this is Howard Knapp

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I feel your pain.:eek:
I have many days were it seems that all I do is break things and then drop them. Hang in there and keep on keeping on......
Torchie
 
I feel your pain.:eek:
I have many days were it seems that all I do is break things and then drop them. Hang in there and keep on keeping on......
Torchie


Thanks Torchie

I did get to drive my Howard Knapp truck yesterday....around the yard at the guys house who got it running for me...

I am not impressed at all...

Then I started adding up what I spent on this truck...I am into for over $8000.00 bucks...that is freakin crazy in my book...

The fellow that got it running says to me "Mike...it is one step up from the hay wagon...what did you expect???"....I scratched my chin a little bit...I dint have an answer for him...

The truck still needs a water pump and new distributor and then we should be good to go...

Not sure what I am going to do now...

MikeC
 
If it was cheap and easy everyone would be doing it.

If it was smooth and comfortable it wouldn't be an old truck.

Not sure what you are wanting here... [S
 
Thanks Torchie

I did get to drive my Howard Knapp truck yesterday....around the yard at the guys house who got it running for me...

I am not impressed at all...

Then I started adding up what I spent on this truck...I am into for over $8000.00 bucks...that is freakin crazy in my book...

The fellow that got it running says to me "Mike...it is one step up from the hay wagon...what did you expect???"....I scratched my chin a little bit...I dint have an answer for him...

The truck still needs a water pump and new distributor and then we should be good to go...

Not sure what I am going to do now...

MikeC
gawd
you would HATE my heap
10,000+ smackaroonies and it drives like an antique tractor
 
still buying parts....

Still buying parts....still waiting for parts too...

trying to spruce it up a little...



Kinda blurry but you get the idea...



Waterpump did come in from cardone tho....



they even made a gasket for this piece too...



somehow they swapped out the front hub on the waterpump...I had to bore out the old front pulley to get everything to fit again...



MikeC
 
runs and drives

today.....put the key in it....hooked up the battery too.....


RRRRRRR.....vroom....vroom....vroom...

driverside door wont shut except from the outside...even with new hinges and new altman latches......

lots of head scratching on this problem for sure....



Rear axle tube leaks...it was free and I have been welding on it for a couple of years now....still cant seem to be able to find the leak...nothing like welding a rear axle tube with oil in it....



Waiting for a quote from Geico.....then we try to drive it around the highways and byways of upstate NY....not looking forward to battling all the fuel injected point and shoot cars I have to compete with here....

MikeC
 
Looking good!

The door will only close from the outside? Pardon? Is either your inside or outside handle sticking? Where are you pulling from to close it from the inside?
 
Not so low buck Howard Knapp build

HI Rat Rodders

Been a really bad couple of weeks...took the truck out to get inspected...it did pass...took mom out for mothers day at my sisters....

Truck tops out at 53 mph....not acceptable in upstate NY at all....

Went and bought a pair of 16" 6 lug late 1990's Chevy truck wheels ran me $85.00 total....then went out and got a pair of 235/85/16's from the EBAY website....they were less than $225.00 delivered. Got them mounted up last night (another $35.00) and I was pumped to get the taller tires in hopes of getting up to 55-60 mph....

Steel wheels would not mount to the rear axle...something about a large center hole and these wheels had a smaller center hole...

I was sick totally like all night...if I had owned a gun...I think I would have shot the truck on the spot...

Back online we go...found a pair of white 16" 6 hole steel wheels from Wheel Express (large center hole)...ran me another $120.00....also found on the summit racing website and bought oversize lug lugs to help mount these wheels...lugs nuts were less than $20.00 for a dozen of them...

Not sure what to do now....

Closing in on $9,000.00 spent on this rig...and it only runs about 45 mph...and it labors so to get going too...

I have a huge respect for our ancestors who were stuck driving these trucks on a daily basis...

scratching my chin and wondering...

It was more fun until I added up all the receipts ...

MikeC
 
I dunno man.... I hardly ever feel the need to go beyond 45.... :D I hope to have my `49 F1 going this year. It will be my daily summer and winter, and I`m looking forward to it.
You`ve got a really cool truck imo...Just enjoy it for what it is and don`t hurry :cool:
 
Maybe that 4:10 gear set was a bit too much??

That is a pretty steep gear set....not sure what was in it...just wondering? Original trans? Might also be an issue...not sure but didn't some of those early HD trucks not have a 1-1 ratio in High gear? Interesting...[S
 
I hate to see your disappointment on this. Following your build thread all along it's seems you have been either in the wrong frame of mind or you have been unrealistic in trying to keep it as "original" as possible. These old work horses were never speed demons. I know you've done a ton of work. Bravo! I've seen you state some prices of parts and fixes that were unrealistic in my mind, but to each his own. Now maybe you see why people will use these cabs and not much else of the "original truck". If you are intent on getting more speed, I would suggest a change from atleast the motor back. Used prices for another transmission choice, an updated open drive shaft, and rearend with some usable gear ratio would cost less than 500 bucksnorts around here and we aren't that cheap on prices in this area. I know that you may think another change of this sort is alot of work, but it will allow you to "like" your truck a little more. Just my honest opinion which don't amount to much.
 
I agree with Smallfoot. Seems like you didn't really realize that these old trucks were made for haulin crap around farms not highway cruzin and a 1 ton (I think I remember right that you said it's a 1 ton) long box is a seriously big "pickup". Not sure why you went the restoration route with it if you wanted a small highway cruiser. I'm pretty sure it's no bigger than than most of the double cab modern trucks that are everywhere here though and as Smallfoot said, a change of trans and rearend wouldn't cost much at all and would make it much more drive able on the highway. My Willys original drivetrain maxed out at about 35 and it was scary as hell at that speed:eek:
 
That is a pretty steep gear set....not sure what was in it...just wondering? Original trans? Might also be an issue...not sure but didn't some of those early HD trucks not have a 1-1 ratio in High gear? Interesting...[S

Hi Sgt Pontiac

The rear end I took out was a 1 ton with 5.13's or 5.38's....that must have been a real crawler type in the end...

I am thinking about finding a Chevy Colorado with a 6 lug rear end and that maybe should have some gears in the 3's instead of the 4.10's it has now...

If I can find an older S10 5 speed I have read somewhere that swap makes it a lot more driveable too...

MikeC
 
Hi Sgt Pontiac

The rear end I took out was a 1 ton with 5.13's or 5.38's....that must have been a real crawler type in the end...

I am thinking about finding a Chevy Colorado with a 6 lug rear end and that maybe should have some gears in the 3's instead of the 4.10's it has now...

If I can find an older S10 5 speed I have read somewhere that swap makes it a lot more driveable too...

MikeC

Why a Colorado rear? Is that the right width?

Why not stick to an older rear that will be easier to get everything to mate together (not metric)?

I'm sorry to say with the wheels and a few other things it sounds like you haven't done your homework on a few things and that has been bogging you down. Some of the best work you can do on a project is sitting in a chair for several hours looking at it, figuring out how you're going to accomplish the next step.

Keep at it, we all learn these lessons. As has been said, this type of truck was never a speed demon or highway cruiser. If that's what you want, you'll need to take this (or another build) in an entirely different direction.
 

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