I love authentic, survivor old pickup trucks. The ones with natural patina and all of those bumps and dents and scratches that came about the old fashioned way: from working on a family farm. My grandparents owned a small farm in rural Virginia and they and their farmer friends all drove 50’s-era pickups. Grandpa Denny was a Ford pickup man but one of his buddies, Ramey East, drove one like this Chevy that was “hand-painted” black. Yes sir, you could see the actual brush marks on the finish. This 3600 Series looks like the real deal that is described as a “barn fresh old grain elevator pickup from Grand Forks, North Dakota.” It last ran in 2012, but the truck rolls, steers, and the tires hold air. Now located in Murdock, Minnesota, this iconic pickup is for sale here on eBay but bid fast because the auction ends today, Sunday July 10, at 10:45pm CST. As of this writing, 48 bids had been made, but the $4,700 hadn’t met the seller’s reserve.

Chevrolet hit a home run with its new “Advance-Design” truck series in 1947. They were durable, reliable, and more roomy and comfortable than their predecessors. They were also the best-selling trucks in the good old USA. In 1950 for example, Chevrolet would build over 422,000 trucks compared to Ford’s 234,000. This survivor appears to be solid and wearing its original Forester Green paint. The seller shares that the rear fenders are original, the previous owner removed them years ago to pound out some dents but that’s as far as he got. Based on the photos and seller’s description, the floor pans and kick pans appear to be solid as well as the cab corners and running boards. The seller says the truck as no tailgate but he has the grain door that was on the truck in place of the tailgate which was very typical of these old farm trucks. The wooden bed appears to be in okay condition.

Inside the cabin, the originality and patina themes continue. The bench seat has definitely seen better days with rips and exposed springs and needs to be replaced. The radio-delete (no big surprise) dash has surface rust and even though it’s rough and looking like a 72-year-old workhorse, the Chevy’s interior looks solid and appears to be all there.

The seller claims the non-running engine is a 216-cubic-inch Thriftmaster inline six that produced 92 horsepower when it left the factory. (Some information I found online stated the 3600 Series came with the more desirable 235-ci inline six.) It is paired with a 4-speed manual transmission on the floor. Based on the photos, this appears to be an excellent project that could go in a number of restoration directions. In its current state, it has so much “authentic rough-around-the-edges personality” and cool patina, that I’d be inclined to put money into making it roadworthy, address the interior, and leave it otherwise as is. But that’s just me. What would you do if you were lucky enough to be the next owner?