Looking at old grain trucks... Need help.

[Marveltone]

A friend of mine is selling his farm and moving closer to his kids and grand-kids. He has a couple of grain trucks I'm interested in but I can't decide. My uses will be mainly hauling manure from a beef farmer a few miles down the road, as well as other stuff mostly at the farm. No long trips. I'll give the lowdown the best I can.

Truck #1: 1950 Chevy 6400. Good shape, just minor cosmetic stuff (seats, mirrors, lights), but runs good. Single speed axle, last licensed in 2009.

Truck #2: 1952 Chevy 6400. Not quite as clean as truck #1. Needs driver's side glass, looks like somebody heavy has been standing on the roof, but better upholstery than #1. Two speed axle, last licensed in 1993.

They both run well. Another item worth mentioning is I need it to haul my equipment trailer. The guy I want to get my manure from pushes it all into big piles, but he has no loader so I have to haul my tractor (Ford 1510) to his place to load my truck. (He's giving the stuff away!) The '50 has a shorter box, so putting a decent hitch on it will be easier than the '52, which overhangs more with it's longer box. (Yes, I know I have a diesel pickup that will tow way more than these antiques, but I want to be able to keep the manure hauling operation as streamlined and simple as possible, so no more drivers and vehicle swapping than absolutely necessary.)

Now I know the '52 makes a little more power. My big question is how big of a difference will the two speed axle make? Is it splitting for lower gearing or higher? I can't seem to find any information on gear ratios anywhere.

BTW, he's pondering on pricing them somewhere around $800 - $1000.

Joe

 

[groundcover]

Wow, you weren't kidding when you said old ! Any pics ?

 

[hawkeye08]

Offer him $1400-1500 for both... Keep what you want, sell the rest.

 

[Marveltone]

Offer him $1400-1500 for both... Keep what you want, sell the rest.

I don't want to get greedy. He already gave me two grain drills and sold me a mower/conditioner for $500. He's been most generous already.

 

[Marveltone]

Wow, you weren't kidding when you said old ! Any pics ?

Sorry, no pics yet. It was cold and dark when I first looked at them. The flashlight was good enough for my eyes, but not the phone. First decent day when I have daylight and more time, I'll snap a few pics, but his farm is 45 miles away, so I'll have to do it on a day off.

Joe

 

[mjcountrybumpkin]

2 speed makes a huge difference , and no your diesel pickup will not touch these things pulling. Faster but not better. I would ask to drive them both and which ever drives better would be my pick.
If all you are gonna do is haul $/it with it as long as it runs it doesn't matter if it looks like $/ it.

 

[tcartwri]

The splitter doubles the available ratios. It will help keep the motor in it's sweet spot, but will not make the truck any faster. Top speed will be 45 to 50 mph.

Those trucks are museum pieces, and will cost you a fortune to keep road worthy. Buy them only for the coolness factor. A one ton with a dump trailer would be ten times the truck.

 

[QRTRHRS]

Way back when I drove several single axle dumps with a two speed axle. They give you a wider range of gear choices which can help keep your rpm's up rather than being in a situation where you have plenty of power in your present gear but shifting to the next higher one will cause the engine to die.

I also drove a 57' White with five speed and a straight axle. Absolute nightmare in a delicate situation. The rear was just to high meaning your reverse speed was to fast. Starting off on a grade was not much fun either.

Two speed rears take a little getting used to for shifting. Upshifting is easier. Flip it from low to high while at the same time letting off the throttle and it should shift.The inverse, downshifting, is the same but will need a little more "finessing". Mostly I have seen electric motor drives to shift the axle but I drove one that used vacuum and it was a real bear to shift. Lastly, you don't need to shift the two speed every shift. It depends on the load, lack off and road conditions.

Oh', one big warning if you do get the truck with the two speed. You can miss a shift and get the beast between the gears. You will hear it spinning. Do not, I repeat, do not switch it back to where you where before you missed the shift. Simply pull over to the side of the road and let it stop spinning.

Don't ask how I know, heck, I was only sixteen.

 

[Marveltone]

The splitter doubles the available ratios. It will help keep the motor in it's sweet spot, but will not make the truck any faster. Top speed will be 45 to 50 mph.

So does the splitter give lower gearing?

Those trucks are museum pieces, and will cost you a fortune to keep road worthy. Buy them only for the coolness factor. A one ton with a dump trailer would be ten times the truck.

My friend has been using these as his actual grain trucks, in fact, one of them is still full of grain. Whichever one I decide on won't be logging nearly the hours it has been; it'll probably never leave a 15 mile radius. Also, a dump trailer will not do what I want. I need to haul my tractor with it.... and yes, part of it is the coolness factor. It will fit right in with the rest of my equipment (except the little Ford 1510) as most everything on the farm is early 1900's to late '50's vintage. And almost everything is in working condition... now.

Joe

 

[tcartwri]

So does the splitter give lower gearing?


My friend has been using these as his actual grain trucks, in fact, one of them is still full of grain. Whichever one I decide on won't be logging nearly the hours it has been; it'll probably never leave a 15 mile radius. Also, a dump trailer will not do what I want. I need to haul my tractor with it.... and yes, part of it is the coolness factor. It will fit right in with the rest of my equipment (except the little Ford 1510) as most everything on the farm is early 1900's to late '50's vintage. And almost everything is in working condition... now.

Joe

You will have ten ratios instead of 5, over the same road speed. Much like the first time you jumped on a 10 speed bike.

