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morpheusmac · 06-08-2015, 04:26 PM

Hey all,

I've been searching around for some answers on a truck that I inherited.

The story:

My dad passed away and left me a 1974 Chevrolet C50 Dump that hasn't really been maintained since the late 80's I'd imagine.

I remember being a pre-teen and I was told that if I put in some work helping with sorting and cutting some of the scrap that my dad collected that I would get a portion of what the scrap value was. My dad was a pack rat and had squirreled away ton of used brass valves, old copper wiring and fittings as well as some lead, stainless and misc other scrap. So I toiled for several weeks taking valves apart, cutting away copper from old equipment and sorting out all of the stuff left behind. My dad bought the old Chevrolet C50 dump from his work for $500 or so and we loaded and took scrap down to a local recycler and made something like $1800 in scrap from the proceeds, it paid for the truck and gave me a couple hundred bucks for my efforts.

Fast forward a few years in the mid ninety's and we were using the old beast modified with 4x8 plywood sides with the 8' sides used on the tall end to load dozens of christmas trees for recycling for the local boy scouts.

A couple more years after that I was doing another scrap run from the back yard with the trusty C50, cleaning up after my dad's collection of old car parts and scrap metal after re-decking the truck with plywood and re-wiring some of the lighting.

Fast forward ten more years and I bought my parent's place. They had allowed it to overgrow with trees and debris so I started cleaning it all up, cutting down trees, branches, clearing sticker bushes, moving dirt, etc. I was using the C50 to load up all the debris and take it off to the local yard waste center. As I started the cleanup at the house, my dad passed and everything was put on hold.

After a few months, it was time to get back to work. As it happens the truck was becoming less and less reliable over time naturally as it was abused and neglected. I decided I would change the oil on the truck, it was black and old, and the filter was rusty and illegible as to what brand it even was, I doubt the oil had been changed in 10 years at least. It had developed an issue with the steering where the truck would only turn slightly in one direction , but very far in another direction, I lived with it because I wasn't sure what the issue was.

I went back and forth several times debating on whether or not I want to put any effort into the truck at all, it's rusty, the wiring is hacked up, its old and nearly everything on it is a mess. But the memories I had of the truck that I shared with my dad as well as the utilitarian aspects of the truck were pretty cool, so I decided I would keep it and get it back to work.

The truck had now begun leaking brake fluid and transmission fluid, so whenever you needed to use the truck, you had to fill up both. I finally got scared enough to start doing some internet research on where to find parts for the truck and found this site and a few others in order to get the truck road worthy again. While trying to source parts I replaced the bed with 3/4" plywood.

The master cylinder was leaking down the firewall in the front and the right front wheel cylinder was leaking as well, I was able to source some replacement parts for those and get that portion repaired, but finding information on these trucks online is rough!

Cliff's notes:

Guy inherits big truck, guy wants to make the truck decent to drive and use again

So I am left right now with two big issues on the truck, first the steering. It is bad and borderline unsafe, the truck has power steering and while the pump and cylinder work, if the truck is unloaded, it has difficulty turning right. I get maybe one turn of the wheel to the right and two or three to the left until the limit of the steering is reached. When the truck has a good load on it, the steering issue usually goes away, so I am assuming that the steering box itself on the driver's side frame rail fried a bearing or something else loose in it that is causing the unloaded steering issue and I want to get that fixed. I've done some research here and I am looking for a SAGINAW 5690653 power steering box...any idea where I can find one used? Does this group have a parts guy or source that is decent?

Second the transmission is leaking. The truck has I believe a 350 chevy motor backed by an Allison 4 speed transmission. The leak appears to be the output shaft seal from what I see on the drip marks under the truck. I'd like to get this sealed up, but I'm not sure where to find that seal at or what the part number is for it, or how much of a PITA it is to fix?

Any help with the above and the plethora of other tiny questions I will probably pose about the truck here in the near future is appreciated.

