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1951 Chevrolet 3100

Time to post a few pictures and start the story.

Hauled the 1951 off to my friends body shop last Saturday. Finally got all of the yellow from an '80's paint job gone bad taken off. It was a long tedious process. I had tried chemical strippers of all brands and came to the conclusion that like a lot of things, they aren't what they used to be.

I did a 1971 rs/ z28 Camaro back in the late 80's and chemical strippers worked great. So I ended up doing this truck with 3M surface conditioning pads and an angle grinder. Some paint rolled off like a ribbon with a sticker scraper. Around the window channels I used a dremel tool taking several hours on each side to get every last bit of paint out of the nooks and crannies.

I was very fortunate to find this truck here in the northeast. The guy I purchased it from brought it here in 2009 from Colorado. He had purchased from a gentlemen who had purchased it in 1992 in Southern California and moved to Colorado in 2005.

From 2009 to when I bought the truck last May, it was stored in a climate-control garage along with 10+ '60's vintage Corvettes. Several of which are restored to Bloomington Gold standards.

It ran and drove when I brought it home.

I first started by sorting all the nuts and bolts and pieces and putting it mostly back together. Included in the purchase was a bed full of new parts to aid in the resurrection of this '51. As many of you guys have seen, I had two of everything. I have had to buy very few parts so far.

So from May through August, I rewired the truck, painted the inside, did the gauge. Also installed a drop axle in the front from Sids and Poise Super Slide Springs.

That will be the extent of any major modifications away from original for me. I just like the stance that lowering these truck produces.

I hope to have the cab and chassis back within a few weeks.

Note: Jeff started his story in the DITY Gallery and soon enough, and sure enough, he had enough details on his build, that we invited him to roll over to the Project Journal special lot. He has not disappointed, that's for sure. Thanks to you Jeff, many will benefit from this thread and these great images. (And thanks for answering the questions that folks have asked. )

Making good progress. Just pulling little dents and going over entire cab. Removed the windshield. All in all in excellent shape there.

Looking good, keep at it!

Thanks Homer,
Fill primered yesterday. Blocking it off today and laying down epoxy primer. And hopefully color by Friday afternoon or Saturday. Going with the original Seacrest Green with a flat clear.

The day went well today. Finished all the minor imperfections and got the cab and door all under epoxy primer.

Color and flat clear coat went on yesterday and today. Very happy with results. Can't wait to get the rest of it under color.
Stay tuned!

Looking great, Jeff!

With a color like that, it looks like it should have a Detroit diesel in it!

That would be fun! Seacrest Green is the color. Looks a little different outside. Beautiful day in North Central Pennsylvania. Good day to move the truck home -- 54 degrees for a high. Tomorrow night into Tuesday morning calling for 6-9 inches of snow.

Love that Color!

Looking good and goo# progress. I like 6.

Good night in the shop tonight with my 11-year old son Jameson! Two hours and 10 attempts later, the back window is in stalled!

SWEET VICTORY!

Haven't been in the shop much the last two weeks. Life got in the way. Sickness ran rampant throughout or household and or businesses. Hope to get back at it hard this month!

Tonight took a shot at installing the the front windshields.
It was much easier than the back window. Popped right in . Took less than ten minutes. Was also multi tasking today. Painted a bunch of parts. And while in between coats allowing things to dry. Installed the sound deadening strips and insulation under the seat. I normally keep my shop at 60 degrees.l, but bumped it to 70 today to improve drying time. I does make a big difference. Maybe just my imagination.

Any tip on getting the front windshield in? First time for me to hear such a task like that was easy. 😮

I soaked the cord that I used in the channel of the seal in very soapy water. A friend of mine who installs glass for a living suggested that little trick. That was the only thing I did differently from the YouTube video that I found on Stovebolt. I taped the seal to the glass to keep in in place. Set it against the pinch weld, centered it up,did the bottom across both sides up around the first corner. My son just kept a little pressure against it and down . Then just worked both sides up and around the top corner. Then you are home free, Across the top! It had been a long time since I had installed a window with rubber seals. The front clip being off certainly made things a little easier as well. It was way easier than he back window. Mistake I think I made doing the back window was get soapy water on the glass and seal rather than just just on the seal and pinch weld. The seal kept rolling off the glass when it was wet and soapy.

Looking good Jeff. What brand or type of soap did you use? Dish soap, laundry detergent?

