Hi all, I was wondering if any of you might be interested in my adventures in working on a 1953 Chevrolet 1 Ton 5 Window pickup? The truck came to me from western Canada where it lived its life stored inside a barn. It was virtually rust free when I got it, and it still had original blue paint on the hood and box. It did have a lot of big dents from 50 years of farm work. The truck has a hydraulic tilt long box, 4 on the floor and a very early 235 Cubic inch straight six. From what I have learned I believe that they put the 235 engine in production in Canada mid 1953, a few months before it went into production in the US. I will post some pictures of the truck as it looked when it first came off the trailer at my place, and after I got it cleaned up a bit, followed by some pics of the progress as I learned how to use a hammer and dolly to straighten out the dents. As I began to clean it up I was surprised to find that the old tires held air, and that the truck was in remarkably good shape. After a couple of weeks I put a new 6 volt battery in it, and it cranked right up and ran well.
Absolutely I'd be interested in following your story. I'm also about to dig into a 3800, but a 1950 panel. Are you in Canada or the US. Don't forget to join the AD social group and post there too. Klaus
The hood, box and engine compartment were still original navy blue paint over red oxide primer, while the fenders doors and cab had been repainted at some time. peeling back the floor mat and insulation I was surprised to find that the floors were in perfect condition. I went over the whole body and the only rust to be found was in the cab corners. As most of you know these trucks have a flat floor except for the cab corners hanging down to the rockers, so any water, snow, and wet rags tend to collect in the cab corners and rust them from the inside out. I decided that the truck needed a couple of new cab corners so I ordered some aftermarket pieces off that auction site. they looked like they would fit pretty well, but after cutting out the old steel where they go it became clear that the profile needed some adjusting to fit the body. The new cab cornbers were a little bigger than the old ones. Before welding in the new metal the old metal outside inside and underneath was all coated with a zinc based weld-through primer that protects against corrosion and also is a nice prep for welding. The old body was step flanged and the new corners welded on and smoothed back with ballpeen hammers. grinding off the high spots brought them within about 1/8 inch and then so slow hammering got them to within 1/16th" of where they should be. Good practice for later. Meanwhile I began to buy up a variety of old bodywork hammers and dollies on that auction site; flat hammers, curved face hammers, pointed hammers and shrinking hammers, flat dollies, square dollies, and every other shape I could find. There is a lot of shape on these old trucks which is why I like them, but that means lots of dolly shapes to hammer against. I also started reading up on metal shaping from old bodywork books at our local library. There were some serious dents in the fenders from 50 years of farmboys jumping on the truck and dropping hay bales on her. We are talking eight inches deep and 15 inches long.
thanks for your post. I was actually looking for a panel myself when I got this truck. I think the AD panels are great with plenty of storage, good headroom and a flat wooden floor. Nissan has recently released a truck that is a similar size and shape to an AD panel here in Canada. I am located about an hour west of Toronto. If I can find a rust free AD panel I would love to build one.
With the cab corners done I began reshaping the rear fenders, working out those huge 8" deep dents. I started with ball peen hammers in various sizes from 8 oz to 32 oz and began working the low spots up hammering from the inside, and using a dollie against the outside of the fender, learning to hammer off dollie and on the dollie. The pick hammers are good for pulling up a skinny spot, like the edges of the fenders close to the flange. It took a lot of beating to get the shape to come up, but it was interesting for me as I have never done this kind of thing before. It was interesting for some of the other tenants in the building, but for others not so interesting. After a few complaints about the constant hammering noise I switched my schedule and began hammering all night, when no one else is around. I left the paint on until the shape was close, then I stripped the old paint and filler and kept smoothing. It is amazing how people use filler instead of simply smoothing the steel back to where it belongs. In a couple of areas the dents were so deep that the metal cracked at the wheel opening, so those areas got rewelded after the shape was were it should be.
neat! I'd suggest using a body hammer instead of a ball peen, as the tight radius on it would stretch the metal, which you don't want to do. I recently did a quicky body and paint job on my 57 chevy one ton truck, it looks good from 50 feet away, but if you get too close you can see the brush strokes in the rustoleum, and all the small dents I didn't fix. But mine is still a work truck, I've already dented it again in a few places on the bed.
Working on those fenders I did learn a lot about ballpeen versus body hammers. These old fenders are so thick that they are not too prone to stretching. I worked the fender dents out by hitting the lowest crease from the inside using mostly the flat end of the ballpeen. I used the ballpeens because of their heavier weights. Once I got the deepest pushed-in creases level and started moving them back out past that point I switched to the curved face body hammers, which are lighter and move the metal a little bit at a time. I guess that the important thing is to match the shape of the hammer to the shape of the metal at each step, and to put the dollie behind the metal to support the areas where you want the metal not to move. Its a slow process, but pretty satisfying to watch the metal slowly come back where it belongs. I did move the metal a little too far out at certain points and then had to hit it back down to finish it. I worked the whole fender to within 1/4" of where it belongs, then to 1/8", then I shot some basic primer on to see where it was high and low, then I worked it to as close as I could get it, probably within 1/16 in most places. At that point I started sanded the rear fenders back to bright bare metal and started shooting some two component epoxy primer on to protect the surfaces and provide a bullet proof bond. I removed them so I could prime them all over get access to work on the box. I moved on to the front fenders and had to raise the left front corner up with a jack, while straightening the creases and dents. Same process but a little more complicated because I had to work the outer fender, inner fender with hammers, while jacking from below a little at a time.
