Jump over to the Events Forum, to post events -- new ones or the ones we have been enjoying for some time. Look to see what's been cancelled or postponed.
As a Native New Englander myself, I'm pleased to finally have enough interest from back home to standup a side lot forum for New England 'Bolters! We'll be tweaking this forum for a bit, and we'll be adding content to it shortly, but for now, if you're in New England, please introduce yourself, post where the cruise-ins are and generally get this forum underway! It's a good diversion from the black flies ...
John
John "There is a life about to start When tomorrow comes..."
Greetings from north central Mass. Name is Richard Patrick, I am attempting to get a 1946 (actually '47,1st) Suburban back on the road. Been at it for a few years, long story. It is still in my home town in Iowa. I go back every Summer to work on her. Anyway, as far as cruises go. There is a come one, come all cruise every Friday evening at Kimball Farm in Lancaster, Mass. No fee, just drive in, park and walk around look at cars and chat. The ice cream is legendary.
Hello all, I'm a AD bolter with a couple 49s. One complete and 1 in rebuild mode. Still trying to get the engine to start but I think it is time to think about another engine or rebuild the 50/51 in the truck. Welcome
Hello from Southern Maine. Me and my 51 chevy 3100 reside in a little town on the New Hampshire border called Newfield. Even though I do get a few thumbs up as I drive around my truck isn't too remarkable. There are alot of old trucks around here. A few towns away in Waterboro there is a restaurant called Blast From The Past that hosts a gathering of antique motor vehicles of all kinds on Friday nights.---Jack
Hello from upstate NY. I am so glad to see a spot like this finally. My Panel is not road worthy yet, but I can't wait to bring her out and cruise with some other local bolters.
Hello from Western Massachusetts, me and my 51 4400 not ready for the road in anyway. Hopefully by fall I can get her running, stopping, and ready for some driving.
Cruise nights around here theres one at the Ludlow Elks Tuesday nights. Moose club in chicopee I think Wednesday nights Janines frosty in ware I think friday nights not sure on that one
Hi all- Grant here in CT. Currently relocating to Scotland with my 50 1/2 ton Chevy. Brining enough parts with me to build a 3/4 or 1 ton GMC- maybe one of each. Nice to have a forum for New England.
Grant 1950 Chevy 3100 1952 GMC 150 (In Pieces) 1968 Chevy K20 1966 Shovelhead 1978 BMW 100S
Hey everyone - Tom here from the Northeast corner of Mass (Newburyport area). Finished up my 56 3100 just under two years ago, now I am onto a different (non-truck) Chevy project. If I can help a local 'bolter in any way - give me a shout!
Hi Gang, I'm in Burlington, VT and have a 59 3200 Fleetside. Working on getting it on the road this Summer, hoping to sell it once it's on the road and stickered (inspected, that is). I play upright bass, and while I love the truck, I need a wagon to haul the bass. I've been "window shopping" on craigslist for 40s-50s hearses, ambulances, wagons etc, and need to free up the capital!
Though even as I type this I'm having second thoughts....
We just expanded this forum to include the Maritime provinces and Quebec -- Please join me in throwing open the border and welcoming our brother/sister 'Bolters from further DownEast!
Bienvenue, mes amis!
John "There is a life about to start When tomorrow comes..."
Hello from southwest Massachusetts. My '46 6400 grain truck is still working for a living on my tiny little farm. BeRT (the Big Red Truck) hauls in loads of natural fertilizer and hauls out produce to the local farmers' market every Friday. The truck draws in a lot of people and gets conversations started, leading to an occasional sale or two.
Mark Dufresne here and I grew up in Western Mass out in the hilltowns, I have been living in southern Maine for over 20 years now. I have two 46 trucks I am working on a 3/4 ton and a 1/2 ton I just picked up.
You have the same problems we were having last night. Most of the Googled maps only showed USA states and then "Canada."
The closest I got was a fairly good map from a travel agency - but it didn't have Newfoundland.
