The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Amazing Find !!

Well at least amazing to me. Which is why I am here. I live in a private community in Northeast PA and while exploring the community the other day I stumbled upon a very old Chevy truck (See picture.) It is a tow truck and is very large I am 6'2 and come up to about the door handles. It's in amazing condition from my initial walk around there was no major body rot and all the glass and lights are in tact. Tow assembly looks to be in good shape and it has a hydraulic plow attachment on the front. Now here is the weird part it is sitting in an abandoned house's driveway overgrown with grass and pricker bushes, not sure why the house is abandoned yet. I will contact the community office soon to see if I can pull any info about this truck. I find it to be very odd that such an amazing piece of machinery which obviously meant a lot to someone would be left out to die like this.
So needless to say I am very interested in finding out more about this truck and possibly attaining it but I need some insight here as I usually build a much different type of car (Honda's) The mechanics aspect I know I can figure out I have a lot of resources there but I really want to know what something like this is worth and where to get more info on these beautiful trucks.

www.photobucket.com  

Get a hold of spanky on this site,he knows tow trucks.

That front end looks more like a cornbinder or dodge. IMO

Sorry the picture isnt great will be getting more. But the front end says Chevrolet so I was going off that.

If it says Chevrolet on the grill, a guess would be 1954/55 (one-piece windshield)??

Post a few more closer pictures and a quick ID would follow. If you can find an ID plate on the cab between the driver's side hinges, the code on the plate would be the best way to ID the size of the truck (probably 1.5 or 2 ton).

Thats what I thought after some light research but I just havent been able to turn up an exact match. The back is very odd the sides of the bed are really weird. Pending my area isnt buried in rain tomorrow I will be taking more pictures with a better camera.

Oh and yea it has a one piece windshield.

Looks 1954-1955 Chevrolet to me !

for sure it would beat any Honda that you could build...buy it,
plenty of help here should you need it.

Generally I am a car guy a young one at that and Hondas were accessible to me from the get go and my friends but dont worry I dont make them gaudy and shiny. I would love to buy the truck but I need help in the department of how to obtain if it is at all possible, the house is abandoned so I need to find out who owns it or did own it or however that may work.

I think your right. It appears to have been someones pride and joy but has fell to neglect due to a loss of job or maybe even tied up in and estate from a deceased love one. Do your home work and keep us posted. I would bet it probably "ran when it was parked"!! May be an easy fix to get it on the road. We'll keep our fingers crossed for you. Good luck.

I am hoping to get all the info by the end of next week, and yea it really did look like it was backed into the spot it was in turned off and left there. Hoepfully some real pictures too.

The county tax assessor can provide property owner information. Also ask around at the neighbors, in that part of the country everybody knows everybody else and their business.

With privacy laws like they are these days it may be hard to get info out of even a public office. Probably depends more on where you live than anything else...... like FGT says, check with the neighbors, they're not sworn to secrecy!!

I will try the neighbors, unfortunately though the next door ones appear to be gone as well. But the road does have a few other houses on it that I am sure I could dig some stuff up from

There sure are a lot of Parriss' in Spartanburg County.

privateryan, I sent you a PM (look at the top of the page for a flashing envelope)

If the truck still has a license plate on it, even if it's expired, you might be able to backtrack ownership that way. If you've got a friend on the police force, sometimes they're more successful doing a plate check than a prvate citizen.
Jerry

Hadn't seen this post until notified by another member. Wreckers, "turn my crank", so if possible could you get some photos of the Wrecker unit on it's back. I'm into vintage Ernest Holmes Wreckers mostly, & any identifying info. on a Holmes umit will be on a small ID plate located on the passenger side mast upright.

Ok so got back to the truck around 5:30 today, the rain finally cleared out (topped 7.5inches of rain in the last two days.) Upon closer look it is not as tall as I thought it was. I come up to the top of the doors (Im 6'2") poor judgement on my first run sorry
Took a good camera out and scored a lot more pictures so here they are, let me know what you guys think !!
photobucket truck pictures

Looks like a '54 or 1st '55. 1 1/2 ton per the 4100 emblems on the hood. The valve cover looks to be a pre '54 by the center bolt holes on it.

it's a 1.5T [4100] 54 or 55 1st Chevy and doesn't look like it was left to die, just not used this summer ... or maybe the owner of the house and truck died recently .... I'd guess you could stomp the pedal and it'd fire right up

Bill

Very cool find!!

go buy it now.........if you aren't ready to work on it, use it as a yard ornament till you are............neat truck.

4100 emblems match the ones on my '54 style wise. '55 first are different.

Cool truck. If you could get it you would be way ahead from what alot of us start out with.
Here in SC property ownership is public record. Most, but not all, counties here have this info on the web. You might try searching for your county tax assesors office or a parcel map online. Most counties here are also searchable by address. If you can find out who owns the property the truck is sitting on, that should give you a lead on who owns the truck. Unfortunately vehicle ownership isn't as transparent here. This is just an idea. of course, your results may vary.

Took a look in the house and recent death doesnt sound too crazy the whole place is in shambles but yea there is definately no inhabitants. How much would something like this be worth Ive been putzin around the internet some and cant figure out a ball park estimate.

You might do a search on obituaries and see if some one shows up that had a towing business.
I would ask the local body shops and wrecking yards, someone might know the owner, that truck has been used in recent years.

Good point, its hard though to dig up local information around me I live in a gated community and honestly gotta say I might be one of 10 locals in the whole place the rest of the thousands are recent move-ins from new york and new jersey I will be trying every possible avenue on monday with whatever info I can obtain to find how I could obtain this beauty

Check with your local real estate person. here in Indiana you can go to the court house and check the property records. i did it to find out how much a person paid for a house i was interested in, to have some bargaining leverage, reasearch was free and they were very helpful there.

Privateryan
Welcome to the group.
It appears you have got the addiction for big old trucks.
Good luck on getting your great looking tow.
Just think how many more you can bring home with a truck like that.
I'll be watching this thread.

2-Ton

The bed and tow unit on that truck are beautiful...

Seeing as to how it is a 1 1/2ton demand and price will be a lot lower than a smaller truck. I would say $1000-$2000 if it isn't in good running shape when you get it. If it does run, drive, and stop well then the value may be up to $5000-$6000, perhaps a little higher if it is in as good of condition as it looks in the pictures(i.e. no rust, excellent paint and interior).

It seems that the value of big bolts is whatever the buyer is willing to pay and that price can be very low if you have cash in hand.

I think the boom is a Marquette boom with a Holmes bed. I have the same exact set up on a 49 chevy at my house. I hope you can get it. Why can't I fnd trucks like that around here.
Thanks
Brad

Sent you a PM. Good find!

If you and your friends are into wasting money on hondas you'll want a tow truck so you can tow all of your friends cars to the junk yard.

No need for that, none of us have broken down yet

What's that mounted on the front bumper in front of the grill?
Jacques

def buy it. It appears that it was lightly restored at one time. And if not restored it was taken care of very well till recently. Get it out of the elements while it's still in good condition. I wouldn't do a frame off but I would look into any rust and get it running....and drive it!!

It looks like some sort of plow attachment or something.