Hello all, my name is Shawn and I figure I’ll start off by telling the story behind my 54 Chevy 3100. My entire childhood every chance I got I remember playing with my uncles, 54 pick up, I always wanted it and when I turned 18 my uncle decided that it was time to let it continue on in our family theough me so he gave me the truck that was handed down to him. In 1954 my great grand father bought this truck brand new, when he passed, my grand father inherited it. He took my father (as a child) down with him to pick the truck up from his sisters house. My dad remembers that day which impresses me and makes it that much more sentimental to me. In 1975, my grandfather passed away and my uncle inherited the truck and has had it ever since. The truck has not run since the 80’s and has only moved twice since then. From his apartmental building to his home in bakersfield california where it sat under a car port for years, in 2003 he moved to a new house so he tossed a set of tires on it and had it towed to the new place. He had a gate built so he could store it in the back yard where it sits to this day. In 2016 my uncle who was already in rough shape suffered a series of strokes and was left in pretty bad condition. He suffers from serious dimensia but has very good clear memory of the truck as well as the fact that he had goven it to me in 2008. I joined the US Army in 2011 and am finally at a point that I can afford to have it shipped to me so I can begin getting it back to road worthy. First things first... I need to know if a 15x8” wheel with a 4” back space will fit the truck. I called summit and explained to them that I needed a 15X5/3” backspace wheel to get this truck rolling and unfortunately they are either to pricey OR they are on back order. These wheels and tires are wuite literally going to be used to get the truck off the ground so it can roll its way onto a shippers trailer and make its way out to GA from CA. They assured me that going with a 15”x8”/4” backspace wheel should fit the same way that a 15”x5”/3” backspace wheel would fit, this is coming from their wheel placement system. I was told that the system tells them what all wheel sizes will fit my application, I’m just uneasy about going away from the factory wheel size. It just doesn't make much sense to me as I figure regardless of how wide the wheel is, it will still dish out further towards the tierod ends than a 3” backspace wheel will. Can any one tell me if these wheels are going to be ok? Or will I have to spend even more money to get some sort of spacer to make them work. These wheels ARE NOT staying on the truck, they are just to get the truck here and if they fit with no issues than they will remain on it till I can acford what I want. Thank you for your time and I appreciate being a part of this community. Shawn.
If just for getting it onto a delivery trailer/shipping, why not just put semi modern used wheels/tires on it? That should be the 6 lug pattern...I would think you can get a relative in Cal to get some locally, like any Chevy 2wd or 4wd 1/2 ton pickup up to 1970, and ones from a 71-87 Chevy 4x4-only half ton should fit, as 4x4 were 6 lug. I can't see spending so much money for wheels and then tires for them, if they won't be used except for the transportation.
Welcome to the HAMB and sharing your background story. I second F&J's recommendation above. There are also several Asian make 4x4 and SUV's that share the same 6 lug bolt pattern as another source of used wheels. One other thought......there are trailer wheels with the 6 x 5.5" bolt pattern. Typically, they are not more than 6" wide, if that. Ray
Are you still in? What is your current location, State will do. Sorry cant help with the wheel size but after 37.5 years Army 19D MSG we have a commonality.
The biggest issue here is the backspacing, its difficult to find modern wheels that will fit without rubbing. The wheels will stay on the truck for a bit, I will get my use out of them as long as they fit properly!i have been searching classifieds for a month now and though I have found plenty 6x5.5 wheels/tires none would actually fit the truck. Far to deep, I am curious however, what is the possibility that something like 22’s would fit? They should be big enough around to clear passed the tie rods. Just a few thoughts I guess.
What about a couple of cans of fix a flat and a air tank just to get it on the trailer? 80s GM six lug 3/4 ton? Wheels and tires fit these. What kind of shape is this truck in? Sentimentality only goes so far. They were all new once. Only you know if it's worth the trouble. All I'm saying is it would have to be in really good shape for me to ship one across the country.
First, welcome to the Hamb and secondly congratulations on being the one to continue the long tradition of caring for a family piece. We also are the caretakers of a '54 Ford that was purchased off the showroom floor here in town. Looking forware to seeing what you do with the truck. HRP
Welcome to the HAMB. Have you tried F-One's suggestion and tried to inflate the tires you have? If it's just to get it moving, can you roll it on the rims you've got, or borrow,rent or buy a set of wheel dollys to get it rolling? How about using your wheels and asking some discount tire place to mount throw-away tires on the wheels for you? When you are ready to move it, contact the HAMB recommended haulers in the HAM-O-Dex. I know you've got to have the family truck, but it's like 2400 miles from Georigia to California and you are going to have at least $3-3500 in hauling before you have done anything besides buy old wheels and tires. Oh, and make sure you have the title and insure it before the trip.
The shipping is already taken care of, $1650. The tires that are on it are to far gone and the issue is having someone do all the work for me. I dont have any one that can help and I don’T know any one aside from family in bakersfield unfortunately. It needs tires and wheels any how. I was told by the tow truck driver that I sent out initially to air up the tires that it has an old set of split rims on it. No one will touch these wheels and I’m not there to do it all myself or I could absolutely do it cheaper. Im going to need these wheels and tires for a year or two any ways until I do the 5 lug conversion so the money being spent is not a waste. They will be getting replaced just not right now, new wheels/tires mounted and balanced and delivered to the house is only $503 from summit. Thats a pretty damn good deal I’d say and I can drive on them till I’m ready to replace them with my 5 Lugs. Thanks for the help so far everyone, it is much appreciated. I just need to know if the 15”X8” with a 4” backspace will clear, theres not much info out there on this subject for my truck. Shawn
Sounds like your doing all you can and are well on the way to getting things set up. But man, you're talking transport at less than 70 cents a loaded mile. If your transport's coming back to GA, then you're talking 35 cents a mile. Door to door? The Federal milage rate is 54.5 cents. With gas at near $3 a gallon, I don't know how you're getting that price. Seems too good to be true and you know what they say. Best of luck. Maybe some of the shipping guys know better than I do.
