The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk '51 One ton - The deal I've been waiting for?

Came across a 1951 Chevy 1 ton this morning. Not that I'm actually in the market for another truck but, sometimes things come up and you gotta jump.
Saw a picture and talked with the guy over the phone. Body pretty good with minimal rust. Has 9 ft. bed. Is that rare?
Original 216 which supposedly runs nice and no smoke. Rebuilt carb. New generator. Rebuilt brakes. New gas tank and sender. Tires good tread and hold air. He rattled off a bunch of other stuff he did to it.
4 speed tranny and of course the massive rear with 5.14 gear.
Asking price is $2,500 but, he says "money talks".
Seems pretty good to me. Would I be crazy to think I could make this thing a driver? My wheels are turning: A T5 with .63 OD and 31" tire gets me 2,460 rpm @ 70 mph.
Any thoughts are appreciated. Here's a pic of the truck. 51 One Ton

Mugsy,

Right up front I'll tell you that the 1-Ton Club here at the Stovebolt Page is the elite of the elit Only the finest Stovebolters are worthy of owning 1-tons. And if you get that truck, you'll be one of us! The AD 1-Ton -- anything else is just a half or 3/4-ton (or a bigger truck...)

As owners of an original, excellent condition/unrestored '49 1-ton (virtually identical to that truck), Peggy and I can tell you that your deal sounds very reasonable.

Yes, the 1-tons with unmolested beds are rarer. But the bad news is that they are not as popular as the 1/2-tons. Also, a lot of the drivetrain and suspension parts are different. You can find a lot of the mechanical parts for it, but not the sheet metal (bed sides, running boards, filler panels, etc), so if your bed isn't as good as it looks in the photo, you're in for a hunt trying to find it.

Also, as Doug Peterson and Cosmo will tell you (after parking my truck next to theirs), the 1-ton is at least 6 inches taller than the 1/2 and 3/4 tons, so check your garage door before you bring it home.

As a stock vehicle with the 216, you should be able to do 40-45 mph comfortably. I have a '49 235 in mine (babbitted motor) and we can just about do 50 MPH -- Tony P can tell you as he was following me that day and his speedo was working better than mine

Daily driver? Probably not. But before you go crazy with the t-5 (That's a LOT of truck for a T-5, from what I understand. The 1-ton has a lot more steel in it than your average S-10) and the taller tires, also check your king pins, brakes and steering. Getting up to highway speeds is one thing. Staying there is another. And getting back down to a stop safely is yet another.

The 9-foot bed is really cool, and the truck will certainly get some attention at the Cruise-ins, even if there are other ADs in attendance. Ours does because it is always the only 1-Ton and it stands above the crowd (literally!).

Hope that helps!
John

Almost anything to do with the frame is different too. The frame is a couple inches taller, so fuel tank brackets (if it's not in the cab) suspension attachment components, steering attachment parts, etc may all be more rare. Also, My '47 1 ton came (best as I can ascertain) with no rear shocks. I guess they figured the suspension was so heavy that shock absorbers would never be needed. If you remove leaves to improve the ride, you may end up fabricating in some shock brackets.

My opinion of the deal, though. If it's as good as it sounds and he said $2500, then he said money talks, I'd be over there tonight looking at it.

Thanks John. That certainly does help. I hadn't thought about the taller stance. We're getting ready to cut out the back wall of the garage and build a detached garage behind the house. So, may have to cut the wall higher than planned.
I would think a World Class T5 from a V8 such as the one I installed on my C20 would work OK and provided other mechanical stuff was satisfactory, 65mph (legal California limit in town) would be reasonable.
Supposing the bed is as good as the picture, is there anything else that'd be a real pain in the arse to come up with? For instance, what if the front drums don't have much more for turning? Can you get drums for a 3800 or is it a search to find good used?
BradB.,
I was posting at the same time as you. The guy told me it has new gas shocks all the way around.

Mugsy,
I am working on a 1 Ton. The garage doors that I see in all the new houses are 7' minus 3/4" for trim and the 1 Ton should have room to spare at that height. They are a nice truck and they have an open drive line, which is good!

Oh yeah, forgot to ask. Anyone know the approx. unladen weight of their 1 ton? Just comparing to my C20 which is 4,350lbs. Cost me $80 in weight fees a couple days ago when renewing registration.

That is a cool truck.

I think the price is good based on things he's done to it. If you take the cost of the items, plus the hassle of puttin' them in or the other cost having someone do it, it quickly adds up.

I think it is a good deal. But I'm over here on the other coast.

-W

Elite????

Yes, elite! Only really cool people own 1-tons. Chicks dig 1-ton owners, by the way.

Truckernix, most standard 7'plus garage doors will fit the 1-ton -- just be careful of the thing that sticks down that connects the garage door itself to the track/opener (if you have a garage door opener). Not that this is the voice of experience talking or anything... But my 1-ton has a slight scratch down the center of the cab roof...

John

I like a one ton. I looked for a couple of years before I found mine. That sounds like a reasonable price, at least for around here. I havnt had any trouble at all getting parts for mine. I think it came with a 9 foot bed but it had beem changed to a home made flat bed. That was ok as I wanted a flatbed any way. Good luck.

1-Tons are cool trucks. I grew up with a '46 1-Ton. Wish I still had it!

Well y'all talked me into it. I was gonna go look at it today but we've been bombarded again by huge rain. It rained off and on today and I emptied about 500 gallons of water from in front of my garage and INSIDE the garage. :mad: 500 is a conservative estimate!
More rain tomorrow so Wednesday will probably be the big day. I sure hope it looks as good as the pic. And hope I'll be driving it home.

"AWESOME" Truck !, I'd buy it in a "New York Minute" !

Go for it! That thing is cool as h*ll.

Hey Mugsy any news on the truck? I was wondering how many cartons of beer you could fit on that long tray. Good luck with the truck.

Bob

Alrighty, I went and looked today. It's definitely worth the money and the guy made it clear that price is negotiable. "At this point I just want it gone".
There's a little more rust on the bed than I care to deal with right now. It's workable, just not by me right now. It'd take a bit of work to make it a driver.
Mechanically, it was good. Engine ran nice. It was cold when started and she fired right up and sounded good. Idled for a while and temp gauge (aftermarket) stayed put. Drove nice too. New starter, rebuilt carb, rebuilt brakes, new shocks, good tires, new gas tank and sender. All the electrical worked, even the dome light. The old split rims even had clips for hubcaps. And the original spare tire mount was there under the bed.
It'd be a nice truck for someone with more time than I've got. If anyone's interested, it's located about 15 minutes north of Escondido. Email me and I'll get you in touch with the guy who, by the way, was very nice and seemed knowledgable.
Oh yeah, forgot to mention, I think it's a '52 not '51. I searched the VIN and it said Aug. '52. The outside door handles were push button too. Title said '51 though.
-David

I'm sorry that I cant get it. It's just my style.

It sounds like that truck is in my back yard... the wife would kill me if I brought it home... but then again, it is too new for me anyway.

dont even think about it buy it or it will be gone and you will be kicking your self my dad had one they are one nice truck

Elite?Big underpowered trucks running down the highway at 45 MPH.Dont sound very elite to me.A half ton done up in a late model V/8,700R4 tranny cruisin with the fast traffic,now thats elite.