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Ralph Lopez's 1948 3600 Chevy

17 June 2004

From Ralph:

        My name is Ralph Lopez and I am a truckaholic. I go by Oldtmy48 on The Stovebolt Page.

        I finally got around and took some pictures of my 1948, 3600 pickup to submit for the gallery. I purchased this pickup on E-bay from a gentleman in Nebraska. The transaction was real smooth and he delivered the truck to Garden City, Kansas (halfway) and wouldn’t even let me pay for his fuel.

        The pickup had been stored 20 years prior to my purchase. It had been painted from its original green to a bright blue, the remnants of which are still visible on the truck. The truck was running when I bought it, but burned a lot of oil and smoked quite a bit. The previous owner had converted it to a 235 and 12-volt as well. It came with a bed load of extra parts including doors and an additional 235 engine and all the original 6 volt stuff. There were also a lot of additional trim pieces.

        I haven’t done much to the truck except add hubcaps (another E-bay find), seatbelts salvaged from a '78 GMC pickup and turn signals. I have been driving it daily for about a year now, about 50 miles total to work and back. I did swap to the extra engine that came with it in the last few months.

        Future improvements may include some higher gears to replace the 4.56’s and a paint job back to the original Brewster green. I plan to rebuild the “original 235” and have it ready in case I need it. I recently purchased a complete rolling chassis from a 51, 3600 to have spare parts if needed. It has a running 216 if I decide to go back to dead stock.

        I have also just purchased a '48 parts truck as well as a '51 parts truck that I hope to salvage into another running truck with the help of the wise Stovebolters.

        My wife thinks we now live in a junkyard, but she does enjoy the '48 as well. The only complaint about my truck is that my whole family does not fit in it. Maybe there is an AD suburban in our future (or a second truck)! This '48 will eventually be my sons truck. He is 18 months old and he already has a blast with the pickup. He stands on the seat and makes truck noises. When he is in his car seat, he loves to watch as I clutch, brake and shift gears. No automatic transmissions in our future.

        I get compliments and offers on the truck all the time. My local truck buddies tell me not to paint it, that it looks better the way it is. I guess patina is the in thing now.

        Thank you guys so much for The Stovebolt Page. It has been an endless supply of knowledge as well a great entertainment. I

        Thanks again and we will see you on the dirt roads.

Ralph
Tucumcari, New Mexico

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