The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Project Journals 1954 Chevy 3100

Found in a field about 30 miles away in Alabama.

This is what I’ve fixed so far

Looking good, Doug.

Tell us more about this truck. History? Condition? What's your general plan?

Been working on the 54 for a couple months now..total rust bucket except for the body... dash was pitted with rust and guages were a mess..pictures are from the clean up and putting it back together.. Just finished the main part of a rewire kit and have lights now.. turn signals are on hold waiting for a new collar and turn signal assembly.. Just got the gas tank installed today and wouldn't you know it but the gas gauge doesn't work right.. but making progress.

I plan on getting it drivable and use as a daily driver.
Don’t really know much about the history but know get came to Alabama from Texas.

Just got the gas tank installed today and ran into a sending unit problem.

Looking good! Those sending units can be fussy!

Yes. Sending unit problem? You don’t say᠁

That dash looks great!

Today's progress..

Got the oil pressure gauge hooked up top and bottom.. thats next to last opening on the engine.

Last opening to fill is water temp sending unit... took me from yesterday staring with penetrating oil and hitting it with the impact wrench a couple times until I gave up.. hit with the penetrating oil heavily before retiring for the day.

Today up early and hit it with more penetrating oil then impact wrench.. no go... pried the top section of the sending unit out and squirted more penetrating oil in the middle. Waited a half hour and did it again and hit it with the impact tool again no go..

Repeated penetrating oil twice over the next hour... hit it with the impact tool and lo and behold it broke loose finally... I danced around the truck to celebrate.. haha.. cleaned it up in the parts washer and then put it in the bucket with the white vinegar until I get home from working in my store... clean up then install tonight..

It’s Saturday and felt it was time to update the progress this week.

Had one defeat. Could get the retainer pin out of the gas pedal. See pics. Ended up cutting the head of the rod off with my Dremel and removing the old one and putting the new one on. Can’t tell there was a major fight there now.

Got the fuel cut off valve in and installed. Good thing too. Later on that.

Got gas tank installed a couple days ago and installed the sending unit last night even though the gauge doesn’t work right. I’ll keep mental track of fuel level. Too much work getting the cluster installed and wired to go back now.

Hooked up fuel lines this morning and put some gas in the carb and it fired up. Yea!
The I checked and found the fitting at the fuel pump was leaking pretty good.
Went in the cab and switched the gas off. Walaa it stopped leaking. Pulled the fitting and found the 5/16 fitting was gauled badly. See pic.

Trip to hardware store and nada on the same fitting but found a 5/16 barb whick worked.
Came home and cut the fuel line and installed barbs and hose. Turned fuel back on. No leaks.

Now on to best part of my day. Was pouring gas in carb and it would run for 5 to 20 seconds and die. Each time I’d check the fuel pump glass to see if it was filling up yet. Repeated it a bit and at some point it kept running. It dropped to an idle and sounded like a singer sewing machine.

Turned it off after about 30 seconds since I hadn’t put water in it yet. I did dance around the truck a couple times before going to get the water hose.

See last pic. Got a nice sized hole in a freeze plug. Not going to replace it ATM. Purest will hate it but I’ve got some marine JB weld. Yeah you know what I’m gonna do.

Last note. After it ran for half a minute it died. Did that twice. Going to wait til after I fix water leak to run it again. I!m thinking carb problem butto early to tell.

Sorry for the long post but hope you enjoyed it. Til next time.

Thanks for the pictures. I never think of using my phone to get a picture and better look at the problem.

Doug,

Just a note here to suggest you go check out my reply to your post in The Engine Shop forum on the freeze plug fix.

I think it is a better solution than JB welding that old rusty plug.

Dan

The JB weld worked like a charm. No leak there now.
Now have a drip coming from a lip below and to the front. I’m hoping this is normal and not a cracked block.

