WILL IT START? Mini Mail Delivery Van Left In The Mountains!

We recently went to look at a bunch of old vehicles that were hidden in the mountains of Tennessee and my son Ralphie found what he thought was a Cushman mini mail delivery vehicle that he just had to have. So after paying $400 for it we brought it home and now we are going to try to get it running and driving and maybe even wash it for the first time in 30 years. Will it start? Let's find out!

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[kevjo]

Sleeperdude, did you hear Dalton from PBG got that rat and mouse sickness from cleaning all the urine and 💩 from the cars, and he had to go to the hospital. He was sick for a couple of weeks. Please, you and the family, be careful 🙏 ❤

[wayneparks]

Guys, when you have a tire stuck to the rim, the simplest way to get it off is to lay it flat and pour a little gasoline around the rim and leave it set for a while. It sure worked on big truck tires. I’ve done it a hundred times. Just be patient.

[iheartimagery]

Found a website that had one of these for auction, that said these were built by Westcoast Mailer, and Rand/Cushman from the later 50's through '68. It also stated that all of these were powered with the Onan Twin Flat that was rated at 7.5 HP with 3 speed manual with a top speed of 35MPH. This was a nice find and absolute joy to hear that thing fire up!

[FransvandenBergeMuziekschuur]

This three-wheeled, gas-powered, quarter ton, lightweight mail delivery van is known as a 'mailster'. At least seven different companies produced mailsters for the Post Office Department, including Westcoaster Company, the manufacturer of this vehicle. Letter carriers began using these vehicles in the mid-1950s. Mailsters could hold about five hundred pounds of mail in their compartments.

[theodoredugranrut]

Josh proves his 20+ years as a tech in the first 9 minutes, with the bumper realignment.

[mcaraballo]

When you work on 2 PC wheels, add a little bit of air to the tube before bolting them together to prevent pinching the inner tube! Just enough air to keep its shape!

[vegansynths]

Those smiles all around once the engine got going was priceless. Glad Marge turned the camera on the family at that moment.

[alanrouse]

You have a 1958-1968 Cushman/Rand Mailster (Westcoaster was another brand name, too). There should be a mechanical fuel pump on the top side of the engine near the points box area. The round circles would have been for "Mr. Zip" (a stick-figure with a postal cap on it's head) when the zip codes were introduced in the early '60s and the squares had aluminum frames that they put posters in like warnings to not park too close to mail boxes and "avoid the holiday rush, mail early!" The rear door was a double door style (barn doors). Someone cut the side window openings way larger than what they were originally. They were half as tall with round corners. You might be able to make a rubber coupler piece for the drive shaft thing, kind of like a big, thick steering rag joint. Maybe adapt a Cadillac SRX flex joint? (rear prop shaft, front joint).

[greggthompson]

Genius dude. I bet your son is so proud to have you as a father. ❤

[RockRick]

I appreciate how hard sleeper dude works for his children. It seems this little mail delivery unit is a fight all the way so far.

[barrywgoodwin]

I have a couple very old tractors. A 56 TEA-20 MASSEY FERGUSEN, and a 59 MF 35. The points in your little buggy are very similar to the points in the TEA-20. The starter is a close match to the TEA- 20, and also the MF 35. So you likely can get parts for your engine. Now taking the starter out, I saw it coming, you made the classic mistake of spinning the Bendix all the way out. It's not ruined and is easily fixed. The Bendix is held to the shaft with a roll pin. If you bring the Bendix even a tickle past that roll pin it will not spin back in. The fix is punch out the roll pin, take the Bendix off the shaft. Take a sturdy screwdriver, and push it through the bendix where the shaft should be, then fix the screwdriver in a vice so its flat. Then take a grinder with the wire wheel and the teeth on the Bendix press the wire wheel to those, and get it spinning and the faster the better. It will allow the Bendix to turn in all the way. You may have to try either direction, but one of those will allow it to turn in all the way. Be careful getting it set in place to reinstall. Push on the shaft and carefully line up the hole with the shaft, punch in the roll pin and put the starter back together. Hope I explained well enough to make since. I learned that trick on youtube, lol.

[neil]

Onan CCK: This was designed as a generator engine, and also used in industrial aps as well. Most RVs in the sixties and seventies had generators with this series of engines. Made to run "forever" at 3600 RPM. The starter is on the lower right (looking at the flywheel end) Interestingly, the ignition system fires both plugs at the same time. (Wasted spark) Original coils had two high voltage terminals! Two coils is a common replacement. The lever next to the carb is the manual prime, and is part of the fuel pump. Parts should be no problem as they made a zillion of them, over many years. Briggs and Stratton made engines along the same pattern, too. Maybe they were all made by the same company...I don't know, but I bought a garden tractor/mower from Sears about 1976, which had an 18 HP version on it. The carb on the Briggs V-Twin engines may well fit, and it uses the same oddball mounting arrangement.

[johnmeskens]

Josh they were also made by Rand. Brakes are siame as a Nash Metropolitan. Older neighbor used to be mechanic for postal service and remembered that's what they came from basically. He also said Triumph Spitfire

[jayman]

I have to admit this is one of the cooler things saved from the woods. It is a perfect addition to go next to the Metro Mite👍

[mikecooney]

Even Squeeze smiled when that engine fired off! Another outstanding example of perseverance and patience! Keep up the good work Sleepercrew!

[AZSUN]

Is it just me, or did this thing sound like a giant lawn mower once it fired up?? Really strong work getting this old gal to turn over again and roll around the yard. Feature length vids are the best!! Being able to see start to finish on a car is sleeperdude gold at this point.

[chriscray]

Y’all are really blowing up. 274k subscribers! Y’all definitely deserve it. Great content and even the long videos leave you wanting more.

[johnnydy]

When JOSH DAD succeeds, SQUIZZY had the best smile in the world. Thanks D. Family..

[rcmentalhealthinitiative]

Thank you for letting me watch your family as mine have all passed now we worked on car's and bikes together I get great joy from watching

[jerryyoung]

Josh you are an amazing husband, father & pretty dang good mechanic & body man. Really enjoy you & your beautiful family. Keep it up.