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Just Finished: Kelle's 1954 Chevy Shop Truck

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V8TV

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We just finished Kelle's '54 Chevy shop truck, and we couldn't have done it without the help of Classic Parts!

It's an old farm truck that we upgraded to be safe and reliable without losing the "worn-out" look. Under the patina, there are lots of new parts from Classic Parts making this truck reliable and safe. We documented the whole build on video, you can see those in the link below the pics. Thanks again to Classic Parts for stocking quality parts that fit right and do what they are supposed to do!

Before:
KelleTruckBefore.jpg


After:
KelleTruckf34s.jpg


The videos:

http://v8tvshow.com/content/blogcategory/75/167/
 
Welcome V8TV,
I started with the first film and couldn't stop till I had watched all 12. This is a great example of how we should get our trucks on the road instead of immediately disassembling them only to have them lay in the way for years till we give up on them. So many people do that and it is a shame. I have already promised to do my next one that way since my last one took from 1989 till 2007 to get done.
The one thing that I missed seeing was seat belts. I hope you just failed to mention them and that they were installed. Lap belts are a must but shoulder belts would be even better. There are several posts on here about installing them and with your shop's capability it would be a cinch.
Again, welcome and thanks for sharing.
Gater
 
Nice Truck !

I hope you clear coated the rusty bits.....

I wish I could go watch the videos , maybe I'll find a speedy computer next week .

Good job there if it's anywhere near as good as it looks .
 
Thanks, guys! We really had fun building this truck. And although it says "finished", you know they really never are.. :rolleyes:
 
I LOVE IT! (and I've only had time to watch one video...) Thanks for going through the effort to post all that for us. You know a lot of us are visual learners here. Welcome to the club!
 
Kinda Reating Myself here,,,but I am on a time limit for this part. Will a 54..or a 53 hood fit a 55 3/4 2nd ? From the look at the pics I saw from Kelle...It prob...will not
 
The 2nd series hood is nothing like the 53-54. I am certain that it could be made to fit but I'll bet you would have Chip Foose scratching his head before it was done and probably have a truck that looked like it had an engine explosion at some point in it's life.
 
MSD Box in Kelly`s 54 model truck

"farmer"
at Monday, 20 April 2009 02:24by Martinius Berg
Hey Kevin.After you instaled the MSD box in Kelly`s truck did you got any improvement in any way? Its a 6 cyl. 235 CI engine is`nt it? We are discussing the issue on classic parts of america blog 47- 54 trucks.
Be kind to give us an feedback on this one.

Regards Martinius /Norway
 
Kelle here, sorry it took so long for me to get back to you, Kevin has been under the weather so the computer hasn't been on much.
The 54 is still running great and doing well. I drive the truck nearly daily but only with about at 20 mile radius of home. I can't drive over 60 so I stay off major highways.
The MSD box was a huge improvement. When we installed the box we converted the entire truck to 12 volt. I have no problems starting the truck, it runs smooth and the MSD box allowed me to have a secret kill switch.
We noticed the spark plugs seem to stay clean and I've never had any ignition issues with the truck. The MSD box is also uneffected by cheap gas. I recently poured last years lawn mower gas in the truck and it didn't flinch.
Let me know if you guys have any other questions, I'll try to respond quicker and be as helpful as I can!
Good luck to all of you building your trucks. Drive them as often as you can!:)
 
Awesome truck, thanks for posting!

vwnate1 said:
I hope you clear coated the rusty bits.....
Click to expand...

Naah, it's patina, the whole point is it gets better with age. It wears it's scratches, dents and faded paint with pride.

Think of "clearcoating the rust" like Clint Eastwood getting a face lift. :eek:
 
Rust never sleeps

And everyone in Colorado should know that by now .

" patina " is BULLSHYTE as it guarantees the total destruction of the very things you claim to love .

Flat coat it , satin, clear whatever you want but in a few years , unprotected trucks like this , (and all those retarded rat rod cluster f#!s) will be GONE FOREVER as the kiddies move on to Kia's or whatetever is new &
' hip ' on MTV and the real enthusiasts like the rest of us , will struggle on with the ruination caused by this incredible ignorance .
 
vwnate1 said:
" patina " is BULLSHYTE as it guarantees the total destruction of the very things you claim to love .
Click to expand...

Maybe true where you live, (not sure where that is ??) but not here in the arid high plains of Colorado or other arid parts of the USA. There are vintage 20's, 30's and newer vehicles sitting just as they were parked decades ago. Rust, aka iron oxide, is steels way of protecting itself.

What V8TV has done is take a piece of vintage Americana and made it usable once again. He did it the way he wanted, and IMO, it is perfect exactly the way it is. It is unique, and unique is good. And as it ages, it will do so with character that makes it even more unique.

The rules are there ain't no rules. How about we let the owner of the truck do what they want to their own vehicle and not impose our self imposed rules on their rides?
 
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I almost bought an 51 much as you described down in the lower corner of Colorado. It had little if any rust on it. Very dirty, worn, paint was barely there but ran well considering.

Haasman
 
Hood

Of course not ~ just looking at them , they're completely different and don't look remotely alike .

Are you sure you have a 2nd design rig there ? .
 
Great job, very entertaining video. plan to the same with my 53 and ride it after mechanically going thru it. thanks,
 
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