May I ask how you stripped and painted the dash? See if I'm doing it the hard way. Yours looks FANTASTIC!!! Just about the same color I want to paint mine. My middle daughter is going to try to make the 'chevrolet' out of vinyl stick-on in turquois to use on mine. Sure would appreciate suggestions.

S2

Stewart, I just used sandpaper starting with 150 then 400.. I wiped it down with denatured alcohol then sprayed it with Rustoleum rust eater.. I'll post a picture of it when I get home.. the dash (whole truck really) was pitted with rust.. after spraying the rust eater I followed up with 400 sandpaper again then the alcohol clean... followed with Rustoleum desert tan I think.. again I'll post a picture to be accurate.. memory doesn't always serve me well..

Did the same treatment to the rear cab area..

If you have a steady hand and keep it moving you can spray can a paint job that looks like a paint shop did it... allow it to cure 24 hours before doing any work around it... it will harden and resist scrapes and scratches after that..

To bring the rest of the work this week up to date I JB welded the cracked block and it is holding up fine..

I've given up on the wiring for the time being.. Got the running lights and headlights working fine.. All the turn signals but the left front work.. can't figure it out so will use hand signals for left turns.

Oh.. still no brake lights.. not sure how to test those but plan to at a thread in the electrical forum tonight and ask for some help from the more experienced bolters..

Now only thing keep me from try for a drive around the circle is I have a oil leak at the oil pressure gauge that I can't stop and have yet to ID exactly where its coming from.. but leaking it is.. I'm going to try a new fitting and feral tonight and give it another go..

Forever hopeful everything will hold together.

Thank you, T-Doug, appreciate you getting back to me. Seems like there is no EASY way of getting all the rust and paint gone. At least not one I can afford. As far as the steady hand goes, that's a laugh for me. For some reason I developed essential tremors in my dominate hand about 15 yrs ago. If a paint can needs shaken perfectly, I've got it made. Spray painting with that can.... I'll have that paint ALL over including outside the cab! Anyway, yours is looking really good! Can't wait to see the finished product.

In case you're planning to replace your door windows without refurbishing, I found that Ecklers sells a complete set of door windows with hardware for a little over $300. Don't know if you want to go that route or not.

Also, they seemed to have gotten the already posted pictures corrected, but like the one you posted while the system was down still isn't working. So would you please repost image when they get that part back up?

Thanks again.

S2

Stewart,
Was just able to post pic of the paint.
Thanks for the tip on the windows. I’ll check it out.

Looks like I fixed or reduced to a drop the oil leak at the sending unit. Fired it up and let it run for about ten minutes and looks good. I drained the oil and pulled the filter. That was a mess but it needed it. I’m going back in with Mobile one 10-30 and see how it likes it. Of course nobody had that filter in stock so will have to wait until tomorrow to get it.

Seats I found thru one of the bolters shipped so will be trying my hand at upholstery soon. Should be a study in patience.

Hope everyone is having fun

Ran the engine for 15 minutes this morning and everything went fine. No leaks I could find.

Now I’m a bit upset that the only thing that works in the cluster is the oil pressure gauge.

Engine has a clunkity clunkity knock to it. Thinking maybe a froze lifter. Hmm

Did get some items painted under the hood while all this was going on. Not pro level but good enough for govt work. Test drive coming soon.

Doug,

Just a hopefully helpful comment about your latest picture. Check out where your drain pipe for your cowl vent discharges. Right now if you get any water through there, at least some of it's going to find its way inside your valve cover. Those open breather slots on that particular valve cover are an open door for water to enter your engine and contaminate your innards, real quickly.

Don't ask me how I learned about this problem - haha!

Good progress on your project.

Dan

Interesting. My truck came with a junk engine and rusted through valve cover at the point of the drain pipe. It looked to be the original pipe. Truck might have been sitting in a muddy field possibly since 1974 as that dated plate came with truck. Did GM not consider the problem that kind of configuration could cause?

