The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Barely Legal

Great subject line, huh? I know laws vary state to state and province by province but I would be interested in hearing comments on this.

We are anxious to get the truck on the road again. The problem is the box and rear fenders are totally thrashed and it's going to take a lot of time (months) to get them in shape. In the meantime we would like to drive the truck. I was thinking of bolting a 2x4 to the frame with trailer lights on it. Am I going to get a lot of flac from the fuzz for doing this? Semi tractors drive around without trailers - what's the diff? I would guess that I need mud flaps as well as lights.

I think in California all you need would be mud flaps and lights.

Lights is lights.....as long as they comply with the law. Your RCMP or local officer probably won't care how they are attached just so long as they work.

Gord there is an AD flat bed driving around town and I cannot see the difference in his and what you want to do. I don't think he has mud flaps.

Here in southwest GA its not a problem as long as Krispie Kreme is still making donuts.

South of you here in Washington you can look up the law on such things on the web. I know fender coverage and lighting are covered in detail. Perhaps you can find the same kind of thing for BC?

While I was requesting your opinion, Fran dropped by the police station and asked them about this. Apparently as long as you have lights and a visible licence plate it's OK with them. The sergeant said "If anyone stops you, tell them you talked to me and I said it's OK".

Seems too easy!

When I was in high school and toolin' around in my '54, a classmate had a '49 GMC that he got with a utility/tool box bed. He took off the bed, made a flat bed out of wood and put on some inexpensive trailer fenders that he got from J.C. Whitney. It's an alternative if you need fenders or mudflaps to be legal.
If I were you, I'd go to an inspection station to get the best info. I once got a ticket for "causing" someone to rearend me in my '54 because it had only the one original tail/stoplight. I got out of the ticket but still had to go to traffic court to take care of it and missed a half a day of work! The thing that I took for granted, knowing the one taillight was original equipment, thus legal, was the hardest thing to prove to the court judge, back then in 1979. I got a signed statement from the former owner of an old Chevrolet dealership that my truck originally had only one taillight. There weren't any Stovebolt Websites or much resto info on 50's Chevy trucks then.

I drive my '70 C10 around all the time and it doesn't have a bed on it. I took it off so I could do the body work on the bed and cab and paint them seperately. I did check with the local Highway Patrol office before I took it on the road for the first time without the bed. They said as long as I have legal rear lights it is ok. Been driving it this way for about a year now and only been stopped once and that was to check my inspection sticker. The patrolman never said a word about the missing bed. My sticker had expired ( much to my surprise ) and he told me to get a new sticker as soon as possible. I promised to get one the next day and I did.

Thank you all for your input. Now we are going to have some fun driving around in a strange looking truck!

Fran and Gord... What color '54 should I be looking for? There are a couple nice ones about... I guess if it's not one of the nice ones.. it's yours?
If a bus driver waves at you.. it's me!!

Tim: It's light blue (not a stock color in 54). I hope to get my website updated with recent pictures soon.