We'll keep looking and pondering. Lot of water up there. Maybe we can make it all a water theme park look. (Oh, sorry, except for Vermont (as best I can tell)
I was just up in the county for the weekend and it was a nasty hurricane up there. Tons of water and wind downed trees. Despite the bad weather in between the rain I went for a ride and came upon a pickup on the side of the road with a pile of 41 to 46 parts piled in it. They were hauling out a 46 dual wheeled log truck. Not in bad shape either. I was worried the guy was a scrapper so I pulled in behind him and asked what he was doing. Scored a nice set of extra front fenders for cheap money and a lead on a few other parts. I love Northern Maine!
Nothern Maine is great..I travel thorugh there a lot.
I'm Mapleleaf, I've been on this forum for years. I've got a 55 Belair, a 55 3200, putting together a 49 3600 and I have a 51 3100 to work on somewhere down the road.
I've met a couple guys from the NE area. Good bunch as to be expected.
If you guys travel up to NS feel free to drop in. NS is waaay out there but is not an island as many believe. You can drive here or take a ferry now from Portland ME.
Hi, I'm in northern CT. I have a 38 Chevy that I have partially apart, and hope to get back on the road before summer is over. Hope to cross paths with some fellow NE stove bolters.
1938 Chevy 1/2 ton She looks good at 50 yards and 35 miles per hour on a dark night.
Peggy. Glad to see my old home town on that map you found. Pointe Claire, just a bit west of Montreal. Now I am about 2500 miles west of there. A BC Bolter.
Yes, Mapleleaf has been with us a long time and had been a good friend. We did a fun feature story that is about one (?) of those trucks listed. (I see we ended with 2007 ... "to be continued"). The story of Randy really starts with Part 2 and Ecum Secum.
Hello to all, from Brooklyn, New York. I recently acquired a '65-'66 Chevy C10 Fleetside, 250 I6 with 2 speed automatic aluminum Powerglide. I am new to trucks in general, having recently swapped my Harley Softail Deluxe for her. I am leaving the city in August 2014 to retire (drop out) to the northeastern woods of Maine. Swapping the Harley for the truck was next on my to-do list after buying the land. The truck seems to be in fine, stock, condition, and mostly restored. But I have many plans for her, including a custom dash instrument cluster, re-doing all of the wiring, bumping up the alternator, replacing all lights with LED's, sway bars, and whatever else can be done with limited funds and mostly my own two hands. She also needs a mod of the rear end to improve highway mileage. At the moment she is in the shop for a tranny rebuild. (Regrettably, this is the second week she is there -they just can't seem to get something right. See my post "Haunted Powerglide?" in the driveline forum.) This truck will be my only vehicle up there, so she has to be in top shape. But I am very happy to have this truck. If anyone else on this forum is from Brooklyn, it would be great to hear from you.
Hi, as a new member I thought I'd introduce myself.
My name is David and I've lived in Vermont all my life.
I have been a GM guy as far as truck go ever since my first truck at 18 - a 1979 Chevy 4WD Shorty Stepside with a 350/4sp that I bought with only 11,000 miles on it. Since then I have had several (all 4WD) Chevy or GMC trucks or vans (Astro and Safari). I'm sad to say that I am not so impressed with the latest GM offerings, however - I bought a new 2014 GMC 1500 and sold it after a year, replaced with a Ram with the 5.7 Hemi and I love it...
I've always had an interest in performance and/or old cars, but have never had the budget to do much with it. The only real classic I've ever owned was a 1972 MG Midget that I drove for a few years in "needs restoration" mode. I started work on it but didn't have the time and ended up giving it away to a friend.
My personal preference would be a mid-late 60's muscle car, but my wife has always wanted a "rounded" pickup. I have no trouble making that concession as I like them too, and it kills two birds with one stone by making Her happy.
For the last year or so we've been perusing the options and at this point I am most interested in the 47.2-54.1 (I've seen it said that the cross grill & 1-pc windshield started in '54 but I've seen plenty of '54s with the 4 slat grill and split window, so I'm assuming that was a mid-year change) AD series. I like the GMC better than the Chevy for two main reasons - 1) I prefer the grill and front running lights, and 2) GMC only makes trucks, so if you want a truck you should have a GMC. They're the Truck People!
Anyways, so far we are still just looking, but am getting a bit more serious now. I need to sell my Mercedes CLS 550 to free up cash and garage space before we can do too much...
