Dave Shirlin's 1955 Chevy 1st Series 3100 -- A North Carolina Stovebolt!

Thought it might be a good time to update my pictures of our 1955 1st Series 3100. She is even beautiful in black and white.

We have added Red Oak bed rails to achieve the farm truck look. We are still amazed at the attention this truck gets. She is still running like a top and very reliable.

Well, finally ... I am at the point where I can send some photos of my old Chevrolet pick up. She is a 1955 1st Series 3100 1/2-ton truck.

I purchased the truck in September of 2000. The project took three years to complete. During this time, I have also restored one house and am currently undergoing another house renovation -- an 1885 Farmhouse -- but that is another story.

When I purchased the truck, she was in Cary, NC. The truck had been in an accident that destroyed the grill, right front fender, and inner fender. The owner basically told me the truck is "as is" and "as is" meant it was sitting at a service station, not running. I had the mechanic who knew the truck well, install a new gas tank, fuel pump, and filter. I went to pick her up on a Friday afternoon and had to drive it 55 miles in the rain. I got a quick introduction to vacuum wipers and shifting a 3-on-the-tree, in Raleigh-Durham rush hour traffic (where folks still drive 70 mph in the rain).

When I arrived home, my wife and kids were waiting. The first thing my wife said was "is that it???" The damage made the truck look worse than it really was.

Once I learned where to source parts from, the restoration progressed along fairly well. I have to get props to the folks at American Classic Truck, Rons Chevy Truck Parts, Oldie Goldie, Brothers, Golden State Truck, and special thanks to our Stovebolting buddy, Joe Mendola at Mother Truckers. Joe helped me out with the stuff that you can't get. You guys be sure to support Joe as those hard to find parts unavailable in repro can be a real challenge, and Joe came through a number of times for me.

I also have to send a thanks out to my buddy, Mitch Causway in Tarboro for the moral support as well as the help. My Dad, Dave Sr. also was a big help on the body work. Lastly, I have to thank my wife for all of her support and patience ... especially patience.

I did all of the work myself on the restoration with the exception of paint. I had a fear of painting it after stripping four layers of paint and working many hours on the body work.

She is not a show truck but a pretty nice-looking driver. We already enjoy riding around the mountains of Western NC. My kids, Kyle and Emma love to ride in her. My little boy Kyle, age 6 is already planning his restoration.

Anyhow, I would appreciate your adding my truck to the gallery. I have visited your website many times during my restoration when I needed motivation or needed a link. Thanks for the great website. I am (was) a rookie to the hobby and the links were a great source.

Dave - Beautiful job! Thanks for the great write up and I'd say you would easily give a few pros a run for their money. ~~ Curator