The first splash of red has been applied to the tank, albeit by way of a primer coat. The enamel trunk letters are now finished and a prototype has been produced of the Heil hand / foot rail pedestals.
Category: Restoration (Page 1 of 4)
A rolling chassis is only weeks away. Enamelling has begun on the trunk letters, the cab and tank have finally been reunited and we have purchased a rare keyhole sign from the original Texaco truck fleet.
Steve has stripped down and reconditioned the Diamond T steering box. We have also made progress with the pedestal design after discovering the existence of another Heil tank.
We always knew that the body preparation on this restoration project was going to require a more specialised, talented approach. And that is exactly what we have got with Auckland based panel beaters, Rowan Glass and Nick Saunderson.
The pedal assembly has been stripped down and reconditioned, and the rear springs painted. After a ten week pause, work is under way again on reassembling the chassis.
The reassembly of the truck has finally begun with Steve piecing together the front end. Work has also started on the enamel ‘Tour With Texaco’ lettering on the trunk.
For 18 months, I searched extensively for information on the Heil pedestal design. The answer to this mystery came by way of a special friendship and a single black & white photo.
There is a long list of parts from the Diamond T truck and Heil tank that need to be either rebuilt or made from scratch. I have selected three for this post – two new creations and one rebuild.
Moving one step closer to getting the ’38 Texaco tanker painted, the cab and Heil tank have been blasted and epoxy primed. Diamond T rubber parts have been manufactured, and Steve is currently painting suspension and brake components.
Continuing with the chassis restoration, the next step was to affix the fish plates to the chassis rails. Replicating the original construction would involve hot riveting the two steel surfaces together.
