71 in action!

[too much stuff]

Since everyone likes pics... here is what i did today. Enjoy

[Vintage Windmills]

Nice. Do you have the pump mounted on the engine or is it electric? Is this truck in your sig?

[too much stuff]

Its an OLD western setup with the 2 rods in the cab. It is an underhood pump. It is the truck in my sig.
Running out of places to push snow around here...

[special-K]

That must be an old Western set-up. I bought one in '84 (for a '71) and it was a joystick. I miss pushing snow. I was sick of it when I quit. The idea of just plowing my own stuff sounds like fun.

[too much stuff]

Tim, i just do my place and a couple of neighbors. Don't have far to go.
The plow set up came off a 70 3/4 ton that i think was put on in the 70s. Still works great. I will try to add a couple pics...

[prostreetC-10]

nice tach dash!

[Hubscrub]

what is the license plate light in the dash for?

[too much stuff]

Originally Posted by Hubscrub

what is the license plate light in the dash for?

No idea... there are 2 of them in the dash. They were there when i bought it.

[Cisco714]

Originally Posted by Hubscrub

what is the license plate light in the dash for?

Talk about having a keen eye.. I had to go back and look very very hard to find what you were talking about.. I guess im slow.

[CG]

I want a plow for my truck. I think they look cool. Too bad I would almost never have a use for it =)

[mrein3]

Originally Posted by too much stuff

Its an OLD western setup with the 2 rods in the cab. It is an underhood pump. It is the truck in my sig.
Running out of places to push snow around here...

Originally Posted by special-K

That must be an old Western set-up. I bought one in '84 (for a '71) and it was a joystick. I miss pushing snow. I was sick of it when I quit. The idea of just plowing my own stuff sounds like fun.

This is my third winter on a really old western style set-up. I purchased it off craigslist after finding it by doing my usual Chevy and GMC searches. It was previously on a 1971 GMC.

My pump sits under the hood. When I put the pump on in the fall I move my aftermarket cruise control unit to make room for it. The hydro pump is basically a GM starter motor with a hydro reservoir on the business end of it.

It too had the two rods that come through the cab. I didn't like them so I fabbed up a bracket and cables system. It looks like hell but it works good. I'm sure one of the joystick deals that you can still buy would work but after a 10% pay cut last year and no raises for three years the fab setup will have to be it for a while.

I love plowing my driveway because I'm sitting in a heated cab and it takes WAY less time now that I don't have to walk behind the snowblower. Also by only doing my driveway I don't get it all salted up by driving down the road.

I did drop the blade last night on the lake on the way back from the fish house. With all the snow this year it was getting a little deep out there. If this keeps up I'll need to keep that plowed too.

[special-K]

That looks about like mine did...as I recall. I fully understand about working within a budget. That Western Joystick was awesome. It was long enough that I could leave my arm laying on my leg and just go from joystick to gear shift. I had contracts on apartment buildings and it was a long drive down there. I had mine set up with dual batteries and a bigger alternator. I found you could only put so much windings in these alternators.IIRC it was like 67 amp. That would do but I had to have my tunes and I didn't want any problems away from home. If I don't sell my shortbed I may set that up with a plow. No need for it here but I may end up on my folk's place in the mountains if things don't get better here.

[Vintage Windmills]

The only thing better than these trucks is a truck with the period correct accessories like a winch or snowplow!

[too much stuff]

Originally Posted by Vintage Windmills

The only thing better than these trucks is a truck with the period correct accessories like a winch or snowplow!

I will get a couple more pics to share...

[Bishops Trucks]

Originally Posted by Hubscrub

what is the license plate light in the dash for?

Mood lighting for that romantic night at the drive-in.

[too much stuff]

Bishops... Good one!
Better pics of the setup. Dual batteries for those -20 start ups.
Control rods for up and down, left and right.
Actually works good once you get used to it.
Last pic is a vintage winch on my blazer. Ran out of camera battery for more pics.

[special-K]

I love vintage truck accessories as much as factory stuff. The first mount they sold me was some universal get up. It was just straight pieces of angle iron that looked like a kid in shop class could have made. AND,it required cutting holes in the core support for braces to run back through. My partner had a new '84 K/20 with a new made to fit Western. We took a bunch of measurements and concluded we could mount the '84 frame on my '71. The only thing we had to do different was,because the front of the 67-72s is move v-shaped,move the whole thing forward maybe 2". This meant we could only use one bumper bracket whole on each side and drill the other. Then,we welded a tab on the frame for a stop because they are designed to sit back against the front spring hanger. We made a bumper out of 2x6 tube that angled back outside the frame rails,like a winch bumper. It would have been cool to find an original frame for the truck,but mine looked like it was meant for it. I always wanted to find some round headlights but ended up just removing them because the truck sat up enough to not need them. I did the same thing on my '70 K/20 with a the exterior mounted pump.

[mrein3]

Originally Posted by too much stuff

Ran out of camera battery for more pics.

That will happen up there this time of year.

As long as I have a group of us together that have dealt with this type of plow set-up I have a quick question.

Just this past weekend, my hydro pump has been acting up. When you move one of the controls (left, right, or up - not down) a little wire touches a connection to activate the starter motor to provide hydraulic pressure. That connection actually appears to be making a connection to tell the solinoid to provide 12 volts via a big battery cable directly from the battery.

Well mine started to sometimes not activate the pump.

Do I shotgun it and replace the solenoid? I took a good look at it last night. The solenoid appears to be a ford style but with special mounting provisions to work with this pump set-up.

Any of you guys ever have to deal with this before? Are those solenoids available where I purchase my ancillary plow equipment? (shoes, guides, etc.)?

[too much stuff]

Tim, i know what you are saying about those angle iron ones! Cheesy! I guess they worked however.
mrein, i guess i haven't had to do much on mine, but i think the solenoids are the same as the fords... I would guess any plow dealer would have them, or try napa or similar.

[treveiger]

I know what you mean with snow removal and its getting hard to find places to put it. We do snow removal for a few rental places and a business of my fathers and it says in the lease there suppose to do it but never do and so i do a huge parking lot with a quad and got a call the next day after i did it from the manager of the land saying they didnt want me pushing snow up against this chain link fence because it could break it and so i told my father to tell them to get there worthless asses out there and do it with there payloader, it took two years for them to fix the hole in the building from when someone drove into it but when i do snowremoval there suppose to be doing i get a call in less than a day whinning i did it wrong some people are worthless but my father finally got sick of it and is now going to buy a plow for his truck.
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[special-K]

I'd say a Western dealer should be able to help with parts. Or,some auto parts stores carry plow parts. If the solenoid is generic that will be easy. But,it sounds like there's something different about it? I never really needed parts either because I bought new stuff and only plowed a few times a year for a few years. I had bought spares of parts I figured might need replacing,like solenoids and hoses,where I ought the plows.

[mrein3]

Thanks for the help guys. I'm thinking either the solenoid is bad or the brushes in the motor are bad. Since the solenoid is WAY easier to replace the way it is sitting now, I'm going to do that first. If that doesn't make the problem go away and if I can limp through the rest of this winter I'll work on rebuilding that starter motor this summer.

I vaguely remember seeing a whole new pump assembly at Northern Tool for $300 or $400. I can buy a whole lot of rebuild kits for that kind of money.

[jce4isu]

i own a lawn and landscape biz and a truck like that is on the list (shop truck) but im going to fab a ultra mount then prob do a uni conv kit so that way no one can see the mount in the summer