The most likely scenario is to buy a fairly stock driver, and do projects over the winter. I'd eventually want IFS, 4-Link rear, 4 wheel discs and a V8. I won't go too crazy with power, I mostly like the sound of a V8, and the extra grunt is nice, but this is to be a Sunday afternoon driver, not a hot rod or street racer. I also don't have any intentions of going all out with a frame-off restoration - just fixing what's broke and get it running and driving a little more modern.
This forum looks like a great resource. I've learned a lot already and expect to become part of The Bolt as I continue my GM journey.
Hello to all from southern NJ. Just 20 minutes across the river from Philadelphia. About a year and a half ago I bought a low mileage, great shape 1954 3100. I am just the third owner. The first had it for nearly 50 years. It came out of storage where it had been forgotten for a couple of years and needed some help to wake up again. I sold my 55 second that was still a bit farm fresh for this beauty. So glad I did. Mike
Hi all, John from Stow, MA here. Newbie to the forum. Love all the info!!!! I go into instant sponge mode whenever I'm reading about someone's build. Also really appreciate plugging my issues into the search bar to see if other had the same issues, and how they worked them out. I just recently picked up a '54 3100 5 window. My son named her Clyde the Glide. I informed him (in a joking way) she's a lady and you'll treat her with respect. To which he said, ya, well she still looks like a Clyde. She's a project. Too many owners did too many modifications to her in the past. I'm attempting to make her presentable again. Somewhere along the line a previous owner dropped a Camaro front clip in and lowered her all around stance. I'm looking to bring her back up close to factory ride height. He/she took a lot of shortcuts and fuglied their way through a partial build. I'm fumbling along best I can, identifying and correcting issues as I find them. Previous owner said she has a SBC 350 wTH350. It's a SB, but I haven't run the numbers yet, so we'll see. Anyway, like I'm sure is the case with most of you, family, work and life in general doesn't allow me as much quality time as I'd like with my 61 yr old mistress ;o) Sl'inte, John
Hello John, Bring your truck on over to Kimball Farm in Lancaster. We have a cruise-in every Friday evening. We normally have a DJ, however this Friday we have a band. No charge, just drive your old truck or hot rod or whatcha got and wear a smile. Officially 5-9, but some show up as early as noon!
Thanks Patrick, I brought my son over last Friday night. The weather wasn't great, so there wasn't a huge turnout. But it was fun and the ice cream was great :o) I heard there's also a show down in Foxboro by Bass Pro Shops every other Thursday. Is that still going on? Thanks, John
Hello from Western Massachusetts, me and my 51 4400 not ready for the road in anyway. Hopefully by fall I can get her running, stopping, and ready for some driving.
Cruise nights around here theres one at the Ludlow Elks Tuesday nights. Moose club in chicopee I think Wednesday nights Janines frosty in ware I think friday nights not sure on that one
Hello All: my wife and I live in my native town (even my family homestead) on Cape Cod where we enjoy our '65 C20 long-bed truck in stock condition. It is being restored now in the body shop at the local technical high school. Unfortunately, the restoration was not completed by the end of the last school year so we missed the summer cruise season. Hopefully by Christmas break it will be finished. The truck had a camper on it for most of its life so it still has the original wood bed painted in factory black. It's a great truck and lots of fun!
Hello Everyone! New to the forum (my first post), from Lincoln RI. I just picked up a 1949 3100 that I plan on going through.
A little background on me: my history with vehicles has always been slow and low. I've built 5 custom S-10s, 4 of which were on airride. I started building my 6th (and was going to be my lowest, was gonna plant the rockers on the ground) when this truck fell in my lap
. I will not be doing the ever so popular frame swap. I plan on keeping the original frame and lowerung it with the soild front axle. I have a built up 350 and beefed up 700r4 that will be going in the empty engine bay. I've been doing a lot of research and I want to keep it (mostly) a traditional style hotroding. And it will be getting painted. No flat black or primer. This will be one of my biggest and definitely my nicest build. Wish me luck! Haha!
I'm excited to see a NE Bolters forum. I'm originally from upstate NY (Stamford: northern Catskills). 26 years ago I married into a Red Sox family from Newport, RI. Having grown up a Mets fan it wasn't that hard a transition. :-)
I have a 1958 Suburban that is currently tucked away in Kansas City, MO while I finish my 2 year tour in Kuwait. When I leave here next summer I'll have 2 years to go to 30 year retirement from the Army. Eventually I'll end up back in Newport. We bought my in-laws house about 5 years ago so Newport will officially be home at some point. Not sure I'm ready to settle down quite yet though. When I do get back I plan on being a big part of the classic truck scene in the area. I usually end up in town for a couple of weeks in the summers so I'll try to link up with some folks next time I'm in the area.
