- Seller: Dana H (Contact)
- Location: Louisville, Kentucky
- Mileage: 82,863 Shown
- Chassis #: L53J002139 999
- Title Status: Clean
- Engine: Inline-6
- Transmission: Manual
Some vintage trucks are restored until they are too perfect to use, but this 1953 Chevrolet 3800 is headed in a far more interesting direction. With its weathered cab, one-ton stance, Montana grain-truck history, and hydraulic lift bed, it could become a distinctive farm hauler, shop truck, promotional vehicle, or working classic that earns its keep. Located in Louisville, Kentucky, it is offered as a no-reserve auction with a clean title.
The seller purchased this Chevrolet in 2010 and believes it originally served as a grain truck in Montana. It has remained garaged since the purchase and has only been moved in and out of the garage a few times. The odometer shows 82,863 miles, although actual mileage should be considered unknown.
The professional photos reveal a truck with plenty of honest commercial character. The cab wears faded blue paint with contrasting black front fenders, while the rear mud flaps read “Big Sky Country Montana.” The grille, running boards, steel wheels, amber cab lights, and upright Advance Design profile give it the purposeful appearance that makes these larger Chevrolet trucks so appealing.
The seller describes the body as being in good overall condition, with a dent in the roof reportedly caused by someone sitting on it and another dent in the grille. The finish shows scratches, fading, and surface aging, but that may be ideal for a buyer who would rather preserve the truck’s history than erase it beneath glossy paint.
Behind the cab is a hydraulic lift flatbed frame. The previous wooden deck has been removed, leaving the steel structure exposed and ready for the next owner to finish with lumber, steel, or a custom platform. The seller states that the hydraulic lift operated before the truck entered storage. The photos also show the bed structure, hydraulic components, rear axle, and chassis, where surface corrosion is visible from age and prior use.
An inline-six engine remains under the hood, along with its transmission, though the seller does not identify the engine or transmission specifications. Chances are it’s the original 216 cui engine, which was rated at 92 horsepower and 176 foot-pounds of torque. The truck retains its original-style six-volt electrical system and reportedly ran before being placed in storage. After approximately 16 years of being parked, it should be gone through prior to being run, but chances are it won’t take much to get it going again.
Work completed during the project reportedly included repairing the radiator, replacing a belt, replacing the front and rear brakes, and installing new wheel studs. A replacement wiring harness with a kill switch has been mounted to the firewall but has not yet been connected to the engine. The interior photos clearly show the unfinished wiring beneath the dashboard, so completing and testing the electrical system will be one of the next owner’s primary tasks.
The cab retains its original-style dashboard, gauges, large steering wheel, rubber floor covering, and bench seat. It is more functional than luxurious, exactly as expected in a working 3800. The bench has been recovered, and the dash and door panels look substantially complete, although the loose wiring confirms that this remains a project.
The seller had planned to finish the truck after retirement, but an unexpected health issue changed those plans. That leaves the next owner with a solid starting point rather than a dismantled basket case: the cab, drivetrain, hydraulic equipment, bed frame, brakes, and much of the electrical work are already present.
This Chevrolet probably is not the right choice for someone searching for a polished cruise-night pickup. It is far more appealing as an honest heavy-duty truck that can be completed without losing its weathered Montana character. Install a handsome wood deck, finish the wiring, recommission the mechanical systems, and this 1953 Chevrolet 3800 could once again haul equipment, advertise a business, or simply attract a crowd wherever it goes.
Bid On This Auction
Mike bid $2,900.00 2026-08-10 11:09:36
WDan bid $2,800.00 2026-08-10 11:07:30- Mike bid $2,700.00 2026-08-10 11:05:35
- WDan bid $2,500.00 2026-08-10 11:02:31
- Mike bid $2,300.00 2026-08-10 11:02:06
- WDan bid $2,200.00 2026-08-10 11:01:13
- Mike bid $2,100.00 2026-08-10 10:59:54
- WDan bid $2,000.00 2026-08-10 10:59:39
- Mike bid $1,900.00 2026-08-10 10:57:40
Brad Taylor Australian team bid $1,800.00 2026-08-10 10:51:40- Mike bid $1,600.00 2026-08-10 10:46:34
- WDan bid $1,500.00 2026-08-10 10:20:55
American Iron bid $1,300.00 2026-08-10 09:05:46- Brad Taylor Australian team bid $1,200.00 2026-08-09 23:06:53
arthur j lenius bid $1,000.00 2026-08-04 17:39:35
I’m eager to hear from the ‘trucker gang’ – Howard A. Geomechs and Driveinstile on this one. Plus the others that I forgot…
As always, thanks for your many miles of helping the economy!
