1952 Chevy 3100"From AL to PA - It's only a drive"
I recently acquired a 1953 3100, mostly original, but un-driven since approximately 2005. Bought it from a lady in Alabama (about 100 miles from where I grew up). Her grandfather was a mechanic and he drove it until the late '80s. After his death, her father took over the truck and drove it occasionally. He intended to fix it up but he passed in 2005 without doing anything other than keeping it running.
The truck was subsequently put in a barn and left untouched since 2005.
When I bought the truck, I had it hauled up to Pennsylvania. My Dad drove up to Huntsville (AL) and picked up approximately six bins of parts that had been collected over the life of the truck, including four transmissions in varying states of repair. I picked these up from him over Christmas when I was home.
A little bit about me. I am handy and have rebuilt several houses myself and work in engineering / construction. However, I have never turned a wrench on a vehicle in my life.
I have always loved old Chevy trucks and finally decided it was time to own one. Having grown up in Alabama, this one with a little bit of red clay caked in the wheel wells was the one I couldn't refuse. So with the help of my five year old and seven year old we are going to get the old 216 engine running, strip it to the frame, rid it of the rust, clean it up, while trying to keep it as a close to a original as possible. Eventually, my plan is to paint the truck the original green.
Actually, we have no clue what we are doing, but one way or the other, we will figure it out. I have spent many hours digging into this site and have found a lot of useful information.
At 30 days in, we have already broken two rocker arms, a gas tank that looks like Swiss cheese, my daughter has learned how to use a ratchet and effectively use curse words (don't tell the ex-wife).
Look forward to learning from this community and sharing what I learn.
I have attached a picture of the truck leaving Alabama and one of it safely in its new home in my garage.
