The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Project Journals 1952 Chevrolet 3100 Project

11/13/25: I received the parts I ordered from Classic Parts, with high expectations, but was quite disappointed.

Firstly, the new stainless steel lower windless retainers were a significant letdown. Given they are stainless steel, I fully expected them to arrive polished, ready for installation. Instead, they have a mill finish. While I am capable of polishing them myself, this is an additional, unexpected task that adds to the overall project time, which I had hoped to avoid by purchasing new parts.

Secondly, the battery floor cover, while aesthetically pleasing, presented functional issues. The locking mechanism was extremely stiff upon initial attempt to secure it. Upon inspection, I discovered that the locking bars were rubbing quite hard against their guides. After carefully tweaking the guides, I was able to free up the mechanism. However, the cover still does not tighten adequately to the floor; there's about a quarter-inch of play, meaning I can easily lift it which will not seal out the weather or wind. It appears I will need to fabricate custom spacers, likely using my 3D printer, to achieve a secure fit.

Perhaps the most baffling item is the seal for the gas tank to the floor. I received several distinct pieces – multiple foam rubber seals and a few hard washers that appear to be made of a gasket material. I was anticipating a single, thick foam rubber seal for this application, and I am entirely unsure how these various components are meant to be assembled to form a proper seal. I could use some advice on Any ‘bolters that have faced this issue and how they solved it.

On a more positive note, I have had some genuine successes with other aspects of my project. I finished installing the sound deadener on the floor and firewall. I now want to extend this to the cowl and roof. However, with only four full sheets remaining, I will need to order another full box of the sound deadening material to complete this area.

Another successful, although initially challenging, was the foot-operated starter pedal. I encountered an issue where the lock nut would not tighten, as the threads in the mating bar were stripping out. My initial thought was to weld a nut to the bar, but the tight quarters made this impractical. Instead, I successfully extended the threads up the rod by about 3/8 of an inch, then cut down a new nut on my lathe to create a custom lock nut, which I installed on the backside which was no easy task, to resolve the issue completely.

I’m pleased with my progress.