Nothing !- Your Paying it Forward Attitude.. Was the total -- Payment ! The previous drop shipment and todays UPS shipping costs might make the line kit one of the most expensive sets ever-- But Your Attitude is priceless ! Hope UPS treats the box better than FED- X did...
Given that I don't have truck in my hot little hands at this exact moment, the question I have is, do you think this would fit in the back of my wifes SUV with the back seats folded down. I'm unsure of the dimensions, but I've carried a lot of car parts and tires in her car (to her chagrin) but it certainly won't fit in my two door coupe....LOL
This is amazing, thank you! I promise to keep up the Paying It Forward approach to working on this truck. As I mentioned in my PM to you, I've already been doing the same thing on a Jaguar Forum I belong to and after I wrote that I forget about doing the same thing on a Jeep Forum not that long ago. Guys (and Gals) who love automobiles (and trucks) as much as we do are a bit of a fraternity that likely will cease to exist when the internal combustion engine departs the auto scene. I was just telling my 15 year old granddaughter this weekend that it is highly likely in her lifetime that she will own and drive more electric cars than gasoline powered ones. In fact, her are I are about to embark on building a model similar to one I had when I was 15....The Visible V8....anyone remember that?
Took a quick measurement on my 53 bumper Outer Bumper Mount Bolts * Bolt----------------- to Bolt * < *-- -( approx.) 5ft ( 60 inches ) --------* Center of Grill Guard hooking the bottom of the bumper to the top center of the Arch (approx.) 2ft - ( 24-25 inches)
It’ll fit. Let me know a day and time that is acceptable to you to stop by. If you can PM me your address, I can put that into my Nav system to see how long it will take.
Bob you might want to send Bruce (Climberdad) a heads up via private message Just to make sure there is no confusion. ? Just a thought
O.K., thank you guys very much ! . Not every day do I get to see this good attitude . Just Tuesday we were shopping a mile or two away when S.W.M.B.O.'s cell phone began blowing up ~ it seems the 54 Y.O. ex gangbanger who lives near the boulevard was shot and killed in the alley between his home and the local charter school . I tried to pass by when we left the store but all the streets were jammed ~ there were five sheriff cars and at least 75 gang bangers cars, all jammed in blocking the whole streets for a few blocks around . I try really hard to be nice to my neighbors and have had words with the bangers who blow through the stop sign on the corner but this is unacceptable . Anyway, keep on saving, repairing and especially DRIVING those oldies no matter what brand, remember to be a sport and offer rides to the kids around you once in a while . Bob, do you now have the truck in your possesion ? . The easiest thing is usually a make run and then drive it until you figure out how you want to proceed ~ taking it all to bits before ever driving it almost guarantees it'll be sold for parts or scrap next .
Unfortunately, no. My buddy used to live a few doors down the street but moved to central Florida several years ago. When he moved he the took the truck with him, despite my longing for it, as it was going to be his retirement project. Instead, golf and fishing now occupy his time and he's decided its time for the truck to move on. I jumped at the chance to be its next owner. The truck has been occasionally started over the past five to six years, but never truly run. My buddy has agreed to use his covered trailer to bring it to me, but I'm at his mercy on when he wants to make the drive. If he's not going to be able to make it relatively soon, I may just have it trailered by an auto moving company, so that I can get to work on it. I always tell my wife that my safety inspection for cars is far tougher than what the state of Texas requires, which honestly ain't much. Before I would drive the truck, it has to pass the Bob Safety Inspection and that requires an oil change, tire inspection (and date check), pull the wheels and inspect the shoes/drums or pads/rotors, battery and alternator, all lights (brake, turn, headlight, etc), wipers, etc. I hope to have it in the enxt month, but its up to my buddy at this point. Trust me the day it shows up plenty of pictures will be taken and posted. Here is what I know/recall about it. 1953 Chevy 3100, used to be a pusher truck on the Bonneville Salt Flats, has the original engine with a McCulloch supercharger, a quick change rear end, four speed on the floor, re-done wooden bed, etc.
Ask Nate WE like Pictures ! Get it safe-- and Rolling ! Old Trucks need their exercise ! Once you get her safely rolling ``the this and that``` will keep you close to her !
~~Anyway, keep on saving, repairing and especially DRIVING those oldies no matter what brand, remember to be a sport and offer rides to the kids around you once in a while ~~~~~~~~~ There You Go - Nate hits the mark time and time again ! Grandsons Nathan and Noah hit Grand Paw up on Sundays for A Special Sunday Cruise -- The Boys and Paw --chug chug chug --- They Love the Old Ride --
O.K. Bob ; Assume it'll need a full hydraulic brake service and maybe steel pipes before you drive it . FWIW, I dislike the factory Huck (rhymes with SUCK for good reason), luckily they're dead easy and cheap to upgrade to the far better / safer Bendix typ .
