49 chevy 3800
 

So i thought i was in the clear. I rebuilt all the wheel cylinders and while i was doing the last one at 3 in the morning the linning popped off the shoe. This truck has been in the family for 40 years, It has been sitting for 17 years. The gas is vanished BAD and i need some guidence. this is my first restoration! First question, The break shoes where put on right before it was parked for 17 years, so i want to epoxy? it back on? I dont know. Second, The engine, i put trans fluid in each cylender last week, do you think i should crank the engine over yet? Last question, The varnish in the tank? How do i get it all out and do i have to replace all the fuel lines. fyi, the carb was rebuilt and never put back on. That is when the truck never moved again. Everyones input is needed and appreciated, THANKS Everyone!:metal:

Re: 49 chevy 3800
 

tank the tank off the truck and clean it out well. i used acetone and some clean gravel and had a buddy help me shake it around. pour that out, and repeat.

i would replace fuel lines, but it may not be necessary to replace the hard lines, only the rubber sections. i would do all of them, since it may be hard to tell the condition. if you don't replace them, at least flush out the lines before you hook them up to the carb.

try to turn the motor over by hand with the plugs out.

i don't know a whole lot about drum brakes, but brakes are not a place to mess around. i would get new shoes.


oh yeah, got a pic?!?!?

Re: 49 chevy 3800
 

You could take the tank to a radiator shop and have them boil it out, if it is rusty I would look at a new one and save the trouble latter. DON"T even think of trying to repair a shoe, save up some money and buy a new set, if one failed how long until the next one fails!!!!!!!!!!
You need it to STOP B4 you try driving it !!!!!!!!

Re: 49 chevy 3800
 

Yeah, I found some new shoes. $60 bucks for the fronts and 75 for the back. Not bad. As soon as i figure out how to post pic i will have them up for all of you. I am so excited! Thanks to all for your help now and in future situations! :metal: <br><br>

So here is an update on what is going on with the 49. We sanded all the rust off and primed the bare metal. Waiting on some metal to finish the flat bed on the back and cut the boards to fit. The metal should be here monday. I got the engine to break loose! Thanks. Then ole' slugger here(me) was trying to get the glass bowl off the fule pump and wacked it with a rubber mallet, no harm done. So I hit it again and shattered the glass! :whine: OPPPS! I didn't think that thick glass was going to break and I was not hitting it that hard. I figured out that the glass was culked on to the fuel pump. I cleaned all that off and now I need to find a new glass bowl. Any Ideas? On to the gas tank. I drained out about a gallon of varnish. all the lines drained great till I dumped 1.5 gallons of gas in there. then the fuel lines clouged up. So I took the line off the bottom of the fuel tank and cleaned them all out. I think they should be good to go, but I might try to dump another gallon of fuel in there to see what happens. Today I am going to work on the electric, Put the battery in and and get that all figured out.

Re: 49 chevy 3800
 

Just rember, make sure the truck STOPS B4 you but in gear!!!!!

Re: 49 chevy 3800
 

Will do. The fuel glass bowl should be here soon along with the break rebuilding kit!! CAN"T WAIT!