Owned by Don Jameson "mrduck" Bolter # 26492 Lancaster, California

1957 Chevy Panel

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From Don :

Hey, thanks for doin' this! I bought the old Chevy Panel truck back in 1977 -- full-on hippiemobile complete with shag carpet everywhere inside.

The truck had stone stock running gear then, a six banger with a three on the tree and the foot starter. The motor was shot when I got it. I pulled it and the tranny out, ripped out the clutch linkage and tossed all of it.

I got a shortblock 283, a used set of heads, 4 barrel intake and a Holley 650. I added some headers and an old points distributor from various sources. I bolted up a 350 turbo tranny, some after market tube motor and tranny mounts, and got the truck running and drive-able!

Good thing that truck can't talk about the "activities" that went on in the back!!! Only the kinda stuff one can get away with in one's youth!

I used the Panel as a work truck for years while I built houses, and the weekend race hauler, pulling a bike trailer to the desert races. Made one trip to Florida and two trips to Ohio, plus all over Southern California.

After all this abuse, the truck got parked. Wife and kid came along, life happened, but allways hung on to the Panel.

My son at about 12 years old says one day, "Dad, we should do something with that old truck out back!" So, while I handed the wrenches, him and a cousin of the same age started pulling it apart, and the greasy-er and grimey-er the better for them!

We pulled the front clip off, pulled the motor and trans out along with the gas tank. Cleaned every thing up and a part at a time put it all back together. Then we started driving it again!

Fast forward to about three summers ago, time for round two! Pulled the front clip off again, (the only way to work on these trucks) and installed the power steering, power disc brakes from CCP, a Camaro rear end, and re-wired the entire truck with a kit from Ron Francis Wiring. And as long as it was apart, shot the primer on all the body parts before we put it back together.

That mix and match 283 is still in there, but it's tired! Musta fried about four trannys but that old motor is still running!

This Panel is the family heirloom now!

Thanks again,

Don Jameson

Great story. Love those Father-son projects. Don, also sent in this photo for us to use in the Stovebolt 2011 calendars. Very cool shot! And it's real. ~ Editor

Don Jameson has two trucks in the Gallery. A 1957 Chevy Panel truck that he had submitted in February 2011. In September 2012, he submitted a 1964 Chevy Panel, "The Good Karma Project" that he was restoring for a lady in distress!

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