The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Greetings to all! Intro of me & my truck...

Hi, everyone! I've been lurking here for a while and finally got around to registering, so I thought I'd give a little introduction.

I still think of myself as just a kid, but I'll be 28 in a couple of weeks--ah, that's still just a kid! I've been enthralled with cars since I was a tot, thanks to my dad, who was a serious car nut. My "baby" for several years is a 1971 BMW, but I was raised on 'Murrican Iron (mostly GM).

"Our" truck is a 1954 GMC 1/2-ton pickup, 8-foot bed, Deluxe cab, with the original 248 six and Hydramatic. Something like 75,000 miles on it and a pretty short title history. My dad knew of the truck almost since new and bought it in about 1971. I inherited it when he passed away four years ago, and I still think of it as my dad's truck. I haven't had much time to work on it or a place to keep it, so it's sat in my mom's garage.

It's been used as a truck in the past, so the bed is a bit dented and someone bolted steel plate over the rotten wood, but the good news is no major rust that I can see. The interior is in great shape, the engine runs smoothly and the body ain't bad, considering it has a 30-year-old paint job on it. It's a classic "20-footer" (maybe even a "10-footer")--looks good but not too nice to drive around and even haul some furniture or firewood.

Right now I'm teaching English in China, so my time with the truck is limited to a brief time when I'm home during the summers. I'll probably be posting some questions about the best way to get it roadworthy next summer (it runs out of a gas can, but I the gas tank is full of sediment).

I don't have digital pictures of our truck, but doing some poking around online, I found a page with some photos of a truck that looks to be in similar condition. Just imagine this truck in two-tone blue instead of green and with chrome that has a lot more pitting: Not my truck but close .

So, hi, and thanks for bearing with a long-winded post!

-Dave

Sounds like a interesting truck. Can't wait to see the actual pictures.

Hey D -- Welcome aboard formally!

Sounds like you ought to have a pretty good plan for that truck by the time you get back to it next summer. And as you know, the guys here can help!

You'll have to tell us more about China sometime -- send us a vehicle report! And some pictures.

Again, welcome! Peruse the site, check out our Tech areas and the Features, follow the Links and always remember we're here to help!

Regards,
John

So Dave, ya think ya got a corner on “Long-Winded posts, just wait till ya read me!
“Your Just a Kid” is a relative term, for instance, to me your just a kid, in some ways I wish, I were just a kid. But alas, I’m now, just an old fart, I think they call the next step “Over the Hill”!

Maybe you can teach some of us to speak some Chin, then we could deal directly with the factory and skip the middle men. 90% of what we are buying for the restoration of these AD trucks is coming for there now. Do you ever see any AD trucks on the street over there?? When I was stationed in the PI in the 60’s the Philippino entrepreneurs had recycled every part for the good old Jeeps that were left behind after WWII, then they started remanufacturing every part to keep them running, and by the time I got over there they had production lines making the whole Jeep, called them Jeepney’s. Maybe one day you will see 1954 GMC’s from repro parts running round the streets of Beijing.

I have many things of my fathers in my shop, he built lots of nice things for the house also. I often pull a tool of his, out of the, dad made, roll around and go to work on the bench that he built, thinking of how much he taught me, I wish I would have paid more attention to what he was saying at the time.

The truck! I’m new here also but I’ve been keeping old rust buckets running for the 50 plus years that I’ve been driving. I would concentrate on getting the mechanical portion of the Jimmy whipped into shape, and then you can take a number of approaches to the body. Sounds like the interior is serviceable so, that could wait till last if it needs any attention. I’ve talked with quite a few people that say, if ya got a bad fuel tank, don’t try to save it! The new repro tanks are relatively, (there goes that word again) inexpensive and fit right in. You might even be able to pick one up at the factory and stuff it in your carry on luggage when you come home for Thanksgiving.
Any way, good luck with Dad’s truck, restoring it would be a good way to stay in touch with him .
Oh by the way, please don’t grade this paper, I’m real touchy about my English skills teach’!
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Thanks for the warm welcome! I'll have to get my mom to scan some of the many pictures of the truck I know are around her place, then I can put them online.

I'll stick a post in the Greasy Spoon sometime about vehicles over here in China--but the short answer is nope, no AD trucks here. I have seen what looks like an S-10 knockoff, as well as a fake BMW X5 SUV. Not to mention some interesting imitation Oreos...

And I don't really have any plans to "restore" the truck. Our neighbor did that with his '51 Chevy truck, and it's just gorgeous, but our GMC is really very decent cosmetically, so I'll probably just be looking at mechanical work to get it safe and reasonably reliable. Maybe someday I'll try redoing the bed, but then I'd likely hate to use it as a truck, and I don't want that. And it'll be a long while before I save enough pennies to rechrome that big-ol' grille...

Look for me around here; I won't have much advice to give for a while, but probably a lot to glean.

-Dave

Welcome Dave. You came to the right place. Got a friend over your way who works for the State Department doing something.

Welcome Dave,

Nice story on your truck. I have received more help than I ever thought possible from this group of people. It's nice not to have to "go it alone". I too, look forward to pics and progress on your truck.

Welcome and enjoy this site. These guys and gals are very helpful. How did you get a job teaching in China?

Dave;
I had quite a bit of sediment in Epic #2's fuel tank and, since the tank's integrity is still intact (no fuel smell in the cab) I've been letting it work its way down as the truck works. Took a bit of experimenting to figure out what would let that happen without unscheduled stops, but now I have two of those garden-variety glass-encased in-line filters in the system.One is just under the tank, with a shut off valve before it, and the other is just before the (electric) fuel pump. I inspect the lower filter frequently. Every now and then - not so often lately - I shut the valve, dismantle and clean the lower filter, and Bob's your uncle! Oh, and the lower fuel line has been replaced with rubber, and there's a length of split radiator hose protecting the lower filter from gravel damage. This is all temporary, but it allows the truck to work, as I said, while the crud works its way out.

Hey Dave welcome to the 'bolt. Don't let the old guys give you a bad time. Even the oldest of them were 28 once.

Where in China are you? My brother-in-law just took a job coaching basketball in Shenzhen. He has been in and out of China for years and seems to prefer living there to home.

What part of the US is your truck parked in?

Thanks, all, for your welcomes!

Dad6timz, I learned about the organization I'm with through several friends and my college, for which I worked for four years (public relations writer/editor) after graduation. And OldSub, I'm in Shaanxi Province in the geographic center of the country, but it's considered the west.

The truck's in Butler, PA, a bit north of Pittsburgh. Hotshoe 36, I'd be tempted to try just a new rubber line by the tank and add in a filter--I think the cracked original hose was making the pump suck air even though it wasn't leaking. I'll make a new post about that issue.

Thanks again!
-Dave

dittos... now me knows.