Dan Thornton's 1957 GMC 1-Ton

"Miss Gussy"

25 October 2006
# 1702

From Dan :

        This is my new Stovebolt. It's a 1957 one-ton chassis 235 4-speed with a 1963 GMC cab. I bought this truck for no other reason then it was there and I am a Stovebolter and it was only $350.

        I got my Bolt home last weekend. My girl was not very happy at first. I had to listen to a full hour of "What do you need another truck for?" And "Where are you going to put that thing?" And "Why did you not talk to me before buying it?" I told her it was a surprise and I thought that it was something we could work on together. This will be our truck and you can name her if you want to.

        Well that did it. We went to work around noon time on Saturday mourning. I sanded the cab down and she did all the masking. We had the outside painted by nightfall using my old roofing compressor and an old paint gun.

        The truck was a flat baby blue with a real crappy tan interior. We cleaned and painted the inside on Sunday. I put buckets in it from a old Firebird I found at the local junk yard. Monday I replaced the kingpins and fixed the rear breaks. The clutch is good and the 235 runs like a watch.

        There are still a few things left to do like the temp gauge and I think my heater core is air locked but I think I will drive her for the winter.

        We had great fun all weekend cleaning this truck up. The paint is not the best but she has a fresh coat on, under, and inside, so that should slow the rust down for a while. Not only does she look great but what a handy truck to have around. Her name is Miss Gussy because we gussied her up.

        Thanks for all the fun and a great site.

Dan Thornton
"timsdad63"
Bolter # 12144
Amherst, Massachusetts

        Be sure to check out the "other" truck, Miss Mae -- a 1963 Chevy K-10. This was the first manifestation of his Stovebolt fever ... and it was a good one! ~~ Editor