let me tell you about how good the parking is, I can sum it up best by saying that the chief judge at Pebble beach donated his parking pass at Pebble as a live auction item at ironstone fundraiser for the 4H and FFA youth, it sold for more than $2,000.00. I don’t think they will ever be able to sell a parking pass at ironstone as all parking places are close by. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramair Posted September 30, 2022 Author Share Posted September 30, 2022 I displayed this at the show, my daughter made this for me, she was happy how it turned out and her only regret is she can’t turn it in for extra credit at school as she graduated many years ago. you know they always say a picture is worth a thousand words or 2,000 man hours! 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Echofivelima Posted April 11, 2023 Share Posted April 11, 2023 What an incredible journey. Congrats! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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