Hi, This is my first post in your forum. I'm from Paris in France and I just bought and imported a beautiful 1950 Chevy pickup (coming from Los Angeles, so 6000 miles from my home ). Below, the first time I see it, in the harbor : and after a new battery and a little gas, it is ready to run for 150 miles by the highway to my home : It is a great project for me (not the first one, I already had several old cars) but because it is very old, unknown in France, with the difficulty to have parts... but a real pleasure to run this piece of the "american dream" (this is the idea this truck gives to french people). I think I will have some questions for you during the restoration I would like to launch with this truck, even if it runs fine, there are lots of things to do (but it is what I expected.... to work on it is my lobby).
Fab, well welcome! Bon Aventura. That is so great a 150 mile road trip getting off of the ship. I love it...put and keep it on the road! If I were anywhere near, I would be with you...well, at 50 miles an hour. You will be causing a sensation. Have fun on this first trip. You will remember it forever. It is the journey, the journey of a new life. If it original built, check the fluids often. Don't depend on the gauges, yet. Again, welcome! Rod
Welcome aboard! Lot's of good info here. Make sure you check out the links at the top of the forum. Russ (Ol' Chevy) has done a great job of detailing his rebuild.
Welcome! If she was up to a 150-mile road trip "right off the boat", I'd say JUST DRIVE HER. Give her a full "tune-up", and fix issues as they arise (or before). The patina I see in the pictures will be MUCH more of a conversation starter than a fully restored vehicle.
I have probably restored, partially restored, or just did work on several thousand AD trucks and the 1950 is my very favorite and to top it off it's a THREE window; just can't get any better than this. I see you pulled the Fulton visor off---don't let it go cheap. We have a 1952 in the shop right now that the owner paid big bucks to get the "old" look in a new paint job that your getting for free. Wide whitewalls, head light eye brows, twin spotlights; it could be the 1950's again (I wish!). Keep us updated.
Thank you for your welcome ! The 1950 three windows is also my favorite, it was my first choice and I was lucky to find it in a good condition for my project. Actually, I pulled the Fulton visor off, because I can't see the road ... and I will remove head light eye brows, twin spotlights and pieces of wood above the bed (I'm looking for something sober). The base is fine : - no rust - rebuilt engine and gearbox : This is not the original one, it is the Chevy 250 inline6 with a Saginaw manual 3 speeds. I'm happy of this, better on our modern roads and very closed to the origin. - brakes are new - gas tank, electric harness, tyres, exhaust... new But I have some works : - interior needs full restoration - bed needs a new floor - body needs a new paint (I will keep the patina for some months, but a new paint is my project) - and lot of small works to fix issues I already found lots of information on this forum, but I will have lots of questions too... so be prepared !
Fab, Keep us updated on your 50's status. I don't know what February weather is like in France or what facilities you have to do work in so maybe work is in limbo now. I remember the weather in northeast France during late January during the WW2 Battle of the Bulge was very severe. You mentioned re-paint so I dug back into the photo collection and come up with some that might give you a few ideas and maybe get the juices flowing. Pictures 1, 2, and 9 are the exact same paint, GM Bright Red but one has gloss clear and the other flat clear for an "old" look. Next is gloss clear over the original patina to keep the look but preserve the metal A bright color, orange in this case, but any would work A two tone, a custom here but the factory offered bodies one color and fenders/running boards in a contrasting color Pics 5 and 8 are factory green which MANY were painted Some are out of order but you can match them up
Hi coilover, Sure I keep you updated, but it is a long project for 1 or 2 years I think as I do all by myself (except the final paint). Weather is bad in Paris, we had snow and I didn't have lot of time to work on the Chevy. Nevertheless I started to review the electrical harness... it is a new 12V one but the installation is bad and nothing works. Now I have lights and turns, so it is a good thing. Next step is the alternator but it will be easy because I found lots of information on this forum !
And many thanks for the photos.... I found a part of the old paint and at the beginning it was green. But I would like to keep it in red, with maybe a metal red from Chevrolet (why not the 2016-2018"Long Beach Red").
Hi, Some news from France First meeting with my Chevy, a great success and lot of people look around with lot of questions : But now the project is starting : bed, hood, fender, doors, engine... all has been removed from the chassis except the cab which is in great condition. Chassis, brakes and suspensions are done: Engine (already rebuilt in the US) has been painted and install with new parts : Interior done as well, new paint and insulation : Bench is ready, I bought the new foam here in France, but I'm still waiting for the seat covers which I ordered in the US to Raybuck Auto Parts... I also placed an order with ClassicParts so I hope to be able to finish the interior very soon. And the next step will be the body, but with some work to have something perfect with a new glossy paint.. I already found the color, it is a french color from Peugeot, but very closed to the "Long Beach Red" from Chevrolet:
Wow!! You are really getting after it! I love what you’re doing and I love the dressed up 6 cylinder! Thanks for sharing your project with us. We love photos and it doesn’t look like (at your pace) we will have to wait too long for the finished product! Keep turning heads over there!
Sure, the 250cid is nice and running fine now with some adjustments (and a new carburetor ) The body preparation is very long and I have not a lot of time to work on it, but it is quite good now... the cab, front fenders and hood are ok and I already painted door frame to help my painter : IMG_20180929_141514 by Fab posted Mar 26, 2019 at 10:46 AM So the truck is quite ready to have his new paint (rear end with bed will be painted later as I still have some work on it). In parallel, I'm working on the suspension with Sid from Nostlagia's Sid... I just received a 4" dropped axe, front and rear springs from Posies, and some parts prepared by Sid... only need to be installed.
Nice its looking good ...when I bought that truck I had to dig it out of a field were it sat for many years since the early 80s had lots of fun with the truck
