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1954 Chevy 3100
"Back to Life" Project

Hello to all! I grew up with AD trucks. My Granddad had a '49 stake body. Rode everywhere with him on the farm.

Dad bought a '54 new and that is what I learned to drive on. Granddad "inherited" it when Dad bought a new '63. Granddad passed in 1970, same year I went off to school.

Dad lacked sentimentality and sold it to an elderly neighbor when I went off to school in '71. I durn near cried. He went to the older man and asked him if we could get it back when he didn't need it anymore

Flash to 1976. I bought a '51 3100 that hadn't run for years for $50. I filled it with water, put some gas in it, filed the points and it cranked right up. Drove it a couple of years until the 216 developed the dreaded death knock.

Back to the family '54:

In '86 I did buy the '54 back from 'Ol Halis. I drove it until the 216 (which Halis had put in it) dumped the coolant. The 216 which ran good until the soft plugs rusted out in the late '90s. I parked it in the shop with coolant still running out. That was 15 years ago. Been sitting there ever since.

So 20 years ago I started gathering 235 stuff in anticipation for a return swap. Got a running 235 short block from a '57 Nomad that was bored .030 but the owner wasn't satisfied so he put in a SBC. His loss, my gain. Got a complete '57 235 with a spun bearing. Also a '57 block. Had a 868 head rebuilt. Also a junk 235 and blue parts from a "mystery" engine. Had a rebuilt head. Used parts from 4 different 235's in the build. Re-doing the brakes and a lot of other stuff.

Late start?

After my parents passed, my sister moved into the big house. I had to move the '54 and that is when the freeze plugs failed and in the shop she went. There she sat from 2013 until now. At 70 years old, I decided that if I was ever going to fix her up... now was the time. When I found that both left side soft plugs had rusted out and the front plug was missing altogether I knew that the 216 had to come out and sadly, would not be going back in. So much for a quick, cheap fix. I had to build a 235 from parts on hand.

So the fun begins:

Took the front clip off to make it easier and glad I did. Have put the Nomad together after popping off the head and dropping the oil pan to clean it up. The former owner was a Chev mechanic and had the block bored .030 and no ring ridge is seen on the cylinders. Mounted the clean head I had all looks good... Except...

After cleaning the pushrods and then the tappets (which showed very little wear), I disassembled the rocker arms and rebuilt them around 2 shafts that showed very little wear. I replaced some of the rocker balls that had worn. But...

Upon assembly, taking the lash out has used up most of the adjustment threads. Same lifters. Same pushrods. Same block with same cam. Only real variable is the unworn rocker shaft. Valve stem height is same as the head that came off of the Nomad.

All I can think of is the rockers being worn, but that shouldn't cost 3 threads on the lock nut.

Puzzled.




Got some pictures of the '54 "back in the day." 1st pic up above shows me with a load of hog feed in 1989. Pix below: 2nd pic has me leaning on the door with my dad "wiping off a tear" in 2001. Last pic is me in 2023. Same shot as the first pic.

Hello Jethro in Va,

Your '54 back to life project' will be of great interest to our forum participants. I'm really looking forward to watching you refresh the '54.

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

Hello to all!

Also have a '57 6400 with a 261 and SM420 trans. Runs.

Welcome Jethro

Stovebolts kept in the family are awesome. My '51 originally belonged to my Grandfather and his brother (was their "elk hunting" truck in eastern Washington state).

Looking forward to conversations with you in the forums.

Dan

Welcome to the site, Jethro! Just in time, too! Our big ODSS ("Old Dominion Stovebolt Society") fall gathering is coming up at the end of September in Winchester. Details are in the ODSS forum. Love to have you join us there.

John

Jethro, it's always cool to read about someones pursuit to get an old family heirloom back on the road.

Welcome to the Stovebolt.

John

First thing was take off the front clip. Easier than I thought. Patience. I didn't want to wring any bolts so I soaked then with Blaster for a couple of days after wire brushing. Then I heated the visible threads red hot and allowed them to cool. Next I freshened the threads with a die, hit them with the Blaster again and they screwed right out. Saved them all. 7 bolts attaching fenders to the cab and firewall on each corner and 2 under the radiator mount. 3 of us picked it up and carried it outside. Ahhh... total access to engine and frame.

Nice start and looks like you have a great place to work on your project! Keep your post coming.

