1957 Chevrolet 3200 Longbed

	Owned by John Rocklein "Johnnyrock70" Bolter # 18418 Chesterfield, Virginia Talking about this truck in the DITY Gallery

More truck pictures of my old truck

From John :

This old Chevy Task Force truck was originally purchased in Rice, Virginia in 1957. I purchased it in Moseley, Virginia from the original owner's daughter in 2008.

For several years, I would see the truck when I would drive past the owner's house from time to time. I always admired it from the roadway as I would pass by. I always said to myself that one of these days, I would pull into the driveway and inquire about a possible purchase. In 2008, I saw an old timer out in front of the house and thought I would stop and have a chat.

At first, he was reluctant about selling it. He told me that he still used it about once a month for trips to the local dump. He was even more hesitant because this was his wife's Father's truck, and there was obvious family sentimental value.

The truck was original, and everything was there. There was some rust, but being a southern truck for its whole life, the amount of rust was surprisingly minimal. It had original glass, motor, bench seat, lights (one T-3), and bed. About 10 years earlier, the owner decided he would have some minor body work done, and the trucks exterior was cleaned up. All chrome emblems were painted black, and the body was gray primer. He left it like this, kept outdoors, without painting it for 10 years! So, needless to say, it didn't look very pretty at all (see the pics).

The old couple finally caved in, and we agreed on a fair price. When I tried putting plates on the front, I was surprised to find the original 1958 Virginia plate was still attached to the bracket. It was so rusted onto the bracket, it was as if the bracket and plate were now as one. Till this day, my new plate is still covering the original! Great conversation piece!

I drove her about six miles to my house, and the clean up began.

Living in a community association neighborhood, I was quick to put the old girl right into my garage. I'm sure that the mere sight of the truck would have my Association's office phone ringing off the hook!

Over about one and one half  years time, on the weekends and late nights, I slowly started bringing the truck back to life.

The 235 cubic inch motor ran, but it was tired, very tired (150 thousand miles). I knew I was having the motor rebuilt when I changed the oil for the first time in God knows how long. When started, the entire neighborhood would be engulfed in smoke! I considered a V8, but the thought of a 6 banger with dual carbs and dual exhaust intrigued me. Check out the YouTube video of the 1957 Chevy 235 Fenton Dual Carbs (shows some good shots under the hood ~ Editor) and a sound clip of the 1957 Chevy 235 with Flowmaster Mufflers Dual Exaust.

I documented my entire progress in my Photobucket account, and I'm still updating constantly with new pics. I'm a long way from done, but man is this FUN!

John

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