In the Beginning

On Tuesday August 13, 2013 we got a 1954 Chevy Pick up.  The amazing thing about this truck is all the glass was intact and it ran!  This truck is going to need a lot of cosmetic work.  As time goes by and changes are made they will be documented and photographed for this blog so our family and friends can see our progress.

This post shows how the truck looked the day we got it.

 The front grill/bumper has been painted over and part of it are missing.  We think the turning signals go underneath the headlights.  The first things we're going to do is get a manual, 4 tires and 3 rims.

 There is no back bumper and the tail lights need to be replaced.  No turning signals we know of. 

 You can see better here the issues with the grill/bumper.

 We are going to replace the steering wheel with a smaller one.  It's a simple single nut system so Jimmy can handle that. The knob on the dash is to operate the windshield wipers; it's toast.

 Whoever owned this truck before us was a wire fanatic.  The wires are all over the only sun visor . One goes to probably an interior light; the rest; who knows?  time will tell

 Yup, it's a gun rack!  The only thing that doesn't need fixing except to find a gun to mount on it.

 Lots of options to pick from to make the truck bed useable.  We are considering wood covered with metal. 

 The license plate bracket is barely viewable.  It will need lights if we want to drive the truck at night.

 Rust, rust and more rust.  Both doors need new weatherstripping and window weatherstripping to.

 Look, no locks. 

 This is the 18 gallon gas tank.  It is located behind the seat.  For some odd reason the gas gauge always registers full and we know it isn't so. There is a loose wire that should be connected to the sending unit but we don't know where. You can see a picture of it down below.  We will replace the sending unit and see if that fixes the problem.

 Passenger side dash view.  They painted it black.  The glove box opens no problem but is is empty; we need to buy an insert.  No radio, heater doesn't work and there are missing knobs.

 This truck originally had a generator but it has been modernized so it has an alternator and a battery.  The battery is in the passenger side floorboard.  Gonna be fun installing carpet over this.

 There's the loose wire on the gas tank.

 The starter has a push button system to start the truck; no key required; SCARY.  This is is the passenger side of the motor up against the firewall.

 This baby's got a straight 6 in it. 

 Here is the bypassed heater hose.  We will find and buy a heater core so this truck can at least have heat.  No AC in this old boy.  We are also going to buy a 6 blade fan.

 This is in front of the passenger door.  Lots of bondo was used on the truck.  We will fix it up. 

 This is the driver side of the engine.  You can clearly see the alternator.  This truck requires only 1 V belt.  The oil filter (on the right edge) is a canister that you open and insert. 

 A 1 Barrel Carburetor is all she needs. Also here is a partial view of all those crazy wires.

 There is a cowling above the hood; it is stuck open.  Probably some WD-40 will fix that.

 Sorry this picture is blurry; this tire is mounted on a double rim.  No tire shop will touch it because they are very dangerous.

 Just so it could move they put tires and rims on the rear that are too big. 

This is the driver side rear tire.  It is rubbing against the rim.

When we got the truck there was a bench seat in it that was just thrown in.  We have removed it.  That is why the pics of the gas tank are not obstructed.  There is a frame for a bench seat that we are going to make useable.  Our friend Matt Roush has offered to help us with our project.  All we need to do is get some money and we can start.

Feel free to post comments and suggestions.