A former college roommate bought one of these (actually a 3600 with SRW) and invited me to drive from Michigan to New York with him. The truck was 20 years old by then and mostly worn out. He knew less about vehicles than I did and what I knew wasn’t much. “Sounds like a good idea.”
I drove that sumbitch through lower Manhattan where it sat for a few days. Even the thieves left it alone. We made our way through Boston, which as most of you know is worse than New York to drive through, and on up to Maine.
Maine seemed to be its element as the vaunted Chevy straight 6 promptly ruptured its exhaust studs. Well, just one, somehow. A pair of ViseGrips replaced the broken one. Once we saw what Maine was all about the only logical next step was to go to California.
With the trusty vise grips holding the exhaust pipe on and adding a quart of oil with every fill-up we slogged across this fair land. The oil consumption was mostly the result of a rear main seal which we (meaning I) had replaced half of because, hey, I wasn’t going to undo all those bearing caps and drop the crank and replace the upper half as well. After all, why would they have made it in two pieces if they didn’t expect you to just fix half of it?
Back in the early 1970s in the remote places of the Great American Southwest we discovered gas stations that sold recycled motor oil in glass bottles for cheap. What a godsend!
Encouraged by this economic windfall we pushed on to Blythe, CA, and spent a night under the stars in the desert. The brakes liked it there, too, and decided they wanted to stay and let us know by gradually failing and springing leaks on the way to Oceanside. We (I) found a parts store with a front brake line, installed same on the truck, and manfully sucked brake fluid through the line to bring it near the wheel cylinder. That stuff don’t taste too hot.
The brakes on that truck weren’t all that good to begin with and remained pretty squishy from then on. It necessitated extensive planning to come to a stop. So naturally we pushed on to San Francisco – a great place to drive a ’53 Chevy flatbed held together with vise grips and sporting a deceleration system predicated on faith.
Somewhere in the Bay Area that old truck died. I did not mourn its passing. Whenever I see an Advance Design cab I cringe just a little. But it always piques my curiosity. I wonder if those vise grips are still holding the exhaust pipe onto the manifold?
Teriffic story. That’s a lot of miles…and wear and tear on your body. Thanks again for sharing!
Great story! Nobody told us we (or the truck) couldn’t do it. So we did it!
Love the story!! I guess that’s what our youth was meant for.
Making memories like yours. I was more interested in your story than i ever would be in this worn out piece of Chevy truck.
ahh yes, the “Recycled” oil which was just used oil pumped through a viscous filter and poured into a used milk jug. Had a Ford F100 with a 240 I bought from the bank, payment was $27 per month so I didn’t expect much, it was actually only 3 years old and it leaked as well as burned oil along with very healthy blow by but damn it it started every day. I did put new rear seal in when I changed the clutch (Due to oil slinging on clutch) but I’d pour in aprox a quart every fill up.
I sold that truck to a buddy for what I’d paid and he gave me the cost of clutch as well out of the kindness of his heart.
I’ll say this, when people say you can’t kill a 240 or 300, 99% of the time they’re Absolutely Correct.
I’ve got another story about a Ford van with a 300 that wouldn’t die but another day maybe.
Yeah, ccrvtt, that was a nice story, and a regular day for me and other truck drivers. Oil was cheap, and they make a product called a “Sneaky Pete”, that allows you to replace the top part of the seal without dropping the crank. Your results may vary. BTW, mechanics may cringe, but a couple drops of brake fluid slows oil seal leaks. Adding oil or fluids was just part of driving. I bet modern drivers never check any of that. Don’t have to. Maybe windshield washer is it.
This is a wonderful find, being cast on fewer and fewer ears. Still plenty of us “shifty” characters that could really use this truck, however. Without a 2 speed rear, 45 mph is about tops, and just as well. I only hope it’s not too much of an embarrassment for what it will actually sell for. It’s a good ol’ truck.
Hi Howard,
I believe I still have a “sneaky pete” in a drawer somewhere along with a ringland cleaning tool and tools for adjusting an removing valves in a flat head Ford. (Same tools also work for other flat head applications.) Next to that drawer is one that has limited use tools like timing lights, dwell meters, etc. About 11 years ago I was helping out at one of the tire stores. (Worlds oldest Goodyear dealer under the same ownership. 104 years now) And noticed that one of our old lady customers was bring in her 1965 Impala for a tune-up and oil change. So I brought in my timing light, dwell meter, and point adjusting tool and special point set holding screw screwdriver. And had to teach a class in old school tune-ups. The techs were amazed.
