Well... I pulled the trigger Tuesday and drove about 250 miles out to see a truck for sale..
It's a 1954 Chevy 3800 and it's now Mine!
Here she is: 1954 Chevy 3800 (It even has a Dump Cylinder!)
PO bought it some 25 years ago and used it to move materials while building his house and then parked it under a tree. Fast forward 19 years and he decided it was time to pull out of the weeds and pass on to the next person willing to put some time in it.
It was a little stressful getting on the road as we managed to get our truck and equipment trailer stuck while pulling it out from where we keep it. But it was all fun after that! This guys place is the kind of property you'd see on the TV show "American Pickers." It was fun to walk around and check things out but we didn't have much time as our daylight was limited.
We pushed the truck onto our trailer with the guy's loader, strapped it down and were on our way!
Got the truck for $650. I think that's a pretty good deal considering current scrap prices wouldn't be much less. It probably cost us about $250 to go get it.
It's actually still sitting on the trailer as we were hoping the ground would dry out a little before we pull across the yard but no such luck. It comes off the trailer tonight and the work begins.
We have two kids now (one being an infant) so the going will be slow but I can't wait to get started!
My father had a 1954 half- ton in his youth so this is the same cab style. I've kept my eye on them over the years but hadn't found one. The '54 grille is my preference and being this is going to be a HUGE time and cost investment, I didn't want to settle for anything else.
I thought I'd end up with a half-ton but I'm really excited about the 1 ton capabilities. I found this one after trying to look up fair prices on a half-ton that I went to look at last weekend that turned out the be a rust bucket.
Well this is getting long winded but I wanted to say hello and introduce my new truck! I'll definitely be spending time on here every step of the way!
Step 1) See if I can get the 235 running.
Step 2) Decide if I want to get it roadworthy and then work on it one part at a time, or dig right in and start a frame off.
I know a frame off is a TON of work, but at the same time, it seems like if you take it in steps, it's not that bad and these old trucks just don't have as many parts to them as vehicles do now! Just getting it roadworthy will be a chore. I don't think the brakes and lights will be too bad, but the main problem area is that the floor is in rough shape and almost gone.
All Input will be Greatly Appreciated!
Tj
the links page [up top] has a whole bunch of possibilities, and usually it pays to shop around