 

[npalen]

The two speed axle can get the truck up to speed faster as it can help keep engine RPM at the sweet spot of the torque curve.

 

[BHD]

I would be concerned about the tires, hard to come by for a reasonable cost, and the rims are mostly two piece, and many tire shops will not work on them, the tires on the 52 would most likely be at least 22 years old if last licensed in 92.

If you plan on licensing them they most likely will need DOT numbers, and CDL to drive,

just some thing to think about,

 

[Marveltone]

I'm good friends with a tire shop owner. He works on old farm equipment rims and tires all the time and can get me serviceable used tires for farm (non-highway) use. Farm trucks in Minnesota do not need CDL as long as they stay within 150 miles from the farm.

Joe

 

[Loadstar]

When hauled ice two speeds were usually disconnected by the garage. It was much cheaper that way. Saw a lot of exploded guts from them. I would look to see if it is vac or elec. Farmer down the road had a vac two speed studabaker and it liked two die between shifts. He said it made things interesting. Personally if the straight single axle was a better truck I would not get hung up for long on the two speed. You are working with a antique, load it like one not a quad axle. You are not winning the drag races, truck pulls, or mud bogs with it so take it easy be patient. Truck will be so cheap it is ridiculous. Insurance for my 55, and 78s is $50 every 6 months. You also have a cheap drivetrain to maintain. Plate it low with farm plates and remember to always have wheel chocks.

 

[super55]

Did a google search on them for pics. (Those are some cool old looking trucks).

As for the truck if you only have a few miles to go and live in a flat area I would I would consider the first truck. Sure the second truck gives you twice gear ratio to work with but I'm looking at this as more simple being better unless it is geared too high to move under load without burning the clutch but most of these trucks 1st gear is usually a creeper gear and can start off in 2nd even under load.

Years ago our fire department had an old 1950's chevy truck that was converted into a 1200 gallon water tender. It had a split axle. Most of us that ever drove the thing just kept in high range and it managed to take off fine with about a 6 ton load on it when fully loaded. It never got anywhere fast but it actually was a pretty dependable slow old truck.

Sounds like you got a pretty good relationship with the farmer so I would ask him if you could test drive both and see which one drives better and shifts better. With vehicles this age you I would make my choice solely on the one that runs better. You're only going a few miles and speed and fuel economy are kind of a non-issue.

Are you planning on having your 1510 in tow to load with or you have something larger and heavier you going to pull?

Post some pics of these old gems if you get a chance.

 

[npalen]

I agree that the split shift two-speed is not that much of an issue given the age of the truck and the very intermittent service expected. I do want to point out an additional advantage of the two-speed though and that being pulling up a fairly long hill it might be easier to shift down a "half notch" rather than a full gear. The full gear shift down might present problems in the lower gears that may not be synchronized. Again, no big deal either way.

 

[Marveltone]

I agree that the split shift two-speed is not that much of an issue given the age of the truck and the very intermittent service expected. I do want to point out an additional advantage of the two-speed though and that being pulling up a fairly long hill it might be easier to shift down a "half notch" rather than a full gear. The full gear shift down might present problems in the lower gears that may not be synchronized. Again, no big deal either way.

So... seeing as I've never driven anything with a two-speed rear end, I'll post another question. I'm fairly certain we're talking about a vacuum shift, but how does it operate? Do I have to clutch it just like a normal shift, or do I just let up on the gas and pull the lever?

Joe

 

[tcartwri]

Pull up on the button, lift momentarily on the throttle for the upshift, or blip the throttle on the downshift. Biggest thing to know, is that you DO NOT want to miss a split down shift going down hill. You will not recover it, and you will be freewheeling.

 

[Marveltone]

Did a google search on them for pics. (Those are some cool old looking trucks).

As for the truck if you only have a few miles to go and live in a flat area I would I would consider the first truck. Sure the second truck gives you twice gear ratio to work with but I'm looking at this as more simple being better unless it is geared too high to move under load without burning the clutch but most of these trucks 1st gear is usually a creeper gear and can start off in 2nd even under load.

Yeah, it's pretty flat over here. Our house is on the side of a small hill (a gravel ridge, really) but the rest of the county is flat as a pancake. The choice between better gearing and simplicity is a tough one. Simple often means less to go wrong, which I can appreciate. I won't know until I get a chance to drive them both.

Years ago our fire department had an old 1950's chevy truck that was converted into a 1200 gallon water tender. It had a split axle. Most of us that ever drove the thing just kept in high range and it managed to take off fine with about a 6 ton load on it when fully loaded. It never got anywhere fast but it actually was a pretty dependable slow old truck.

Sounds like you got a pretty good relationship with the farmer so I would ask him if you could test drive both and see which one drives better and shifts better. With vehicles this age you I would make my choice solely on the one that runs better. You're only going a few miles and speed and fuel economy are kind of a non-issue.

I fully intend to test drive them both as soon as time and weather permit. In fact, my friend was going to start them up right there until he remembered he pulled the batteries out and kept them in town.

Are you planning on having your 1510 in tow to load with or you have something larger and heavier you going to pull?

I'm just planning on towing the 1510 for short (less than 10 miles) trips to haul manure as a means to fill the box. I'll use my Ram 2500 for any heavy or long hauls.

Joe

 

[Stimw]

I have driven may miles with 2 speed rear ends (5 & 2) in Semi's and dump trucks. I LOVE driving them!!
Once you get them figured out it's like playing a piano or some other instrument, it comes naturally.
One good thing about the Chevy's, you can probably still order most parts from NAPA!! (if you get an older parts person)