The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Finished!

Finished the 3 year restoration and most of the shake out issues are corrected. Took the wife for a ride to the grocery store and snapped this photo.

Still have a few things to correct, but on to registration and plates. Trying to teach my son to drive a standard transmission is going to be a challenge with this truck, especially hill starts. A heartfelt thanks to everyone on this forum that shared their wisdom and made the restoration so much easier in the end. I could not have been so successful without everyone's help.

So, as a reminder, I started with this.

I also came to the conclusion that I need to add a rear bumper. Afraid the other kids in school parking lot will run into the back of the truck while parking...bumper should add just a bit of protection in this regard.

Wow. nice save!!

looks great!

It's a thing of beauty. Saved another one from the grasp of the grim rust reaper!

Great Job !
Looks like your son thinks so as well judging by the grin on his face !

Congrats DavidF and a great save of our history. It looks like it rolled off the showroom floor.
But has some nice modern ergonomics (like AC)

Dave

Great job David and congratulations. The thing I'm most impressed about is that you did it in your garage! Please stay around to help us folks getting started. Also let us know how that A/C works in Texas.

Wow! Great Job!

Beautiful Wonderfull!!!!!!! Thumbs UP.

Looking at your truck now compared to what you started with makes me want to quit, just as listening to Jimmy Hendrix made me quit trying to play the guitar. I guess I'll just have to make sure I don't ever park mine next to yours. By next to, I mean the next State.
Carl

Looks great! Congratulations!

Lost the first two pages I typed because the sites fancy
software thru me out when I submitted it, so I'll warm my
coffee up and try again.

Yep, Carl and me are gonna have to stay on the next street over
when your around. One super job David. And to think you did it
in three years is unbelievable. I started out ten years ago
with a rust free truck and still only have the front clip painted.
So get those grin muscles limbered up for those thumbs up and
comments you gonna get at every stop light and in every parking
lot. The topping on the cake is you will truly be able to say,
I did it all myself.
I'm so impressed that I've just spent the last hour downloading
all of the pix from your album for future reference.
Yep, one super job for sure my friend and thanks for sharing the
info about the paint you used inside and out, really looks great.

Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

All:

Thank you for all the comments. I am happy it's finished, but a little sad at the same time. Doing this kind of stuff is therapy for me and a way to get out of the house and doing something. For the past few days, I have found myself pacing inside wondering what to do .

It did turn out nice, not 100 point perfect, but perfect for its intended purpose. Probably only I see the flaws. I will be taking a few more detailed photos and posting to my bucket in the next few days/weeks...stay tuned.

Are there any particular photo requests? If so, send me a PM.

Nice job, David. If you are truly bored just hop in your truck and drive on up to central Oklahoma. Have I got a project for you!

Absolutely beautiful!!!! What is the name of the paint color?? Gives me lots of inspiration.

Very nice job, David

Mariner Blue is my bet?

Yes, Mariner Blue via Dupont Ful-Thane single stage (color code C63203). Mariner Blue is the original color for the truck.

Thanks!!! I thought it might be Mariner Blue. That was the original color of my truck too. Hope to go back to that one day.

In case anyone is interested, the total cost to me for the truck after restoration is right at $20,000. Of that, $900 was purchase price and $2200 in paint materials.

I figure that is pretty close to the value of the truck, so hopefully I am not underwater from the start.

Great work- looks outstanding, man! Thanks for posting the last tidbit on price DavidF; that'll help in my rebuild planning.

Like the birthday man Denny, I'll be using your pictures as well for reference & a "how it's spost to look" comparison.

Enjoy it!

Brad

David,
Could you post some closeup pictures of the "flaws", so that guys like me and Denny don't throw in the towel? Just kidding, of course. I'm trying not to be bitterly envious, but you have done an unreal job on that truck!
Carl

David..thanks for cost info. What major parts did you end up buying new? Did you have the engine rebuilt?

Hmmm, that question could take a page worth of typing. Let's start with the engine. Yes, I did a 90% rebuild...meaning I reused the cam and lifters...everything else new/re-machined. I stayed with the original babbit bearing surfaces as I was able to get clearances within smallest spec of .002"

The only original parts that I scrapped and went with new is the entire pickup box. The original was simply too beat up and not worth the effort to repair. Oh, and the rear gears and brake system is new. Other than a ton of small parts, everything else that came with the truck were restored.

Hope that answers your question. Of the $20k restoration cost, some costs were not technically necessary for restoration such as:
$1500 was attributable to the A/C
$850 for the brake upgrade/restoration
$550 rear gears
$250 for dual grove harmonic balancer
$750 sound system
$250 seat belts.

Thanks David. just looking for the heavy hitters. That is perfect. About $5K for modern comforts/safety. You may have found a restored one for $20K, but not exactly like you want it, and you know how much care went into the little things.

No fun in letting someone else do the work. Anyone can simply plunk down the cash. Nothing like doing it yourself.

