Shawn Burrell's 1951 Chevy 1/2-Ton

From Shawn: 

      I've been a member of The Stovebolt Page since July, 2004. It has been very helpful.

      I bought my '51 Chevy almost two years ago and have gone through the whole thing. It was a mess. It had a 350/350 in it without a cross member. It had motor mounts tacked to the frame and one was broken with a chain wrapped around the motor to keep it in place.

      Needless to say, I drove it home like that and started hunting for replacement parts. I got a donor cab and replaced the dash, since most of mine was hacked out. I replaced the rusted out floor with metal from the donor, and used the steering wheel and other miscellaneous small items from the donor cab. I picked up two replacement doors that were in far better condition, an old original seat, radio grille, glove box door, bumpers, inner fenders, a donor rear fender to cut up for a patch.

      The brakes were in bad shape so I replaced them with all disc Camaro brakes. With the help of the Lucky Bastards Car Club, I installed a x-member for the 350 and boxed the front end of the truck. I replaced the carb and cleaned up the motor. I had to replace the outer cowl of the passenger side of the truck and both inner cowls. I replaced the rear glass and door glass and recovered the seat with a recover kit from Chevy Duty.

      I've also replaced the rotton bedwood with plywood and put the strips over it. I re-located the gas tank to the rear. I installed a wire harness, wipers, heater and turn signals.

      The truck still needs come work, but it's mostly cosmetic.

      I've been driving the truck daily since the end of February and even drove it to Vegas with my wife last month -- 650 miles each way!

      Thanks for the great site!

Shawn Burrell
"Burrell"
Cotati, CA

      Wow, these black and white photos really take me back to the '50's (I was there! I was brand-spanking new in 1951) ~~ Editor