Jim Thwaite's 1949 Chevy 1/2-Ton

15 May 2006
# 1527

From Jim :

           Hello Stovebolters! New guy here. Posted in the wanted ads a few days ago but now that I have found my truck I wanted to post a little intro.

           My name is Jim and I'm a caraholic. Without the gory details, I found myself sans truck when I sold my newer S10 recently. I no longer needed a truck for daily use but I do need to tow my little autocross car locally and occasionally pick up something bigger than a breadbox at the Home Depot. I have had classic Chevys before (a '64, '65 and a '67) and wanted another. I was hoping to go older than my previous forays and hoping to get something with a modern drivetrain to make it usable.

           Tonight I made the deal on a '49 with a 350 transplant, auto trans, power steering and disk brakes and 3.08 rear. Just about perfect. She is something of a 50 footer right now. The body is solid but the paint job was done poorly and there are some tweaks I would like to do to the body before I respray her. But she is so very cool and I love her already.

           I will probably take the styling even more low key and classic-looking by the time I'm done.

           It's white for a reason ... it hides flaws. I will probably spend a few too many hours redoing the bodywork (seems me and the previous owner have differing opinions on what "minimal" filler means) and then repaint. Probably to match my little race monster -- a deep gray metallic, maybe with black fenders. That part of the plan is still a bit up in the air.

           I am happy the conversion is done. My goal was either cosmetically perfect with mechanical issues or mechanically right with cosmetic issues. All things considered, I'm glad the mechanicals are done -- keeps it driveable. I find I loose my enthusiasm with too much down time off the road. Although there are some bits I will redo there as well. One is disk brakes but no power. There is still alot of pedal travel between moving and stopped. And other little issues but overall it's mechanically sound.

           Wondering about going to the Stovebolt Meet and Greet at the ATHS Convention. It is a fine idea were I going to be around for it. Baltimore is only an hour and a half from here, and I head down there at least once a month. Unfortunately that weekend I will be trying to survive the BABE rally. If you haven't heard of this insanity yet check it out. Essentially me and my three teammates will be attempting to pilot a vehicle from NYC to New Orleans in four days. No big deal you say? Oh, the rules state the vehicle had to be bought for $250 or less. We have a craptastic '82 Chevy G20 conversion van that we got for $200. We have packed our duct tape, zip ties and AAA cards and we are hoping for the best.

Jim Thwaite
Bolter # 11095
Blackwood, New Jersey