I want to unearth a 54 chevy 3100 pickup, it has been sitting for 20+ years in the same spot, It has sunken up a little past the running boards. I want it out and up at my house by the end of the month at the latest. Any advice how I should go about it, I have a few days of moving fallen trees and all the other **** around it, should I just hook a chain to it and hope it doesn't pull the truck apart? thank you
Dig out as much as you possibly can prior to removal attempt. You could do some MAJOR damage to stuff if you don't.
Take a good look at it first to be sure there is enough left to recover- there are still somewhat common trucks and while most common parts are available in repro/patch panel form one buried up to its running boards may be worth recovering what parts are good and using them to restore a better candidate. If you do salvage it remember that there are quite a few parts on the 54 that are unique to the 54/55 first trucks so that may make it even more of a challenge.
Thanks I will take lots of picture, if I dig enough I could probably get a jack under it and put wood boards down under the tires making a slight ramp, then try to pull. Ill let you know how it goes
I would try to jack it up and make it sit flat so it just drags out on even ground. It will be work but worth not trashing the truck. Looks like you need to take some pictures of this adventure!
...my compliments to you for saving a dead one; if you can get a loader tractor up there, you can raise it up one end at a time, then block it or throw dirt under the wheels, etc. good luck and we want pics of the process.
"Take a good look at it first to be sure there is enough left to recover" it was my dads truck from when he was 14, I have thought about another there is a few I have seen, but recovering this one would mean a lot more to me sentimentally. everything is still solid on it only a few missing pieces which I have already pick up. Thanks though
Since the video is of a off topic truck I wont embed the video,,but if you want something bad enough grab yourself a good shovel. HRP http://youtu.be/xsaYK9P6m68
I had to dig this one out last year about this time. It sat in the same spot for 48 years. It was about 105* that day too - I almost died of a heat stroke. It took me about 4hrs to finally get it loaded onto my trailer. It was in the dirt up over the front axle, the rear axle and the running boards were partially buried. All of the running gear was ruined, springs included. I had to swap all that **** out. I did eventually get to drive it before I sold it to a fella in Ontario this spring. Neat old truck. 1949 IH KB2 Spent about an hour digging around the perimeter, taking special care around the front end sheet metal. Finally got dug up under the axle and got a chain around it to hook to. Used a small dozer to pull it free from its resting place. Winched it up on my trailer. It was a LOT of work. This plate was valid when the truck was parked where I found it - the clutch was out of it.
A vehicle like that will NOT pull forward without causing damage. You have to find a way to get a jack under it somewhere solid, and jack it up until the tires are out of the ground, then fill the holes in with rocks or dirt to keep it out of the ground. Alternately, this is a job for a tilt-bed truck. You can get the bed under one end, pick it up, block it in the air, get another set on it and hook the winch to it, and basically pull the bed under the truck to about the halfway mark. Then lower the bed and it should pick the truck up out of the dirt. Once it's out, you can pull it to a better spot to reload or have him dump it on your trailer.
Dig out any soil that is over any vehicle parts, and enough room to get a board and a bottle lack underneath something sturdy. Jack it up as high as you can, a corner at-a-time, and fill the holes with rocks, dirt, logs, etc. Repeat as necessary. You want to get it back up on the surface, before pulling it. Edit: this is what happens when you just scroll down, and then post....
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