The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Is '54 the red headed step year?

Hey guys, I am extremely new to classic trucks and restorations in general. I have acquired a '54 Chevy 3100 5 window and have been doing some research. It seems that everything is either '46-53 or '55-59 skipping '54. I have resources to a proper garage and knowledge/patience/the desire to do this job right so you experts can relax what parts year should I stay within? I am riding a motorcycle right now and starting a family so I want to get off my bike ASAP. I know this is a very vague question but ballpark how many hours and how much money will it take to get it rolling down the road. The engine is a 235 that isn't seized. I will be doing the work myself so my only cost will be parts. I think I am going to get it rolling for now to get off the bike and when I get a few more bucks, do it all proper, stripping it down to nothing and rebuilding from the ground up. Thanks for all your suggestions and support.

Brakes first $200 up or upgrade with front discs $600 + Weekend project

Tires -$400 +

Front end alignment $100+

Engine tune up, plugs, wires, dist cap, points etc.,new oil, gaskets, carb rebuild $300 - $500 Weekend project

Gas tank cleaning $100 up 2 hours or more

New fuel pump - $75 1 hour

Rebuild engine $1300 - $3000+ 2 weeks +?

Adding seat belts correctly 2 hours+or -

Inspecting electrical and minor repairs 1 hour +

It's all a guestimate and since you are unfamiliar with these trucks plan to spend more time acquainting yourself.

54 seems like a good year to me, the 53 is the odd one, that was the last year for that body style, and the 216, which is why I have gone to incredible trouble to build a 216. You will be alright. I got some nice original style tires, but they were more like $800 the guy said they were radials, he either lied or was mistaken, either is likely. Either way you will be spending a whole lot of time and money, these aren't cheap to restore/refurbish, and you will have a hard time finding a machine shop that knows anything about them.

if you are starting a family, you will probably want something a little newer. Probably about 50 years newer. A lot of people use them as daily drivers, but I wouldn't. For one thing they get horrible gas mileage, and there really insn't much room in them. You can do as you please, of course. That is just my opinion. They make great toys, and I actually use mine as a truck to haul stuff in, this weekend I got flooring for the house, I didn't pay much attention to the loading until we took off and my wife was looking at the receipt and says "WOW this weighs 2200 pounds" I was kind of nervous, but I only had about 5 miles to go. The old truck performed admirably.

The dashboard trim, radio location, gauges and steering wheel are different too.

The years should be 1947 - '55 early (Advanced Design) and '55 late - '59 (Task Force). '54 and the early '55s were Advanced Design trucks that had the differences listed above and in 55 1st suburban's post.

Advance-Design was the term for 1947-1955 Chevrolet trucks.
GMC trucks during the same years were called New Design.

During 1955, the GM truck styles changed to Task Force Chevrolet and Blue Chip GMC.

The major significant enhancement in 1954 Chevrolet trucks was the standard high/full-pressure 235 engine (and the 261 engine available in some of the large trucks. Also, the 1/2 ton rear-end ratio was changed from 4.11 to 3.90

There is a 1954 Engineering Features manual that describes many of the changes in 1954 (a link to a copy of that manul is on my website).

As posted above, it is impossible to predict/estimate how much money and time will be needed to get it running/looking to your satisfaction.

As posted above, look for parts listed for 1954. 47-54 or 47-55 might be OK, but there were small changes over the years in brakes, doors, interiors, etc (seats, headliners, knobs, door controls, for examples).

Post questions here, when looking for parts. Check out the Links and Tech Tips on this website.

Good luck - enjoy your ride.

One more difference for the 54-- it is the year for the switch from a 216 C I to 235 C I engine. That's good since parts are much more available for the 235.
Don't know how far you plan to drive on a regular basis but 55 mph is about all you can expect as a comfortable cruising speed.
Good luck-- ask questions, the guys here are a lot of help.

First off the Stovebolt forums will be your best friend. Be patience and you'll find all the help you need right here.

In recent past I have read that the average restoration is 2200 hours. So yours will depend on how good or bad it is and how efficient you are at doing things. For me I never keep up with the hours and go at my own pace whether it be because of time or money.
Cost wise will depend also on just how good/bad things are. If you can get it running, and stopping as mentioned above you can spread the restoration out over years as you drive and enjoy it. For me I've spent over $18,000 on my panel but it was mostly a basket case when I got it. Since I didn't have big bucks to dish out at one time I choose to spread it out over 6 years.... and have the fun and feeling of accomplishment of what I did myself.
If you can get one running/stopping/driving early on then your ahead of the game. Just be sure to spend at least 15 minutes every day....EVERY day. (well, except for sunday so do 30 minutes on Saturday or Monday)

2200 hrs for a restoration??? i typically take 250-300 depending on mods. figure double for a newbie/DIY and looking at less than 600 hrs. but that is a lot of weekends so it may seem longer.

daren

Thank you guys this is the exact info I need. I am torn as I am now deciding to make the truck original or put an s-10 chassis under it with a small block 350. I'm finding the possibilities are endless with these things. I know the decision is ultimately mine and my preference but what are your experiences? How much longer does the whole s-10 v8 swap add? Thanks again for the speedy responses.

Modify your original frame with updated suspension, rear end, engine, transmission and brakes. Lot's of info on this site regarding the plusses and minuses with these old trucks. You can slowly modify it as you drive it too. Add disc brakes, install an open rear end with gears that you like etc. Lot's of bolter's use modified mechanics with their trucks, Cletis puts a lot of miles on his slightly modified Suburban and I am going a similar direction, but it's still in the building stages.

Check out The HiPo shop you can see what others have tried and/or are working on.

An S-10 frame is a great choice. They're fairly easy to do on the AD trucks, and it makes the truck handle like a sports car. If you need chassis parts, you go to a parts store and buy the part for an S-10. It's a no-brainer, in my opinion.

My dad has a '52 on an S-10 with a 454, and I'm currently building a '46 GMC on an S-10 with a 455 Buick.

2200 hours is pretty typical for a restoration. I have no idea how you're doing it in 250-300, unless you're not going completely through it.

Thanks 46gmcpu, maybe I should have said a FULL restoration. Heck, as slow as I am I probably got twice that in mine!!!
I actually got that figure from information based on some studies that were done for FULL restorations. Maybe I should have been more specific. Sorry if I mislead anyone.

If you stay original as far as suspension they are all the same from 47-55 1st. The frame at rear wheels changed due to the bed is deeper in 54. The complete box and bed to running board aprons are different also. The rear fenders are the same. The frame over the rear wheels do not have as much arch as the 47-53. You can not use a 47-53 tail gate on a 54 bed for example. You have to change out the entire bed to 47-53 or stay with 54/551st. Hood Is the same but hood emblem and emblem location is different. Shifter rod is about 1/2" longer on 54 also or mount location changed due to dash change. Not sure if it's due to a column change as far as shifter mount location or linkage mechanism mounted to column under hood. But there is a difference in these some where. This is only valid if you planning to keep it stock. I bought a 54 for a parts truck for my 52. This is how I found these differences. Also the bell housing are different in 54 the mounting changed. From that point forward is the same.

it is amazing how fast some people can get stuff done. i have never done a full restoration, but everything i do seems to take at least twice as long as it should. i have to say, the more i do the faster i get, but who needs that kind of pressure. that would make it too much like work!

a full restoration in 300 hours is something I would definitely have to see.