The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1951 Chevy 1/2 ton - Newbie owner random questions

Hi, New owner and new to the forum...Looks like a great place to find help!

I just bought a 51 chevy 1/2t. I'm having fun getting better acquainted with it. Out of about a million questions I have, I thought I'd start with these...

It's apparently now my wife's daily driver. I figured that out because she's left her brand new Accord in the driveway and is taking the truck to work every day. So any recommendations on a good source for insurance?

It looks like I'll be doing the kingpins soon. Lots of vendors sell the kits. Are all kingpin kits the same in terms of quality? Or is there one particular one I should go with?

The drivers side door doesn't have a lock. And by that, I mean it doesn't have a hole in the door skin for a lock assembly and no slot on the side to get the lock keeper in. Is that normal or did a dreaded previous owner shave the lock? If it's normal, how do I lock the door?

Thanks for help (and patience with a newbie!)

Greg

The drivers door does not have a key hole - this is by design. You lock it by pushing the inside door handle forward. To unlock it you would have to go through the passenger side!

Your local autoparts store should be able to get kingpins for you. I picked up mine from orielly's auto parts.

I got a great rate with Sate Farm for insurance. My other vehicles are with them. I have tow also. Antique or Classic Motor Vehicle

Bigtonka is right. Most older trucks (not just Bolts) had a keyed lock only on the passenger side. Do a search on the topic. This has been discussed here many times, including many speculations as to what the reason was for doing it that way.

For 45 years about every 47-51 AD we worked on left the shop with a drivers door lock. The 52 and up just takes a right side handle swap but the 51 and back takes some fabbing. I'm 75 now and no longer do them but have pictures on my photo site of one done on a 50. It's best done on one before any body and paint work is done. I do not know how to put text with a photo but maybe you can garner some info from the pictures. The later ones used a hex shaft from the key cylinder to the locking lever which is better. Scroll down to the 9th row or 41st photo to see a step by step of the process. http://s32.photobucket.com/albums/d41/coilover/

On the kingpin kits, do some research. I've not bought any, but I've read that some come with plastic bushings instead of brass.

Here is an old saying that explains the lack of a driver's door outside lock. Curb side, safe side. Street side, suicide. Some older models of cars, like the Model T, didn't even have a driver's door.

Since your wife likes the truck so well, maybe now would be a good time to get another one...

Welcome to the 'bolt!

Be sure to 'explore' the many links posted way up at the top!

Also, peruse the many forums and their sub-forums to really get a feel of everything that is going on around here.

-W

I got my insurance from Hagerty. They're in MI and they only insure classic cars. Insurance on my '53 3100 is $100/yr, although yours might be somewhat higher because the truck gets daily use.

Chris

Don't buy kingpins like I did until you find out if you might need oversize ones. I now have a set of standard ones I can't use. Research what you want and where you can get them, then find out what you need by taking it apart. Dave

Welcome to the Stovebolt Page and congrats on getting your wife a cool old truck! I agree with fab51, now you'll have to get yourself one!
Peruse the links above and visit the many vendor websites. Also visit Keith Hardy's site full of Chevy info.
Do you know yet if your truck is very original or if it has a 235 update? Is it a 3-speed or 4? 5-window? Please post some photos on a photo hosting site then put a link here. We love old truck pictures! Good luck.

Welcome to the bolt from another Calif trucker. NorCal? SoCal?