47-55.1 Intro to the Forum

[TX3100Guy]

Hello to everyone. While I'm new to this Forum, I'm not new to the concept of and the use of a forum. I've been members of forums in the past for Corvettes, Porsches, Jeeps, and Jaguars. I've been waiting for multiple months to join this forum. The first wait was while the forum wasn't taking any new registrations and the second hold up was actually getting the 1953 Chevy 3100 that I'm buying from my best friend Bill.

Bill acquired the truck over five years ago from a widow who was getting rid of her late husband's project truck. Bill bought it as he was contemplating retirement and the sale of his classic car restoration business. The day he came back to his shop with the truck, I tried to buy it from him at a profit, but he was convinced that this would be his retirement project after he moved to Florida.

Well the move happened a few months later and the truck was moved from Dallas to Florida and out of my sight, but not my memory. Bill and I continue to talk on the phone at least twice a week and at least monthly I would inquire about progress on the truck. Despite my pestering him about it, he instead took up fishing and golf, bought a fishing boat and golf clubs, but never touched the truck. Finally one day, out of the blue without any further pestering by me, he asked if I was still interested in it. My answer was a quick yes. He then told me I never asked about how much he wanted and I told him it didn't matter, just set a price that you'll be happy with and let me come and get it.

As it turns out, he still owns a covered trailer from his former business and insisted that he wanted to personally deliver it to me, which has caused me to wait multiple months for him to get everything packed and loaded in the trailer for the trip to Dallas. This past weekend he told me that he and his wife will be leaving next week and I should have the project truck in my hot little hands by Thursday.

The purists among you will not be pleased with the changes that the late prior owner had already done to the truck, but I am thrilled. Here is a short list of what I know has been altered, the final list won't be available until I can see it and touch it myself.

1) The engine is a 1959 inline six 261 cubic inch engine
2) The engine has a McCulloch supercharger bolted to it
3) The transmission is a four speed on the floor
4) It has a new Mar-K bed side and tailgate
5) It has a quick change differential
6) It also has a magneto versus distributor

Supposedly the body has zero rust and the later owner had the frame powder coated, but I'm not certain how long ago. While the engine hasn't been started in nearly ten years, my buddy would pull the plugs ever 4-6 months, give a quick shot of WD-40 in each cylinder and turn the engine over by hand. My plans are to do a complete checkout of the engine, including servicing the oil, filter, plugs, wires, bore scoping the cylinders, and hand turning the crank, before I ever attempt to start it.

I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions and updates as I make progress on this new toy. More to come........

Bob

[Chopped53]

Welcome to the forum! Looks like a great project.

[Rickysnickers]

Welcome. Start a build thread for us and post lot of pictures!!

[joedoh]

love the louvers! show us the supercharger setup!

[TX3100Guy]

Ask and ye shall receive.

[mongocanfly]

welcome..!!!
wow...what a nice truck..!!!..

[JDarby]

Welcome Bob,

I am in Plano, we are neighbors! I am new to the forum also as of a few weeks ago.
Your project is awesome!! Talk about a sleeper!!! I have a 55.1 GMC 1/2 ton that I am about to start a RestoMod on. My GMC originally had a 270 in it but sadly that motor is long gone now.

Jeff

[TX3100Guy]

We should definitely plan on getting together once my 53 is delivered, now going to be Wednesday of this coming week rather than Thursday.

Bob

[JDarby]

I'll be in Ohio this coming week but after my return indeed!

Jeff

[joedoh]

gorgeous! love those old mcculloch superchargers, from a t bird right?

[TX3100Guy]

Originally Posted by joedoh

gorgeous! love those old mcculloch superchargers, from a t bird right?

I have no clue where it came from given that the original owner of the truck passed away, his spouse sold it to my buddy, and now my buddy is selling it to me since he hasn't done a thing with it.

Your suggestion of it coming from a T-Bird is the first clue I have....thank you, I will follow up on that lead!

[youngrodder]

Looks like a good start. Interesting louvers in the side of the hood. Is it only on the passenger side as a fresh air duct for the supercharger?

Marc

[mr48chev]

Cool, That is going to be a fun one when you get it all squared away. I'm guessing that you have had your plans for it formed for years and just have to work them through.

