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The Gallery | |||||
1955.2 Chevy 3100 NAPCO |
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# 2923 More pictures of my old truck From Michael : Don't know why I never got around to getting images in the Gallery, but after six years, here we go. The body of my truck is a 1955.2 Chevy 3100 2 wheel dirve from California. It used to be an electrical wiring business truck from the faded logo on the side. The truck was in much worse shape than advertised. The floor pans, cab corners, lower fenders, doors and the bed sides were trashed. Oh, well, it gave me a reason to learn MIG welding! After some research, I discovered that NAPCO Industries offered the system. I ended up finding a 1958 Chevy Panel truck that was special ordered for the Forest Service or some other government department. It had the NAPCO 4x4 system with a very rare Braden winch and optional 17.5 inch rims, including the spare! The body was hopelessly rusted and was literally collapsing on top of the frame. I had previously cut the '58 body up into small pieces for disposal. A large body panel went to fix a friend’s '58 ‘Burb so not all was lost. Had the frame sandblasted. Then sprayed it with the epoxy and Classic Black as well. Installed brand new 350 crate motor I got for $800 bucks! The foundation was complete! New doors, new bed sides, driver side front fender were ordered when a good discount came up (usually around Christmas). The next two years were really welding, sanding, spraying, sanding, repeating. Then used POR 15 on the bottom of the cab and on the inside of the fenders. Then top coated them with POR 15 Hardnose paint that was pretty close to the final color and mounted the cab, which was a rather hairy process. Got the cooling system in and started on the wiring so I could get the engine started. Success! Here's a video of the start-up!
I had to do a lot of welding, shimming, cussing and some filler (never more than 1/8th) to get it to an acceptable level. I have no doubt that a master body man could have tweaked the panels so no filler would be necessary but a master I am not. Here's a video of the bed being assembled. Bad choice on restoration shop. My truck languished for five months before the cab was done. The guy hadn't even started on the hood and rear fenders. I pulled the job and found another shop to finish the parts. Here is the final product. Well not really, I have a long list of little things that need to be fixed or completed but I am having a hard time getting to those items because I'm enjoying my ride!
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