The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk '51 3100--Strategic plan advice wanted!!!!

Hi All...great forum and very knowledgable members!!!

Background Info: I have a '51 3100 Chevy that is currently all original. It does not run and has not moved in 14 years (stored in my parents barn). When it did run (14 yrs. ago) EVERYTHING worked--all lights, gauges, horn, dome light, etc...

Now, however, due to a window leaking prior to the barn storage arrangement, the floorboard needs replacing all the way across and from the front of the seat frame to the toe board. The toe board is solid. Also, I suspect the passenger side cowl area needs soome work as it appears the previous owner did some work in this area with body filler and primer. The rest of the body seems to be in outstanding condition.

Finally, my question: what would be the sequence of moving forward with the project given this info?

I want to be able to drive the truck a lot. Therefore, I am considering any and all BOLT-ON type mods...power disc brakes, power steering, A/C, upgraded 6 cyl. engine, rear gears, open driveline, etc...my only requirement is that any mod could be removed in the future by its new owner (I won't live forever..ha!) if they wished to return the truck back to its original condition.

So, tell me how you would build your "dream truck" given these parameters. Then I can "pick and choose" which modifications I am interested in...mainly though, I want to know the ORDER in which you would perform any mods...

Thanks for any suggestions!!

OR...I could restore this one since all the original parts are there and buy another to rod some...

Floor board panels are available from most vendors and are a good fit. Lots of spotwelds to remove, but not a horrible replacement project. You can use a mig or tig to "spotweld" back into place. I would check the inner cowls, inner-to-outer cowls, and rocker panels as these are prone to hidden corrosion. I personally enjoy driving as close to original condition as I can get, but I have upgraded to a 53 engine with full oil pressure, aluminum pistons, hydraulic lifters, open drive shaft, 1973 rearend with highway gears, radial tires, 12 volt conversion. My dream rides would be a completely restored to original, and one sitting on a Chevy Tahoe 4WD drive-train.

Thanks for the input 52Carl! I think I'll refurbish this '51 as original as practical and then buy another AD to hotrod...

I guess I'd first give it a good looking over and try and determine what it needs. Maybe even try and get it running and drive it a while, and then decide how you want to proceed.
The first obvious order of business would be to make sure the brakes are working. As they say, "make it go, and make it stop!"

you don't really need power steering, people have reported great success with radial tires. I wish I could say that, I bought radial tires (at least that is what the fella said they would be, as I had to special order them) I didn't actually read the letters on the side. I reported they looked great, but flat spotted really bad when cold, someone suggested they might not be radials, and sure enough they aren't. Which in itself wouldn't have been so bad except I have 2 perfectly good not radial tires that I had wanted to match in the first place. So I ended up spending an extra $400 on something I didn't even want to begin with. That being said, it isn't all that hard to steer regardless, the steering wheel is about 4 feet in diameter. For my money A/C could be left out, but then again I have spent a good portion of my life in Hawaii, Africa, Phillipines, Thailand, and worked on ships where the engine rooms are anywhere from 100-150 degrees, heat doesn't bother me. The only thing I would suggest is electric wipers, and the taller gears. Some say the vacuum wipers are fine, as long as you have a dual action fuel pump and a vacuum canister. But it seems to me if you need to add that much stuff to a system it doesn't really work that well. On top of my experience with vacuum wipers, which is why I went electric, they work regardless ... I have meant to put in disc brakes for about 25 years now, but the originals seem fine unless you are going through glacier national park and are on the brakes constantly, then they kind of go somewhere...That is my story. Hopefully you can glean some information from it.

If this is how you plan to proceed, you can have a safe and enjoyable truck to drive.

Mechanical items to be considered (you can decide on when to deal with fit/finish/seals of non-mechanical items - a safe-driving truck would seem to be the primary concern).

First: go through the braking system (and front wheel bearings). All new parts/lines would be ideal; however, at least clean, inspect, (replace any parts, as necessary), and adjust/bleed all parts in the system.

Second: clean, inspect, replace-as-necessary all parts of the suspension (front and rear) and steering-linkage systems. You should end up with no loose parts - replace/repair as needed. Spring bushings, tie-rod ends, and king pins are point of wear that all significantly affect steering ease, stability, tracking, and safety.

Third: adjust the steering box and front-end alignment settings.

Fourth: check/replace the tires - one "upgrade" that will greatly affect steering and tracking is to get light-truck, high-profile, radial tires (sizes can be found that will fit original rims/wheels).

Be patient, follow a reasonable strategy of inspect/repair/replace.

One significant, but costly, upgrade that can be considered after all of the above have been accomplished is a higher-speed rear-end. This decision is more costly and more complex. It can and should wait until after you have a truck that you can safely drive.

What '53 engine did you install, 52Carl?

I am doing a 100% ground up restoration of a '52 AD. On restorations, I typically go for 100% original. But, as this truck will be used almost daily by my son, I wanted some upgrades for safety. And, like you, I wanted a future buyer to be able to undo what I have changed. So, have done or will do the following (Texas truck):
1. Add seatbelts.
2. Add A/C. Vents hidden behind speaker grill.
3. Add front disk brakes, power booster, dual MC, and new plumbing.
4. 12 volt conversion, with alternator.
5. Add RetroSound stereo head unit, speakers, and sub.
6. Changed rear end gear ratio (3:55, from Patrick's).
7. Add turn signals.
8. Add sound proofing/deadening (strategically).

I'd follow what TClederman wrote in his post pretty closely.

My course of action would be get it running to make sure it will run ok.
Then work on the safety aspects so that is safe to drive before you attempt to drive it beyond the driveway and sometimes it isn't advisable to drive the length of the driveway without rebuilding the brakes and checking out the steering.

Seat belts : INSTALL THEM PERIOD I don't give a rippy doo dah what the "I'm smarter than every one else" guys say, mount a good set of seat belts in the truck with solid mounts. My wife still packs scars from falling out of the 48 34 years ago when she rolled out of the door backwards when it flew open when we rounded a corner. Luckily we were only doing about 5mph but she spent several hours in the emergency room having gravel removed from her knees and having her face cared to. It isn't about the trucks being exempt from seat belts because of age or what not it's because the stock door latches will and do pop open if they are worn a bit and you or yours will fall out of the truck. The first week I had the truck in 1973 I rounded a corner a block from the house and the driver's door flew open and I was hanging from the window opening with one hand on the wheel and my right foot grasping the front of the seat to stay in. I went straight to the Chev dealer and bought new latches( you could still get them at the dealer then).

Miss Church,
My 53 235 is out of a car that originally came with a powerglide transmission. It is the first full oil pressure engine that Chevrolet made. The nice thing is that it is a direct bolt in for an AD truck. The only hiccup was the pilot bushing for the 3 speed transmission doesn't fit the hole in the end of the crankshaft. I bought the stock pilot bearing and had the machine shop turn the outside diameter of the pilot bearing to fit. I had it completely rebuilt (all new bearings, camshaft, .040 pistons, timing gears, valves, valve springs, hardened valve seats) and am very happy with the power that it puts out.