Memories are flooding back. A1949 Chevy pick-up was all my family of five had until 1962. By then little brother came along so six people rode in that truck for two years. Many trips to Granny’s in the bed and no one fell out. Dad drove over 800 miles to Florida before the Interstate with Mom, sister, older brother and me with a load of furniture for relatives. Big brother and I rode with our arms hanging over the tailgate and squeezed against a dresser. We three older kids all learned to drive on the old truck. Older brother ran into a telephone pole “in the middle of the road” and ruined the right fender. It was never the same and was parked in the woods. Good memories.
In my lifetime I've had a '48 and a '49.The '48 in the 1960's when I was in high school and the '49 in the early 1970's. Thanks for the ride-a-long. Brought back memories.
Worked in a small machine shop in the early 1970s. Owner had an identical truck which was used to run a few of us back and forth to his farm and friends farm for hay, alfalfa and barley harvesting and baling sessions on weekends. Learned what hard work was. A buck seventy five an hour and all the Buckeye beer (or was it Buckhorn?)you could drink at the end of the day. Great memories
The best part of restoring that classic piece of fine engineering is that it's EMP-proof. Definitely a step closer to self-reliance! These trucks may not be better than anything built today, but they sure do last a lot longer.
@Ronald Ziehlke, yep, not allot of power, top speed at 50 mi/h with the engine roaring at max RPM and pretty spartan when it comes to creature comforts, but they lasted for 80 years and will last another 80 with little TLC
Yeah, sounds good, but the story's not complete. I agree "it lives" is a high point in any vehicle rehab, but the vid was too short. It needed closure, or at least a bona fide cliff hanger.
Does anyone know where there is any 47 to 54 5 window trucks for sale and now much I love these trucks grew up driving 57 chev short box still have over 50 years
I grew up riding around to construction sites in Los Angeles and Orange County with my Dad in Chevy trucks like that. He bought a new one every year to add to the fleet. From '47 thru '54 they were all the same 1/2 tons except for the '53 which was a 3/4 ton. As you likely know by now the 216's were Babbitt bearing, splash lubricated, low oil pressure engines. They seldom reached 100,000 miles because of the low gearing causing over revving over about 50 mph. You'll find that the original 16" wheels will accept 7.50x16 bias or 235x85R16 radials to keep the revvs down at Hwy. speed. Good luck. I hope you keep us up to date.
Thanks for the start up and road test of the truck! Can't wait for the previous owner taking a ride in the old truck. Keep the videos of the truck and family coming.
I had a '49 5-window as my daily driver in 1972. It was a great little truck and I kick myself for not keeping it. Only real difference with miine was a floor shift with a "granny" gear. That was actually handy - I was helping my dad build houses and I crept across construction sites with loads of cedar shakes in the back.
There are no words to describe how... incredible this is. My dad died completely unexpectedly last Christmas Day. I inherited his 95 Corvette with only 47,000 miles on it. For the last 25 years he has made me promise to take care of it after he was gone, and I will. I can only imagine how that son will feel when you take him for a ride in his dad’s truck. GOOD ON YOU SIR!!!!
I enjoyed watching all the videos of this truck coming back to life and will watch more as you post them. That's a good truck to take fishing on a cool Sunday morning then back at home by noon to watch a game on tv maybe clean the fish and fry them up or just pick up some KFC. making memories is what it's all about.
@@cynthiafisher9907 I go some Wednesdays nights and Sundays at four if there is food, Theres coffee, cookies, chips, pop, always something at four and it's not a dress up show
BigFoot Bubba I understand, I don’t like the dress up show either. What’s important is you’re part of a local fellowship and hearing the Word of God preached, good for you! It doesn’t matter in the least what day of the week you go,
did very few mods to my 49...got it on a 12 volt system ,replaced the oil bath filter with a ProForm, replaced that rear-end and closed up drive shaft, stage one was complete a year later discs all the way around dropped in 580 hp 454 and a tremec 5 speed...wife left and said she wasnt coming back until that "thing" was gone got to missing my sons so 6 months later I sold the truck and paid a lawyer to get me a divorce and custody ...now the whole house works on things we wanna work on ....and that thing is gone!
Very cool project! At the age of 9yrs (1963) I drove one of those, probably a year or two newer (no corner windows), between farms. Might have been a 5mi trip following planter and disk. It was loaded with seed corn and fertilizer. Didn't quite make the required 90deg turn at a crossroad taking down 30ft of fence, barely scratched the truck. I did miss the massive concrete corner post.
Yay!!! Been waiting for the first drive! You did a great job... so nice to hear it run and drive down the road again 👍🏻 now I can’t wait for the video of the original owners son to take a ride!!! ❤️
I won't see 78 again, and a fond memory is rebuilding a '49 Chevy engine and putting it in a '46 Chevy pickup with a four-speed transmission. Over two or three years I replaced the kingpins and radiator but it took me around Blythe, CA for several years between '57-60.
