Savage's 54 3100

[SavageGrizz]

Hi Y'all! I've been "creepin" on the forum for a few months and figured it's time to post up. I'm Savage and I have a '54 3100 that's been in the family since I was a toddler. My Dad was originally going to sell the truck (although he said that for 10 years), but when my Mom passed in late 2015; he wanted it to stay in the family and subsequently passed it on to me. I am EXTREMELY grateful and fortunate to have this truck. Just the personal and family history with the truck are priceless.

This is the no bull$h*t vehicle I learned how to work on and how to drive. I know this is blasphemy, but the '54 never caught my eye as a kid. It was not fast, I thought the "bull nosed" grilles were ugly as opposed the 47-53's and Pop's wheel choice was comical. All that said, when I got some years on me and developed a little sentiment, the old beast grew on me.

It was my Pop's daily driver while I was in middle school and it runs and drives great on the original (rebuilt when I was 9) 235 and 4 speed with closed shaft torque tube rear. I have it now and although my Dad has loved all of my previous cars after I "modified" them (especially the '67 Chevelle), he cringes at the idea of making this a restomod.

Hopefully, with a lot of time and sweat; it will be a nice LS powered cruiser that's a blast to drive. Thank you to Coach, Flysocal, and the dude in Vegas with the bagged LS3 '54 for posting your builds. I hope to be where you're at in the next 5 years.

Here are some pics of the '54 and what I've done to it:

The day after I brought it home... Those dog catchers on the wheels crack me up when I think of my Pop with a mullet.








Original stovebolt 235 on 6 volts


Since I'm 6'1", the stock spring seat had to go and I found a seat from an '88 suburban in my old neighborhood for $50.






Gutted the old carpet and prepped the dash for paint.








Seat reupholstered with finished dash and floors

[mongocanfly]

Wow..that's a nice truck..
Welcome..

[SavageGrizz]

Thanks Mongo! Appreciate it! I've got a 4" axle from Sid's in the garage and some new wheels from Summit. I should have that done and on it by summertime and then hopefully a "cheap" color change / garage paint job to address some problem areas and enjoy it. That will hold me over while I finish the junkyard LS and Nova 8.5 10 bolt. I'll throw up some more pics this weekend, but I think my photobucket library is open.

[joedoh]

good looking project!

fyi: if you pick the IMG tags on photobucket and copy/paste them here the picture will show in your post.

[SavageGrizz]

Thanks Joe! It's been awhile since I've posted on the forums and I was going to Google how to post the pics "properly", but you just did me the solid. I have fixed my original post.

[SavageGrizz]

The wheels and dog catchers are absolutely hideous, but my Dad loved ZZ Top and this truck was proof positive of that :-)



The first (and last) time I drove it to work in the morning... At least until I convert it to 12 volts. The flashlight on my keychain put out brighter light!


The 4.8 I bought from my cousin for $200. It only has 140k on it, so it should last a couple years until I finish off a nice "true" LS.

[fine69]

Sweet. My first truck experience was in 54. Back in 1973. Love that front end.

[joedoh]

looks great!

what are dog catchers?

[mongocanfly]

I think he's referring to those wheel spinners joedoh

[SavageGrizz]

Sorry Joedoh. What Mongo said... They are the ugly a$$ wheel spinners coming off the hubs.