Pretty excited to start my first post on here. If this site is anything like Backyardchickens.com then I should be set.
I have purchased a family heirloom from my wife's Great Grandfather in northern Minnesota. Its her families 1954 chevy 3800 1 Ton that was the first new truck the family farm had purchased. I live in Rhode Island, and we went to a family funeral in her hometown of Madison Minnesota where her relatives showed us one of the original mechanic sheds. In it was "Rudy" (my wife's great grandfathers name was Rudolf), and Rudy had been in a weather sealed shed for 40 years never seeing anything more than a breeze. We have been blessed so far as the rust is very limited, and most of the bolts have come off without to much manipulating. We are going to keep the original color which was Ocean Green though now it has a beautiful sunburnt patina to it.
Questions I have to get this started:
The owner manual states it has 17.5 wheels with the 3 piece rim. What is the most economical tire and rim to purchase to convert this truck to a modern rim without losing the look of the truck.
Secondly the rear drum is frozen solid, and I have tried adjusting the gear to loosen the brake shoes, but that didn't work. I have sprayed enough WD40 that it should have freed up. Any ideas? I even used a drum puller, but its stuck on.
