The Stovebolt Site Forums The Forum Gallery 1947 (2nd Series) - 1955 (1st Series) 1953 Chevy 3100

Here's the story of how I acquired my '53 Chevy 3100. On a rainy summer day in 2014 I was sitting at the computer looking at pictures of trucks online, as I was prone to do. My 11 year old granddaughter asked me why I was "always looking at pictures of old trucks" and I told her that I had wanted one since I was a teenager. After cogitating on that for a few minutes she said "grandpa, what are you waiting for?" Boy, from the mouths of babes! I figured that this life ain't no dress rehearsal and I decided to get serious about a search.

At the suggestion of a friend I subscribed to HMN and saw an ad for a '53 Chevy 1/2 ton pickup to be sold at auction in Chillicothe, Ohio that September. The widow of a respected gentleman there was selling this truck as well as several other vintage cars that he had restored. I checked out the truck prior to the auction and was amazed at how clean and rust-free it was. The auction was exciting and I wound up taking home my prize.

When I got it home and checked it out thoroughly I found that the PO had replaced the original 216 cid with a 1960 261 with an 848 head. After tuning it up, rebuilding the carburetor, replacing the fuel pump and sealing the gas tank, it ran well.

Since then I've converted it to 12 volt, replaced the Rochester B carb with a Weber 32/36 progressive 2 barrel from Tom Langdon. I also installed his "mini HEI and the truck runs like a dream! I've reupholstered it, installed three-point seat belts, replaced the fuel tank sending unit, installed electric windshield wipers, a repro radio and some other interior upgrades. A couple of years ago I had it painted by a local restorer and had the stock 4.11 rear end upgraded to a 3:55. It's no trailer queen as I put on about 1000 miles/year but never in bad weather. It's been a joy to have and Stovebolt.com has been an amazing resource for needed info.

Absolutely stunning. I just love the color. Nice job on the engine bay as well.

Thank you for posting in our Gallery.

John

Nice looking 53. The blue looks great.

Great looking truck.

What is “mini HEI”?
Nice truck!

Tom Langdon used to sell an HEI kit on his website. http://www.langdonsstovebolt.com/ It has a cylindrical coil and it's very difficult to tell that it's not a regular distributor. Works great.

Is that color Mariner Blue or Transport Blue?...or other?

It's Mariner Blue.

Beautiful truck! And the 261 really improves the whole experience. We have almost the same exact engine setup.

If that is a “full-flow” 261, I would make sure that you have large oil lines running to/from between the engine and the oil filter, and have a modern full-flow type filter setup-

Whoever dropped the 261 in mine still had the tiny original oil lines from the old bypass type oiling system, and that arrangement strangled my oil delivery to the cyl head, causing a lot of excessive valve train wear in a short period of time. F that is the filter setup for a 216 cu in, I believe should be removed- but o there’s here could tell you for sure.

Love the color!