After an honest life as a farm truck, this 5 window pickup has survived rather well. With an obvious patina, this truck is very solid and is ready to drive. This unmolested beauty has 13 bids with 6 days remaining, and a current bid price of $3,050. Check it out here on ebay out of Yuba City, California.
Although unrestored and “original” this truck is currently powered by a 235 cubic inch inline 6 instead of its original 216. The engine wears a light blue paint that completely covers the engine, where no rust is visible. A valve cover gasket looks to be in order as there is plenty of oil to be seen all over this engine as well. Described as starting up easily and rowing through the gears smoothly, this old Chevy likely needs a fair looking over of its mechanicals before hitting the streets once more. Also a set of tires are in order as for street use as well.
Simplistic and partially sea foam green, the interior of this Chevy isn’t too shabby. The steering wheel looks surprisingly nice, and there appears to be factory rubber flooring in place. Sprinkled with some surface rust, the dash is nice, but is missing its once installed factory radio. All of the gauges in this truck are functional, but the speedometer will “jump” sometimes. There appears to be an “Acme” beer can and a small flower vase attached to the dash, with what I assume to be “Farmer John’s” glasses hanging. A blanket is in place, so I would imagine the bench seat could use some help, although the driver side door panel looks nice, so who knows. A good cleaning, and an upholstery job would have you on your way.
Although farm trucks can live a rough life, this truck looks to have gotten by easily. There is no rot to report other than the old rotted wood planked bed that is still in place. Some surface rust is present, but the bulk of it is on the roof. There are a few minor dents here and there, but the worst of it appears to be on the tail gate, and the passenger rear fender. The driver rear fender has a portion cut out at the bottom rear edge of the wheel arch. Thankfully the cab corners are excellent, as are the rockers. Solid through and through, this truck would be great to make a driver again and enjoy as is, or perhaps restore it. You choose, what would you do with this honest old farm hand?
This is how an ad should be put together, knowledgeable, to the point description with lots of detailed pictures. I hope the seller gets good money for it.
Steve R
Non original paint? Yellow firewall.
Odd to have 3 on tree, most have granny 4 sp.
There were several in my home town and all had column shift.
Hi boxdin, ’48 they changed from floor to column shift, I believe, to give the center passenger more room, kind of with all truck makers ( except heavy duty)
Looks like a good project truck; it could even be a work in progress, just use it and fix it. I might tend to follow the work in progress part and have some fun with it along the way. That 235 will run for a long time. Valve cover gasket, probably, but they didn’t have that many hold-down fasteners and a lot of them got tightened too tight and the rails got distorted, causing them to leak light a sieve with holes in it; I sometimes think that the 216 was more oil tight.
That sky blue peeking through on the hood was the color of my dad’s ’51 before he painted it a blue metallic in the seventies. And the spare was a very rusty version of that passenger front rim, which was kept bolted in the bed. He had that three on the tree, and had the engine replaced with a rebuilt Jasper 235. (His was a three window cab.)
I was too young to drive when dad passed on, and too young to have a say in things anyway.
That was thirty seven years ago.
I still dream about that truck.
Please don’t street rod this. We’re drowning in a sea of metallic orange, green stripe accented, billet wheeled, Auto Meter gauged show ponies.
I agree.
I couldnt agree more. Restore or drive as is.
At least paint it……
Just wanted to let you know my Dad purchased this when he got ill and had it restored. He put a corvette engine in but kept the outside the exact same. Im not a car guy but maybe its a Rat Rod? He died 2 weeks before it was completed so now we are driving it around in his honor. Just thought I would let you know it looks exactly the same as it did.
I would clean it up, fix mechanicals, and paint it stock. I am not fond of patina and want a good solid base color for a reliable truck. Put it to work.
At a car show today.
Repower with 348…bushes, shocks and brakes…..and leave the rest alone…. oh, and put plenty miles on it…….
Decent looking truck there. Only issue I noted was the mismatch of rims and that can be taken care of. Get everything fixed mechanically and leave the rest alone, run it as is.
I agree 86 V C, I would try to find the other three rims to match the right front. That and keep the cheaters and chunk of barbed wire in the beer can.
The artillery style wheel on the right front was original equipment on 39-47 light 3/4 ton pickups. 15 inch and tubeless although they don’t have the safety rim bulge on the bead. Hard to find nowdays. I found a set in a farm scrap pile, put them(patina and all) on my 41 special deluxe 4 door. Original hubcaps snap right on
Look at all them foot pedals! From left, parking brake, clutch, service brake, foot feed, and starter. Never cared for the Advance Design. I always thought it was the least attractive of them all. Regardless, they sold a billion of them. This and the Allis C series were standard issue for new farmers after the war. For a non-Ford guy. In many cases, this was the farm’s only road vehicle and every kid took turns trying to kill the farm pickup. They were tough.
Geez Howard…you dont like the Advanced design cab? WTH? Had a 5 window in Colorado in the early seventies.they were like white on rice back then….
Hi WM, calm down, now, I don’t care for ’57 Chevy’s either, but that doesn’t mean they still aren’t cool. Ford, Dodge, IH, and Studebaker, all, I felt, had nicer styling. They all did a pretty good job, truck wise.
You’ve not spent much time on the farm if you don’t realise that the “small flower vase” is a spittoon!
This is almost identical to my very first car, er…truck. I was sixteen (1968) and working at a church retreat in the Santa Cruz Mountains where our milk was delivered by an 80+ year old man. The old guy and I start talking about his truck, which was Korean War surplus, and he asks if I wanted to buy it as he was retiring.
The difference with my truck was it had a floor mounted four speed. It was really a three speed as first gear was compound and you could not go more than a couple miles per hour, but you could climb any hill!
I bought the truck for $300, did a tune-up, drove it all that Summer, then sold it four months later for $600.
This truck was a beast! Not necessarily fun to drive, but that isn’t why it was built. Thanks for posting!
I had a 1950 Ford truck as a teen with the same “granny gear” 4 on the floor configuration. Drove it on a rutted dirt road, bounced so high and so hard I hit my head on the metal roof and nearly had a concussion.
I believe the right front rim is “artillery” style.Probably from the mid 30’s.
Agree, Fred W., driving this era truck was no fun on rutted roads!
This is a nice old truck. Take it to a dumpster a lose the plywood in the back and the layers of blankets. New seat or cover, wood in the bed and a lot of degreasing. Go through the brakes, tune her up, and you are good to go.
I love the shift knob. The right front rim appears to be older than the truck. It was probably on an old hulk at the farm. The tire held air, so on it went.
These are such a hoot to drive. 6 is plenty
Needs TLC, install a new valve pan gasket, clean up the wiring under the hood, change the fluids, hoses….. These sixes run forever……
I drove a ’53 3/4 ton from Maine to California. They are not fun to drive, but they look cool.
Engine is a 1954 – the ventilation slots in the rocker-arm cover identify it.
Cool old pickup. A stroke of sales genius to photograph it against a barn with a worse paint job. But what is that little “vase” mounted on the dash? I gotta think about the period, is it a spittoon? lol if it is, have never seen one…