The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Project Journals 1952 Chevrolet 3100 Project

Good idea. I'm contemplating buying a new car for the wife before prices go up.

That's kind of like my 12,500 mile trip to Jim Carters and Mar-K. But a bit shorter. The stuff I picked up was stored for a long time before it got installed as well.

Shame about the weather . It still sounds like Y'all had a good day. "ROAD TRIP"

2/23/25: Being an “AD Addict”, I couldn’t stay away from my ‘52 for four months without some connection to my project, so I bought my steering wheel down for a repaint. The original top coat on the refurbished wheel fours years ago was Rust-Oleum Appliance epoxy paint and it chipped really easily. After taking a closer look at the affected areas, the paint chipped off of the primer, leaving the primer intact. Prior to applying the appliance epoxy, I sanded the primer down with 320 and cleaned it with mineral sprits, so I suspect the Rust-oleum appliance epoxy enamel isn’t flexible enough. I decided that a 2k epoxy should be better at resisting chipping.

I researched and called an autobody supply shop in Florence, SC over an hours drive away to make sure they did have gloss black in a 2k spray paint and they assured me they did. Upon arrival and asking for this 2k paint, the gentlemen apologized for running out of 2k spray cans but said he could have them the next day. He told me about some other options and one that he recommended. SEM Cover Coat gloss black, was formulated specifically for interior plastic trim and was flexible. Disappointed but having no desire to repeat this trip the next day, I decided to give it a try.

I spent a couple hours sanding down the steering wheel with 180 grit sandpaper. Since the chips didn’t go past the top coat, I didn’t have to use any filler. However getting all of the old finish off down to the primer to give the top coat the best chance of not chipping was not easy. I followed it with 320 to eliminate the 180 sanding marks. I had to wait for a day that was warm enough to paint and after reading the can, (should have done that sooner), it suggested using an adhesion promoter. A local trip to a hardware store solved that issue quickly.

I applied 3 coats as instructed, then started spraying the top coat. It started a to react immediately. I stopped spraying, let it dry overnight and started the sanding process all over “AGAIN”. I found that Scotchbright and alcohol removed the plastic paint and the adhesion promoter quickly. I applied three coats of high build primer, and ordered high gloss black 2k spray paint on line.

The 2k epoxy arrived two days later but the weather wouldn’t cooperate so I waited a few days to get a 60° day. Another round of sanding with 320 grit and a wipe down with mineral sprits and the wheel was ready for paint.

The 2k epoxy in a spray can didn’t disappoint. I applied three coats which went on pretty smooth. I did spot one small run which I’ll sand and compound out in a few days. Although it’s been a bit trying, I’m very happy with the results.

9/03/25: It's been a long while since I've updated anyone on the truck project, and for good reason! This summer, and really the first half of the year, proved to be an unexpected series of... well, life happening.

The most recent curveball was my wife's knee replacement about six weeks ago. Since then and several months before, I've been on full-time duty as chief cook, bottle washer, shopper, housekeeper, laundry attendant, and nursemaid. It's been a busy but necessary role, one that I gladly fulfill but forcing the project to take a complete back seat.

Prior to that, the first half of the year was completely consumed by selling our second home in South Carolina. This involved everything from preparing the house for sale, navigating the selling process, clearing it out, and then transporting the items we wanted to keep back home, while finding new homes for everything else we couldn't take. It was a massive undertaking that pretty much occupied all my spare time and energy.

But, I'm finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel and I'm itching to get back to the truck. My immediate goal is to get the cab painted before the really cold weather sets in. To do that, I'm planning to set up a temporary paint booth in the garage to extend my painting season.

That plan hit a snag initially because the garage had become the repository for all the belongings and family heirlooms we passed down to the kids and grandkids. After several three-hour trips downstate, I'm thrilled to report that the last of those items have finally left the garage! However, there's still a massive cleanup ahead – think overspray and sanding/grinding dust everywhere from bodywork last fall. My strategy is to erect a temporary party tent just outside the garage. This will allow me to do the final block sanding and apply the epoxy seal coat outdoors while I tackle the big cleanup inside and set up the temporary paint booth.

On the equipment front, my trusty old Sears compressor, which has served me faithfully since 1977, just isn't up for the task of modern paint application. With the cost of paint these days, I'm not taking any chances, so a new, more capable compressor is definitely on the shopping list.

Then there's the paint itself. We settled on Washington Blue, but finding a jobber who can mix it has been incredibly challenging. I did a ton of research and gathered a lot of paint codes from different manufacturers, but most have gone by the wayside due to new low VOC regulations. It was recommended that a 1988 Isuzu Cavalier blue was a close match. My local auto body supply mixed up a spray can for me to do a spray out, but it turned out way too dark – not what we envisioned at all.

