Hi All - newly registered user and new Stovebolt owner.
I got my start at age 14 - my dad had a 1972 Chevy 1/2 ton shortbox he bought new in 1972. It had a 250 and a 3 on the tree. By the time that I was old enough to drive it - haulin' wood and the WI road salt had gotten the best of it - rotten cab - but I learned to drive on it-and loved every minute of it. Concerned about the safety of a "shot cab" - by the time I got my driver's license, my parents sold the 1972 Chevy and let me drive a 1984 Olds.
Now I'm in my 30s and live in WA state. When I moved out West, I always said that I would buy an old low-rust truck from a state that doesn't use road salt.
I found this 1954 GMC on craiglist. I ended up paying a fair price for it (this included a huge box of extra parts - chrome, etc.) - I was the only one to respond to the ad, and the guy needed to sell. And I was able to drive it home w/o incident (not very good brakes, though, which I knew).
Here's the story - as best as I can tell - about this truck. It is a deteriorated amateur restoration from the 1970s. It's been in Monroe, WA for some time. The guy I bought it from owned it 7 years and did little except drive it every now and then - he had big plans for it - but what he did was put on a completely new exhaust system, fuel pump, and battery.
Prior to the previous owner, it was on a homestead - those people bought it with the homestead. Judging from the condition of the paint, it probably sat in a leaky barn. It now has a nice "patina" to it - the paint is all cracked. Of course, from 40 feet away, one would think it would look great!
Mechanically, the original 248 has been swapped for a Chevy 235 - judging from the casting numbers, this is probably from the 1958-1962 era. I still have yet to discover whether the lifters are mechanical or hydraulic. It has great oil pressure - all the gauges still work! It has a 3 on the tree.
It still has a 6 volt electrical system - it has been converted to negative ground (GMC was originally positive ground at this time).
So far I have just been doing things to get it to be a good weekend driver - changed all the fluids, new belt, new upper radiator hose, new plugs, etc. I'm on the cusp of putting in a new/rebuilt carb. Then it's time to adjust ignition timing and adjust valves. The list grows longer and longer as I discover more and read more. Throughout the whole process, I have been taking it for local trips.
The interior is in decent shape - the seat has been reupholstered (1970s). I have to get a new headliner and floor mats.
There is almost no rust - the cab corners have been patched (probably before you could get the newly manufactured corners - some sheet metal, some plastic filler). The floor has very little rust - in the cab near the kick panels, mostly some pinholes, with a dime sized hole near the brake pedal.
For now, I will focus on the mechanics. I paid someone to redo the brakes - major job with many new parts. The rest I'm working on myself.
As for the body, I will just polish it up, cracks and all. Someday, maybe, I will paint it up right... but that is a few years away.
If anyone has any advice on tire shops in the Seattle area, it would be greatly appreciated. I have 16 rims with tube-type bias tires. I like the look and want to keep the original rims - they probably aren't designed to hold tubeless tires real well, and I haven't found a knowledgeable tire shop that could put on tubed tires.
Finally, here are some pics:
http://s1011.photobucket.com/albums/af240/1954GMC100/Mike
