1953 Chevy 3600
My brother bought the truck when I was deployed. If he ever told me where or whom he bought it from, I forget.
It was painted number two pencil yellow, had a 216 in it that was cracked, and it would only run with the choke full on. We tried different carbs and distributors but nothing worked. The bed was 2x6’s.
I finally convince my brother that we should just change out the 216 for a 235. When I took off the front end to remove the motor, I decided to buy it from him, tear it down to the frame and restore it.
I found a 235 down near Austin and the guy delivered it on a pallet. It looked as though it had been lying out in a field for a long time. It had a tag riveted to the block that said it had .30 over cylinders.
I took it apart and dropped it of at a shop in Waco.
Meanwhile my future wife Kate, and I disassembled the truck and carted all the usable pieces to a body shop in Crawford, and a powder coating shop in China Spring.
Over the next few years we put the truck back together as original except for the following:
- The 216 was replaced by the 235, which by the sn is a 1954 car motor. It’s now bored out to .60 and the crank is .30.
- It had been converted to 12v and I left it. The starter is still 6v. The wipers are electric.
- The tranny was replaced with a 833/np440 or my6 whichever one is in vogue.
- The 5:14 rear end was replaced by a 4:10 out of a '68 Chevy pu I found in a junkyard.
- It has a one piece drive shaft.
It’s painted green over black and has an oak bed from Mar-k.
The frame and axles are powder coated.
It’s got a set of Texas '53 truck plates blessed by DMV.
Thank you for sharing your story and photos.