Don't know why I never got around to getting images in the gallery, but after 6 years, here we go.
In the beginning... there was a rusty truckThe body of my truck is a 1955.2 Chevy 3100 2wd from California. It use to be a electrical wiring business truck from the faded logo on the side. Truck was in much worse shape than advertised.
See original truck here. The floor pans, cab corners, lower fenders, doors and the bed sides were trashed. Oh, well, it gave me a reason to learn MIG welding!
But a 2wd is just not my cup of tea so I searched for an original factory 4wd system that would bolt up. After some research I discovered that NAPCO Industries offered the system. I ended up finding this
58 Chevy Panel truck that was special ordered for the Forest Service or some other government department. It had the NAPCO 4x4 system with a very rare Braden winch and optional 17.5 inch rims, including the spare! The body was hopelessly rusted and was literally collapsing on top of the frame.
So here I am with one truck and one frame/running gear in a small 2 car garage. Quite cramped. I had previously cut the 58 body up into small pieces for disposal. A large body panel went to fix a friends 58 Burb so not all was lost.
I refreshed the axles with new seals and bearings, cleaned out the 4-speed transmission and
Spicer transfercase which were in great shape, and took apart the
Braden winch which had been seized from rust. Wire-wheeled everything and applied some
epoxy and
Chassis Black.Had the
frame sandblasted then sprayed it with
epoxy and
Chassis Black.Installed brand new 350 crate motor I got for $800 bucks! The foundation was
complete.
3 years later...on to the body.New doors, new bed sides, driver side front fender were ordered when a good discount came up (usually around Christmas). The next 2 years were really welding, sanding, spraying, sanding, repeating.
Cab with new doors hung. Then used POR 15 on the
bottom of the cab and on the inside of the fenders. Then top coated them with POR 15 Hardnose paint that was pretty close to the final color and
mounted the cab which was a rather hairy process.
Got the cooling system in and started on the
wiring so I could get the engine started.
Success! Startup on YouTube. 5 years later...still trying to get the darn body panels and gaps correct.I had to do a lot of welding, shimming, cussing and some
filler (never more than 1/8th) to get it to an
acceptable level. I have not doubt that a master body man could have tweaked the panels so no filler would be necessary but a master I am not.
Bought the only
STA Super Traxion tires that would fit the original 17.5" rims, and how awesome they are! The truck clears my garage by a half an inch. They also ride nice and don't make much noise for bias ply tires.
Finally sprayed in
full body epoxy. Cut and shaped the
front bumpers around winch and got them
chromed.
5 1/2 years later...chose a body shop to shoot the paint.Bad choice. My truck languished for 5 months before the
cab was done. . He hadn't even started on the hood and rear fenders. I
pulled the job and found another shop to finish the parts.
Home stretch. Final assembly. Here is a long video of the
bed being assembled. Here is the final product. Well not really, I have a long list of little things that need to be fixed or completed but I am having a hard time getting to those items because I'm enjoying my ride!
I want to thank everyone on this forum for helping me out over the years, I couldn't have done it without you all!
Youtube video of finished 1955.2 Chevy Napco.
