Hey yall, great site. Ok here goes. My neighbor (female) came over one day and asked me some generic questions about her ford needing some body work. After a while I noticed an old truck in her back yard out by the woods. It was a 54 chevy 3100! She said I could look at it and see if it was worth restoring and give her a quote on it. My question is how do you know if one is worth restoring or not? It has tons of rust on the floor and firewall, bed is rotted out and it is covered with bondo from the wreck that put it out for good. The wreck didn't do too much damage to it. Banged the front bumper in and messed up the passenger side door and fender. However the engine looks great. No major problems there. If it is restorable? Where would I start since this is my first BIG job? Thanks a lot! ps. Ill put some pics of it up tonight maybe. Sure that will help out.
Pictures of the fallen Here's some pics I took. For a sad looking truck, the pictures turned out pretty good. So loving this digital camera my wife got for Christmas....lol.
It may be an old chunk of coal now... but it could be a diamond some day! Are you handy at bodywork? If you are, I smell a trade coming on! You do some bodywork on her f*%d in exchange for her giving you the truck. "Perfect World" scenerio. BTW, welcome to the group!!
Lots of work there if you are up to it...also lots of fun if you prefer to look at it that way. BTW, the hood emblem says early '55. Bob
Sweet ! My old '46 looked a helluva lot worse when I bought it . A 55.1 is the best of both worlds ~ AD looks with TF running gear , 235 engine is road ready and easy to work on or hop up , open driveline means simple to upgrade the final dsrive or add an overdrive tranny if the stock 3.90 gears aren't fast enough for you , Bendix brakes means good stopping power and cheap parts _everywhere_ . Curved windshield means better visability , esp. in rain or fog , the list goes on .
Great looking truck. Take all that sheetmetal off and blast the rust, etc. off along with the chassis and you'll see the diamond.
I'd try to get a peek underneath or if not pull up floor covering [carpet or rubber mat ]and check out floor panels, cab corners and lower fender areas for rust and then decide if your up to it or not.* All of these areas can be replaced with repair panels from this host and others.
Hell yeah its restorable! Plan on cab corners and floors, they all need those. All parts for these trucks are now being reproduced, so that obstacle shouldn't be a problem. Tear it down, soda blast it, and do it right. Learn to weld, if you can't already, get a few power tools, and have at it. Or, you could always ship it to me......
So you think the truck is a '55 or just the hood. Don't know if it is the orig one or not. May have to just check the VIN #. I think 1954 was when they started putting numbers on them.
your backyard find Below is a link to my project. You think what you've found is a bucket of rust, wait until you see mine! I'll be honest after I picked up my truck my two sons and I went over it with a fine tooth comb and afterwards I had my doubts. After spending months on this web site and reading post from these experienced members, I've about decided I can tackle anything! So take it from me, you've found a real jewel. https://talk.classicparts.com/photos/showphoto.php?photo=862
Time Hey larry how long did it take you to get the pretty out of that truck? I work the usual 8-5 mon-fri. Probably have hour after work and some weekend time. I'm guessing mine will take 18 months or so.
...he said, three years later . Do like Tailgater said. Go through the mechanicals and drive the hell out of it just the way it is. Your kid will get a lot more enjoyment out of it on the road vs. in pieces. The rust is very cool. Throw a coat of clear on it and some fancy wheels and you got a "La Troca". Way cool. Andy
No seriously Andy He said he had maybe an hour everyday after work! It normally takes me an hour to get my fingers limbered up enough to turn a wrench! Poking a little fun at ya, Alan. Never set a timetable for completing a project. That is a prescription for disaster! There are times when the most meaningless, but necessary task takes 2 or 3 days of dedicated work to complete when you thought it would take a couple of hours! So, does this mean that you bought the truck from your neighbor?
Alan, these guys are right...things take a loooooooooong time! Just judging from the pictures, it looks like an original hood to me. Even the firewall color matches. Best to check out the numbers, though. Bob
Right. I'll check out the numbers this weekend. To clear this up a bit, my neighbor has a 3 door garage she isn't using that we can put her truck in. I didn't buy it from her, she wants to give it to her nephew when it is done. I just thought it would be a fun learning experience if I did it, from her pocket book of course...lol. Never done restore jobs. My biggest job was rebuilding a 4.3L V6 Vortec for my S10. I almost cried when she fired right up the first time...lmao.