Thanks,
Tom

06-08-2015, 04:26 PM	#1
morpheusmac Registered User Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 13	The C50 Hey all, I've been searching around for some answers on a truck that I inherited. The story: My dad passed away and left me a 1974 Chevrolet C50 Dump that hasn't really been maintained since the late 80's I'd imagine. I remember being a pre-teen and I was told that if I put in some work helping with sorting and cutting some of the scrap that my dad collected that I would get a portion of what the scrap value was. My dad was a pack rat and had squirreled away ton of used brass valves, old copper wiring and fittings as well as some lead, stainless and misc other scrap. So I toiled for several weeks taking valves apart, cutting away copper from old equipment and sorting out all of the stuff left behind. My dad bought the old Chevrolet C50 dump from his work for $500 or so and we loaded and took scrap down to a local recycler and made something like $1800 in scrap from the proceeds, it paid for the truck and gave me a couple hundred bucks for my efforts. Fast forward a few years in the mid ninety's and we were using the old beast modified with 4x8 plywood sides with the 8' sides used on the tall end to load dozens of christmas trees for recycling for the local boy scouts. A couple more years after that I was doing another scrap run from the back yard with the trusty C50, cleaning up after my dad's collection of old car parts and scrap metal after re-decking the truck with plywood and re-wiring some of the lighting. Fast forward ten more years and I bought my parent's place. They had allowed it to overgrow with trees and debris so I started cleaning it all up, cutting down trees, branches, clearing sticker bushes, moving dirt, etc. I was using the C50 to load up all the debris and take it off to the local yard waste center. As I started the cleanup at the house, my dad passed and everything was put on hold. After a few months, it was time to get back to work. As it happens the truck was becoming less and less reliable over time naturally as it was abused and neglected. I decided I would change the oil on the truck, it was black and old, and the filter was rusty and illegible as to what brand it even was, I doubt the oil had been changed in 10 years at least. It had developed an issue with the steering where the truck would only turn slightly in one direction , but very far in another direction, I lived with it because I wasn't sure what the issue was. I went back and forth several times debating on whether or not I want to put any effort into the truck at all, it's rusty, the wiring is hacked up, its old and nearly everything on it is a mess. But the memories I had of the truck that I shared with my dad as well as the utilitarian aspects of the truck were pretty cool, so I decided I would keep it and get it back to work. The truck had now begun leaking brake fluid and transmission fluid, so whenever you needed to use the truck, you had to fill up both. I finally got scared enough to start doing some internet research on where to find parts for the truck and found this site and a few others in order to get the truck road worthy again. While trying to source parts I replaced the bed with 3/4" plywood. The master cylinder was leaking down the firewall in the front and the right front wheel cylinder was leaking as well, I was able to source some replacement parts for those and get that portion repaired, but finding information on these trucks online is rough! Cliff's notes: Guy inherits big truck, guy wants to make the truck decent to drive and use again So I am left right now with two big issues on the truck, first the steering. It is bad and borderline unsafe, the truck has power steering and while the pump and cylinder work, if the truck is unloaded, it has difficulty turning right. I get maybe one turn of the wheel to the right and two or three to the left until the limit of the steering is reached. When the truck has a good load on it, the steering issue usually goes away, so I am assuming that the steering box itself on the driver's side frame rail fried a bearing or something else loose in it that is causing the unloaded steering issue and I want to get that fixed. I've done some research here and I am looking for a SAGINAW 5690653 power steering box...any idea where I can find one used? Does this group have a parts guy or source that is decent? Second the transmission is leaking. The truck has I believe a 350 chevy motor backed by an Allison 4 speed transmission. The leak appears to be the output shaft seal from what I see on the drip marks under the truck. I'd like to get this sealed up, but I'm not sure where to find that seal at or what the part number is for it, or how much of a PITA it is to fix? Any help with the above and the plethora of other tiny questions I will probably pose about the truck here in the near future is appreciated. Thanks, Tom Last edited by morpheusmac; 06-08-2015 at 04:41 PM.