1949 Chevrolet 3800 1-Ton

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

	Owned by Jon Gersbach "aggie jon" Bolter # 19271 Temple, Texas Join the talk about this truck in the Tons O' Fun Forum

14 February 2011
Valentine's Day
# 2870

More pictures of my old truck

From Jon :

Ever since I was 13 years old, I have wanted an Advance Design Chevy.  My best friend and I would talk at great length about how we would fix one up.  Of course, back then it was high performance 350 engines, racing slicks, mirror glass paint with flames, all the custom billet appointments -- a hot rod.  That’s what every high school kid wants.

I’ve grown up some, but have never lost the desire for this year model of old truck. 

Last year, I had the idea that I wanted to start a farm to family vegetable operation, selling farm fresh vegetables at Farmer’s Markets and direct to customers to help finance my not-yet two year old daughters’ college education.  After a conversation around the bed of my pickup, I determined that I wouldn’t eat veggies delivered from it if they were free.  It just had some things in it that don’t appeal to most peoples’ palate. 

So I decided that what a great marketing tool it would be to sell our bounty from the end gate of a vintage truck.  A truck from an era which stirs emotions of family farms and days gone by, and would satisfy my want for an AD truck! 

I made up my mind that I wanted a one ton with a dual rear wheel setup.  After several months of searching the hedgerows, old barns, and abandoned fields searching for one nearby, I turned to the internet and found one for sale on Craigslist. 

I contacted the seller and he sent me some pictures.  It looked to be in great shape. The family who was selling it told me that they bought the truck from a neighbor who bought it new in 1949.  They purchased it in 1978 to haul fuel around the farm. They were cleaning out some extra equipment. 

The holidays came by and after all the dust cleared, myself and a couple of friends loaded up and made the very cold 18 1/2 hour round trip from Central Texas to Wichita, Kansas.  So we got the truck home and unloaded. 

After I went over the truck a little closer, I decided that this was a great deal. 

I started getting it ready to get going again. The truck had been parked six years in a barn, but was put up well.  I checked for water in the oil, and had none.  Removed the spark plugs and dribbled a little penetrating oil in to lube the rings. After replacing the condenser and filing the points, and dribbling gas down the carb since the fuel pump was gummed up, I attempted to start it.  With some help from my neighbor, it fired on the second spin and ran like a top. 

I have started restoring the old truck and am in the process of disassembling the items that need to be refinished and repaired.  My daughter Emma has determined that it is “Emma’s Truck”. 

This will be a work in progress for a while, but for now, it has been an enjoyable process.  I am blogging about the restoration, so watch the progress of the truck.

Thanks to all the members of this site whose experiences and wisdom has been an absolutely invaluable resource.

-30-