The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk After twelve years and lots of money....

....my truck is finally done. (Warning - these are big pictures, so they'll take a while to load if you have a slow connection.)

Front
Old
New

Side
Old
New

Rear
Old
New

Bed
Old
New

Engine
New

Interior
Old
New

To answer the questions I know will be asked:

1955 235 bored 30 over, mild cam, Offenhauser dual 1bbl manifold, Fenton headers (original 55 cast iron), two 1bbl Model B Rochesters (yes, that's right), full flow oil filtering

T-5 tranny, 3.73 limited slip rear, 4 wheel power disc brakes, gas shocks all the way around, but original rear springs and front suspension and steering except for the front springs, which are Patrick's monoleafs. (Yes, it still has king pins.)

It's an absolute blast to drive, and I look forward to driving it to Kansas City in September. Hope to see you there.

Great job Paul. I think you'll find it's not "done". I don't think these old rides are ever "done".

Sweet lookin' truck, Paul.

Paul, that is a great looking truck...you should be very proud!

Now there's a truck. Very inspirational for those of us still at the Old stage

excellent

Looks great! and sounds fun to drive,

Grigg

Thanks, guys. I am proud of it. It's exactly the vision I had in my head when I started this journey. My goal was to make it look original but drive more modern.

And yes, I know you're never done. I already have some things on my wish list to add.

Paul,

Beautiful work. Is the carburetor linkage on the Offenhauser manifold an item that now comes with it, or is it one of your creations? It doesn't resemble the linkage that was supplied years ago with the Offy manifolds.

Stuart

The carb linkage is custom made by Stovebolter Curt Bergeson. I saw pictures of his and begged and cajoled him into making a set for me. It's positive linkage, so there's no slop and no need for synchronizing the carbs. A beautiful piece of work. The carb bases are part of the linkage setup, and a rod passes through both of them, fixing it in place. Then the linkage arms are driven off that rod, and rotate up and down as the accelerator is operated.

I don't know if Curt wants to make any more, but I'll shoot him an email.

simply georgous paul
GREAT looking
thanks for the inspiration

there's hope for those of us not quite there yet

One of the coolest things about the truck is that every older person that sees it gives me the thumbs up. It's like I just made their day.

I thought it would be useful to show the before and after pictures to motivate bolters who are just starting or only partway there. It can be done. It just takes a lot of work and (in my case) a lot of money.

Kind of like me: I don't drive it for my enjoyment - I drive it for everyone else's.

that is one heck of a nice looking truck you built yourself.
leonard

What a great looking truck. Beautiful job well done. It gives me the inspiration I need to keep picking away on mine.

Nice job, looks great!

Sweet!
What brand of valve cover is that?

Great job, now what are you going to work on?
What color is that? it looks realy nice. Joe

I got that valve cover from Clifford Performance. The side cover came from them as well. Side Cover

I don't know who manufactures them. Clifford will sell them with or without the black powder coating.

I'm going to work on enjoying the truck.

The color is a 2007 GM Metallic Emerald. I can get the paint code for you if you like.

Thanks everyone for all the wonderful compliments. There were times when I wasn't sure if I was ever going to be able to finish the truck. Now that it's done, I'm very pleased. (And yes, I know you're never done.)

Nice job Paul! All good things come to those who wait! Now enjoy driving the wheels off it
Jock.

Paul, Fabulous!!

That looks GRREEAATT!

Grreat job!! Thats one sweeeet looking pickup!!

Great Job! Looks Great, Thanks for the pictures.
Kevin

wow. that is a awsome truck great job.

Paul said last night that he's planning on driving it to our Kansas City Reunion this year. That will be sweet!!


Peg

nice truck...congrats....great work!

I took it out yesterday for a spin. Got up to fifth gear for a while and ran about 100 miles. Runs great, but I'm only getting 10.5 mpg. Gonna have to figure out how to improve on that.

Hey Baldeagle, WE B Old(Ron) had the same problem with his newly rebuilt engine. If your's is newly rebuilt too, it will take a little time to get better mileage. His went from 9.5 mpg to 12.5 mpg after he put 200 miles on his engine. If your's already had miles on it then I don't know what to tell you.

Sharp, Pretty, Sweet, Fantastic and all those other words to describe a GREAT looking truck. Job well done. The attention to detail really makes nice. I like the "stance" as it seems to be saying "look at me now"! I know you have to be proud AND I sure needed the inspiration!

I have to say, I'm thrilled with the response. I'm glad y'all like the truck, and achipmunk, the attention to detail was deliberate. The radiator cover (fabricated from aluminum) even has four bowtie bolts with all the bowties lined up in a straight line.

Paul that is just awesome! Now your going to be afraid to drive it on the road! Really cool!

paul, great looking truck, drive and enjoy. btw i just got mine back and the mileage is about the same as yours and i have the same engine set up but 2.73 rearend gears. it has gotten better now that i have about 250 miles on the engine. i think with some timing reset and carb ovehaul it will get better. the rear carb is new rebuilt and front is one i ovehauled yrs. ago great job and thanks for all the work on the site, i know my truck would not be on the road but for this site. thanks again. ron

Um, no, I built it to drive. I'll just have to work hard and be very careful to make sure it stays looking good.

WE b Old, I think we can do better, but I've got to read the tech tip at Inliners very carefully, because I've never done that sort of detailed carburetor work before. I'll let you know when I get it done and what the new mpg is.

And for all those who said you're never done, well......

i drive mine as much as possible but it is the mechanic that worries about it. he says it was a labor of love but you should have seen his bill. i put bed hooks in the stake holes that he has not seen. it was always a driver and still be but people are so inconsiderate. a friend of mine was sitting her truck on a break and lady opened her door and hit her truck and didn't say sorry or nothing just acted like it didn't happened. ron

Very NICE ... I hope to be driving mine soon !!

She's a beauty Paul. The modern GM paints look great on these old trucks. A long time ago someone here suggested to visit several GM dealerships and narrow down the color you like the best and then obtain that code. I found that fantastic advise. Enjoy driving it. I'll be at that stage soon and I've only been at it 6 years.

Curt B.

Paul, I believe you have the nicest 48 in the United States, for sure in Tx..... looks really good since you have the bed on..

little surprise about your gas mileage........even with the tired 235 I had and the s-10 five speed, I could get close to 21 on the hi-way and 18 all day long.. but I did have the 2:73 and only only one carb, would not think it would make that much difference..

thanks for the pix..
you will enjoy the trip to Kansas, City in it..

by the way I got a chance to see the truck a fews ago... talk about something that sounds sweet.....purrs like a kitten, just a little louder..

Fred

Fred

Dang, joker, that's sayin' a lot. Thanks for the high compliment. One thing about that mileage - I was running at high speeds with the air on high, and I think the air froze up. I'm going to take a run in it this weekend and try to regulate the air better and see if that makes a difference on the mileage. I'm also going to try running without the air (if it ain't too hot!) and see what difference that makes.

The truck runs so nice, I hate to fiddle with the carbs and take a chance on having it run less nice.