[TX3100Guy]

Originally Posted by youngrodder

Looks like a good start. Interesting louvers in the side of the hood. Is it only on the passenger side as a fresh air duct for the supercharger?

Marc

Seems they were placed on both sides for symmetry, my favorite thing.

[TX3100Guy]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

Cool, That is going to be a fun one when you get it all squared away. I'm guessing that you have had your plans for it formed for years and just have to work them through.

When my buddy first bought it and he turned me down on buying it from him, I stopped thinking about what I'd do next. Then a year later he moved to Florida, so the truck has been out of my sight for four years. He finally broke down and agreed to sell it to me a month or so before Christmas, so I have been dreaming of what to do next, but without the truck in front of me its been hard to know what to prioritize other than to get the engine running.

Sitting right next to me on my desk are catalogs from Ecklers, Classic Industries, LMC, Chev's of the 40's, and Brothers. I'm treating them like I did with the Sears Christmas Catalog when I was a kid.

[joedoh]

man thats really in nice shape! start a project thread in the project section and I will enjoy seeing it progress!

[TX3100Guy]

Originally Posted by joedoh

man thats really in nice shape! start a project thread in the project section and I will enjoy seeing it progress!

Once the truck is in my hot little hands I plan on taking a slew of photos and posting them to a build thread. I've also set up a photo gallery webpage with all the photos I have to date and will be updating that gallery along with a build thread.

The photo web gallery is located at: Photo Web Gallery

[TX3100Guy]

Delivery day finally arrived!

[Rickysnickers]

Wow!!!

[dsraven]

nice shop! (truck is pretty cool too, lol)

[LEEVON]

Welcome to the board! This is an amazing start to a project, looks like a lot of work has been done already. Can't wait to see where you take it. I love the slot wheels if you're looking for votes on that : )

[TX3100Guy]

Originally Posted by LEEVON

Welcome to the board! This is an amazing start to a project, looks like a lot of work has been done already. Can't wait to see where you take it. I love the slot wheels if you're looking for votes on that : )

Actually, I don't plan on using the slot wheels as there are only two on the truck. Here is a picture of the other side which I intend to replicate.

I'll be posting the two Ansen mags for sale in a week or two.

[joedoh]

too bad, those six slot slots are the bam snap!

congrats!

[TX3100Guy]

I haven't started a build thread yet because I've been busy inventorying the pieces and parts that came with my truck. The more I open and the more I see on this truck, the more I feel bad for the previous (deceased) owner of this unique vehicle.

According the my buddy who purchased from the widow, it was a California truck that spent a lot of time on the Bonneville Salt Flats as a pusher truck. The late owner had pictures of it before he decided to do a full restoration (powder coated frame, McCulloch supercharger on a 1959 261 cu/in engine, quick change differential, 4 speed on the floor GM transmission, brand new Mar-K bed and tailgate, etc). I've been left with a bit of a jigsaw puzzle of old and new parts and a truck that is about 75% done but with an engine that hasn't been started in a decade, but has been fully re-built and WD-40 sprayed in each cylinder every few months.

I have started the process of checking out and reviving the engine, but it will take a while for all the maintenance parts to show up so I can prep it for a oil pressure test (using a drill and distributor drive gear tool). In the meantime, I want to get new wheels and tires on it, since the tires on it are nearly 20 years old with flat spots on them. My plan is to stay relatively stock with this build and I plan on using the chrome rings and center Chevy hub caps.

Currently there are BF Goodrich All Weather tires on it (215/75R15 = front and 235/75R15 = rear) and I was wondering what other folks with stock'ish trucks are using both in terms of size and brand. I don't want to get something that too rough riding and/or noisy. Thoughts?

[dsraven]

if you plan to work on the truck for awhile and not have it road worthy for some time then I would suggest to look for a good used set of tires of the size you want. that way you can do any mock up etc and not have the new tires siting there getting old. when ready for the road then buy the new tires and donate the used ones to the next guy.
I think my buddy with the '54 used 225/75r15

here is a good tire size comparison site. there are also tabs you can click on to see the same diameter tire in a different rim size etc.

https://tiresize.com/comparison/