John

I have seen in some videos that they used a sealant between the rubber and the pinch weld of the truck. Was a sealant used and wouldnt the soapy water affect a good seal?

The shop manual says to use sealant on the windshield, but it does NOT say to use sealant on the rear window.
On the windshield, sealant is applied to the pinch weld (outer side) before installing the windshield/gasket AND AFTER the windshield is in place between pinch weld and gasket and glass and gasket.

I've found that liquid laundry detergent dries like glue. I've used it to hold intercooler boots in position on my diesel that will develop 20 psi of boost, and have not had them slip off. So it should work well on windshield installation as long as it's allowed to dry fully before applying sealant.

I just used Dawn dish soap and water in a spray bottle. Probably around a 3 to 1 ratio. 3 being the water of coarse. I didn't use any sealant. My friend who works for Safelite Auto glass advised that since the 3M non hardening isn't available anymore to just see what it does first and if need be I can address it then. Says he puts them in a lot without sealant with out issues. Especially if the pinch weld is in good shape. So that's what I did. Time will tell I guess.

I picked up a tube of CRL7708 non-hardening sealant to use for my windshield install. Haven't used it yet, but it's supposed to be a substitute for the 3M stuff that's no longer available.

Yeah I saw that a while back kl. I will see about getting some on hand. Amazon?

Yep, I got mine on Amazon. Just search on the PN.

Got a few more things done today.
Install a new firewall insulation pad and was able to mount the heater box. Also reused the spring clips and use a small hole saw to cut the liner for wiring and the heater. Also got the seals for clutch, brake and throttle rods installed.

Still plugging along! Managed to get seatbelts installed yesterday. Needed to get that done before I tackled roof insulation and headliner. Also finished up the defroster duct and began the installation of the inside windshield trim.
A couple of hours a day here and there really does help thing progress along. One thing I did that has really payed off recently is when I was disassembling the truck, when I took off a part that I was going to reuse, even just nuts and bolts, I cleaned up the item, painted , bagged and tagged and put it on the shelf. Also took the advise from an article here on the Stovebolt about keeping it fun. Keep the task simple and just step back when you need to. Before you know it it will come together. Even if it's just ten minutes of work on some days. Progress is progress no matter how small. This has become a big stress relief tool for me.

Trucks looking good.👍 You have a nice shop.

John

Thanks and Thanks. Built the shop 20 years ago. Same old story ,sould have made it bigger. Best thing I did was install radiant heat in the floor. Have a hot water heater doing the work of the boiler. With natural gas. Very efficient and comfortable to work. Kind of a mess right now.

Worked a little on the dash today. Also reinstall the starter pedal mechanism. I need to get at pulling the gas tank so I can install sound deadening and insulation.

Tackled the rear cab mounts today. Had them both out, disassembled, cleaned,reassembled with new bushings, and painted in about an hour. Let them dry over night and will reinstall them tomorrow. Also got the transmission access cover back on with a new seal.

A piece of 2x4 slipped between the cab and the frame was a perfect fit to support the cab when I removed the mounts.

Took some pictures of the area underneath where the cab mounts are located. Super nice under there! Even the plugs are in place. Also managed to get the tank out as well. Tank is really good inside and out. Cab floor also nice. Clean,paint install sound deadening and insulation and put it back in.
Today's automotive engineers should be taking cues from these old truck. A drain with a petcock in the bottom of the tank!What a novel idea! Anyone who ever took a tank out of a car in the last 20 years knows what I talking about .

Beautiful day in NorthCentral PA today. Was able to work with the shop doors open. High of 65 degrees.

Last night was able to get the back of the cab and the area of the the gas tank cleaned and painted. Finished installing the sound deadening strips and got a good start on the floor insulation. All of these items ive been using the last few days were parts that came with my truck when I purchased it. With that said, the spray adhesive that came with the insulation was junk. No telling how long it had been sitting around. So had to run to town and purchase new spray adhesive. So if you purchased your insulation kits years ago and they came with adhesive. Do yourself a favor and buy new adhesive before you start your install because chances are the old cans are bad.
I hate being in the middle of something and not having what I need to finish it!

the sound deadening strips as well had been around god knows how long. It was hit or miss if they would stick or not. Ended up re gluing a good bit of them.