Today, however, I had a breakthrough! I took a trip to Albany and found an auto body supplier who was able to use the original color code and mixed up a 4-ounce sample. The sample looked really promising, so I had him put it into a 2K spray can so I can do a proper spray out. The catch with 2K, as you know, is that once you release the activator, you only have about an 8-hour pot life.

Rather than just doing a small spray out and effectively 'wasting' $35 worth of paint, my plan is to paint my dash and whatever else I can get to in the interior with this sample. Even if it doesn't turn out to be the exact final color, it will still act as an excellent base coat, meaning less paint will be needed later, and it won't go to waste.

So, that's where things stand! It feels good to finally be making tangible plans again. I'm really looking forward to getting some significant progress done before the snow flies. I'll keep you posted as things develop!

Cooler weather is coming and I hope to open the garage door and get a breeze through the garage all day. Only problem seems that cooler fall weather heads right into winter pretty quick. My neighbor had a knee replacement earlier this year and she is back to riding bikes and hiking. She said it was the best thing she's done. Hope your wife is getting more mobile every day.

She is but we still have a ways to go. Total rehabilitation for total knee replacement is about six months. She just started using a cane which make her much more mobile that the walker. Still amazing what Doctors can do these days. She walked out of the surgery center (with the aide of a walker) a few hours after the 35 minute operation.

9/08/25: Good news! I finally got some dedicated time to work on the truck, tackling a bunch of loose ends I needed to wrap up before I can even think about spraying the interior. It felt great to make some solid progress.

First up was the battery box cover. After replacing the floor, the vertical lip was just a hair too wide, preventing it from latching properly. An easy fix with the die grinder and a cutoff wheel, and now it snugs down perfectly.

Then I moved on to the transmission cover. Of course, with the new floor in, the hold-down screw holes were completely covered. The passenger side was straightforward – easy enough to run a drill up through the existing holes on the support bracket. But the driver's side was another story. My newly installed power master cylinder was right in the way, meaning I had to try and locate and drill those holes from the top. As you can imagine, lining them up was a real challenge. Two of them were thankfully right on target, but the third was way off. A bit of persuasion with the die grinder and a burr got it aligned.

To top it off, all three front and two back holes that would secure the cover needed to be drilled due to the new floor. I located them using the cover and a drill centering punch and used the screws to cut their own threads.

One unexpected snag I hit was with the gaskets I bought specifically for this cover. They're just thin tar paper and the sealing area on the cover is indented about a quarter inch, so they won't seal a thing. I'll need to swap them out for a proper foam gasket, probably around 5/16” thick. Should be an easy fix with some foam weather stripping.

Next, I got the new battery box bottom welded in place by plug welding, using the old rivet holes in the battery box brackets.

I also managed to get the bottom 8 inches of that windless channel bottom installed – you know, the piece I cut off when I replaced the lower inner cowl. Drilled a few holes and plug welded it onto the inner cowl – feels good to have that back in.

The very last loose end of the day was installing the final screw to keep that access cover closed – the one I fabricated for the brake master cylinder. Another small but satisfying detail.

All in all, a productive two days getting a lot of those fiddly bits sorted. Slowly but surely, it's coming together for paint! I'll keep you updated.

Sounds like good progress. 👍

Your mention of the battery box cover reminded me that I still need to find the one I bought from a ‘Bolter way back when. It’s eluded previous searches so far and I cut a piece of plywood to cover the hole last year. It’s hiding somewhere in my garage. 🥴

Looks good nice job on the retainer channel I saved the old ones and they were difficult to straighten and weld back on.

Even the new ones were difficult to bend without kinking. I purposely didn’t run the channel down to the floor as I believed it would have kinked way too much preventing the windless from sliding in.

Making good progress Phil!
Stay at it!

10/01/25: I finally put some paint on the cab. The test 2k spray can of Washington Blue I bought a couple of weeks ago was spot on as far as color, so now I can go ahead and buy my paint.

It's been a bit of a juggle lately, what with all the doctor appointments and physical therapy for Karen's recent knee replacement as well as my own medical appointments, but I've been chipping away at the garage work whenever I could. Over the last few weeks, I spent a good amount of time clearing out and cleaning the garage, getting it ready so I can paint.

Today, I finished all the prep work and successfully applied three coats of Washington Blue to the dash and kick panels (inner cowls). It looks fantastic!

Speaking of getting ready, on another front, I'm really excited because a brand new Ingersoll Rand 5 HP 60-gallon air compressor is being delivered tomorrow! Hopefully, I'll get that set up and ready to go in the next couple of weeks, and then it's full steam ahead for the rest of the cab.

