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