Got a good start on the carpet today. I hate carpet. Still not sure if I'm gonna leave it in. Came with the truck. Had to back track and remove the parking brake mechanism. So had to cut my floor insulation. I should started on left side in stead of right. But since I had gas pedal in and hole for four speed it was just easier to remove brake. I will patch the insulation.

So over the past weekend I made some more progress on installing the carpet. Only to find myself again having to order a few parts that I thought I had in my stash. Before I can finish up the carpet I needed the steel bezel to go around the rubber boot of the parking brake. this will be under the carpet so it needs to be installed before I can reinstall the complete parking brake mechanism. I did take the cut off piece of carpet and fitted it to the area under the seat. I then attached the carpet with spray adhesive to the sound insulation that goes under the seat. I decided to not glue this section of insulation to the floor so it could be easily lifted out it need be. Prior to gluing the two together I took aluminum tape around the edges of the insulation to make it more durable and to stop it from fraying. I also stripped the horn and primed it to get ready for paint. Also took time to strip the paint of the horn and got it primed. That was a job i kept putting off just because of all the nooks and crannies. I came out pretty well i thought.

Can't believe I havent posted since mid March. Life got in the way again. Kids,sports, travel.
I managed to get most of the interior done .
Got the gas tank back in and finalized also.
Sound deadener and insulation in the roof and the front section of the headliner and visors.
My son JT was a great help with the interior roof details. He was able to work without being hunched over. Extra set of hands were great to have when gluing in the insulation.

Also managed to get the engine cleaned up and painted. Was able to get my daughter Marlee in on the act. She hand painted the embossed Chevrolet logo on the valve cover for me.
Pulled the trigger on the short shaft water pump and fan blade from Jim Carter. Had to grind one corner down slightly on the pump to clear the timing cover. Radiator will fit correctly now. Purchased a 38 inch 3/8 belt locally.

Front bumper and brackets can also be checked off the list. Had the upper radiator hose and purchased lower from jim Carters to accommodate the new water pump and also still fit the radiator.

The bracket shown here is what my generator had attaching it to the engine. Not sure what was suppose to be in the big hole but what was there was a couple of big washers pinching it to the generator. The rubber grommet with the bushings is what I used to correct the cobble job. It is grommet used on gas tanks from my Harley Davidson . It fit perfectly and made for a cleaner more reliable install of the generator

It’s great to have your kids involved. They will also have an attachment to your truck. You’re making memories that will last not only your lifetime but their’s also!

Looking good!

I worry about your fuel pump.

Don't think it will hold up?

I picked up my front fenders and grill last week , finally had some time to help my friend who is painting it for me get at it.
What I decided to do was assemble the front end and then set it on the chassis.
I built a stand out of pressure treated blocks I had around the shop. After that I lag bolted the radiator support to the stand and began assembly.
It took me a few days to get it completed. But all of the bolts and anti sqeak material is in place.
Lowes has a large assortment of automotive hardware in case you are in need and don't want stainless which I did not.
I recently order radiator bolts from jim Carters and when I got them they were the exact same Hillman bolts that you can buy at Lowes.
I had a inner fender to fender anti sqeak kit that came with my truck. I used 3M weather strip adhesive form them. I did see that stables had been used originally. Binder clips were used to hold them in place while the adhesive set. Seemed to work well.

I did it this way after fighting with it when I assembled the truck before I dismantled it to paint.
It was way easier at least for me to assemble it like this.
I managed to do it by my self and without nicks and scratches in the paint.
Just need to recruit help to set it on the chassis now.
I need to research how to best do the welting on the fender as I have never done it before.

Otto,
What is it that make you worry about my fuel pump?

So this past week I managed to get the back half of my frame cleaned sanded and painted. I used POR 15. The product flows out nice and fills in imperfection. MY frame has no scale rust what so ever. I was happy with how it came out.
As you can see in the pictured the rear needed cleaned and painted. I'm going to take it back out this winter and detail it.
I have gathered most everything I need to bolt the front clip on. I hope to get it done this week. The hood is getting painted this weekend so next will come up with a plan to get it back on.i will still need to paint the under side of the hood when I get it back. My goal is to get it back on the road and drive it this summer.

Today I managed to get the wiring from the front under the cab back to the rear bumper.
Also cleaned, sanded and painted the rest of the running board brackets . Still had enough time to push it outside and sweep the shop some. Started to sprinkle so had to cut that short.