Half tons did not come with split rims. Either the tow truck driver is ignorant or it's a bigger truck. Before you order tires and wheels you need to confirm what it is. Update...... 3100s could have optional lock ring wheels..
Sounds like all you need is a set of 6 lug Chev rollers … this shouldn't be that tough. And if I had a nickle for every 1/2 ton Chev split rim I've scrapped or welded into jack stands, I'd have a lotta nicks ….
there are some catalog vendors that deal with these trucks, do they list wheels ? How about ordering two wheels from them ?
Yeah, I could see that. But,not, I think, coming to your location, loading it and delivering it. Maybe terminal to terminal and one of those jobbers where your vehicle sits at a terminal until somebody has a full load? Let's say 10 vehicles. Now we're at $3.50 a mile which is better, but you now have a big rig and are buying diesel fuel. I guess I really don't know enough about this-except it makes me wary. I used a HAMB hauler a few years ago for a NH-PA haul. It was about $1.25 a loaded mile then and worth every single penny. More, even, and I'd do it that way again. That's just me. Thanks, Bill.
Truck made it in last week, $1700 shipped! I will have a lot of questions, this truck is in phenominal shape and the old paint hs a lot of life left in it. I suppose y’all will want to see pictures! Soon I will be fogging the cylinders and cranking it by hand until im sure its free. Im going to pick up a new 6V battery and see if I can get it to crank. I hooked up my jump box, The lights in the dash work but unfortunately I have no head lights and the tail lights are either bad (last time the truck ran was 1983) or there is an issue in the wiring or light switch. Hopefully the starter is still good as well as the generator. Truck has 52,714 original miles. Any one ever seen this rear bumper? And also this is the first time I have ever seen a factory dash clock in these trucks. You guys have any tips for initial start up? Things to do beforehand aside from prepping the block to make sure it isnt seized and I dont snap rings.
Looks like you got a good start there. It's got a Blue flame in there too, that's a bonus. Should be easy enough finding a good LH Fender. Good luck with it all!
Cool clock, reminds me of the 49-52 car units. I hate those rear bumpers. One good lick and both fenders are boogered up. Welcome to the HAMB.
Not sure about over in the states but here in NZ you can get custom steel rims made up pretty cheap. All you need to know is what size rim, width, back spacing and bolt pattern. I got mine made for my hudson. think it was four for $500 NZ (so $340USD). Junk yards and wreckers also will sell wheel and tires cheap but guess that wont help with your off set.
If you want to spend some money on some nice custom wheels, Wheel Vintiques can make whatever you want. And to those who questioned the shipping cost, with all due respect, what he paid is a fair price. I’ve shipped two pickups across the country and the last one a few years back was a non-op Chevy 3100 from Oregon to NJ I paid $1500. It came on a 10 car carrier that I assume was pretty full when it started out. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Wow, that is a super clean truck. looks like minimal rust problems and only the fender to fix/replace. there are several threads on here about resurrecting an engine that has been sitting. biggest item is to make sure the oil is not all sludged up. trying to pump muck through for lubrication will kill it quick. also don't try to use the original gas tank, as who knows how gummed up it is or full of rust. especially seeing that the gas cap was off.
Pickup trucks never had bumpers on the rear unless it was available as an option. Spare tires were the same as I recall. The bumper in your pictures is an aftermarket bumper and there were tons of them sold. I cannot remember the brand name but they were popular, sturdy, and fairly ugly.
Dropping the oil pan should be fairly easy on your truck and would be an excellent precaution to take. Vehicles from that era almost always have a heavy sludge buildup in the oil pan. A few hours work and a pan gasket is a low cost investment to insure you don't have a serious lubrication issue waiting to bite in the backside. Also easy to pull a rod cap or two and one main bearing cap and check the condition of the lower end. Ray
Before you buy a fender, that fender will not bolt right on, because I see the other mating parts are now bent ...like the grille parts. There are still competent guys out there that could do a pull on that fender...It will not be easy as that creasing is deep...but, if they can get a pull going, it will help tweak the other parts more where they belong. If you do a fender swap, how will you match the old paint look?...and, then the other parts near the fender will possibly need removal to be straightened which means those might end up needing some painting too... Be careful at this stage, as good intentions might get that original looking survivor, ending up with an unplanned resto! I have seen it happen, and have seen projects get abandoned by first-timers. I do what Ray said, pull the oil pan to clean it out to be safe, but try turning the motor by hand first, to make sure it is not stuck. Then go forward to make it a running truck, then fix lights, brakes, and other normal repairs before ripping the body apart. I like those western bumpers, and even the other ones mostly seen in Texas. Oklahoma, that are slightly different and are quite popular out here in the Northeast.
Awsome truck !!! Paint looks nice as well To bad about the fender. As has been said pull the oil pan side cover and valve cover to see how gunked up the engine is and to clean it out If it turns over the 235 should fire up Try spraying some penetrant on the valve stems also as the valves can stick after sitting a while The trans will have the granny 1st gear Cool truck
I have a 54 chev truck 1/2 ton also and have had it for like 40 years. You can find a fender to replace that one, but I sure would try and have a good body man repair what you have. Looks like other parts of your front will need to be re-a-lined at the same time.
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