Decades of scars from its job as a farm truck adorn this 1936 Chevrolet FB half-ton pickup, here on eBay, but it could still go to work for its next owner with a few improvements. The seller tells us that it was purchased long ago by a farmer, then passed to his son, who finally grew too old to use it. The seller acquired it in 2016 and has used it on his own acreage since then. Spirited bidding has taken the price to $7800, but the reserve is not yet met. It can be collected from Waukon, Iowa. A video accompanies the listing, showing detailed views inside and out as well as a short driving sequence. In 1936 only, Chevy made a “high cab” and a “low cab” version of the half-ton. The high cab was made in early ’36 and is similar to the ’34-’35 cabs, but not identical. The low cab is much more common and resembles but isn’t identical to the ’37-’38 cab. That isolates the ’36 truck as a special case when you’re looking for parts. This truck is a low cab.
Chevy’s Stovebolt series was built from 1929 through 1936, distinguished by its tough 194 cu. in. overhead valve six-cylinder engine. This truck has a replacement 235 cu. in. six-cylinder from the 1950s; horsepower varied on these by year, but the seller reports that 50 mph is achievable. Upgrading the old tires and mismatched wheels could probably add another 10 mph to that limit, especially since the truck apparently has a Camaro rear end. The gas tank is dirty so it runs on an auxiliary tank at the moment. The seller reports that the brakes are good and the three-speed manual shifts well.
Speaking of shifting, slightly visible here is the truly weird floor-mounted gearshift apparently built from three welded pieces of metal. This photo shows the lower two-thirds of this contraption; this photo shows the shift knob. But hey, that’s what happens when you’ve just been through a Great Depression and then a World War: things are cobbled together from whatever you can find, in whatever way will work. The seller reports that the bench seat and floors are in good shape. One gauge appears to be compromised. There’s no paint remaining on the inside of the roof; both door windows are cracked; and the windshield is so delaminated as to be dangerous. It does crank out, though!
The bed is in decent shape given its age. Views of the underside are included in the video; looks dry under there, but I’ll bet the suspension needs work. Rust is present but minimal, with no large holes evident. Plenty of dents tell a tale of hard work over the years, but at least the truck survived. Many didn’t. These pre-war Chevy half-tons command about $25k to $30k when restored, presenting a conundrum for the buyer. There isn’t much headroom for restoration expenses here. What would you do with this truck if it landed in your driveway?
Being a truck and post written by my 2nd favorite author, ( sorry, need bigger shoes to beat Scotty G) it kind of bums me out, nobody cares enough to comment on this. A glaring indicator of interest, I figure. The mid 30s Chevy was really a modern truck, compared to the Ford. OHV motor, juice brakes, “artillery ” wheels. All the thunder was on the flathead V8, but I bet this 6 did just as well. As is, it would suit me fine, but I rarely go over 35 mph anyway, but once again that hyphenated word comes up,,”resto-mod”, and you can bet the 21 bidders have exactly that in mind, and that’s okay.
Again, with these older finds, set the “Wayback Machine” for 1936, Sherman. Remember, this wasn’t too far out of the depression, and a new truck costing $475 was out of reach for most. Farms, where most these trucks went, typically had the lowest incomes, generally a pickup or a tractor was a major purchase. A great find, how many original trucks could possibly be left?
IMO, Ford only missed out on the juice brakes but if you ever lost a wheel or blew a brake line you appreciated mechanical brakes. GM really drug it’s feet getting rid of the wood in the cabs. Ford and Dodge were all steel before that time but it would be ‘37 before Chevy finally clued in. I can hardly blame the guy back down the line for swapping in that 235; the 206 it would’ve replaced left something to be desired with only three mains. But it did have a forged crankshaft. If this truck found its way to my place I would source out the proper rear axle and try to locate the proper engine although the prime mover would be one of the later parts of the project…
3 mains or were they 4 mains?
Actually, Wayne, according to my information, they were only (3) mains until the 216 debued in ’37. I always thought it was odd and added to crankshaft whipping but then, Ford only ran three mains on its flathead V-8s. Now, the early sixes had forged crankshafts. When I entered the repair business in ’71 I saw a lot of cast and forged crankshafts but I never worked on anything older than a 216. I saw a bunch of the older engines apart but never actually worked on them. A lot of them had broken crankshafts…
Non-original. I see no problem with a resto-mod. Let the purists wail and gnash their teeth, lol!
Or you could just leave it as is, it’s up to the buyer, which I am 100% sure will not be found in this comment section.
I like the looks of the cab design. The bed sits at a funny angle, though, and may have come from another truck. The interior is a nightmare.
I’m not going to bid on it. It could be built into a nice custom with a V8, but the cosmetic work it needs would be ferociously expensive. I’m guessing it will sell to someone who will drive it as-is.
6 in a row will go. My dad’s buddy had numerous hotrod 6’s. Three carb, three Weber’s, injected, blown. All ran like crazy and sounded awesome. Hate to see a LS in her, may be a Turbo V6?
Really cool truck.I’d clean and seal the gas tank , replace all the usual stuff to get it roadworthy and dependable.Fix the glass get new tires and cruise it as is.I’m not going to speculate on value of these but bidding is creeping towards 10k with the reserve not met.To much for me.I also wonder if you could use the original style wheels somehow on the back because the original fronts look cool.I’m guessing you cant.
If the seller really wants to sell this one take the $7800 and move on. This one is going to need a good amount of work to put it in restored showroom condition.
Really? The truck is approaching $10K and will likely go well past it. Original (almost) survivors like this are becoming very hard to find. Hopefully a serious buyer will take this truck back to its original condition.
I love these old pickups, especially the Chevy. I’m way past the age of doing anything with this, but it sure would be cool to drive around the Village (once it is cleaned up).
I had a ’36 Chevy pickup like this at the young age of 14 (in the mid 1970’s). It had a 327 V8 out of a Corvette with a later diff, but stock steering and suspension. I slaved on this thing for a couple of years before I could legally drive. It got painted Corvette Yellow with metallic brown fenders, tuck & roll interior, and giant mag wheels/tires (’70’s!). Unfortunately it was awful to drive with those fat tires and archaic suspension. I quickly lost interest. I sold it once I turned 16 and got a Porsche 356A roadster which I still own.
That’s a pretty fine swap, from pre-war truck to 356A! Good judgment. The 356 makes up for VW-type power by being terribly fun to drive.
…But you have memories of it which are priceless. Really cool you still own the Porsche.
I suspect the bids are courtesy of a Mr. Hill, S Hill to be exact!
I too love these pre ww2 trucks really cool looking; style! I would keep original as possible ;sand & patina the paint that’s left Then fix/ clean all the bad spots;( rust on bed ;cab floors etc ) maybe if possible get more HP out of that 6 cyl ?!; fix / clean all glass & go thru the rest of the truck & make road worthy; i e; engine brakes fix gear shift & drive as is ?! ; Originality is cool w these trucks