I purchased this truck from I believe the third owner in Bend Oregon February of 2013. This truck spent almost all its life in the Medford Oregon area. It was assembled in Oakland California. Some interesting features is it has all the original date coded tinted glass with exception of the windshield. The truck came with the coppertone color and the front bumper was gray in color. It was repainted some time ago once to a lighter yellow. Another option is the side mounted spare tire. The original 216 gave up the ghost a couple years ago with approx. 39K on the odometer. When I tore into the 216, I noticed it had a stock bore. A replacement 235 from a 56 sedan was installed. The truck still retains its 3sp on the tree transmission and torque tube rear end. Currently the truck is in my shop, the body is off the frame on a dolly and the frame is disassembled, clean and repainted. I have a lot of work to do but am really enjoying the work and the threads on the stovebolt forum. This place is a wealth of knowledge and have already been very valuable so far. Look forward to posting some updates in the future, but here is the truck as I purchased it. http://s1379.photobucket.com/user/sstock6264/library/1953%20Chevrolet%203100?sort=4&page=1 Steve Stock Gig Harbor, Wa
Hope to get started back on the truck this spring. Pretty ,much decided to bring it back to its no frills farm truck status which will include some bias ply light truck tires and reproduction gray hub caps.
Starting back on her now. Was able to get my sister's mustang out of my shop. Frame is done, engine trans is done and assembled. Now it is time to start hanging the suspension back on the frame. http://www.nloc.net/photopost/data/2692/medium/IMG_01544.JPG
Had a great day in the garage and managed to get a few things done. Replaced both axle bearings and seals. While I had it apart, I swabbed out the axle tubes and cleaned the ring and pinion, spiders and pinion gears. Checked the torque tube seal. Disassembled the rear leaf springs, glass beaded and painted, then reassembled them. The frame got new sleeves and pivot bolts and shackle kits, plus shocks and brakes. The truck had a pretty good lean to it before disassembly, turned out the pivot bolt sleeves and shackles were very worn. Also, the truck got new rear parking brake cables. Rear Suspension
Update: Pretty much have all the cab inside and out, sheet metal and bed all stripped to bare metal. Interesting enough the truck was dealer undercoated before delivery, when I scraped off the bottom of the inner fenders and front radiator support baffle I found the most glossy black unmolested paint. Here I thought all these years that the inner fenders and such were always semi gloss. I know this post is insignificant to most but to the original and purist guys, you might get a kick out of this.
Got all the body work complete. Small dents in the back of the cab above the top of the bed line, where people have thrown stuff in and missed. Bumps and bruises along the body ,here and there, and straightened and painted the grill just to see if I am going to like the 53 color of omaha orange and anvil gray. I stripped and cleaned the entire underside, primed and painted and undercoated. The truck was previously undercoated at the dealership when originally purchased and it kept the sheetmetal like brand new, along with all the farm mud underneath, made a believer of me in undercoat. Here is a couple of pics: http://i1379.photobucket.com/albums...et%203100/paint/IMG_0718_zpst1jcvwsw.jpg
The cab is back on the chassis. Got to use my chain hoist with bridge and trolley setup to lift the cab. I will post up some pics. It made for a very easy install. Steve
Grease Monkey, Moderator General Truck Talk & Greasy Spoon
Nice,
Martin '62 Chevy C-10 Stepside Shortbed (Restomod in progress) '47 Chevy 3100 5 Window (long term project)
"I fought the law and the law won" now I are a retired one! Support those brave men/women who stand the "Thin Blue Line" and lock up those on the wrong side of that line.
I hope mine looks as good when it's done.