Scrape scrape scrape the crud... got enough to fill a hole in the path. Nice clean crossmember and chassis under all that crud. Unhooked everything connected to the 216... then removed carb, distributor, draft tube, generator, starter etc for further evaluation. Upon removing the fan there was a gaping hole behind it where the front soft plug should have been. I guess that's why coolant was spilling out! Ready to disconnect the trans, bell and linkage, I stopped... maybe I had better build a doable engine before I pull this one out.

I had engine parts on hand from re-doing a 56 4400 back in '86, a 6848 head that I had a valve job done on, it's 3754644 low box manifold and valve cover. All showing blue paint and dated 1959. I had bought a'57 235 complete from fan to clutch for $50. Sprayed a healthy dose of WD40 in each cylinder, hooked up jumpers to the starter and voila... no compression and I could hear the death-nock. These would supply parts for the build.
The star of the show is a 235 from a '57 Nomad that a local Chevy mechanic had rebuilt. Bored .030 and had a valve job. When the exhaust manifold cracked he pulled it and put in a dreaded small block. Bought the engine for $100 in 1998.
All this stuff had been sitting around waiting for now. The pics are the blown 235 and the head/short block from the Nomad.

The Nomad 235 looked good inside, just cleaning carbon deposits from the pistons and block. The copper head gasket was put on dry and had leaked between cyl 2 and 3. Solid lifters looked good and showed very little wear. Cleaned it outside and gave it a coat of paint. Next I cleaned up the rebuilt head from the blue 59 235 which mainly was all day blowing out the water passages from a mouse nest. Using 3 coats of Permatex Copper Spray on the new copper sandwich head gasket, I lowered it down onto the block guided by 2 guide pins I made from old head bolts. Torqued it down to 95 ft lbs. Then installed the adapter plate for the rebuilt 216 water pump. Painted it all up and it starts to look like an engine.

After a couple of weeks spraying and tapping on the manifold heat riser weight, it moved! PB Blaster did its job! More PB and it began to turn free. Heated the manifold/exhaust studs red hot, quenched in cold water and they screwed right out with vise grips. The carb studs just needed a thread refreshing. Painted it Rustoleum Barbecue Black that I had on hand and installed a new spring and tested it with a propane torch ( about 10 inches away.) It opens and closes as it should. Mounted it to the engine and installed the original oil filter canister (Wix 51100) and plumbed it with 3/16 brake lines. Then installed the old Rochester B and oil bath air filter.

Well, waiting on parts... so, I move on to the transmission. It had just started to jump out of high gear before I put her down (imagine that!) When I took off the shifter cover I saw the cluster gear and it's mating slider were chipped. OH NO!!! So, I tore it down. Ordered a small parts kit from Holley (thanks to Hot Rod Lincoln for pointing me to where to look) then looked through my stock of old trans parts. Found a good slider and opened up an old SM 318, finding an excellent cluster. That and the reverse gear are all that interchange.
After installing the needles in the cluster, I greased them in place and inserted the pvc. I "glued" the thrust washer in place flush with the shaft and jiggled the cluster into position. Slipped the front thrust washer in place and held it with the stubby pcv. Used the bolt to align the two pcv pieces with the case front, then drove the shaft home. Worked like a charm.
The rest of the gears were easy-peezy. Put the cover back on and it shifts like new again.
By the way... that lawn mower deck is the best 10 bucks I ever spent. Head, bell housing, flywheel, transmission, it makes a heckuva cart.

Well, still waiting on parts... found a supplier for the rear main shaft bushing... found a nice looking heater... it had a Mopar Deluxe 36 installed at Cowling Chevrolet when new. Probably got it off a wreck. He did a lot of salvage on US 301 prior to the Interstate 95 days. Jasper Cowling and my dad were buds... Pop probably got it on a 7 come 11 dice roll. Got one from a 48 DeSoto that looks real good. Scored a good light switch from a 49. I'll take it apart, clean and grease it per Jon G's tutorial.
Been skipping around, put a new king pin in the left axle. The right side was tight. Found out why... the former goofball didn't line the top bushing with the grease fitting. Did the repair using Deve's tutorial, but I placed a flat steel bar under the bottle jack to angle it to the king pin when I went Wham Wham Wham on the axle. The grease holes in the new bushings were too small to suit me so I drilled them out to 3/16. Went in without a hitch.