Hi 40 Standard, Yes, its a 9' box with a hydraulic tilt which I think was a dealer installed option. It has a cool orange "Muncie" knob on the dash to actuate the PTO that runs the hydraulics for it. I like the look and extra space of the long boxes.
That's starting to look pretty good. I'd rather deal with dents on these trucks than rust any day. Many years ago I found that a light weight bottle jack is pretty good for pushing the big dents out of the fenders on these truck when my stepfather bumped into something with his 54 half ton and I got the fender back out in shape pretty good using my grandfather's bottle jack.
After getting all four fenders smooth, and shot with a coat of epoxy primer, I moved on to the doors, roof, grill and finally the box. The box has this funking hydraulic hoist tilt, which was handy for painting the cab. I shot the lower cab and front of the box with the box up and the upper cab with the box lowered. The whole truck got a coat of Dupont epoxy primer. This stuff sticks really well to bare metal, builds a medium film and once it is dry it is hard as nails. You can't sand through it. It is used for water tanks, oil tanks, and industrial weldments. After I had a coat of that everywhere, I started laying on high build filling primer. I have never used this stuff before and it makes life so much easier. I block sanded the truck between laying on multiple coats of fill primer in light gray. Once I had it all sanded smooth I pulled off all of the masking, wiped everything down and re-masked all the window and door openings before shooting color. I laid on two coats of Dupont Centari in a metallic medium blue. I love Centari because it lays down smooth, melts in well when you are painting around something big like this, and it has a nice shine, that looks natural on old cars and trucks. The finish with Centari can be left just as it is sprayed to look like old fashioned enamel, or it can be polished and buffed to a high gloss if you want. I didn't get many pictures while shooting the layers. In the mean time I was collecting some parts to get the truck ready for the road. I picked up some nice retro aluminum wheels, mounted with new Michelin truck radials, some NOS Munroe shock absorbers, new door and window seals and a bunch of other detail parts. With the paint laid on I couldn't wait to see how the wheels look on the truck, so I bolted them on.
Your truck looks great!! and the wheels look right on it!! I have had good results with slightly thinned rustoleum and a high end brush. I love a nice paint job but I use my truck as a truck and a $50.00 paint job survives seems to survive better for me than a $500.00 one, but I am a clumsey dirt magnet so my vehicles and clothes look like crap at the end of the day anyway <grin>. I am also lazy, so gun cleanup is not my favorite job.
I'll be damn , tilt bed.....I saw one once & thought it was added on by the owner. And it was the big one too. Kool build , keep it coming. B.B.
It has been a while since I posted an update. I have installed new stainless steel rear lights and new front lights. I organized some re-wiring to get turn-signals working and to tie in a modern standard style trailer plug at the trailer hitch, so the front running lights and the secondary rear bulbs are now turn signals, and relays in these circuits allow the truck to run full trailer lights through the standard plug connection. I put in a new headliner, door panels and seat cover all in the standard gray material, new chrome mirrors, locks, and seals, keeping it all close to stock. I went through the engine with new hoses, valve cover, fluids and tuneup. She starts and runs well. I have been driving her, hauling parts as my shop truck. I was hoping to buy some new aprons to go between the running boards and the bed, but they are longer than the "long box" versions that I have found, so I am still looking. What is left to do is re-install the nameplates, organize a tailgate and maybe new wood in the bed. Now that I am driving it I am debating swapping in a 350 4 bolt GM truck motor with a T5 transmission, but I am hesitating because this truck is all stock with a first year 235 and it is in great shape. I am now leaning towards selling this truck as it is now, and starting work on my 1950 GMC which is a probably better candidate for the engine swap. Here are some are some recent pictures.
Jag - If you decide to keep the truck, the best upgrade you can do, in my humble opinion, would be an open rear end swap with gears in the 3.5 range or lower, and a four speed, ie saginaw or Borg-Warner. You'll get a highway worthy truck, and the four speed will be significantly stronger than a T-5. If your truck has 8 lug wheels, a Dana 60 from a Dodge van is a very good option, as the dimensions will be pretty close, and the Dana is strong as hell. Of course, if you're never going to pull anything, you can probably get away with a T-5. Just a few thoughts from someone who already did the swap. Chris
Good looking work. I don't think i could swap the 6cyl unless you put it to work, pullin and rv trailer or boat etc. then go for whatever it takes.
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