i am envious that you are in the mother land.... Welcome Tony - love your truck and I like that you are keeping it stock. My advice is drive it now and fix it up little by little as you go. If you go up one level from this section of the forum (or just click on the big badge/star in top left corner), then scroll down about half way on the screen, you will see this section: "Trucks and Parts For Sale/Wanted". there you can post what you are looking for in the WANTED forum and also search the FOR SALE forum for what you need that others are offering. Being specific with the years and self explanatory title lines help immensely. Congrats and WELCOME!
They were gloss, as much as the rest of the truck. Yours being the deluxe "New View" cab, they may have been body color also..
Original 16" Wheels IIRC , they were split rims on trucks in '53 , those are prolly car wheels ,much better & safer . Be SURE to read the older posts on tires and use ONLY LT radial truck tires ! . There's a specific size , not the sameone the tire shop will try to sell you . Your truck will ride well and handle better , safer too with radial tires but never , EVER use car tires on a truck ! . coker is a ripoff joint , be forewarned . '
Oh, yes. I put them on the 53. Call Diamondback. Ask for Bill, Tell him Russ from Charlotte sent you. I believe the split rims were for 3/4 ton and up. 1/2 ton should have standard rims.
16" LT WWW Tires YES ! mine are going to die of old age before they look bad or show any serious wear . Please look up my older posts about this for the ' Just So ' , correct size as it's _not_ what Bill or others want to sell you ~ the idea is to have a good LT Radial tire that look correct and has a tall sidewall to ease engine RPM's and have the correct footprint so the steering is easy as it was when you truck was new . Chevy's sales sloagan " If it Steers Like A Truck , it's NOT A CHEVROLET ! true words there as you'll soon discover ~ keep this rig as close to stock as is practical , will render you with a 50 year old truck that's good for work , play or daily commuting , all in style and comfort . Don't kid your self about the other thing , these trucks , like all old vehicles , are DEATHTRAPS How you equip and drive it, mitgates this negative aspect greatly ~ I drive mine hard , far and wide , no worries . A sway bar from a Suburban is a wise bolt on improvement in handling & safety too as are _serious_ gas shocks , not just Monroe crap . . Diamonback Classis is a good place , not cheap but they use only top quality tires and so you get extremely good dollar value in the long run .
Welcome aboard. I am in the Olathe area, so just about 30 min from you. Yours looks an awful lot like mine. Except I have the much prettier GMC I have a 3/4 ton, here is what i did to mine so far! I love the patina look mine has and am not going to change it for a while any way. Here is it getting put to work! Welcome, these guys are the reason I am driving my truck already. I was just a one man show in my little garage tinkering with stuff i have never done before. Now my truck was a daily driver for 3 months this summer, when my wifes car was in a small wreck getting fixed. I still drive it every chance I get. So much fun. Good to see another younger guy doing this too! Not that y'all are old farts https://talk.classicparts.com/showthread.php?t=12386 https://talk.classicparts.com/showthread.php?t=11532 https://talk.classicparts.com/showthread.php?t=12244
Tony, You've got a real piece of history there! Hey young man, I've studied the pictures of your truck in great detail and have come to the realization that you have probably the best preserved example of a '53 PU I've ever seen. Here's a little history. The good ol' USA was deeply caught up in the Korean "Police Action" in late '52 and GM, hoping to avoid another WWII rationing program in which passenger/civilian vehicles ceased to exist, decided to cease production of certain luxury items, such as chrome plating, deluxe accommodations, etc. on their truck line. As a result, the '53 PU is the only AD model that did not offer the deluxe cab option, chrome plated bumpers, chrome hubcaps. It did, however, offer the nu-vue side windows, which your truck has. Chrome grilles were not available in '53. The outer bars were "body" color, the inner bars were "Thistle Gray". The front bumper was painted "Anvil Gray". Rear bumpers were optional, and if installed, were also "Anvil Gray". '53 hubcaps were painted anvil gray with black lettering, the only year from '49-52 that they were not chrome with red lettering. Your truck is a perfect example of all of the above! Here's a link to the GM restopak that will give you all kinds of good info on your truck. http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/chevyresto/53index.htm Thanks for posting such awesome pics. Send more! Ken
Hi Ken. Thanks for the valuable info (and the young man comment though that is my 16 year old son Joe in my avatar) The more info that I can get on the original attributes of my truck, the easier it will be for me to restore my truck to factory original condition. With little exception, my plan is to restore it to bone stock condition. For driving sake though, I plan on installing radials rather than the stock pizza cutter tires. I'll post some more engine and some chassis photos in a separate thread. Your insight is appreciated. Best, Tony
Be that as it may, my oldest granddaughter is 18, so I think i'll still call you young man! P.S. Teach that younger man well. He's a future leader!
HI I first thought it was a 54 from the big 3100 tag but they were the same on 54s. I have a 54. You have a really nice truck to restore. Corner windows as well. I would look at two catalogs to start. THE FILLING STATION 1918-1987 Trucks (GMC and CHevy) Then look at Chevs of the 40s by Ron Wade. He is a real stickler on details of older chevy trucks and cars. He has a to die for 41 Convertible with ALL 41 Options. Do you have Mike Muellers Text and pictures "Chevrolet Pickups"?
No, I've never heard of those publications. Makes sense to invest in a small library. I really want to do my homework before I start any disassembly. At this point, I think I'll recover the seat and put on some new LT radials as Nate has recommended and just drive it a bit. I want to see how it feels and get to know it first. I do plan on restoring it, but to factory specs. I looked at the 1953 Chevy truck standard equipment list and the option list. In 1953, given the Korean War effort, were radios and heaters offered in '53 on these 3100 1/2 ton Chevy trucks? Tony
Good plan! That's a good plan. Tearing it down, and rebuilding it will take a couple of years, especially if you can't work on it on a regular basis. New tires will definitely improve those bumpity bump bias plys! As for your question about radios and heaters, the answer is "yes" to both. They were both accessories available at an extra cost. You had a choice of 2 heaters, one was a recirculating air heater, one was a fresh air heater. Ken
Ken. If I were to add either the factory radio or heater, I would want to add correct factory units rather than modern service replacements. Are these tough parts in find? Tony
Tony You'll find as you tune it up and service it , that even 50 years later , these are simply wonderful driving rigs ~ take the time to lubricate and adjust EVERYTHING and put LOTS of miles on it before disassembly but BEWARE ! it's only original once and the bug , when it bites , bites hard . I'll never restore one for me . You can install any radio that makes you happy as it's YOUR truck and YOU are footing the bills ! those jerkoffs who like to pick apart your truck at the show and shine , are not true truck lovers.... I know , I'm still driving and working an unrestored 1949 Chevy 3100 base model truck and it's great ~ I never see trailer queens in Death valley or at my favorite abandoned desert junkyard 350 miles from home . Look through Evena's older posts to get an indea of what's possible , also , er , uh ~ what'sizname in N.C. (sorry CRS strikes again) , many here have restored or better , overhauled and rebuilt , thier old AD's and get far more pleasure out of them . My advice is basic Farm/Used Car/Junkyard/Field Service/Dealer Mechanic so take it with a grain of salt as it's slated towards using and ENJOYING your old truck , not making it into any magazine .
Opp ! Crs ! Brain farts ! Gimme a break guys . Yes you Russ , your ' How To Assemble An AD ' thread is mandatory reading for any AD lover , stock or modified . EVAN too , has many good , on point posts Many here do , I just wanted Tony to get a feel for it and begin driving his '53 whilst he's up - fixin' it...
