My Grandfather bought this new and it was his farm truck. My Mom bought it for me at his estate auction and it's been sitting in barns for almost 30 years. I started taking her apart last weekend and trying to decide how in depth to go with the restoration. I like creature comforts like disk brakes, power steering and EFI.
So far I've been able to get the bed, front fenders and grill off without too much issue. The engine spins freely by hand but it hasn't been running in 20 years. The interior is shot (used to be a home for mice and raccoons) and lots of rust in places. Planning on media-blasting everything and re-using what I can.
Rob
Last edited by Peggy M; 10/17/20238:13 PM. Reason: added more info to the title
RobinCO, welcome to the Stovebolt. Sounds like ou have a family Heirloom and it is definitely worth restoration. Your on the right track, take the time to make a plan and work on it at least 15 minutes a day (minimum) every day.
The guys in the garage forums will help you all the way through....so be sure to ask any questions in the most appropriate forum.
Nice truck. Looks like your pretty much much knee deep into it already. What are your plans? Just get it running and safe to drive, restore to stock, or restomod?
"If you can't fix it with duct tape it's an electrical problem" 1949 5 Window 3100 In the Gallery Forum Veteran of the USAF My Website
Looks like a solid vehicle to start with. Hope you took tons of detail photos and bagged and tagged everything. If you have questions be sure to ask in the appropriate forum for whatever piece you’re working on.ðŸ›
Martin '62 Chevy C-10 Stepside Shortbed (Restomod in progress) '47 Chevy 3100 5 Window (long term project) ‘65 Chevy Biscayne (Emily) ‘39 Dodge Business Coupe (Clarence) “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"! Hug a cop! USAF 1965-1969 Weather Observation Tech (I got paid to look at the clouds)
Looks like a solid vehicle to start with. Hope you took tons of detail photos and bagged and tagged everything. If you have questions be sure to ask in the appropriate forum for whatever piece you’re working on.ðŸ›
I have always tried to do systematic restoration by doing component restoration piece by piece, that way you dont get left with a million bits if you take it all apart in one fell swoop.
1953 Chevrolet 3100 261 cu inch, sm420, 3.55 rear, torque tube still,omaha orange, still 6 volt, RPO green glass, side carrier spare, all done In the DITY Gallery Video of the 261 running
1964 GMC 1000 305 Big Block V6, sm420, the next cab off restoration
Welcome to the BOLT, I love it when a Truck stays in the same Family. Take your time with making you decisions, there are a lot off options out there. I would check out some of the builds going on in the forums. Project Journals would be a good place to start. Many of the builds have disc brakes and power steering even a couple with late model drivetrains. Lots of options to make it your own. Welcome to the site.
Last edited by Peggy M; 10/17/20238:07 PM.
~ Craig 1958 Viking 4400 "The Book of Thor" Read the story in the DITY 1960 Chevrolet C10 "A Family Heirloom" Follow the story in the DITY Gallery '59 Apache 31, 327 V8 (0.030 over), Muncie M20 4 Speed, GM 10 Bolt Rear... long term project (30 years and counting)
Come Bleed or Blister, something has got to give!!! | Living life in the SLOW lane
Olezippi - I want to make it safe and comfortable but not a trailer queen. I want to be able to drive it around town and not worry about scratches, etc.
Justhorsen - I'm going to end up replacing the majority of the fasteners because of the amount of rust on them. Even after soaking with lots of WD-40, ended snapping almost all of the fasteners in the bed and rear fenders. The front fenders came off a lot easier and I only broke off a few of them. The driver's side front pillar down to the bottom of the cab has a lot of rust so that will need to be replaced.
sstock - I decided to take it down to the frame to see what condition the chassis is in, right now it has a lot of surface rust but I haven't found any weak spots in the chassis, so hopefully I can re-use the chassis. I'll be a doing a lot of reading in the forums to try to decide the best options.
Tuts - She is all there and not too much rust from what I've found so far. The interior is going to take a lot of work though after being the home to various creatures.