So where are the pics of all the "goodies" you found???

Thanks for sharing!

Well, my light switch got here... I opened it up and cleaned inside, greased it and added the 54 accuator/knob. Works like new.
The heater came in... just like the old one... but works. I like it as it is small and will run you out of the cab.
Did a dry run mounting the transmission. Slid right in.
Sending unit came today, now waiting on the gas tank. Took off the tie rod and cleaned it up. Everything looks good. No out of round to the ball. Grease it and put it back on. Looking up!
Jethro.

You're real lucky that the steering arm ball wasn't worn. The PO must have kept thing greased well. Mine were totally shot.
Those guide pins you use on the tranny install are almost a must. Makes installing the tranny a breeze. I did have to depress the clutch lever on mine to get it all the way in as the plastic alignment tool for the clutch disk that came with the clutch kit wasn't quite up to the task.

There was still fresh gray moly on both balls. Wish I still had a couple of tubes of that Shaeffer's 260. We used it on all the farm equipment for decades. I used an old 3 sp input shaft with a throw out bearing to line it up. Worked perfectly. New pilot bushing helps too.

Well, wouldn't you know it? Digging around in our old pre-1970's farm shop looking for a spring what do I see? A kingpin! After I had bought a set to install only one. Dug around and found a torn blue GM box and there was the rest of the set. #605121. Now I have 2 complete kingpin sets. RATS. Guess I'll post 'em on the sale site unless someone pm's me first.
So, UPS brought me my gas tank and parking brake cables today... eager to see if they fit. Finally chased down all of the brake line leaks... I think. Get the cables on and I can install the rear brake shoes, bleed the system and be done with that! Dropped off my tierod at the welding shop to get the threaded ends unfrozen so I can adjust the toe-in when the time comes. Still trying to get the nuts off of the rear spring shackle. After several days of PB Blaster and trying it I finally got both of them to say "Eeek" so only a matter of time. Took the cover off the gearshift mechanism on the column and the grease looked new. Topped it off and closed it off. I'll find something to do tomorrow I'm sure.
Here's a picture of my "Stovebolt Parts Dept." Now you know what I mean by "digging and lookin'."

Well, it's been a while since I last reported in... first I'll back up to the transmission. Kept staring at it on the engine right in front of me every time I sat down. Decided I would put in new bearings while it was down. Funny how things work... found a synchronizer broken in 3 pieces! Had a spare drum and installed it. Think I'll get a new set and fix the bad one.

Put in a new gas tank and lines... counted 12 pinholes in the top two inches of the old one! Now I remember having to not fill the tank all the way!

While waiting for parts the new brakes were installed, plumbed to the cylinders and gravity bled while I put on brake shoes. Didn't take too long or too many refills of the master cylinder until the front left cyl was flowing. Closed that bleeder and a few minutes later the left rear was flowing. Then the right rear, then the right front and they were bled with excellent pedal. Took a while to chase down all the leaks but finally did. Took no time at all for a final bleed.

Took the old glove box off and found the licence tag receipt for the tags that are still on the truck... 1989.

Before and after dash and my "new" seat, from a fellow ODSS Bolter. Did a "roll & pleat" job with Gorilla Tape. I plan on getting a seat cover.

Ha! We need the "after" of the seat now! What a transformation of that dash!

Too cloudy for a good pic. Raining here. Will make hay when the sun shines.

I added some old feed bag burlap and foam padding to build it up where the padding was gone. 2 rolls of Gorilla Tape. Matches the truck's "farm shop patina."

Wow. Joy!! I could not have imagined this. (I have seen so much worse!)

Great job with the Gorilla Tape.

The poor man's tuck and roll!

Made the News Corner ...

Drove the 54 to work at the hospital today. 30 miles without a hitch both ways. Saw this whatever the heck it is parked in the doctor's spot and had to pull up for a photo.

A real truck VS a "wannabe". Guess which is which - LOL!

It's a Tesla. They come through town on the back of a 6 car hauler here on US290, heading west. My great grandson (5 years old) saw one for the first time 2 weekends ago and laughed.

2500 pound max load, 11000 pound towing capacity and zero to 60 in 2.9 seconds.

$82k to $102k depending on options.

Too ugly to consider.

I drew better looking truck designs in kindergarten.