The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre New guy from NH

Howdy Gents .. and Ladies . My name is Wendell . I am interested in '47-53 chevy 3100 series pick up trucks. I have many questions.. I like the five slat grill personally , I am hoping that I can get my pt cruiser payed off by late spring 2018. then I am thinking about getting a chevy 3100 ... a swb would be nice ... I think. I also have question on finding resources for parts and maintenance info ., are parts expensive? what kind of fuel mileage do these old in line 6's get? is LMC truck parts a good company. is there other parts suppliers?

Wendell, welcome to the Stovebolt. The 47-53 are good years and a lot of parts are reproduced, not as good as most originals but they are available. LMC is just one of the vendors used. JimCarters and Classic Parts, Filling Station, Chevs of the 40's, The Truck Shop to name a few. Most carry the same overseas stuff and some pieces are made in Mexico and you'll even find a few pieces made in the USA and Canada. Most of us check out two or three vendors paying attention to the Service, Shipping, and Sales. And never forget to check the parts for sale, parts wanted and since your looking for a truck watch the Trucks for sale.

Once you get a truck its best to buy an assembly manual and a shop manual. All available from the vendors about 20-25 bucks a piece. There are some online manuals and you'll find the link to those if you go to the tech tips. Click on it at the top of the page.
Spend some time to get to know the Stovebolt, check out the tech tips, links, and the Gallery pictures...... and really important is to ask questions in the most appropriate garage forums. The Welcome Center is here just for guys to check who is new and welcome them to the Bolt.
Good luck. Keep us posted.

Welcome to the site, Wendell. It's good to do some research ahead of time. Not sure what you mean by a swb, if that is wheelbase, all 3100s were 116". Mileage can be anywhere from 13 to over 20, depending on how you set it up. Lots of parts suppliers around, just click on 'links' at the top of the page.
Good luck in your search.
Leo

welcome to the site! Good advice and info from Alvin and Leo!

thanks for the warm welcome and helpful info fellas!

Wendell, as you already know, we're glad to have on board. This hobby is just like the parts, it's only as expensive as you let it get. If you are impatient and want a show truck, or even a driver you can expect to spend 15 - 40k. Even more if you are going to buy all new parts and hire out a lot of the work.

If you can do a lot of the work yourself and are willing to search swap meets and bulletin boards (craigslist etc.) for your truck and parts I think it's still possible to get a nice driver on the road for 8-12k. The most important tip that I can think to mention, is to look for a truck in the best condition to start out with for the money. Start looking now and you will understand what I'm talking about. You will see that there are trucks and prices all over the map. The sooner you start looking, the better chance you will have to recognize a great deal when it comes along.

Also, some of the parts suppliers offer a 5-10 percent discount to Stovebolt members. (But, you will need to ask them for it.)

Good luck in your hunt.

John

thankyou John

Howdy.

for parts, look up top at the links section.

There are Parts sections, Services and many other categories.

Over a 1,000 links listed.