Pretty new myself but more local (or loco) than some, just down the street (I-25)just south of Pueblo in Colorado City. Tearing down a '37. I plan on keeping it as stock as possible, if it hadnt been so complete I would have done more street rod t ype things. Everyone has to make those decisions and draw theirown personal line.If the old 216 kaputs I more than likely will not suffer through the rebuild of an old low pressure, babbit bearing engine but will not modify anything that cant be put back to stock someday if someone wanted. My dad had a 3100, kept it till he passed. He bought one for me when I was 16 that had the visor, interior fan mounted on the dash, twin spotlights and lighted hood ornament. A 20 year old pickup blinged out wasnt cool for a chick magnet in '72 and I got a '57 belair, but I sure wish I had it now! have fun, take it slow and you'll have a conversation piece to be proud of. Like I tell everyone, all you need is TIME, MONEY and PATIENCE. If one of those components is lacking; you'll have to double up on one of the others! take a look at the photo gallery to see what others have done.
Last edited by 37 GC; 06/28/202011:10 PM. Reason: added a sentence
Larry Old man᠁Old truck᠁neither one goes very fast. All you need in life is TIME, PATIENCE and MONEY. If you are missing one component, you'll need an abundance of the others two.
Welcome from Fort Collins! I too am new to this game, and not smart enough to be "Unruly." Not yet anyway.
One thing for sure, there are some amazing people here that know what they are doing. You will also find this is a friendly place. Not like some forums out there...
Good luck with everything.
-David
1953 2-Ton GMC
I'm a machinist... because engineers need heroes too.
Wonderful looking truck! You might try PB blaster in place of WD-40, I've had good results with it, but you're into way more than I have attempted to take on.
You have a really good point about being able to use the truck without worry of a few scratches or dents. Many of us (myself included) over-restore a truck, and are afraid to leave it out in the rain or haul a load of mulch with it. That's important because it greatly limits how you use your truck.
With your truck, my approach would be to keep it patina & original. Replace the bones that are not solid. Make the drivetrain and suspension operate like it should. New wiring & bed floor. Spray the interior, new gauges, seat, headliner/door panels/floor mat. Maybe consider reasonable safety upgrades like disc brakes and seatbelts. Clean up the sheet metal and keep the nice rustic patina paint and wheels. New tires of course.
Also...there are a couple of rebuildable 261's for sale in the For Sale forums...just saying
Last edited by Green_98; 06/29/20205:28 PM.
-Patrick 1953 Chevrolet 3100 261 / 4-speed / 4:11 / Commercial Red
I like to buy KROIL by the gallon. It costs a lot less per ounce that way than in aerosol cans or quarts. If you store it in glass containers such as quart Mason jars, it won't creep through the seams of the metal can it's shipped in, and it lasts about 3 days past forever that way. A few ounces in a metal pump can oiler on the workbench will come in handy for all sorts of uses, and it's much better at breaking loose rusty parts than any other penetrating oil I've used in the past 50+ years. Warming up a fastener with the torch before applying any kind of penetrant is a good idea- - - -so is a liberal dose of patience- - - -penetrating oil needs hours, if not days to do its work. Have fun! Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt! There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
Look up Hagerty's Youtube series on the Stovebolt rebuild. Your truck would be a perfect candidate for a bring-back story like that! I'm hooked on that series.
-Patrick 1953 Chevrolet 3100 261 / 4-speed / 4:11 / Commercial Red
Dang it Green_98, you got me sucked into the Hagerty Redline Rebuilt on their 1950... lol Thanks for pointing it out to me, I learned some things that I'll need to look out for.
Rob
Originally Posted by Green_98
Look up Hagerty's Youtube series on the Stovebolt rebuild. Your truck would be a perfect candidate for a bring-back story like that! I'm hooked on that series.
Right now on my '51, I'm leaning towards dropping in a tame V-8 under the hood to replace the 216. I'm hoping to have this as a daily driver and the reliability of a crate engine is more important to me right now than keeping it numbers matching. I'm not going to toss the 216, I'll got space to store it so maybe one day I'll have the 216 machined back to "like new" and swap engines. I'm lazy in the fact that I don't want to spend 30 minutes prepping my truck to drive it 12 miles to Lowes or Home Depot.
Found a bent pushrod on my #4 cylinder when I pulled the valve cover on my 216 today. I also found the original hand crank under the bench seat which makes it really easy to spin the engine over. All the cylinders are free, just the bent pushrod.
I'll second Hotrod Lincoln's comments on Kroil. According to many test, (and my decades long observations) it's the Best rust busting penetrating oil. If I suspect a fastener is going to be a problem and time is on my side, I'll give it a shot of Kroil once a day for as many days as possible. This has prevented snapping countless bolts and screws, saving time and frustration.
If Kroil is not available, a passable substitute is a 50/50 mixture of acetone and automatic transmission fluid.
