New Steering Wheel

Sometimes I seriously wonder how stupid people are. The previous owner of my 1952 3100 pickup had installed a cheap, billet wheel that was only held on by five tiny horn cap screws....yeah, that's what was holding the steering wheel on to the truck! 

It also did not fit the column, and there was this hideous gap from the side. I looked at a few replacements at the swap meet, but they were expensive, and not very stylish. The stock steering wheel for these trucks was as bland as they could make it.

So, I went on to eBay and picked up a used 1955 Chevy Bel Air steering wheel. It is not perfect, but the design does fit the truck pretty well. It was so easy to install, and the ugly gap from the side view is completely gone. The wheel is also held on by the large steering nut attached to the steering shaft... like it was designed to.

In the future, I plan on restoring the wheel with new paint, a new chrome horn ring, and either filling the two small holes for the horn cap emblem or buying a new emblem.

Now thanks to the larger 18" diameter wheel, it feels like the truck has power steering... and I'm not worried that the steering wheel will come off in my hands while I'm driving it.

Other repairs...

There were a bunch of other things that needed some repair on the truck. The radiator was not original, nor did it fit the truck at all. The top inlet had to be relocated, because the radiator hose was so twisted it was hardly flowing. I took it to the radiator repair shop, and eventually they got it right. I custom made my own overflow tank from a bottle of Jack Daniels, and that will do for now.

I had plenty of issues trying to tune up the pickup, so a new points conversion kit was in order. While I was at it, I also replaced the Rochester Monojet with a new rebuilt carb, and constructed a non-existent crankcase ventilation system. There was no PCV, and the engine like to diesel a bit when shut down. Now that I installed that and re-timed it correctly.

There were  few things that needed attention: no gas gauge sending unit, wiper motor jammed up and left on (motor was practically bunt out), no door locks, no door handles, no bolts holding in the hood vent. These were all easily fixed, and gave me time to get acquainted with the truck.

I did find that the billet aluminum steering column drop was a bit too low for me, so I fabricated up a new one that kept the column closer to the dash and provided more leg room. Now I am just waiting for my new (used) 1955 BelAir wheel to arrive, and to see if I can mount that up to replace the current wheel that is too small, AND only held to the steering shaft with 5 small allen bolts on the wheel center cap. I am not digging that at all.

3100 Truck Heater

Take a look at this nice smooth firewall, wouldn't it be a shame to cut a hole in it? Well, I had to cut two , because there was no heater in this truck...so I made two holes for the 5/8" heater hoses and the new Mojave heater system. The unit is basically a small heater core with an electric fan built in, and there is a secondary plenum with three vents. 
Two are directional, and the third is used to hook up the duct work for the defroster. I installed two new defroster ducts and hoses prior to going any further. 
I was able to pull back the carpet and expose the original firewall. Luckily I could weld on four bolts to the firewall without it effecting the nice painted side in the engine compartment.

 Then I simply mounted the heater, cut two holes for the 5/8" heater hoses and grommets, wired it up and installed the switch in the existing hole in the dash. Now the truck has HEAT!

Air Ride Pickup

The first day the truck was home from Texas, and I already ripped the bed off of the back to figure out how the air ride was wired and set up. The entire wiring system for the air compressor was done incorrectly, so I spent a day or two re-doing that. Once that was done, I moved on to the brakes, or lack thereof. As you can see from the pic, the rear brakes were not even working at all. I was able to figure out (through a few trips and return trips to the auto parts store) that the chassis was a 1990 S-10, which is important because the brakes change after 1991. Then while I was rotating the axle, I heard a sound like a grinding Gatling gun from the rear end. Oh great! After pulling the rear cover off, I discovered the spider gears were very loose, but they were not actually the issue. The carrier was worn, giving the spider gears too much play. So I called up Randy's Ring and Pinion for some much needed replacement parts. At some point in the process of playing with the bed body, brakes and rear end, I discovered that the entire rear end was installed about 7/8 of an inch too far to the left. I went over to ACE to put it on the lift and fix that. Chris, Zach and I cut out the rear, and re-welded everything in the correct place. On to the next issue....

1952 3100 Pickup

Well, here is my new truck. A 1952 Chevrolet 3100 Pickup. She sits on a 1990 Chevy S-10 chassis, with air-ride suspension, disc brakes, and a newer 250 inline six motor coupled to a turbo 350 automatic transmission. I spent such a long time trying to find a truck like this, but everything on the east coast is a rust bucket. This truck was a California truck, and bought from Texas. I researched the previous owners name, and came up with a pic or two of it in the process of its restoration. By the time I first saw it, she looked like the photo and video below.

My 1971 Chevelle

So, I traded the 1971 Chevelle for the pickup, and it was now hanging out in Texas. The car needed nothing mechanical, but I was getting worried about the condition of the body from being outside all these years. I had spent a lot of time making it nice, and I really didn't want to go through all that body work and paint again if I didn't have space in the garage to keep it looking nice. That was the main reason to go for the trade. I had traded the Buell for the Chevelle, and I really didn't have much money tied up in it. I certainly made a few bucks on the trade in value.

The new owners of the Chevelle decided to repaint her, and lay down the famous Chevelle stripes that Zach always wanted. It eventually sold for $17,999, or so it said on their web site at Classic Car Liquidators. They made it an SS clone by adding the badges on the front grille and read bumper, but it didn't look like they touched the interior or powertrain. All I know is that the new owner will surely enjoy that car, she ran great!

They even posted a video on YouTube!

Long Time Gone

It has been a long time since I've posted anything here. I have spent my online time looking at Facebook and Instagram, but honestly I am not sure why anyone else would read my post here. I do this for myself. I have been busy living, working and enjoying my family. We even got a new dog.

So in the past few months, I have traded the 1971 Chevelle in for a 1952 Chevrolet 3100 Pickup. I found the truck online in Texas, and we made a deal to trade.

I

I shipped the Chevelle down to Texas, and two weeks later received my pickup. There were a few things that I needed to do first, but I don't mind. I actually enjoy that part the most.

 

Unfortunately, there were a few things that were not disclosed about the truck, like the faulty wiring, lack of door locks (or ability to even close the doors completely) the poor brakes, no shocks and trashed rear end. I'll save all of that for future post.