Gater, is this a test or did you get... A 1951 3/4 ton pickup built in Norwood, Ohio in December of 1951. 543rd one to roll off the line. Inquiring minds want to know
Ken, Sorry, I missed that. No. I have a really good VIN plate for a 3/4 ton. Now I just need to find a truck to go with it. I am on the hunt though. There are a couple on ebay that are near here but I find it hard to pay $1500 for a truck that has rusted out in this climate when I here Nate and others talk about good trucks sitting out west that have only a little surface rust. The killer is seeing that recent boneyard photo of all those trucks. Those wouldn't sit here for a week before they would all be gone to a good home. Wish me luck! Gater
Welcome aboard! Your S/N breaks down as follows. 1954 1/2 ton built in Baltimore, MD. It was the 7654th model to roll off of the line.
Thanks Ken: thanks for your help. Can you direct me to any information on replacing door latches and striker plates and adjusting doors?
Do you have a copy of the 1954 Chevrolet Truck Shop Manual? It has some good info in it. If you don't, many vendors sell reproductions of it or you can go online to the "Old Car Manual Project" and see it online. Here's the link: http://chevy.tocmp.com/shop/1954truck/index.html
Doorlatch Service & Adjustment Good morning Mr. Green ; I have written about this in detail so please search the archives but the basics are : clean and lubricate the latch , BEWARE or re-pop latches ! most are worthless . DO NOT use re-pop striker plates ! . Your '54 has the later , better design latches & strikers , there _must_ be shims behind the strickers so they stand proud of the doorsill and fully engauge the latch ~ I like to cut up the junk re-pop strikers and use them as needed to shim the strikers . NEW or _PERFECT_ screws holding the strikers and they all MUST MATCH and have the special star washers . Adjust so the latch is -centered- as the door closes , this may require you to adjust the door itself so the belt line doesn't line up properly , this is how it was when new , poor door fittment (along with water leaks & wind whistles) is the scourge of these fine trucks . Anyway , leave the screws just loose enough so you can bump the striker thisa-way & that , once it's where you like it , be sure it's not set too far _in_ then use a hand impact driver to really tighten the screws else the striker will drift out of adjustment agin in a week or less . The doors should close and latch without slamming , just a firm push . Remember : first you _MUST_ remove the latch and fully de-grease it and then dry and lubricate it with White Lithium Grease , I use the stuff in Foo-Foo cans from OSH , LOWE'S etc. I hope this helps .
Doors Nate: Thanks This may sound dumb-but do I need to remove the inner door panels to replace the latches?
There Are NO ' Dumb Questions ' ~ ...Only dumb answers (like mine ) As you need to disconnect the link between the inside handle (called a " remote ") , you'll need to take off the inside trim panel and the latch comes out through that drap door cover down in the lower front of the inside . It's been _forever_ since I did a Task Force (the 1970's I think) so hopefully a member here who's done one recently will soon chime in . Door work is dirty and time consuming but has big rewards when they open & close nicely and the windows roll up and down without force . Take the time to clean out all the collected leaves and dirt in the very bottom of the door as this prevents rustout , there's actually drain holes along the bottom edge that are most certainly clogged with debris now . if you look in the archives you'll find I've written detailed door latch service instructions but after a time , I had to go hunt up some N.O.S. latches as my early typ failed , in traffic and _everything_ inside the cab except me , flew out into the middle of an interestion , think about this when you're planning to not install seatbelts ~ these old rigs are DEATHTRAPS plain & simple so plan accordingly , install and USE seatbelts , every time , NO EXCEPTIONS ~ you don't want someone you know , crippled or killed whilst riding in your truck . 'Nuff said ? .
Doors Nate: thanks We have already had seat belts installed by the auto restoration shop in our area that did some work on the truck for me, but I want to work on the doors myself to eliminate the need for slammin...
