The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Archived Journals 1952 Chevrolet 3100 ~Green~

Grn52chevy’s Journey first started here in the Welcome Center.

This is my 1952 Chevrolet 3100 pickup that has been in my family for three generations. It was assembled at the Oakland California assembly plant in October, 1952. It started life purchased new by an older gentleman in California. In 1960 my grandfather, a US Navy WW2 veteran, was in his 30’s and running a small service station business in California. The original owner lived close by and my grandpa purchased the truck for $600 and used it to promote his business and it remained in immaculate condition around this time.

By the late 1960’s my grandpa became a farmer and the truck throughout the 1970’s was driven by my dad and his siblings to and from school and was used for doing odds and ends around the farmhouse. There are stories about how one of my uncle’s as a teenager crashed into the back of a 60’s Chevy sedan and the front fenders were replaced and the entire truck repainted. The truck color was not changed and was repainted keeping its factory green. The front fenders, grill, and splash apron are different colors underneath, evidence by some of the green paint that has chipped away over the years. The passenger side running board has a large dent in it from when my grandpa was up in the mountains loaded up with firewood and the brakes failed and he stopped the truck using a tree stump. There was also a hole in the back window from a cattle horn that went through it. My dad had so many fond memories with this truck growing up.

In 1987 the truck was passed down to my dad when he was a soon to be a father and wanted the truck to be passed down to me one day. So at that point it was pretty much retired and was infamously parked in my grandpa’s driveway for many years. In 1999 the truck went into storage for the next twenty years. My goal is to maintain and preserve its history and restore it to good running and driving condition. All while learning more about it along the way.

Sitting in storage 2010.

Splash apron and passenger side profile with engine compartment. The original radiator was leaking and wouldn't hold coolant anymore. A new radiator would be installed.

Interior pictures᠁

Amazing. Preserve that one as is. Clean/tune like you’re doing and enjoy. Wow. Great story and work.

Thank you Fox, I appreciate it!

December 2011

A local guy was selling his Blue Flame 235 engine out of his 1958 Chevrolet Biscayne. I purchased it and here are pictures of the car it was out of and the engine after it was removed and the same car if restored and same motor if restored.

June 2020

Making the drive home to Oregon for the first time. The 235 engine loaded in the back. The truck now had a new gas tank, fuel pump, radiator, brake drums serviced, new kingpins, door seals, door latches, mechanisms, door handles and was barely running.

The side mirrors had been taken off and lost so the holes in the doors were covered with painter's tape and the rear window was covered in cardboard and tape to prevent any water damage. The tape had been on there for years and when I pulled it off it ripped the paint right off with it. I’m still kicking myself for that. Two of the original hubcaps were missing as well.

Was the rental and transporting by Uhaul much of a hassle? Love the color and good luck.

Hello Grn52chevy,

Welcome to the Stovebolt web site and the Project Journal forum! Your '1952 Chevrolet 3100 pickup' will be of great interest to our forum participants. I'm really looking forward to watching your project move forward. Be sure to ask your questions in the appropriate forum(s). There's a wealth of knowledge here on the SB. I see that you've check into the Welcome Center and introduced yourself, an excellent first step.

I'll send you a PM with some additional Project Journal information in the near future. You can just click on the flashing red envelope in the upper right-hand corner to open it. Stovebolters love pictures..........

Once again, welcome. You're gonna love it here!

Hello Grn52chevy,

Great history on your truck, I appreciate the sentimental value that history has, truck looks to be in very good condition for its age.
Are you in Southern or Northern Oregon? I live very close to southern border.

Enjoy
Danny

Hi Ron, I've towed 4 different vehicle using Uhaul. Since I don't have a truck and tow hauling trailer with a hitch I found that was the best way for me to transport. I believe it cost around $200 give or take and it was a one way trip. As long as the vehicle can drive op the ramps it works good. Once I brought the truck home I just dropped the Uhaul and trailer off at the local branch then next day. Thank you for the comment! I like this green color too. I'm still not sure what the color name is. Either Spring Green or Seacrest Green.

Thank you for the information and the warm welcome. I will definitely check out the PM.

Thanks Danny! I live in Salem, Oregon so more Northern. It looks like you have a nice project you are working on yourself.

November 2020

The original exhaust was rusted off and missing. The cab filled up with heavy exhaust fumes quickly. It was now on its way for brand new exhaust.

From there It went to a mechanic shop and had a full tune up with new distributor cap, wires and spark plugs, a fresh oil change and a valve adjustment. With the new quiet exhaust, I noticed the motor had a ticking noise coming from the side. It turned out to be a bent push rod. With and new set of push rods and a valve adjustment it ran smooth. that was making the ticking noise and replaced it quickly. My grandfather was a mechanic and took real good care of her. It was blowing some blue smoke though and needs to be driven and hopefully the rings will soften up.

Engine idle part 1

Engine idle part 2

Engine idle - Fresh tune up - exhaust

I watch a lot of Youtube restoration videos and you have a jewel of a foundation to start with, good luck.

Me too and I just can’t find any that haven’t either already been restored or are really far gone. It makes me careful to change anything on the truck since it’s been preserved this way for so long. Any advice on the direction I should go would be nice. Like I said I’m thinking of preserving it.

I vote - preserve it.

Your choice on rear bumper - leave as is or find an original/reproduction rear bumper?

That truck is a gem. Nearly a museum piece. Just that little bit of rust in the floor board is amazing. I see that it's had some rust-proofing on the undercarriage. I'm not a fan of that style of rear bumper, but I would keep it given the truck's history, and like Tim said, preserve it. Even leave that running board owie as is, since you know the story behind it.
I believe the color is close to Ocean Green, which was Chevy's original light green color. But as you said, it appears the truck was repainted, as the rear bars of the grille would have been an off-white color originally. There are a couple other spots that say repaint as well.
Awesome truck and back story.

