Midsouthern Restorations

1953 Chevrolet 3100 1/2 Ton Pickup Truck

This 1953 Chevrolet 3100 ˝ ton comes from the Nashville, Tennessee. It is a clean 5 window daily driver. This customer wanted the mechanical aspects check out from front to rear. He also wanted an upgrage to 12 volt along with a new wiring harness. The power for this will come from a PowerMaster Gen/Alt one wire unit. It is a one wire alternator in a generator case. Looks original and bolts in the original location. The motor will be freshened up with a rebuild as will the Three Speed transmission. Remember the old “Three On The Tree.” Once the motor is out other components will be check’d for integrity and repaired as needed. Pictures will be posted on progress.

While the motor was at the machine shop being rebuilt, the owner had us check out the truck. The front wheel bearings were bad as well has the leaf spring suspension pins and bushings. The rear drive was checked and the transmission rebuilt. A new fuel tank was installed for a clean supply to restored carburetor. The fire wall was to be freshened up with some black and when I sent this customer pictures, he seen the original yellow paint under the black and he decided to get a jump on a paint job in the future and paint where the new motor went. While repairing the extra holes in fire wall, rust was found in the cab on the floors and these were repaired also. Most old original vehicles have rust lurking somewhere and this was an excellent time for rust repair.

A 235 Chevrolet engine from a 1959 truck was located and rebuilt to upgrade from original 216 as this is good upgrade to a full pressurized oiling system and hydraulic lifters. The truck is parked out front waiting for customer to drive home. Another upgrade was the use of Power Master One wire alternator that looks like a generator. This allows for 14 volts of charging power, quick starts and bright lights. With electronic ignition and the power upgrade the truck s new motor is more reliable.