well just bought into the classic era...

hey Im 32 and just finished a hot rod mustang and was looking at getting into a classic truck soooo after countless hours of searching in the local papers and craigslist I bought this
1954 3100 chevy




cab corners are good the floor is shot, all glass is good except the pass side doorbut I think I can fix'er up nicely....havnt figured out if Im going to throw a 350 in it or just redo the engine thats in there.....
Anyone want to let me in on how to start getting rid of the tons of surface rust and make sure it doesnt come back.....count out sandblasting It out of my budget right now....
Im going to be lurking alot learning as much as I can from you guys....
Thanks in advance
Gary

 

Welcome gary!!!

Welcome to the nut house! It looks like you already have the labor force there! Are those your young ones, or happy neighbor kids?
When it comes to rust removal, I'm right there with you! Of course, I have this wierd desire to do everything myself, and I'm not up to renting what I need just to blow a hole in my truck. I HAVE fallen in love with the 3M wheel! It fits in a drill and takes the truck down to bare, beautiful metal! After I get to that point, I hit it with etching primer, sandable primer, (both rattle can paints) sand lightly, paint while praying. It's been fun.

My thoughts on the six~ if it runs, put as little into it as you can and run it til it drops. (which will be years from now...) THEN put a V8 in it. In the mean time, you can make sure your steering and suspension is up to snuff.

Don't lurk, however. Speak up and ask questions! Everyone here has put up with me now for quite some time. Join in and WELCOME!

ps~ love the grille guard!

 

Body looks pretty decent from what I can tell in the pictures....leave it patina!! save money not having to paint it...
Other than that, looks like you've got a good base to start on. Keep posting pictures
Josh

 

Oh...........and if you are up to maybe selling the grille guard.....i'm interested!!!!!!!!!
Josh

 

absolutely its yours if you want it....pm me

I ran down and bought 3 of the 3m brillo paint removers and they work great.... one door is already done.....
Is it hard to get the hood decor that went ontop of the hood....if so I may weld up the holes inthe top....Thanks

 

Welcome to the best of 1954

54's may not the prettiest of the AD's, but they are the most modern (except for the 55 1st).

Build it with the 235, you will love it for what it was, and how much of a hoot it is to cruise around in.

If I can do it, anyone can do this, given enough time and advice. The advice is right here for the most part.

Congratulations on choosing a real truck for your next project.

Jim

 

Gary,

Do Not, I repeat, DO NOT take it all apart!!! If the engine is stuck, search earlier posts on how to free it up and be patient with the soaking of the cylinders. I can't tell you how many stories I have read about these trucks that came out of farmers fields with stuck motors and how they were brought back to life. It may take a month of soaking, but it will free up. Throw a radiator in it (there's plenty of used ones out there), freshen up the brakes, drive it around the and annoy the neighbors. Take it to Home Depot and load it up and go off to the dump after spring cleanup. These things are a real hoot to drive and you will get plenty of "thumbs up" while tooling around town.

If you take it all apart, you may just never get it on the road. My advice is to spray the whole thing down with clear coat to stop the rust, get the engine running and drive it around and have some FUN with it until you decide how and what you are going to do with it.

Andy

 

Welcome

What a great place to be with a stock or custom build.
Was 54 the only year that came with the dip in the rear fender for the spare tire????
Again welcome
robert

 

Welcome to the nut house Gary!

Really nice looking project truck! You'll enjoy it.

Robert, in answer to your question, the side mounted spare option was available in '53 (RPO 341), as well as '54 and '55.1 trucks.

 

Welcome

I agree with ZIG the 3M wheel will become your friend. You will spend many intimate hours with it.
EASTWOOD rust products are the easy to use and do a good job. Their rattle cans have the best spray nozzles, they put out a wide spray and are easy to clean.
Put your helpers to work too

Gene

 

The "dip" in the '54 bumper is to make room for viewing the license plate which was moved to the center of the rear bed cross member under the tailgate from it's former position on the side of the bed in earlier models.

Andy

 

well Ive decided to get it up and running for now and then figure it out.... never driven anything this old but my dad is the one pushing me to just drive it like it is....he used to drive one of these on the farm so hes stocked about the truck....Ive already sanded of 90% of the rust on the cab and as I was working on the inside I found...... a what looks like ash tray that hooks to the dash and I found something ill take a pic and you tell me....it doesnt have a radio in it but Ill find one and its missing the hood bird.....but ill try amd get it running and send some video......ill get the items up so you the forum can tell me what they are and if I have them in the right spot or not

Oh and the kids in the pic is the guy I bought it from there were a ton running around and they wanted to be in the pic

 

great find

like hooking up with an old lost long friend. enjoy !

 

what is this thing it has a mirror like background....

and here is the ash tray on the dash i founf under the seat

 

i think im the third to agree with zig on the 3m wheels they work wonders ive stripped 50% of my truck so far ond only used 3 wheels so fat $30 to strip the truck to bare metal not a bad deal

 

Gary, the thing you've got on your dash with the mirror like background is an aftermarket "traffic signal light viewer". It was used to help you see what color a traffic signal was. They came in really handy if you had an exterior sunvisor which obsured your line of sight while looking up at the traffic signal. Are those letters or numbers in the middle? If it says "Guide", it's definitely something that Chevy offered back then, as Guide provided most of the lens for Chevy in the 30's, 40's and 50's.

Ken

 

Item under seat...

That was the year the first "cup holder" came out.
You have the prototype.
The only problem was, all the farmers kept busting a gut that someone would actually drive a truck with a cup full of ANYTHING! (It was a fella from England that said it would be a popular addition to ANY truck OR car...)
So, it was agreed that the cup holder idea would go and you'd just continue to stick the can (or bottle, if you weren't into target practicing) between your legs and drive like normal.
Neat find though~ I'm sure it will fetch a fine penny on e-bay!

MAN! You have really gone to town on your truck! Keep up the great work!

 

WOW!!! thats cool do you think I should paint it the same color as the dash then??.....also On my hood I have holes for the hood eagle or plane.....do you know which one went on the 54???......thanks Im finding all this Very interesting

 

Our host sells a repop of the original accessory eagle hood ornament. It ain't cheap. Click on this link to see what it looked like. www.classicparts.com/1954-Accessory-Hood-Eagle/productinfo/59-616/