The Stovebolt Site Forums Welcome! Welcome Centre Do It Yourself (DITY) Gallery 1951 Chevrolet 3804 1-ton -"Very significant truck"

I discovered this truck about 13 years ago. I followed it and tried to get it from the beginning. Two years ago. I was finally able to buy it it from the original family.

It was the Service Department truck for the very first Chevrolet dealership in the Pacific Northwest -- Ball Brothers Chevrolet, Turner OR (1920-1981).

It was 100% untouched and had been sitting since 1974. I am a preservation person so I was going to retain all original finishes.

The paint was horribly faded. It took months of work going over the truck 12 times with different products to bring back the finish.

All work was done by hand, every nook and cranny addressed, undercarriage was fully cleaned down to dental picks around the bolt threads.

The underside is amazing with virtually no rust present. The original front spiral shocks still on it. The wood bed was protected by a piece of steel and was in amazing condition. Dealership sideboards still with the truck.

Inside was fully cleaned up. Seat was reupholstered in actual 1951 NOS factory heavy brown vinyl (from SMS Fabrics, had 1951 date coding on the back).

The 216 engine was not salvageable. A 1947 235 truck engine was put in its place with every possible bolt on piece from the original 216 used, nothing refinished.

Original radiator was in excellent condition with original non-pressurized cap. Original plug wires with rare black square shaped rubber rings holding the wires in place (only seen that one other time).

Factory air cleaner and oil canister were in excellent condition. Not one speck of rust in the engine bay. All factory chalk marks in place. Brand new exact factory wire harness was put in place from Harnesses Unlimited.

Everything works perfectly. Every mechanical piece/item was rebuilt to factory. Only change was a swap from the 5:30 third member to 4:10 third member.

Very rare Push Hit front grill guard in place.

Numerious items from the long defunct dealership were under the seat. Original spilt rims still in place.

All original paint through the truck. NO CLEAR COAT AT ALL, just wax.

ENJOY!!

Welcome to the Bolt!

Truckie, Welcome to the Stovebolt page, and you are automatically put in the exclusive One Ton club.
Mine is a 53 longbed and you have a great history that came with your truck.

Tons o' Fun forum.

Don

What a story!! Did the people you bought it from the Ball dealership owners or did they buy it from Ball? Was it the showroom truck?

The Stovebolt flagship, Charlie, is a 1-ton. Here is his original story. That truck has been thru a lot.

Welcome to Stovebolt and the 1-Tonners!!

Welcome to the Stovebolt, and to the 1-Tonner's.

I have a '38, known as 'Little Blue'. ! ton's are fun!

First and foremost, welcome to the ‘bolt!

Great story!

Congrats on posting the first pics and thanks for the teaser - LOL! Time to open the flood gates so to speak. You can post up to 10 pictures in each reply here. As many as you care to share please and thanks.

Cool to see it has a fairly rare "Smash Hit" aftermarket grille guard and looks in remarkably great condition. It looks like there are some faded exterior markings with the dealership name/info. Would be cool to see those come into better view.

Chalk marks in first pix. Others

-- passenger side view.
-- Close up of filters. Those are the original units. Incredible condition.
-- Engine - driver side and passenger side.
-- Smash Hit grill guard. Very rare!
-- headlights ... Still retains original T3 6 volt headlights. Truck is still 6 volts. Works perfectly.
-- Close up of one of the sideboards original to the truck/ dealership-

Truck more impressive in person. A very significant truck. One of the best untouched examples out there. I will post more stories on it later

A cool addition to your truck pictures would be some of the found "under the seat" dealership stuff.

One observation after looking at your engine compartment pictures. I think your engine isn't actual a '47 235. Nothing wrong with that as most of our trucks no longer house an original engine - lol! I know mine doesn't.

Telltales of this included the low mount water pump location, which corresponds to 1955 and later 235's and the visible head casting number "3836848" which corresponds to 1958-62 235 heads. These heads originally had a 4-bolt valve cover, but are easily converted to use the early style 2-bolt valve covers.

Below are some screen captures from your pictures, as well as a picture showing the 1954 and earlier "high mount" water pump location as a comparison.

If you would like more details on what the engine you have actually is, post a new thread in the Engine Shop forum with pictures of the block casting numbers, date codes (both located on the passenger side of the block) and stamped serial number on the machined pad just to the rear of the distributor location. We can help decode that info so you know what you have for sure.

My apologies for being late to this welcome party ...

From one well-preserved 3804 owner to another ... Indeed, a gorgeous truck! Good job on the preservation, Truckie -- well done!! You've probably already discovered how much nicer that 4.11 upgrade to the rear axle makes driving your truck!

A couple of notes for you newbie 1-tonners (and I'm talking directly to *you*, 2-Ton .... ) *ALL* 3804's came from the factory with a 9-foot bed. So ... to call them a "long Bed 1-ton" is redundant. So .... the 9-ft bed isn't what makes the 3804 rare, being a 3804 is what makes the 3804 rare A few years (12 maybe??) ago at Kansas City, I think we set a record when we had 3 3804's together. That record has since been smashed by the ODSS crew at Winchester in 2023 when we had 5 (plus 1 or 2 3800 duallie flatbeds). My point being that the 3804 mafia is growing!! But still ... rare could be accurate as nobody is repopping the 3804-specific parts (like bed panels, running boards, splash panels, etc) and best of luck finding them NOS or in junk yards ...

