09 September 2013 Update
# 2260

	Owned by Phil Walsh "rockhammer" Bolter # 17053 Pennsylvania

1952 Chevy 3600 3/4-Ton

Gotta see this video

More pix of the Chevy in the Bolt Bucket

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From Phil :

As we told in the story initially below, this 1952 3/4-ton Chevy pickup was purchased new by my Wife's Grandfather for use on their farm in Indiana. It was rolled into a barn in the late 1960's where it sat for 40 years.

The truck was in pretty bad shape by the time we saw it. The neighbor didn't want it and my Father-in-law as going to send it to the scrap yard.

We offered to take the truck during a visit and it was subsequently delivered to our barn for restoration.

It took us about four years of lunch breaks and weekends to finish the project.

We have a video of it's restoration experience -- Fanfare for the Common Truck. (This is a very impressive video ~ Editor) We were fortunate to get old photos from the family farm in Indiana. The music is Aaron Copeland's Fanfare for the Common Man.

I didn't know much about vehicles when we decided to take the truck on as a project. My Father-in-law was going to take it to the dump. His neighbor didn't even want it. I volunteered to take a crack at it. I figured, how much more damage could I possibly do.

We rolled the truck into our barn. I got Tom Brownell's book, How to Restore your Chevrolet Pick-up Truck. We got the shop manual. Between those two books, and reading old threads on the Stovebolt site, we took it apart.

My office mate helped a lot with it. My barn is next to the office so we'd go out there at lunch for an hour or so. We worked on a part or two at a time. Since it was just outside our window, we saw the old truck all the time. The family would help some on the weekends, too. It was a fun thing to learn on and everyone be a part of.

We had a friend who did the engine and he did a great job on it. He was our mentor.

The truck worked on a cattle farm in Portland, Indiana - Limberlost was the name of my wife's family's farm. The old farm is still there and her Dad lives next door. He is the gentleman at the end of the video - seeing the truck for the first time since it left Indiana. That was his truck when he was a kid. His brother drove it around and they would take cattle to the State Fair. (We have racks that we are going to put in the bed.)

We have antique plates on the truck. We use it once a week. Go to drive-in movie with the kids. A few trips here and there to keep it loose. .

Phil

05 March 2008
# 2260

From Phil :

This 1952 3600 3/4-ton Chevy truck was purchased new by my wife's Grandfather for use on their farm in Indiana. When its life on the farm was over in the late '60s, it was rolled into the shed for a long 40 year slumber. With no other takers in the family, my Father-in-law let me haul her back to Pennsylvania.

Now don't get me wrong, I know where the dipstick is (it's next to that big metal thingy in the middle with all those wires and tubes sticking out) but I'm not the first person you would call for help fixing a car. I did what anyone else would do in my situation and turned to the pros (meaning, I Googled "How to fix up an old Chevy truck"). Within minutes, I found myself in Stovebolt world.

At this point, I'm starting out with this as a personal project, but expect that much will be turned over to professionals as I get further into the project. I am not mechanically inclined but don't mind reading through some manuals and having a crack at it.

The immediate plans are to carefully disassemble what I can (taking plenty of pictures and tagging things) beginning with the carburetor. I can work on that inside where there is some heat. I'll move onto larger items when the weather gets warmer and I can work in the barn.

I have some help from my kids with the promise that if they assist, they will get to drive it when they get their licenses. My 16 year old daughter is helping with the unbolting and cataloguing. I am sure as time goes by, we will all be fully involved.

So the carburetor is apart, cleaned and the rebuild kit is in hand. I had a key made (thanks to a Stovebolt lead) and I have the valve cover off and cleaned. My Father is an amateur archeologist. He had the pleasant task of sifting through decades of mouse nests for a paper trail and he actually found some documentation.

I could scare up some more pictures and send them along. I may even find some of her when we got our first glimpse in my Father-in-law's barn.

We are hoping to get this project underway and completed within two years.

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