Got some things moved around and set up to set the assembled front clip on.
All the bolts for the inner fenders,brackets, grill, lower valance, and radiator support are installed.
Now just have to find some able bodied Bolters to help set it on!! Any takers?

Look who I found wandering around in Northeast PA today!
Met up with Cosmo in Sayre,PA and scored an awesome set of vintage Fenton Headers complete with an Intake and two barrel carb! So pumped can't even remember what carb Cosmo said it was! Will be a great addition to the 261 in my 51.
It was great meeting him and chatting. Looking forward to doing it again soon.

Thanks Cosmo!

Yesterday was a good day! My son graduated from sixth grade and is headed to junior high next year.
Had a party at the house for him and his friends. A lot of the parents hung out as well so I to advantage of the situation and put them to work.
Big thanks to Matt, James, and Gary who lifted the 51's front clip up and gentle placed it on the chassis for me.
Then Beverages were enjoyed by all
Went super smooth took less than five minutes
Thanks to Marlee my middle daughter for snapping the pics!

Managed to get a good start on wiring under the hood and head lights back. Only to discover that I now have a gremlin which is causing the red four way indicator on the turn signal switch to be stead on without the four ways turned on and my horn is not working. The turn signals will light when turned on but do not flash nor do the four ways.
To tired to chase it down tonight. Hopefully maybe the flasher is bad. Not sure about the horn.
Also got the fender bolts all installed as well as the radiator support to frame bolts. Left them loose till I get the hood on.

After a good night sleep I was able to trouble shoot my gremlins from last night.
Yes the flasher was bad. And I hadn't fully tightened the steering wheel down from when I had it apart to finish painting so wasn't making good contact with the horn ring.
Finally getting some room back in my shop. Beautiful day so was able to clean and re organize the shop a bit. Was getting out of control.

Today had some time so I fixed the mounting brackets on my radiator. At some point I'm thinking when they installed the 261 with the long water pump shaft, they decided to hack up the mounts on the radiator to move it forward so the fan would clear.
I had some flat sheet stock , so was able to quickly make some filler pieces.

Took me about an hour. Now I can clean and paint and get it back installed.

After making the structural repairs to the radiator frame. I was able to get it scuffed and painted.
Yesterday I got the radiator installed and tied up a few loose ends in the engine bay. The fan looks to be back as it should now with short shaft water pump.
Today had the truck running again so now it is able to be moved around on its own power again.
Also installed the running boards.
Still need to fix my seat adjusters.

Picked up my hood Friday and was able to get it bolted back on. It was the safest place to place out of the way in the shop.
I purchased a set of hinge bolts from LMC truck because I was missing one of the original bolts and one had threads that were questionable. Unfortunately I'm not happy with the new bolts. The should portion of the bolts is considerably wider and I'm not sure how they will work out when adjusting the hood and front clip.
So now begins the daunting task of adjusting the front clip and hood. I plan on following 52Carls step by step procedures from the paint and body tech tips.
I'm optimistic it will go smoothly.

Just checking in. Been busy with sons baseball.
Been driving my truck since July 1st fairly regularly.
My Friend Guy snapped this pick tonight at the local ice cream shop. Also pictured is his military Jeep.

I will post the details of driving the truck thus far soon when I have more time.
Stay tuned!

That's not a Jeep. It's an M-151 Mutt, the Jeep's replacement. Unibody construction and independent front and rear suspension. The horizontal grill openings were designed to avoid trademark infringement against Willys-Overland.

Yes. My mistake. He also has a few old willys in various conditions. So I will own that one!

Took the 51 out again tonight. Big lights at the local Chevrolet dealership really makes the Seacrest Green pop!

So I took Hotrod Lincolns advise and purchased a better quality battery disconnect switch from my local flaps. A little expensive but the difference was obvious.
I decided to mount it on the transmission cover back next to seat. I took a gasket punch to take care of cutting the carpet so when the key is removed it is very inconspicuous.

Took the torque tube apart from the transmission this past week to address an oil leak. And to try and figure out why my speedometer isn't working. The cable and speedometer was function ok. Gear coming out of transmission was not. I discovered that the small gear has become severely worn in the center. I am in search of one if anyone has any sources for one. The one I have is a 12 tooth for an MT420 4 speed transmission. The part I am seeking is circle in red.

Took a day and took my son to the Nascar Race at Watkins Glen Today! Great day for a race. !
Best part , all on Coke Cola's dime! They are one of the vendors that service one of our businesses.