Another tricky to answer question . A "full disc brake conversion" would entail all four wheels and it gets involved and significantly more expensive once you decide you needs dear disc brakes . At that point I ass-U-me you're wanting a v8 engine, slush box tranny, A/C and so on . Then it's someone else's job to advise you, I'm a working class farmer/mechanic typ and so don't need rear disc brakes on my modern shop truck, I recently hauled a Motorcycle out of state and back on 4 cylinders and have always preferred inline 6 cylinder engines for my work vehicles . Simply adding disc brakes to the front is fairly simple, as that point I'd suggest going to a dual circuit master cylinder and probably a vacuum booster as well . As I said : it all depends on what you want to do ~ many up grade the engine and tranny and discover it's no longer a fun / pleasant / safe truck to drive..... To me this old truck is a tool , one I enjoy using and 60 MPH was fast enough for me to cross the Desert in, you may not agree .
I have no plans to swap engines. As I posted earlier, the truck has the inline six with a McCulloch supercharger (two owners ago put that in years ago). I just assumed that four disk brakes would be advisable for braking. My plans don't include engine or transmission swaps, unless something is beyond repair. Until a year ago I had a 2003 Jeep Wrangler with an inline six that had over 200,000 miles on it. I loved that engine and expect to get many years out of this trucks engine too. I do live in a suburban community that used to be mostly farms (we still can hear the cows and chickens) but many farmers have been selling out their land to developers, thus more home, more roads, more traffic. Driving at 60 will get me to and from Home Depot and Walmart, but if I ever needed to take the nearby highways, 60 mph would likely get me a ticket. The hard question for me to answer is, in Dallas can I live without AC and that question will have to wait a while, so that I can deal with my #1 goal, which is to make it reliably stop and go. Did I mention that it has a magneto not a distributor and coil?
Just an FYI. As I mentioned, there are no plans for engine or tranny swaps. The truth is my youngest son (39) has always wanted a 50's or 60's pickup truck, unfortunately he is not at the stage of life with a 15 year old daughter that there is any discretionary budget for owning anything other than a car to get to work. Before I even talked to my buddy about buying this 1953 3100 from him, I had talk with my son. First I will need his help on many aspects of making the truck safe and reliable, but secondly I didn't want him mad at me for buying the very thing he has dreamed of. The funny thing is that he said "Dad I think you should get it, that way there is a good chance that someday it can be mine" At first, I didn't get what he was implying, then I realized it and we had a good laugh, but I won't be trusting him to jack the car up if I'm getting under it....LOL (don't worry I have many jack stands that I regularly use.....)
O.K. Bob ; As you may have guessed I'm in the preserve and use camp, it sounds like you are too . I'd like to see some pictures of the engine as I really doubt a babbit pounder 216 CID engine has or would stand up to a puffer no matter how gently it might be set . The magneto sounds cool, as long as it works reliably and the engine springs easily to life, keep it I think . The brakes, for now I'd think a dual master cylinder and front disc conversion, I assume there's still plenty of autojumbles in Texas so getting an entire drum to drum 1951 ~ 1953 read end will be the easiest way to get good Bendix rear brakes, seriously consider buying the 3.55 final drive ratio gearset from Joe (AKA "Mothertrucker" on E-Bay) , that will bet your old truck up to 65 MPH without strain as will fitting the proper size (height especially) radial LT tires ~ many make a serious mistake in fitting cheaper passenger car tires, and this is a light truck ~ heavy when empty and driving it over 50 MPH means you're going to want good traction, better handling from both radials and stiffer sidewalls..... All this can be done now, then as you begin driving it you can source and replace the leaf springs , add a factory typ sway bar as fitted to the Suburbans, so on and so forth . The good thing is : there are always plenty of Hot Rodders who simply have an idea of what they want and so tear apart fully restored trucks and discard the good slightly used factory chassis parts . It takes time to beat the bushes but *very* rewarding in $aving$ (sorry, I'm a farm boy so co$t$ never leave my mind) and the feeling of accomplishment " I did this !" . Even here has plenty of old take off parts he'll sell you and is in Texas to boot .
Talked to my buddy again today about the truck. He has limited info on it since he purchased from the widow of the guy who worked on it and partially restored it. Supposedly, the engine while still the original inline six, has been bored out and stroked along with the supercharger. Other than firing it up every now and then, the truck hasn't been driven in some time. As a result, after getting the engine to run and updating things like belts and hoses after a coolant flush and oil change, with me to deal with the current set of brakes to ensure they minimally work. At that point, I can get a state inspection sticker so that I can move it about freely while deciding what needs to be done versus what I might like to do. My son and I today went to the Dallas Mecum auto auction and we saw several 53 and 54 3100's up for sale, but none crossed the auction stage while we were there. While eye catching, there were none that I would even consider copying. Most have $20k paint jobs, and air shocks so that they could be dropped to the ground......that is never in the cards for me. I want a safe, reliable, and functional truck. I actually would like to use it as a truck occasionally. I'm not looking for an award winning design, I'm not sure that I'll even get it painted as I'm told both rear fenders are in primer. Here are pics of three 3100's at the Mecum show.
Those are not for me either but to each their own . My suggestions are always oriented towards driving, enjoying and working them .
Drove out today to visit with @Climberdad and retrieve the Brush Guard that he very kindly gave me. The Guard itself is in pretty good shape. Once I acquire the truck, I will investigate using it once my other updates are completed. As Bruce indicate, this beast is heavy and shipping it wasn't really an option. I promised him that if for some reason I choose not to use it, I will pass it on to the next person who is willing to come pick it up. Thanks again to @Climberdad !