I'm so incredibly happy about this progress! It really feels like things are finally moving forward.

Phil, that paint job looks good.

I would have gone with a lighter color for the interior. But it's your truck.

And congrats on the new I-R air compressor. Always good to get new toys. It should serve you well. I-R is a reputable brand.

The color changes with light. Here is another photo showing it’s chameleon properties.

That last picture is MUCH lighter. I like that better. Computers don't display colors very well, either.

Look what showed up today and it’s not even Christmas!

That compressor looks a lot like mine, purchased through Tractor Supply a few years ago.

10/03/25: One of the challenges I needed to resolve prior to painting my truck was to buy and install a new air compressor. The first issue I needed overcome was to get the compressor off the pallets and on the floor. And yes, I did say pallets. For some reason, the compressor came bolted to one and then that pallet was placed on top of a second pallet. Sounds easy right! However, I don’t have a backhoe, an overhead crane or anything else to safely rig and lift a 380 lb. compressor. I know I’m still a long way from flipping the switch, but I felt like I needed to get the ball rolling and tackle at least the first hurdle.

Getting it off the second pallet one wasn’t too bad. I used a couple of 2x6 planks and slid them into the gaps where the forks of a fork truck would go. Then, I slowly jacked and blocked one side at a time, until I lifted the top pallet enough to slide the bottom one out from underneath.

Once the main unit and its attached pallet were safely on the ground, I was able to cut away enough of the wood pallet to get my engine lift positioned properly, centered over the compressor. The final challenge was those fasteners which turn out to be carriage bolts. When I tried to remove them they just spun freely in the softwood the pallet was constructed of, forcing me to cut them off with a wafer wheel.

With the bolts finally removed, I used some prior rigging experience, a bit of rope and the engine lift to hoist the compressor off the pallet and I’m pleased to say it is now sitting squarely on the concrete floor.

Now on to figuring out wiring, plumbing, and placement!

Phil, I have my compressor (very similar to yours) sitting on a couple 2x4's laid flat on the floor and used a water heater restraint kit to strap it against the wall. It's not going anywhere unless the garage wall goes along with it.

Wiring? So I'm guessing that runs on 220v or are you just talking about adding an outlet close by?

I’m going to locate the compressor about 12’ from the sub panel. My plan is to hardwire a dedicated circuit using 8 gauge wire and a 50 amp breaker with a disconnect right by the compressor. I had previously used 1/2” copper pipe with a loop and a couple of drains to capture water but that compressor was much smaller and located upstairs, so I’ll need to reconfigure the piping. With the price of copper nearing the price of gold, I ordered a rapid air kit to run tubing around the shop. Now I need to address water separation and filtration.

Phil, a friend has fabricated an aftercooler/air dryer setup with some fintube used for hydronic heating. A couple of lengths sloped down in the flow direction with a trap for accumulated water at the end. But as you say copper has gotten EXPENSIVE. Be sure to put water traps at your drops. This video shows a proper air drop configuration. But I would even go a step further and have your hose connection off the side of the drop with a drain valve at the very bottom.

I used all aluminum pipe when I plumbed my compressor and all my feeds. The piping came in 10’ lengths, and the connectors were all nylon and screwed together as easy as pie. I ran my whole shop in a day, including regulators, an oiler for my air tools, and dry feeds for spray equipment. I don’t remember who makes the stuff, but I can look in inventory and see if you want.

Interesting, aluminum pipe with nylon fittings. I already bought a Rapid Air clone system but I’d be interested to see this system. If you have a name or a link, please post it.

I did my shop with 2” pvc pipe then down to 1.5. I had the drops at each station and at the compressor drain the moisture. Never had any issues with it.

10/08/25: I got my compressor wired today. I used 1/2” PVC conduit and 8 gauge wire to the disconnect box I mounted on the wall. It was quite a challenge pulling three 8 gauge wires thru the conduit. I checked the code and it is allowed. I also used 1/2” liquid tight flexible conduit from the disconnect to the compressor. I tried using the 8 gauge for this too but found out it the connectors wouldn’t fit on the terminals in the box. The biggest crimp terminal I could fit was the yellow one that is 10-12 gauge. The wiring going to the motor is 10 gauge, so I figured 10 gauge from the disconnect to the compressor would be OK. It’s only about 30 inches of wire so I believe I’m good. It’s on to mounting the compressor to the floor. I bought some isolation pads so I just need the anchors.

I‘m running out of painting time, so I may skip running my compressor lines and paint the cab directly from the compressor with a good filter setup.

PLEASE get rid of that pvc pipe. It's NOT approved for compressed air use and can explode if it fails. The air builds up energy that gets released on a failure. We'd rather not hear about a Stovebolter getting injured or killed.