Joe Dude,

Just a note that I wasn't meaning to start a technical conversation in Doug's Project Journal, just commenting on something he may want to pay attention to on his truck (the Project Journal's are supposed to be about the original posters truck, not general tech conversations).

If you like, post your question in the Engine Shop and folks can discuss that topic further.

As an alternative, we can get your post above moved over to the "Engine Shop" (with a little editing) to start your own conversation there.

Best Regards,

Dan

The journey took a sharp turn. Have engine running pretty good. Changed oil and filter. Drained and refilled tranny.

So, today I was going to pull out of the garage to clean it up then back right back in.

When I put it in 1st and let out the clutch I got nothing but a less noisy throughout bearing.

Big trouble in little china.

Now will look for some help in the drive train forum.

The Factory Assembly Manual shows it cocked toward the drivers side, enough so the drain clears the valve cover.

STILL CHECK YOUR DRAIN TUBE
If the drain-tube lets water onto the top of your valve cover, your engine will suffer.
My original-length hose allowed water to enter the valve cover.

I have an extension hose that is attached with a male/male plastic hose fitting -- it is long enough to direct that water to the ground.
I take it off at shows (after arrival).

That is a good idea. If nothing else I’ll add enough hose to clear the valve cover or better yet put a clamp in place to hold it nearer to the firewall.

Got the rear drained and the cover off. Got enough metal out for a couple gears along with a gear. See pic. A serious setback but not defeated. Now will have to buy some more tools for this project I’m sure. That and find a video on how to proceed taking it all apart and putting it back together.

Doug’s rear end woes are discussed in the Driveline forum here.

Just throwing this out there, but you could always use a later model valve cover with no slots, or plug the slots with J.B.Weld, then use a vented oil fill cap.

Well the rear is locked up and the key bolt stopped on the opposite side of course.. lossened the bearing clamp bolts to see if I could get some play in it to move it around... nada

Going to put it in gear and hit the starter to see if it will move.. if not If guess the next thing would be to drop the torque tube to disengage the u joint to see if it is the pinon that is locked up..

If that doesn't work I think the next step would be to remove the forward end of the differential..

Any ideas or suggestions would be helpful..

Thanks to Hotrod's suggestion I got the carriage to turn all the way to where I can get to the retainer bolt and pin.. Just got called to lunch but will be back at it when thats over..

yea

I'd seriously consider Jerry's offer of a complete drive train swap or at least look for a good rear end that you can just bolt in.

It all came out pretty easy. Now will work on the carrier removal.

So to catch up on progress I’ve got the pumpkin empty now except for the pinion gear. That’s next job.

Had to go get 6 ton jack stands this morning. The 3 ton wouldn't reach the frame... now just need it to cool off.. wishful thinking in Alabama.

Working on getting the ring gear off the housing. Like everything else it’s stuck.

Got the ring gear off and new ring gear came in yesterday. Started cleaning up all the parts for reinstalling and found a hole in the pumpkin.

First picture is hole at 2:00
Second picture shows the light coming through it.

Time to get the JB weld out again. 😁

Fixed the hole and spent all day getting the ring gear back on. The hardware stores didn’t have 3/8 24 bolts so had to use Allen head bolts that said they were 3/8 24 but on trying them they were to big for the housing holes. Soooo Dremel time grinding them down solved the problem.
Off to the hardware store tomorrow to get a torque wrench. I knew I’d need one eventually but had been putting it off because of the $$$ a good one cost.

Doug, check the parts house as some "rent" them....but not sure if they are good ones. Save your money if you can!!!

I found one at harbor freight that was 1/2 inch drive and had a clicker for $21.
Used it and now the ring gear is on and torqued. Sweaty again. It’s hot in Alabama these days. Will pick up where I left off in the morning.

Don’t have enough hands to keep everything together to get the carrier reinstalled. Is there a method to this? Worked on it for two hours this morning and no progress.