Well said David, your the kind of guy I want stop and talk to at
the car show. We had one down town last fall, 99% hot rods but
one guy had a completely stock '50, 3100 that was just to perfect.
It looked like a custom shop had done the work on it and after
a brief conversation with the owner, I found out they had. He
really knew very little about the truck or how it was originally
from the factory. He just liked the way it looked and had the
spare change in his pocket so he bought it. But he's the guy
that takes home the trophy and gets the credit for the restoration.
The cost of your restoration is right in the ball part from what
I've seen. Many people don't believe me when I tell them that
if it's done right they're gonna have $18-$20k in their truck
when they're finished, and that's if they do most of the work
themselves. But it's a hobby, just think how much you could
spend on (other things).
with a Stanton TRD.
I don't look at this as a profit making adventure, it's more
like therapy and something to keep me busy, beats the heck
out of sitting on a stool and staring at the back bar.


DG

David,
Great job! Thanks for spending the effort showing us the finished product. Unfortunately many posters ask questions but never spend much time sharing the results.

Denny,
Amen as for the therapy part of this hobby. I find that on a particularly troubling day at work, the stress completely melts away after some quality time working on my "Bolt". Do you know what line on the tax form I can use to deduct those expenses?

Paul

Denny,

I am already looking at what my next project will be...will need to leave a few years of sunshine between projects first...it will most likely be a '72 Chevy Blazer.

I am entering the truck in the neighborhood 4th of July parade and then will be looking for local shows. Hopefully, I will get a lot of pictures this weekend that I will share.

re. car shows. Funny but I get bored seeing all the customized show cars that arrived via trailers. And it seems I'm not the only one. You always see the largest crowds gathered around the restored classics and/or work-in-progress classics. I much more appreciate a classic thats been restored to close to it's original "show room" condition than one thats got the latest and greatest aftermarket gadgetry added. I love seeing period correct powerplants. No offense to rebuilders that go for the SBC's as I can appreciate a powerful V8 as well as anyone but IMHO it seems everyone opts for the SBC to the point where it's not unusual anymore. Unusual is going to a car show and seeing an inline 6 banger dressed to the hilt or a flathead 4 or V8 and them being driven there under there own power......
The lack of performance 6 banger parts is also something to comment on. I've been to a few shows where the only parts I could find for a Stovebolt 6 was a beatup air cleaner, shame...

To me the therapy of my Stovebolt is not only wrenching on it but also driving it. I cannot explain how well it settles me to cruise my backroads @ 40-45mph with folks waving at me as I pass.
Funny that a normal 15-20 minute dump run turns into a 50 mile round trip every Sat morning
I was lucky in that my 49 was parked in overall servicable condition so I made the tactical decision to get it running and servicable 1st then repair/replace as I go. It really deserves a frame off like you DavidF (and many others here) have done but it's going to take a major failure before I take it off line for a frame off
I just enjoy cruising it that much......

re. this hobby. As stated what else would we be spending the $$$'s on? I've got close friends that spend their time & $$$'s on boats, golfing, motorcycles and coaching. My Mrs sometimes has a hard time understanding that I'd rather be wrenching on and enjoying a piece of American history than most other activities. It does cause alittle, ahem, static at times

I'm going to my 1st antique car club meeting tonight. I've been invited more times than I can count by folks that see me running around on Sat's and Sun's. It's supposed to be highly family friendly and oriented so perhaps I'll fit in and get the Mrs involved. If not, I'll still be enjoying my hobby

Sorry for detour DavidF, your finished product is the ultimate destination I want for mine, one of these days
Dave

That's an awesome looking truck David! The black wheels look great with the Mariner Blue! I am amazed that is single stage paint, it looks great!

I would love to see some different angles of the outside to see that Blue really show itself off!

I sold my airplane years ago and bought an old truck. Here I am! Doing ground vehicle resto is much more gratifying in the long run. IMHO.

I am impressed! Your truck is Beautiful!
Jerry

Great work! Beautiful truck! Mine will never look that good.

Beautiful and I must say that was a lot of rust you had to work through!

Thanks everyone, too nice. I posted a few more pics to my photobucket, if interested.

Just pieced David's story together and she's in the Gallery.

Be sure to keep adding pictures to your album Dave. I'm sure folks will want to see where she's been traveling.

And keep your up-dates here ... that will work.

Thanks for the good story.

Peg

Wow, that's an amazing looking truck. I'm usually not one for restored but I could definitely drive that!

Are those Juliano's 3-point seatbelts?

Yes, Juliano belts.

Loaded the truck up with trash to take to my jobsite dumpster. This is the first real "use" of the truck...no trailer queen that's for sure. Of course I took extra care in packing the bed to ensure no damage to paint or metal occurred. It ain't no beater either.

Great job on the truck David. your write up and finished product gives guys like me the ambition to get out in the shop today to spend some time and put some love on the 53. I'm in the middle of mine and the project has stalled over the last month but now today will be jump-started again. I realize when you pull a job off like you have done in the garage it is a ton more work to be done than say a guy with a huge shop. Just planning where to put the pieces and keeping the clutter in check is a major undertaking. Just wondering if the other half let you put the painted fenders and pieces in the spare bedroom, haha.
Steve

Very nice, David