I was there with my wife. Great day and great race!

Yes! Should have posted sooner! Maybe could have gotten together.

Ok it's time to get back on track here!
If you haven't been following along i was in the Driveline forum for a bit. Where I sorted out my speedometer. Check it out if you care too. I will post a few pics here as well.
Started on my vent window rebuilds as well and the door glass replacement a couple weeks back. Just finished up the drivers door today. Went pretty well, only had to step away from it once yesterday afternoon. when I was reassembling everything back into the door. Got back at it this morning and everything fell into place. I'm sure passenger side will go much smoother. Now that I know the order in which things must go into the door.

Also starting to get thevparts around to reassemble my bed

Here is some pics of installing the channels on the door glass.

I will post a few pics of the finished door tomorrow. And will do a step by step reassembly of the door glass, vent window assembly, felt, window regulator, inside trim and door panel.
Thanks for checking us out!
FYI started a new thread in DIY gallery with my son and his new 64 K10 project. Should be a lot of fun.

The first picture is of a door ready to start reassembly. And the second is a completed door. I reinstalledthe old door panels i had till I get new this winter.
The glass is the gray tint from LMC truck. Also the rebuild parts for the vent window and the channel kit came from there as well.

Looks good! Great work!

Getting after the passenger door today. First thing I did a few days ago was to clean , sand, and paint the inside of the door with POR15. Then I installed sound deadening strips to dampen the tinny noise. Did this in the rest of the cab along with insulation. Made a big difference. No insulation in the doors though. Then I installed the rubber bumper that the glass sits on when the window is in the down position.

Then I went to the rubber wiper strip on the top of outer panel. You need to bend the little tab back to slide it in easy. And the pinch it back out of the way.

Also your lock on the passenger door and door handle and latch are all installed prior to putting the door glass and related parts back in the door.

Next I replaced the foam on the door. I just learned today from reading a post from Phak1, that is there to keep the inside door panel from dragging on the latch linkage. Then went to the window channel Retainer at the back of the door. The little clip at the bottom of the Retainer strip holds the window channel inside the Retainer at the bottom, and don't forget the screw on the inside of the door at the top of the retainer. Next I temporarily reinstalled the vent window assembly and marked with a Sharpie where the end of the window channel will fall when installed. There is also two small screws in the upper part of the window frame to help hold the window channel in place. There location was marked on the door so they could be reinstalled.

Now I went on to installing the felt strip to the inside window frame trim. The felt strips came with staples to install it. I opted to use pop rivets. When I did the driver side door I used the rivets. You can't see them in the finished product and they pull below the felt enough as to not contact the window.

I had to step away from finishing my passenger door. My box sides,front and cross braces were all painted and ready to pick up so I needed to get out of my friends shop. So when I got them home I began reassembling them most because I did not want them to get knocked over and damaged.
So in a couple of hours time I was able to get the main part of the box bolted together. Just organizing and getting the orientation of parts now.

Looking good! I like the color.

FWIW, the rear cross sill was welded to the stake pockets on the bed sides (see attached pic.) The welds add rigidity to the rear of the bed. I assembled my bed without wood before final painting, so i could paint that welded spot with everything else.

KL I had noticed that. The welds had been cut before I acquired the truck. I was thinking of putting spacers made out of tubing that each of the three bolts would go through up inside the pocket from the bottom.

I don't think I would use spacers on the bottom 4 bolts. That would lessen the clamping force. They should just sandwich the metal of the cross-sill and the stake pocket. The one on the rear just above the two bottom ones should also just got thru the tailgate hinge lower bolt, the stake pocket and the cross sill. That one is going to provide the most support to keep the bed sides from spreading.
The other option (and best in my opinion) would be to clean paint off the area where the weld go, run a weld bead and touch up the paint there.

Good point KL. This base coat and flat clear I'm using is very user friendly. Real easy to blend or so my painter tells me. I've seen him do some miner touch up stuff with an air brush on motorcycle tanks which were undetectable. So welding will probably be the best option.

Just a quick update.
Been busy staining the bed wood. Acfriend of mine had some black oak lying around his shop so he cut it to dimensions for me. I used min wax ebony stain. And finished it with Boiled linseed oil. Also installed my windlace to the inside of the cab. A job I had been putting off. And after doing it ,for good reason. That is a mind numbing job with no easy way to do it. Getting started assembly of the bed this week.