Hmmm, I missed this. My name is Tom and I live in south east CT, lived in CT all my life and winters are getting a bit old....and so am I.
Recently picked up a 1956 3600 that somewhere during it's abused life gained a flat bed dump and a broken frame to go along with it. I have the rear end our and futzing with the frame. Cool gay-raj and cold tools making work a real event.
I have been in mfg all my life and have a pretty well stocked shop, lathe, mill, welders and other tools of distruction.
Tyler here, in Burlington, Vermont. Thought I'd post a "hello" in the neighborhood thread!
Been on this site since '02. My 59 3200 has been off the road most of that time, with a brief trip about 6 years ago after installing the rebuilt 235 without adding a fuel filter. Carb clogged up with rust from the tank, and is has sat in the garage since then!
I plan on getting it on the road this Spring, stickered and legal-like. I want to drive it for a spell, then decide if I want to sell it or not. Needs the fuel system put back together, some tinkering with lights wiring, probably a couple weekends worth of work.
I play upright bass and would love to have an early 50s wagon or ambulance or something to haul it and its gear to gigs in the nicer months. I love the old Plymouth wagons and Packard Henney coaches! I'd need to sell the truck to free up the capital and garage space, though!
Hey everyone,first post on Stovebolt....here in coastal NJ....restoring 1956 GMC 1/2 ton s/b 270 cu in 4 speed...bought out of a barn in Montana from the original owner....having lots of trouble with single bbl Rochester carb,leaking all over after 2 rebuilds...........any ideas??
Hi, Dave McKee here in Danbury Ct. I've got a very rusty 38 1/2 ton that I'm attempting to do a resto-mod on. The back half of the frame was so far gone I just cut it off and replaced everything from the cab back with box tubing. I've had it for a long time and now that I'm retired have started working on it again. So far I've been working on the doors putting patch panels on and refurbishing hinges, latches and window regulators. Once the weather warms a bit I'll get the doors rehung then square up and stabilize the cab and start welding floor and patch panels on to it. When I'm satisfied with the cab I'll be more comfortable putting money into the drive train and suspension. This is a great site and am sure I'll be spending a bit of time here. Dave
38 Chevy 1/2 ton being resto-moded 65 AC Cobra replica USAF vet
Hey all, Joe Cinko here in Middletown NJ. I just picked up a 54 Chevy 3800 long bed pickup truck to get running for my father. I've never attempted to work on something this old, so it should be a pretty good learning experience for me. I've already gotten the strange glances from the Napa guys as a 20 year old kid walking in asking for parts for something three times my age is rather unusual around here. I've been poking around here the past few days and I've found a lot of good information. Hopefully I can find someone fairly local in NJ to bounce ideas off of.
Joe
1954 Chevy 3800 Long Bed: ex-fire truck turned farmer's town run about turned restomod retirement project
If you have not already done so, go to the Tech Tips on Stovebolt.com (here) and start from the top. Scroll from top-to-bottom to see what is in there.
THEN, go back a read a few/many of the articles in the first three sections of Restoration & Modification.
Been there, done that. Yesterday was a slow day at work so I spent most of the day reading through articles. It will probably make more sense when I'm staring at the truck to better visualize what I'm looking at. I definitely feel more confidemt working on the truck after reading the tech articles and looking at some of the diagrams online. The next major hurtle is going to be getting the linkages unstuck and sourcing an ignition switch, as someone robbed the one out of the truck. And figuring out the wiring.
First question, did all of these trucks come with turn signals? There's no holes in the fenders for the big orange ones, but I thought I saw some really long wires dangling by the steering column that looked like they would go to a switch.
Second question, I was flipping through the online service manual to find all the grease points and it said to use transmission lube to grease the u-joints. Do they actually mean gear oil, or can I use regular grease? I haven't checked to see if my driveshaft has zerk fittings on the u joints or not. I should probably check to see if those are wiped out yet as well.