Nice one Wayne. Teaching the kids how to keep some old iron purring.
Just helped my son put a new engine into his ’73 Chevy truck. Had to get out all day ancient tune-up tools and do a class.
When I was a kid neighbor had a 49 looked like this with a bigger dump box, it had a 2 speed rear that I got pretty good at split shifting after my neighbor filled it with fill dirt, it went pretty good with the 2 speed but it never liked anything over 50 even empty and tail wind.
Perfect for a big LS swap, manual trans. Keep the true farm truck appearance and it would be perfect!
I say keep it original.
To many ‘ taped up ‘ wires ……………but being an ‘ old ‘ South Georgia farm country boy ‘ , I would like to take that ‘ thing ‘ out on a ‘ dirt road ‘ and ‘ dog cog ‘ through all four gears as I remember our ‘ farm hauler’ ‘ non-2-speed axle Chev. to have had . Yes , gents’ ….. been there / done that !!!!
Yes, jim graham, but did you get the souvenir t-shirt and coffee mug?
Absolutly not , Wayne !! My ‘ tee ‘ was always ‘ sweat-soaked and dirty ‘ and my ‘ mug ‘ held but one cup of ‘ black ‘ joe’ prior to beginning my assigned ‘ farm chores ‘ …. What I did ‘ get ‘ from my operation of our ‘ 53’ 3800 Chev. farm truck ‘ heavy hauler ‘ , and still have , is a love for now ‘ vintage ‘ Americana’ of that era ‘ as evidenced by several ‘ hand shaker ‘ / ‘ floor stick ‘ trucks and a ‘ 2 cylinder 48’ ‘ styled ‘ ‘ A ‘ John Deere tractor ‘ ( all operational ) on my farm today . Yes , I do own ‘ tee’s and ‘ mugs ‘ in use as intended when originally manufactured along w / my ‘ antique ‘ machinery still operating ‘ as manufactured ‘ all housed w / my ‘ modern ‘ farm euipment !! … ‘ Old times there are not forgotten ‘ … !!
I wanna buy this and keep it in my garage so I can go see it every day and sit and talk to it while enjoying a cigar and my favorite beverage.
I went out (off) the back of a truck like this when I was 16, inside a “master of sparks”… about 55 or 60 mph…yes, I’m still crazy…
Nice looking work truck.
Great story ccrvtt. Reminds me of also being that mechanically inclined friend back in the day. Knew enough to get us out of trouble a couple times. Was never afraid to investigate the issue.
Loving the lift bed. Not sure what I would use it for but sure, why not? That pic of the interior makes me think of all the different stumbling blocks that can stall a project, this time the wiring. That may not be the case here but this thing has been laid up for a while. Can make a person wonder.
Would be a cool truck up and running. But as Howard mentioned a bit on the slow side. Unless puttering around town taking care of business works for you.
Nice truck.
This deserves to be parked in front of my 1953 ranch home here in Santa Cruz CA! Too bad shipping a non-op truck that size is about the same as the truck’s value.
What a beautiful truck!!!!!!!! Howard is right, this is a farm truck, with a 45-50 MPH top end. This sized truck never had a 2 speed rear. It is geared to pull, not speed!! The interior needs to be finished. Does the seller have the door panel parts to match the right door?? And that looks like a seat cover, not reupholstered. For someone who is decent at wiring to finish the job this truck will make them a great weekend workhorse / cars and coffee hit. The tube type bias tires look in great shape (if they are NOT dry rotted??) and are held in place by a retainer ring which comes off thru the notch you see at 3:00 in the close up of the right front tire. It would take an old fashioned tire man to work on them. That flatbed looks like it has been cleaned up so you can finish the floor in steel or wood, and add sideboards?? I am suspicious of that rear light bar, if it is fastened to the body, when you raise the body it is going CRUNCH on the frame!! Also by law that body will need corner and 3 center marker lights. No problem to add on a separate switch when you finish the wiring.
Yup Brocky, Never saw a 1 ton with a 2 speed rear end but drove many such 2 tons with that plus a couple that had a 3 speed Brownie auxiliary tranny. Never actually needed it but going through the gears was fun. :-) Terry J
Well, this one certainly slid in the side door. That’s okay; I still got a chance to see it.
And those flaps…
Lots of these trucks in the Chinook Belt. Probably more super long pickups with side boards than 1-ton dually models. Personally, I’d prefer this style because you could do a little more with it.