If You Part The Truck Out I Would Take The Left Rear Fender And Spare Tire Holder Off Of Your Hands. Looks Like A Nice Project. Have Fun With It. Robert
It only takes time, but it takes time I thought my 54 would take about 6 months to get on the street. I learned a lot in 3 years about these old trucks, and spent a pile of money. You have a complete truck, or what looks to be a nearly complete 55 1st 3100. You should go after the whole restoration project. Never regret it. Look at FLA54, or any of the near restored '54-55 drivers in this forum. These are cool trucks, and they drive great. Your very own one truck parade everywhere you go. my 2 cents Jim
" A real Jewel..Diamond in the rough, lot's of fun, great for a project!" Having traveled down the same road with a complete "restification" I'd like to say welcome to the forum....that's the good news! Now for some reality. Somebody mentioned checking out my album and 54 truck....which incidently was in about the same shape as the one you've shown in the pictures. I'll have to admit, my build turned out okay.....she's a head turner and the AD truck, especially the lowly 54-55-1st, will get you at least a "Peoples Choice" 8 out of 10 shows. Now for some reality......1500 documented hours and $10K in parts. Ten months full time....40-60 hours a week in my well equipped shop. I built it up to completely original stock....salvaged the original (replacement) 1956-235 engine and drivetrain. Complete new brake system including lines, dual chamber master, wheel cylinders, shoes and drums. Fortunately, the cowl was in decent shape and my major sheet metal replacement was to the cab corners and a few pinholes at the base of the windshield and only about 25 dents. I got off easy on panel replacement. So she's all back together with a new stockish interior, 12v conversion, some new rubber on the ground and I'm ready for the road. I guess if I lived in a rural area and my intentions were to putz down to the feed store and pick up a bale of hay and maybe cart some folks around in the 4th of July parade she would have been okay. At 60 mph she was really working hard.....in traffic I couldn't "lay back" far enough. I became a "target" for a bunch of little Rice burners. She just wasn't fun to drive on the highway. So onto Phase 2. This included a front disc conversion, S-10 .72 OD T5 transmission, Camaro 3.42 diff, sway bars, gas shocks, my own designed wiring harness with 24 circuits, LED tail lights, halegon headlights and many more upgrades that brought her up to todays standards for travel on the modern highway. She would cruise at 70 mph all day at 2000 rpms. Life was good!!!! Phase three saw a total engine rebuild staying with the 235 but I jumped to a 1960 core....full rotational balance, 261 grind cam, headwork, full-flow filtering, a dual carb setup with split Fentons, new radiator, A/C and finally cruise control to keep her under control. I wouldn't hesitate to drive her 1000 miles without a concern. It all boils down to what you want to do with the truck, how much expertise and equipment you have, how much time you have to work on a restoration and how much you're willing to plunk down to pay for the pile of essential parts you'll need to make it safe to take on the road. It's these factors that will dictate whether or not you should take on a project vehicle. I've found that in 40 years of resurrecting "old iron" that if you're not willing and able to pull it all together you'd be better served to look for a core that won't require so much money and time. I really don't derive any great pleasure out of sounding like the "prophet of doom" but a guy's got to know his limitations. I'd be remise if I told you that it was a "fun adventure"......it was brutal, bone-racking physical punishment, but I knew what I wanted and was willing to follow it through. I'd encourage you to check out some vendors to see just how much it would cost you to buy the parts put it back to "roadworthy", evaluate your mechanical skills at doing the work, but most importantly, how much time you have to devote to the rebuild. Hopefully, you'll heed this advice and save yourself some financial loss and the heartache of a "project" that never gets completed. Dave
Get it running, drive it, enjoy the restoration. I got my 51 running and made the mistake of dismantling everything except the cab and engine thinking I could have it back together in 6 months. Talk about inexperience! Now I've got so much time in it I'm starting to have second thoughts about throwing a "$50 paint job" on it. Spring has sprung and I wish I was out driving it. If I had a "do-over" I would chip away at the cosmetics and keep it off the road for only short periods of time.
