I’ve been enjoying working on my 1954 Chevrolet 4100, and I expect my concerns are familiar to other owners. Part of the appeal was having a simple truck I could work on myself. My plan is to use it for light work around my property, rather than restore it as a show vehicle.
Hunting parts is something I really enjoy, whether online or walking through a junkyard. What has given me pause is the eventual replacement of consumable items, particularly tires.
Mine has six 7.50-20 tube-type tires on the original three-piece wheels. The tread is excellent, but there is some weather checking. I’ll admit I didn’t fully appreciate the tire situation when I bought the truck. I expected some searching, but hadn’t fully considered how replacing aged rubber could turn into a much larger expense if the original wheels couldn’t be reused.
I’ve searched through older discussions here and found useful information. However, many of the posts are years old, and some of the suppliers and resources mentioned no longer seem to be available. There are also valid wheel fabrication recommendations, but those depend on finding a qualified shop willing to take on the work, along with the cost.
I understand that practically anything can be replaced with enough money. For a truck intended for occasional light work, though, a substantial wheel-and-tire conversion changes the economics. The difficulty of finding parts doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the possibility that a routine replacement could require spending far beyond what I originally had in mind.
I’m not expecting a magic answer or complaining about a truck I chose to buy. This is simply a reality check on what it costs to keep these trucks useful today compared with five or ten years ago.
If you’ve recently replaced tires or converted wheels on a comparable truck, what route did you take, where did you find them, and roughly what was the total cost?
For those who have owned and used your Big Bolts for many years, are you finding yourselves asking similar questions about future costs and how much you’re willing to continue to invest in the truck?
