Hello, I’m new to the site and recently purchased a 1949 Chevy 3800 pickup.
I’d been looking for a while and ended up seeing this one on eBay and, to be honest, just threw a bid in sort of just for the fun of it. Well, as it turned out, I won and was tasked with trying to find a way to get her shipped here to Souderton PA from Minnesota!
The seller ended up setting me up with someone who seemed at first to be a great option but after many delays and unbelievable excuses, I had enough and ended up renting a trailer and going to pick it up myself.
I ended up making the round trip in three days. The day I loaded her it was a sunny and cold -18 degrees and had a heck of a time getting the trailer to tip as the hydraulic fluid must have been just about frozen.
All in all the trip went well. When I got home, I was anxious to get to work and hoping for good luck with the original engine. Unfortunately, it was no good. Ended up grabbing one from a 1950 3600 in Virginia that I’m still waiting to put in.
The truck was in good shape. Plenty of dings, scratches and dents but surprisingly no really bad rust issues. The front end needed some help, king pins were totally shot, tie rod was bent. I’m still trying to track down the right tie rod ends. Front wheel cylinders weren’t salvageable. Drums have a lot of meat on them but seem like they may be warped a little bit. The rear wheel cylinders seem re-buildable but I may buy new ones anyway since the rest of the braking system will be brand new up to the wheel cylinders.
That’s pretty much where I am so far. I must admit that I wasn’t looking for this much of a project but can’t say I didn’t expect it. I’m having fun and my daughters like to get their hands dirty with me every now and then so it’s definitely worth it. But that said, I’ll never buy a vehicle without seeing it in person again! Haha.
This is my first project, but I also have a 1930 model A Ford Sedan in the garage that is an older restoration that I purchased in that condition a couple years ago.
Guess that’s it for now. Looking forward to any advice anyone may have on these one tons.
