Marvin (1953 3100)

[torchlight]

Hi Everyone-

I've been reading the posts here and learning a lot these last few weeks, so I thought I'd 'give back' by making some posts of my own about my truck project. "Marvin" is a 1953 Chevy 3100 that my parents bought back when I was a little baby, and that's been 31 years ago! Not sure why, but when I was a toddler and learning to speak, I started calling the truck "Marvin," so that's always been 'his' name. Been in the family ever since. I drove it in high school, but around the time I turned 18, it developed some clutch and brake problems. So, the truck got put into barn storage at the time. Has been there for the last 13 years - well it was, until earlier this week. My dad had a couple buddies help pull the truck out of storage, load him on a trailer, and today he drove north to where I live.

Once he got up here, we drove on to a local shop that I'm putting my trust in. We dropped the truck off there, and starting Tuesday, it will be completely disassembled for a frame-off rebuild. It might not be as respectable that I'm paying for the work to be done instead of doing it myself. But, I don't have the knowledge or experience or resources to even think about trying this. And, I've been dreaming about doing this for, literally, decades, and I want to make sure it is done right. So, I am handing it over to some true professionals.

I'm told this could easily be a year-plus project. That is just fine for the work to be done right. I've waited many years already, one more is no problem! I plan to visit the shop often and take many pictures of the progress and I'd like to post them here to share.

The first set of pictures from today is nothing fancy, just unloading the trailer!

[torchlight]

Here's Marvin on the trailer after his ride up from Iowa. All the time in the barn has been a bit rough, for sure, but I'm sure he enjoyed his first ride in 13 years!


Some more pictures showing how he arrived:






Couple pictures of the interior. Definitely seen better days:

[torchlight]

Backing up to the shop door. Good driving, Dad!


Ready to go inside:


Pushing onto the lift where the truck will sit while being disassembled:

Couple shots underneath. Plenty of surface rust and caked dirt under there, but overall things are straight and solid:

[torchlight]

Bed has seen better days, I believe. So has the exhaust system:


235 served well and faithful since 1953. Feel bad taking it out, but this is going to be a bit of a "resto-rod" project, and a small-block is calling my name:

[Kurt L]

shoot i'd clean it up and get it road worthy and drive it like it is. btw nice truck hope they do you a good restoration.

[torchlight]

Overall, not much really happened, but it was still a very exciting day. Complete disassembly begins Tuesday, with body and frame sent out for sandblasting directly afterwards. Will be a long project, but I will try to visit the shop often and report back here with pictures and stories when I can. I know I've really enjoyed reading about other projects and have learned a lot from them, so hopefully I can try to return the favor!

[shadow1967]

It' about the truck. Not wether you paid to have it done or not. And the fact that it was your first car and been in the family for awhile, thats even better. Bring it back to life!

[Larry Lindley]

good truck glad to see it being restored.and welcome will watch this one.

[Kabwe]

Very nice truck and please do keep us posted.

[Denee007]

What a sweet story! You will never be able to part with this precious truck!
dne'


[QUOTE=torchlight;5570208] "Marvin" is a 1953 Chevy 3100 that my parents bought back when I was a little baby, and that's been 31 years ago! Not sure why, but when I was a toddler and learning to speak, I started calling the truck "Marvin," so that's always been 'his' name. Been in the family ever since.

[oldman3]

Truck looks to be in good shape, hope the shop does a good job for you, keep posting pics and updates, will be watching this build....Jim

[Atommik]

Welcome and congrats, from another Minnesota AD truck fan!! Marvin looks to be in very good shape!

[Stepside Jim]

Yeah, I noticed when the tailpipe comes out through the bed it tends to rot the wood around it.

Just kidding, it's always great when there is a longterm story behind the vehicle.

With all the factory parts on the engine I hope you find someone in need of original parts who can use them.

Good luck. Jim

[Daze57]

welcome aboard from sin city ! you have a great project and a great story - keep us posted and best of luck -no matter how long it takes .

[torchlight]

Quick update from today - stopped by the shop after lunch to drop off a check and chat about some chassis and bodywork planning. It was such a great experience to meet and talk to the guys that are going to be working on the truck. They are already knee deep in disassembly, as the pictures show. After a couple more days, the frame and body sections will be going out for sandblasting. The sandblasting will reveal the true extent of what rust repair will be required. There will be some, for sure, but the word so far is that the truck seems to be in surprisingly solid shape all around, despite the visible surface rust.

Also, we have discovered that Marvin used to be green! Although that was over 31 years ago, because he was red when Dad bought him.