About those engines ... The blocks (both 235 and 261) that came out of the 1954 mold will be set up for the higher water pump placement as they were designed as engines (either original or crate) for the last of the Advance Design trucks. My '54 mold 261 was made in 1959, so GM was cranking out those high water pump blocks at least through '59.

The 2nd half of '55, of course, GM switched the body design to the Task Force series (for Chevy) that used the lower water pump. If you can find one of the earlier '54 mold engines, it will be a direct bolt in replacement ("Form/Fit/Function") for an AD 216 needing zero modification -- if, at some point, you want to put a correct 216 back in, you can! These engines can be identified by the casting codes. Also, the '54 mold 261's do not have the "Captain's Bars." Warning Note: IF you do find one of these engines from the '54 mold, keep in mind that some time in the later 1950's, GM updated the main bearings, so when you order main bearings, get them for the year the *engine* was made (the date code on the block will tell you) and not by the year of the truck the engine came out of.

There is a lot of confusion out there among tire shop owners so be aware that your 17-inch original wheels are actually "3-piece" or "multi-piece" wheels. Don't call them "split rims" or some tire shops may think you're referring to a real split rim like the Firestone RH-5 design and refuse to work on them -- and rightly so. The true Split rim is a bad design that has become lethally dangerous over the decades. *Your* wheels, on the other hand, are a far better design and as long as they are not damaged will give you many more years of good service. Any ag or big truck service shop should be able to deal with them. Not being nit picky here -- just helping you avoid the hassle of tire shops turning you away.

Bottom Line -- welcome to a very exclusive club, Truckie. We 3800 owners are ruggedly handsome, highly intelligent and just way more fun to be around than those mere mortals, the 3100 owners. We're actually taller, too. Stock 3804's actually sit about 6 inches higher than a stock 3100. So we have *that* going for us, too.

Again, Welcome!!
John

Super nice rig!
Good to see another PNW member.

Very nice.👍

John

Thanks for the lesson John, I am a newbie 3804 owner and I did not do the restoration.
Don

I bought it from the son of the original family who started the dealership. The family name was on the title. I am the second owner

So some more interesting facts: one of the chalk marks on the firewall states: 3804 which is what the truck is. I have no idea what the other two markings are. Anybody know??

There are two BeeBee gun bullet holes in the drivers side windshield , one on the drivers side widow ( a chip) and one on the door from the son I bought from when he was young. Reportedly couldn’t sit down for a week. He also put the dent in the passengers rear fend as when he was 13, they had the truck in a clear cut getting firewood for the huge pot belly stove in the service department shop. When he was asked to move the truck he did but forgot to put it in gear as it rolled into a stump causing the dent

Truckie & Don,

If the 1-ton came with a factory flatbed (112 3/16 inches, but same wheelbase as the 3804), then it was a 3808 (3809 if it also included the stake sides). If it came from the factory as a cab and chassis (no bed) for either the dealer or the buyer to mount an after-market body of some sort (i.e., a flatbed, service body, wrecker, etc) then it was a 3803. The 3804 was the model number for trucks leaving the factory with the 108 1/8 inch pickup bed. In my opinion, the 3808/3809 trucks that still retain their original factory beds are far rarer than our 3804 pickups. My guess is that a lot of the 3808/9 trucks were bought by folks who either couldn't afford a 4400 or 6400 series truck, or didn't think they needed one and so those 3800 flatbeds got rode hard, put away wet and died early deaths.

The 3104 (1/2-ton pickup) *only* came with the 6.5 ft bed. According to the GM Salesmens' guide (the "Chevrolet Truck Data Book"), there was no factory flatbed version offered in the 1/2-tons nor was there a "long" bed option. If you wanted a longer pickup bed, you went to a 3/4 or 1-ton. The whole "long bed" versus "short bed" distinction comes after the Advance Design series. It has no real meaning when discussing the ADs as the beds only came in one of three lengths, depending on the truck's rating -- 3104s had a 6 ft bed, 3604s had the 8 ft and 3804s had the 9 ft. Thus, they were neither long nor short -- they were the length specified for that trucks rating.

The chalk marks on the firewall were usually an inspector's initials applied during the final stages of its trip down the assembly line. Interesting that they marked yours as a 3804. To my limited knowledge, that info would have usually been on a line setting sheet or some other tag affixed to the truck. International sent their line set sheets with the completed vehicles. GM did not. But I guess different factories had different approaches to things like that. Which factory did yours come out of? Mine came From Norwood, OH and only had the inspector's initials on the firewall.

Cool story about the dents. My truck has a crease in the passenger side front fender that corresponds to the front bumper getting pushed back into it when one of Charlie's nephews was learning to drive in it. He had a whole wide open hayfield and he still managed to hit a fence post.... Tennessee drivers ...

The salesmens' guide has been my go to reference for years. Y'all might want to get a copy from Jim Carter's. That's where I got mine. It pretty much sits here on the desk or close by most of the time. Probably what Otto has, too ....

I've attached a photo that shows a 1/2-ton bed. Taller guys like Don and myself need a little more space which is why we chose 1-tons ...

That's some good story to go with the truck. Being the second owner helps. This is a real Baby Bolt Book.

Ready for more.

beautiful!!