1953 was more than my personal debut; it was a transition year for Chevrolet. During the year, there was a running change to full-pressure lubrication. The engines looked the same as they always did but somewhere along the line, the oil pressure gauges actually showed something higher than 12 psi. The Corvette came out that same year and it was the Blue Flame Six, which definitely offered full-pressure lube.
A lot of jokes about the old Babbitt-Pounders, but, after seeing a lot of them apart, I can see why Chevy took its time changing; those engines were tough as they were. If it ain’t broke, DON’T fix it!
I can see that this truck has had a repaint. It was originally painted that dark, ugly green that the vast majority of trucks were painted back then. Personally, I Like the change as green got rather monotonous.
The local lumber yard ran a Canadian version of this. Nothing different other than the model number was “1430.” And it was the ugly dark green. Canadian variants were commonplace along the border.
Now I’m trying to think what I’d do with this truck if it came to my place. Too slow to cruise around. I would need to haul stuff around with it. At 40 mph.
Yeah, I could do that…
Geo, the write-up speculates this is a 216 but the open spark plugs look more like 235. Were they still even making a 216 in ‘53?
This is a 216. Just look atvthe valve cover. Top bolts not perimeter bolts like a 235.
According to my information, the 216 was still in production in the fall of ’52 but dropped off during the winter. It seems to me that February was 235 and full pressure all the way. The 235 quickly shed the aging studs to hold the valve cover down and went to the flat cover with the screws along the rail…
Those old Chevy 6s wore out pretty fast. Then after they were worn out, they’d last forever. :-) Terry J
This is a 216. Just look atvthe valve cover. Top bolts not perimeter bolts like a 235.
I’m sure this is a 216. The 235 came out in the early ’40s and it used the long studs to hold down the valve cover. It went to the screws along the rail shortly after the ’53 production went full pressure. When I worked for the GM dealer there were a lot of ’53 model 235 engines with full-pressure and long studs coming through the shop…
Also calculate a full set of wheels and tires. This has the old 2 piece wheels. A little less scary than split rims. But not that strong and you can’t put radial tires on those wheels.
As I said above, IF they are NOT dry rotted / weather checked these bias ply tires are fine!! You do NOT need radials for a top speed of 45 MPH.. Plus bias will hold any good load that you can put on this old girl..
I agree. I was just trying to set expectations. I can properly mount new tires to these wheels. But I’m old and not in the business any longer. And trying to find a place with the experience these days may be an exercise in futility. Plus, if the outer ring is damaged, I’m not sure where you could find replacements.
So is that one of those lead/acid wheel chocks we used to hear about behind the right rear tire?(lol) Just a little joke early in the morning.
This was a common farm truck in Eastern Oregon back in the day. The heavy duty 4 speed SM420 was called the Muncie light truck 4 speed and was built from the late 40s to the mid 60s in 1/2 to 2 ton trucks. A pre-1955 pickup (or panel truck in my case) still had a torque tube drive line & rear end. A common swap was to change out that tranny’s rear housing/u joint with a 1955 & newer open driveline SM420 rear housing, and rear end. Didn’t need the entire transmission, just the back end. Easy swap. Also an open driveline 50s car rear end with the 5 bolt wheel pattern would slip in nicely. That plus some factory parts swapping to 5 bolt front drums easily got away from the 6 bolt pattern and allow more modern mags to fit right on plus better gear ratios. Some trucks (like this nice 1 ton) had a parking brake drum on the rear tranny housing that froze the driveline and was a way to not have to deal with the cables. The SM420 was & probably still is a favorite swap into Jeep and other 4x4s because of it’s compact size and granny gear 1st. :-) Terry J
Terry, These are eight(8) lug wheels!!!!!!!! Also you cannot swap in any less than a one ton rear, with dual tires, or the housing will not hold the load.
Yup Brocky, I was referring only to the transmission or it’s back housing and maybe the parking brake assembly as swap material we used to look for 50 years ago to upgrade a 1/2 ton. That and a later ’55 and up rear end out of a 1/2 ton or a car (grab the driveline).There were lots of those trucks behind farmers machine sheds and I came across SM 420s quite often, cheap or free. Circa 1963 I was driving a truck much like this one with a grain bed on the back, full of wheat heading for the elevator. In the stubble I came to a modest swale and went down and up the other side. Didn’t quite make it before I heard a bang. Dad was not happy about having to change out the broken right axle in the field, in the heat while I grabbed another truck and kept going. Sorry Dad. :-( Terry J