Piles of parts!







Traveling for business all next week, so it might be a couple before I can stop by the shop again. By my next visit, disassembly will be 100% complete and we should have everything back from sandblasting, so things will be looking quite different indeed!

[mknittle]

from the looks of the parts it seems to be a pretty solid truck.

[Root2812]

Wow, Marvin is probably the most solid and dent free classic I've seen in the midwest in a very long time. It will be interesting to see if you were lucky enough to avoid the typical passenger floor rust that gets almost all of us... me included...

I really like the pinstriping on the hood, fenders, and tail gate. Are you planning on having the stripes put back on?

[torchlight]

Originally Posted by Root2812

I really like the pinstriping on the hood, fenders, and tail gate. Are you planning on having the stripes put back on?

I did take detailed close-up pictures of all the pinstriping - the hood, fenders, grille, door handles, and the tailgate. Haven't made any final decisions about exterior paint, but I wanted those pictures specifically so we can recreate that pinstriping if I decide to. It certainly is a defining visual characteristic for the truck.

[blue57]

Welcome. It looks like you definately have a nice solid truck to start with. What are your plans for it? I am in the same boat with you as far as skills and the know how. I have done a few things myself to my truck, but think it will be getting finished up in a shop. I wanna make sure its done right and last so my son can enjoy it eventually.... hes only 2. It is mine for along while

[LEEVON]

Nice truck and history. There is no shame in having somebody do the work for you, heck most of us wish we could. Even though the fun for me is making it with my own hands, every project gets overwhelming at some point.

I don't think you could have started with a much cleaner truck, that one is better than 99% of the beaters we drag up on this side of the forum. I love the old school pin striping, any plans to add some back as an homage?

[torchlight]

Stopped by the shop yesterday to check up on progress. The guys there are doing some amazing work. The truck has been completely disassembled down to every nut and bolt! All parts have been sand or media blasted down to the bare metal, so we can see what was really under there. Pretty happy with what was found. Definitely some rust here and there, but overall very solid. The frame was in especially good shape - no structural rust, straight, true, and solid all the way around.

Right now, they are working on getting all the body panels rehabilitated. Rust repair where necessary, and fixing any dings or dents. The guys at the shop do amazing work. We may use an aftermarket patch panel in a couple of places, but they are mostly just fabbing their own patch panels from scratch - true craftsmen, and it is incredible to watch them do the work.

Next week the work on the body panels will continue, and also will start boxing the frame and getting it ready for the suspension work. Think I'll be ordering a Scott's IFS, and the guys at the shop are going to fab up a custom 4-link with a 9-inch Ford for the rear. Will be very cool to watch that process as it develops.

Here are some pictures -

Passenger side rear and drivers front fenders ready for the body shop:


Passenger front fender getting the expert treatment:


Frame sitting upside down on the jig, but looking good:


Cab was solid, but still some trouble spots to take care of:

[torchlight]

You can see a handmade patch section being tested for fit on the bottom of the passenger door:


Work is already complete on the other side of that door, looking gorgeous:


Pile of parts! Haha wow oh man this is my truck sitting there:

[oldman3]

Looks like they are doing a good job for you, I like what I see....Jim

[torchlight]

Progress being made, time for an update! These pictures were from multiple days:


Plenty of work to do on the cab, starting with some firewall smoothing. Not going to smooth entirely, will keep those awesome original stamping details.



Repair complete on these pieces, the worksmanship is really fantastic - no body filler used.



Couple pictures from outside the shop. Decided to add a personal touch to the truck by getting the wood for the bed custom milled out of a tree from our family farm. Took down a nice 50-year-old shagbark hickory.



Check out the beautiful contrast between the heartwood and sapwood.



Cutting down to 10-foot sections.



Oh man this fresh green hickory was HEAVY! Got it loaded up and took it to a sawmill nearby. It has been milled to proper size and the boards are currently sitting in a kiln getting dried down to the proper moisture content. Can't wait to see when they are done so they can get finished into correct bed boards. The hickory should look really good..



continued...

[torchlight]

Back in the shop, patch panels starting to go on the cab.






Frame starting to get boxed in.



Bit later, most of the boxing is complete and the underside of the frame has been smoothed.



You can see the care that is being taken to preserve some of the original visual cues. Planning to keep the original crossmembers, and those cool parking brake cable brackets.



And flipped over so smoothing can begin on the top of the frame. You can see the new rear end housing sitting on the floor (Moser, 9 inch Ford). Rear suspension work will begin soon.