The listing for this 1949 Chevrolet pickup opens up with, “Here’s your chance to get a true barn find 1949 chevy pickup“! Look at it, it looks like a farm truck of some kind, so where best to find it? Probably in a barn! OK, now that I have that odd, probably meaningless observation out of the way, let’s take a look at this well worn Chevy that is closing in on three-quarters of a century. It is located in Murdock, Minnesota and is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $2,850, twenty-one bids tendered so far.

The seller states that this truck was, in fact, found in a barn in northern Minnesota where it has been cooling its heels since 1982. I hear northern Minnesota, and I think COLD, so “cooling” those heels is no exaggeration. But the cold storage conditions must have been pretty preserving as this truck, in spite of surface rust and patina, seems to be remarkably solid. I have searched through the numerous, portrait-oriented (not the best for what I’m trying to do here), images and cannot find evidence of rust-through. There are known body locations on these Chevrolet Advance Design trucks that are known as rust hot-spots and this example is having none of it. Admittedly, I have no images of the cargo bed or underside to review, but this truck is trending in the right direction integrity-wise. As is often the case, this one is going to need some glass replacement. The most obvious boo-boo is the bent front bumper which is hanging out like some kind of cow-catcher but the seller advises that he has a replacement. Unfortunately, there is no tailgate.

This truck, according to the seller, rolls, and steers but that’s about all it does on its own. The original 92 HP, 216 CI, in-line, six-cylinder engine is still in place but it’s a non-runner and in unknown condition. The seller mentions that the four-speed manual transmission does shift through all of the gears so it seems at least that part of the drive-train is still usable.

The interior is about what you would expect. It was a spartan affair from the start, made more so by the passage of time. There is no mat covering the steel floor which appears to be sound other than a large round hole in the driver’s footwell, something planned? There are loose wires hanging under the dash and the dash itself, along with the gauge bezels are rusted. As for the seat, something made a nest out of it long ago. But truck interior environments are small, not like, say a ’60s vintage Chrysler Town & Country station wagon, so refurbishing it should be the least of one’s concerns.

The interest in these trucks always seems to be preserved “patina” with hot-rod mechanicals. Being a 3800, this is a one-ton capacity truck that may not lend itself as well to a mechanical transformation as a 3100 half-tonner would – it’s hard to say at this point, one would only be limited by imagination and funds. That being the case, if you were the lucky winner of this auction, what would you do with this 1949 Chevrolet 3800 pickup?