My mom's dream car is a 3100. Myself, its a 1949-1940 ford convertible or 32 roadster, but I finally saved up enough to buy a 1950 ford sedan beater I've been looking at as soon as I get my license.
Oh, how I'd love to find one of these here in the UK - in just this sort of condition. There is something aesthetically perfect about these trucks no other seem to match.
Nice work, Love the smile on your face when it cranked up. beautiful work. Bet he is going to be so happy am smiling bigger than you. Have a great weekend.
Did the 235 run better than the 261? I would assume the 261 would be the better choice because of more cubic inches. I have been thinking about both of these engines as a replacement if I ever had to.
@@FarmAlarm kind of hard to tell. The 261 was really tired. I bought the truck in the wintertime. The guy I bought it from started it and let it warm up for around a 20 mile drive home. Next morning I went out and pull the dipstick out and not a drop of oil on it but she made it home. Another good engine is a 292 if you can find one. Dad had one in a 65 Chevy and it ran strong. Wish I'd known you needed a new master cylinder. Got a brand new one laying in the shop that I never used. May have to check out your 49 sometime if I'm over your way. You know any McGee's over that way? My brother in law was a cop in New Franklin and his son was a cop in Boonville. I pick up cars every so often at Bradley Automotive for Columbia Auto Auction.
Make sure to bring a bucket along there's going to be a lot of tears. Can't wait to see the heart felt emotion you're going to bring to the original owner
Just a few comments for record, Those are called "Huck-style" brakes, the single barrel Rochester was used well into the sixties, access to brake master cylinder was an a hole in the driver's side floorboard, but not as big as the passenger side battery access.
Those old stovebolt sixes were pretty tough little engines as long as you didn't rev them too hard or run them low on oil. They had cast iron pistons, so about 3500 rpm was the limit. Even at that, they made about 90 hp. (until 1949 when they upped the compression to 6.6-1, and gain a couple extra horses). With the dipper type babbit bearing rods, it was essential to keep them full of oil to keep the rods happy. 7 or 8 lbs. of oil pressure kept the dipper tray full and lubricated the top end of the engine.😊
Not only did you do a fine job of getting the old Chevy running again but the production values of your video are outstanding! Great audio, tight editing and spiffy transitions. Congratulations.
The video of you finding this truck was the first one I saw, so, of course I had to subscribe! Love the old truck, and seeing it get back on the road again.
Just saw your videos on your truck 🚚 purchase and getting it back on the road.. How does the heater work? A Tip: I saw you checking your gloves for spiders. That was a norm when I lived in Central Florida... When you're finished with your gloves put them in a Freezer Zip Loc bag and seal it up.. You don't have to worry about any critters getting in.. Great video and congrats on finding a great truck... God Bless...
I'm sure Jonathan Ward would love to get his hands on this great old truck to give it the Icon treatment. Though, there is a lot to be said for keeping things original.
In one of the videos you mention what you did to the paint to preserve the original paint and patina. Can you put together a video of those steps? I enjoy watching these videos. We just bought a ‘53, and your vids are very helpful.
How lucky you are ppl , i'm glad at least that i'm able to se something like this ,this is like time traveling . ps : waiting for more vids :) , cheers & have a nice one
Suppose you don't have the heart to tell the old boy that you're; 1) Gonna chop the top 2) Lower the frame 3) Drop in a big block 4) Paint it a nice yellow pearl
You're making me look forward to the upcoming midwest winter when I can finally give some of my projects some attention. I have a 72 bronco that is due for some of my attention. On a side note, I almost don't want to mention it..... but I think the algorithm might be showing you guys some love on your recent content. Keep up the good work! On a double side note, what do you think of the Prime-Ark freedom blackberry?
72 Broncos are sweet! Yes, I believe we have definitely seen an uptick in views and I'm not complaining lol. The prime ark would be the plant that produces fruit the same year that it grows, correct? If I were to plant something new, I'd probably do the Triple Crown.
Muito legal seu projeto , seu Chevy deve estar muito bom de andar , tenho um Chevy Furgão 3100 estou restaurando ja a alguns anos mas deveria não ter ido tão a fundo no meu projeto pois estou no Brasil e as peças para ele são muito dificeis e caras , devia ter feito como voce não restaurar tudo , ja estaria andando com o meu .... parabens pelos videos , saudaçoes do Brasil.......
I had a 51 just like it I traded a pistol for. those trucks has a 216 ci Babbitt bearing rods. that thing only had about 12-15 lbs. of oil pressure. I would spray the truck with clear lacquer,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Does that have the mean 216 ?. My dad had one of those.My brother was leaning against the tailgate whe we went over the tracks in town. I remember him doing a back flip. He was ok though. 1957 or so.