Thanks for all the help so far.
Joe
1954 Chevy 3800 Long Bed: ex-fire truck turned farmer's town run about turned restomod retirement project
What trucks are "these trucks"? (always state year/make/model, if pertinent to your question/post)
I think that turn signals became standard equipment on trucks in the late 50s? Factory-installed Optional turnsignals on trucks first became available in 1954. GM accessory turn signals were available for trucks for many years before 1954, and the wires ran inside the steering column, exiting the column low under the dash.
We need to know your year/modell/size truck to answer the u-joint lube question. Until 1954/55 u-joints were inside an enclosed drive-shaft "torque-tube", and were lubricated by transmission fluid (from the transmission). In 1954, the 3800 u-joints were not in a torque-tube. They had grease fittings. What document did you read regarding u-joint lubrication?
My mistake, the truck is a 1954 Chevy 3800. It does have an SM420 with an actual driveshaft with u joints, not a torque tube. I read one of the service manuals posted on here.
I was told the truck was uses by the fire department when it was new, I'm assuming by a fire chief or something, so it may have had turn signals or maybe some sort of switch mounted on the column or somewhere. I know there aren't any holes in the column drilled for wires to poke through.
Joe
1954 Chevy 3800 Long Bed: ex-fire truck turned farmer's town run about turned restomod retirement project
Hello I am Wendell , I live in Epping,NH. I am interested in 47-53 3100 series Chevy pickups, I look forward to talking with other "bolters" and maybe learn more about these nifty trucks. and their owners. Just so I am clear I do not own a classic,antique vehicle, however I hope to in the future. In the mean time I am looking for connections and good conversation. and maybe make a friend or two.. Personally I prefer the 5 slat horizontal grill design. my dream truck would be fire engine red with gloss black fenders,gray interior. A 235 in-line 6 cyl. engine, have a good heating system, Also I would prefer a 4 or 5 speed floor shift manual transmission. I am also thinking I would like a short wheel base..as I do not need a lot of vehicle. please feel free to send me a note or say hello .
Hey Wendell, welcome aboard. Good to see another NH guy here. This is a good place to get up to speed when you are just truck shopping. Be sure to check the want ads too.
Hi All. Thomas from Connecticut here. Just bought a 56 3100. Want to get closer to original rims and tires. Currently running 255.60.r15 but I'm thinking of changing out to 205.65.R15 along with rallye style rims to accommodate the narrower tire. Any opinions/advice would be greatly appreciated.
Welcome Thomas. You'll find lots of info by searching the forums on this. Better yet, post your question in the appropriate forum area, in your case most tire questions are addressed in the Driveline area. You'll soon get lots of opinions, links and photos etc. Do your research and find examples of trucks with the look you want. Good luck with your new old truck!
Anyone in the CT Fairfield County area with some good knowledge of a 3100 with 216 motor? I could use some help setting the timing, adjusting the carb and figuring out this thing with some old school tips and tricks. Thanks!
Not that ritzy corner of CT! I found that using a vacuum gauge to set the timing gave the best running motor. Warm the engine, disconnect the vacuum advance and plug any other suckers ( like wipers ), connect a gauge to the intake manifold port and adjust the timing by rotating the distributor to get max vacuum. Make sure your valves are properly set first but that's another story. Still playing with the carb, but mostly go by the shop manual procedure, just rebuild the carb first or you are going to waste a lot of time tweaking a bad carb if it's the stock Rochester.
Hello all. My name is Luke. Just checking in from Connecticut. My current ride is a 1949 GMC 150. It’s basically all original except for wheels/tires and the 5.3 under the hood. Here is a pic from the goshen fairgrounds car show this past weekend.
I just recently join as well, I am down in hope valley Ri I recently retired and I’m doing a complete resto. Except mine is a 33 and all the wood is in need of replacement. Good luck on your project. I figured I would say hey, your the closest one I’ve seen on here so far?
33 Chevy 1/2 ton with all the 29-32 left overs. (Woody)
We just bought a 49 1 1/2 ton for our little farm for basically the same use as yours. Hay hauling, grain, gravel, & attention for the farm. Plus loving old trucks helps. I’ve missed my 65 step side since I wrecked it in 93.
(Oh, sorry, except for Vermont (as best I can tell)
Awesome 