Other plastic pipe materials that are approved for compressed air service could be used.

I won't even use PVC for water service. It's way too brittle.

I agree with Kevin. Here is a link on the dangers of using PVC piping in a compressed air system. Please, for you and your family's sake, REPLACE it!

10/15/25: Today I wrapped up the interior painting!

I made the call to push back installing the air distribution system for my new compressor in favor of getting the cab painted. Time is really ticking for painting, so I prioritized getting the cab done before it gets too cold.

In addition to painting the rest of the interior of the cab, I decided to apply another color coat to the dash. This was for two main reasons: first, to achieve a much better finish than the initial spray can application, and second, to absolutely guarantee the color match. I spent a significant amount of time wet sanding the dash to eliminate any residual orange peel from the spray can, while a maroon Scotch-Brite pad did the trick for prep on the rest of the cab.

The actual paint application went quickly and without incident. I used a PPG single-stage polyurethane enamel, mixed at four parts paint, one part hardener, and one part activator. I laid down three coats on the cab and then applied two additional coats to the dash, building on the earlier work.
And the results? The dash looks truly excellent – very smooth and shiny, just what I was hoping for. The rest of the cab also came out great. I wasn't as concerned about achieving a glass-smooth finish there, as it's riddled with spot welds anyway.

I had a little paint left over so not to let it go to waste, I painted the underside of the cowl vent and the interior windshield trim, applying coats until ran out of paint. The trim will still need an additional coat.

So, with the interior officially squared away, it's full steam ahead to the exterior!

Sorry for the long delay, but here is what I used to plumb my air. The company who makes this stuff is called Prevost, and I got it when I bought my compressor. It’s all modular, and is super easy to add drops and extras you didn’t think of the first time through. The piping is aluminum, and the fittings have what looks like a “shark bite” washer that grabs onto the pipe as the end caps get tightened. There must be an O ring, or something inside because there are no leaks. The triangular looking piece is for 2 extra air connectors, and also has a drain.

Nice work in the cab ,Like the colour.

Phil, looking good!! 👀

Your paint job looks excellent!

I know what you mean about timing for paint in the northern areas where it starts getting too cold for painting this time of year.

Air piping looks good. Someone is always inventing a better mousetrap. One comment, I might have mounted the hose reel a bit lower on the wall to take advantage of a bit more hose length, but otherwise, I give it a
A on the paint job as well.

Nicely done on the painting! I always seem to leave spaces that did not get enough paint and it won't look shiny. Yours is looking good.

THANK YOU for all the amazing compliments! Seriously, your encouragement means a lot and really helps keep me motivated to keep pushing forward with this project.

The weather forecast for next couple of weeks look super promising – I'm really hoping to get a good chunk of painting done, so fingers crossed it holds up.

I'm currently wrestling with the idea of some removable scaffolding. My goal is to be able to tackle both the top of the roof and rocker panels simultaneously. Honestly, I'm a little envious of those who have their cabs off and on a rotisserie – that must make things so much easier!

Thanks again for all your support!

Can you stage some planks in your box to get the roof?

Awesome job Phil! Where do I drop my 64 cab off for you to do. ?

I used cement blocks with planks for scafolding on each side to help access the top of the cab. I could only reach so far from the box at the back of the cab. The planks were easily moved out of the way to access the rockers.

The actually painting activity goes fairly quick if you have everything staged and ready to paint.

10/22/25: I hit a massive milestone today: The cab is painted!

The last week has been a grueling. You all know the routine—it’s the part of the job that takes 90% of the time. It was four solid days of wet sanding with, rinse, apply a bit more prime, spot putty, and repeat.

Yesterday, I finally reached the finish line on the prep. To get ready for the actual spraying, I moved the truck outside so I could thoroughly clean both the cab and the shop. I stripped off all the old masking, blew out every crack and cranny, wiped down the body meticulously, and then proceeded to re-mask the cab completely.

I moved the truck back inside and spent the better part of the day constructing a makeshift spray booth, hanging painters drop plastic cloths from floor to ceiling. Once the booth was set, I installed a 20-inch fan in one window, backed by a furnace filter, to create positive pressure and hopefully keep out the bugs.

When it was finally time to spray, I cracked the garage door open about six inches to let the fumes escape. I knew the risk of letting in a few airborne pests, so I applied an additional, sacrificial coat just for that purpose. My new compressor performed flawlessly throughout the process.

Aside from a couple of minor runs (which will easily sand out once the paint cures), the paint came out absolutely awesome, with very little orange peel.

It was a tough week of work, but seeing that shiny, fresh paint makes every minute of sanding worthwhile.

My plan is to leave the temp spray booth up so I can paint my doors and if the weather holds out, possibly the hood.

Great day today.