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The Stovebolt Page
41370 Friendship Court
Mechanicsville, MD 20659-3853

No parts of this site, its contents, photos or graphics may be used without permission.

Copyright © 1995-2008
Mechanicsville, Maryland

Who / what is Stovebolt?!

    Stovebolt.com is proud to be a wholesome, traditional down-home family web site. Families, and their traditional values, are not only welcomed here, but hopefully may even find a cool, quiet rest stop away from the din and racket of the Information Super Highway.

    This site is a family affair -- from the family who designs and over sees it, to the families who use it. This is / should be a family hobby, so we recognize and thank our supporting families and welcome their participation.

    From all of us here in the virtual garage, we hope you enjoy your visit. Hang out, stay late (just don't get in trouble!) and hurry back.

Thanks for stopping by and participating!

John & Peggy Milliman

About the 'Bolt

    Stovebolt.com originated in the Fall of 1995 when John Milliman created this site as a project to learn web site coding and design. With input from Barry Weeks, the site started out as just an information site for 1939 and 1940 Chevy trucks. One of very first 'Bolters (who is still active) was Don "Down2Sea" McLendon. In 1997, Tom Brownell, then editor of Vintage Truck Magazine and author of "How to restore your Chevrolet Pickup," suggested we expand the site to cover more models and we created the basic site layout still in use today, albeit greatly expanded! In 2000, we added an interactive discussion forum.

    Today, Stovebolt.Com is run on a daily basis by Peggy Milliman. John mainly just tries to stay out of the way and avoid crashing the server ... again. (John provides design and content help when Peggy grants him permission to touch the computer...) Our Technical Support is provided by Paul "The Geek" Schmehl (who we absolutely could not exist without). We also rely heavily on many volunteers who help with content review, forum moderation and general correspondence -- as well as myriad other essential tasks. Their help has really powered up the content on the site!

    We are also very grateful to our generous donors and loyal sponsors. We've been able to create the very best web site of its kind on the net with up-to-date hardware, software and contemporary design without over commercializing the site. And it helps keep the lights on!

    Why do we do it? Because it's fun! From the beginning, we've tried to foster a down-home, family friendly atmosphere that welcomed all -- from folks who didn't own old trucks, but liked them, to the "tribal elders" of the old truck hobby. Having grown to more than 20,000 pages of content, 7 million hits per month on average and nearly 20,000 registered users from around the world, we think it's worked! We hope you like it!

What's a 'Stovebolt?'

     The term "Stovebolt" actually is an historic moniker for the famed Chevrolet L-6 (straight six, in-line six, etc.) overhead-valved engines produced from 1929 to 1962. The nickname generally applies, as well, to trucks (or cars) equipped with those engines (check our FAQ).

    Where the term originates is a subject of much debate! The most plausible explanation is that the push rod covers on the sides of the early sixes were attached with fasteners that looked very much like the typical fasteners used to assemble wood stoves -- either a testament to the engine's ruggedness or a Ford-derived epithet poking fun at the engine's supposed simplicity and lack of elegance. Like flatheads are elegant ... ha!

    For the purposes of this web site, however, we take a more "Jimmy Buffett" approach! As Margaritaville can be anywhere you want it to be, "Stovebolt" can be what we want it to be, and therefore, we apply the term liberally to any GM truck (Chevrolet, GMC, Samson or other GM branded truck) built before the 1973 model year, regardless of what engine it has. In 1973, GM introduced the more modern trucks with a plethora of options and we decided trying to cover all that was beyond the scope of what we wanted to do with this web site. We have left that vast field of interest to other ambitious web developers!

    Some other related terms:

• Stovebolter, or "Bolter" for short, then is anyone with an interest in, love for or ownership of these great trucks, and thereby is automatically a "member" of this site!
• "The Bolt" is a commonly used nickname (at least by Bolters) for this web site. And we hope you enjoy using it!
• A "Big Bolt" is any GM truck rated 1.5 tons or larger.

    Still have questions? Please try our FAQs, our Tech Tips or the Discussion Forums. Please use the menu bar at the left (or bottom of the page) to explore the site -- hopefully, you'll find what you're looking for.

    Even better, we think you'll find something cool you weren't looking for!

OLD TRUCKS ROCK!