Ken Maurer's 1953 Chevy 4400 1.5-Ton

20 July 2006
# 1590

From Ken:

           I first saw my truck in the summer of 2003 in the woods while fishing behind my friend's house. His girlfriend's aunt (an extreme packrat) had it about 1/4 mile in the woods for so long that there was no road anymore. I looked at the truck periodically and really wanted it. So one day kinda jokingly I told her I would be by Thursday to give her $500 and tow it out of there. She said no, but I didn't stop asking every time I saw her. Eventually it turned into a running joke.

           Finally in the late spring of 2004 my buddy came to work and told me she needed tax money and was curious if I still wanted the truck. I didn't hesitate at all. The next day I gave her $500. (I was too excited to try talking the price down and thought it was a fair deal anyway.) I had to cut a road to get the truck out.

           She said the truck was back there 12 years. The trees were up to five inches thick! After about a week of cutting trees and brush (I also had to grind ALL of the little stumps because she stables horses), I was finally able to tow it to the road. From there I paid a local company with a steel bed wrecker to transport it to my shop (originally for woodworking).

           Since 2004 I've been getting prepared. I didn't want to start when I wasn't ready and had alot of tools to buy. I had nothing for tools as far as automotive, just woodworking. I got a bigger compressor, pressure sandblaster, jack stands, engine stand, hoist, air tools and sockets, laptop and digital camera, and many many hand tools. I recently got online about a month ago and have been on this site constantly. It has proved to be the best source of info I have found plus I ordered Tom Brownell's book.

           This is my first rebuild and I'm taking my time. I'm planning on a few years. The reason I got the digital camera is so I can literally take pictures of every nut and bolt so if anyone needs reference photos just say so. I took almost 300 photos just removing my front clip! It's alot cheaper than film in the long run.

           Thanks John and Peggy for starting this site. I consider it essential in my project and everyone is extremely helpful. As I learn more, I'll be able to help more.

Thanks for the help.

Ken Maurer
"skippy the townie"
Bolter # 11416
Plattsburgh, NY -- 20 miles from Canada