Thanks guys! I appreciate the input. Ocean Green huh? I never thought of that one. I always thought either Spring Green or Seacrest Green. Good to know!

OOPS! My bad.
Ocean Green was only available in '53 and later. A '52 light green would have been Seacrest Green. The only other Green available in '52 would have been the standard Forester Green, much darker than your truck.

April 2021

I got all the lights working and the 235 engine out of the back and set it up in storage. I drove the truck for the first time in 20 years. It was nerve racking and lovely all at the same time.

Start Up And Walk Around Part 1

Start Up And Walk Around Part 2

September 2021

I installed new rear glass, door glass and vent windows. I did some searching online and found some good tutorials on how to replace them myself. With some help from my little ones, I got the glass replaced. I also installed new interior door panels, hood emblems and upgraded to black rear tailgate letter decals. I installed a fresh set of tires, beauty rings and a matching set of original 52 Chevrolet hubcaps.


To restore the paint and treat any surface rust I used a CLR (Calcium, lime, rust remover) half and half with water and scrubbed the whole truck with a 3M scotch-brite pad.

The front bumper splash apron was a pretty awesome. Under all that surface rust are these interesting looking brass welds and original "Sun Beige" color under the green. Evidence from back in the 70's.

I used a Clay Bar Kit and went over the whole truck, then by hand I used Complete Compound, then Polish, and then Wax. Three full days of hand buffing later and it turned out great!

May 2022

The West Coast Style side mirrors that were missing left holes in the doors. I put some clamp style mirrors mounted above the vent window but I still couldn’t really see behind me and the holes stood out like a sore thumb. I had been looking for the same mirrors that came off of it but it was like a needle in a haystack and I figured it was in vain. I would never find another matching set. Until a pair came up for sale after years of searching. For me it was a miracle. They bolted right up and looked right at home.

Looks good to me, and I'm a long ways away.

I like what you've done, it certainly looks like a survivor and it looks great just like it is. The front splash apron, you could consider repairing the brazing weld job and refinishing the entire apron. With a bit of trial and error you should be able to get a paint match from a local automotive paint supplier. It took me several attempts on my 1954 to get close to the original color. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing your time capsule!

Thanks for the comment 55shaker and the kind words.

Yeah that splash apron looks pretty narly. I personally have never seen brass used before for a weld bead. I can just imagine my grandfather out in the field throwing a quick fix on it. It gives it character. The front bumper is bent though. I need to either straighten out the brackets or purchase new ones. Next I want to polish up the interior and figure out what I’m going to do for the floor. Maybe wire wheel as much rust as I can and spray some rust oleum to cover the metal and get a new floor mat.

Amazing what can be done to old paint. I did similar to my 52 some 26 years ago. Unfortunately, even though kept in an enclosed garage and waxed yearly it is once again showing its age and at my age will likely not get that level of detail again. Interesting about west coast mirrors, mine came with similar and believe to be 60's installed. Wonder if there is an article featuring those? Nice truck!

Thanks! There’s really not a whole lot of information about the history behind these style of mirrors on smaller trucks that I can find. But here is some I have found᠁

"Junior" refers to these smaller versions of the larger west coat mirrors used on Big Rigs & larger trucks. The Junior or smaller versions are usually found on smaller pickup trucks & vans. The only explanation I have found for the name via Google search is as follows.

"Because bigger mirrors were needed to see around corners for the winding highways along the Pacific Ocean on the "West Coast" of America."

I figure this style of mirror was first developed & used on the west coast, thus the name.”

“Back in the 50s west coast trucks (semis) were allowed, by law, to be a lot longer overall length than the east coast trucks. The length laws were much looser out west. So west coast trucks often had very long wheelbases. You see this in a lot of early Peterbilt and Kenworth trucks vs. Mack or Autocar trucks, for example. I presume west coast mirrors were necessary just to be able to see all of the trailer that was so far behind the cab. Amazingly, a lot of old tractor-trailers in the 50s still only had tiny mirrors like the stock ones on a Chevy c10, maybe 6" round. That must've made life interesting!”

You have an amazing truck! Such a gift to have something so original with so much family history. I wish my '51 was that original. That brazing on the front pan is a pretty typical repair of sheet metal for the time period (prior to MIG). It certainly has a story to tell in its own right. I love the West Coast mirrors. I'm planning to install them on my truck, too.

Thanks for the info, great read. When i purchased mine the owner still had the factory mirror. I like the orginial look but I do like the looks of "junior" west coast mirrors.

Thank you so much Brian! That is good information to know on the brazing. Originally, I wasn't a fan of the WCS mirrors and wanted original single mirror in the stock location. But I've come to appreciate them. They are quite spendy now.

Papas52, you're welcome! If anyone else has some additional info I'd love to see it.

Summer is here and starting to fix some things on the to-do list. New cowl vent rubber and need to fix the leaking rear differential leaking. My last attempt at changing the differential gasket didn’t fix it and it’s still leaking. I got started on the cowl vent cover. Scraped the gooey old stuff out with a flat blade screw driver. Ended up having to remove the vent completely to get to all of it. Used adhesive remover and a scrub brush to clean it off snd then put some black multi purpose adhesive and then the new part. Installed new bolts for the cowl vent.

More pictures of the Cowl Vent.
Also purchased a set of original truck hubcaps that look to be close to the factory grey that originally came on the korean war 1952’s. The paint is old and pitted and has nice patina which matches the truck. I scrubbed them down with CLR and scotch-brite pad and hit the inside with a wire wheel and brought the shine back. They will look right at home. I might go with shiny stainless ones in the future. Off with the passenger car hubcaps and on with the truck ones.