Stored indoors for many years, this ’54 Chevrolet 3100 pickup is a sweet truck with a lot of potential. Despite being a Nebraska based truck, there is little rust in this truck. The original drive-train is in the wind, but this truck could be the perfect swap candidate! With a few days remaining in the auction, bidding has risen to $1,575. Check it out here on eBay out of Lincoln, Nebraska.
Inside there are a few knickknacks and an aftermarket steering wheel, but beyond all of that is a fair enough condition interior. The dash holds a lovely gloss appearance, with clean and clear gauges giving you the vitals on this pickup. Although there is no longer any sort of a drive-train, a simple small block 350 would suffice in this old pickup. The seller is including a “K member” that aids with the installation of a swap.
Miraculously this truck is quite straight considering its age. There are a few minor dings to be found, and the cab corners could use a little help. The seller has mentioned some rust in the driver floor and kick panels which seem to be a common issue with these trucks. Looking underneath of this truck there is only very mild surface rust to be found. Even the tailgate is in tip top shape on this old pickup! What heart would you transplant into this old Chevrolet?
A 292 6 would be my choice, I like the sound of the old 6 bangers.
Excellent idea. I’d back it up with an original-spec 4-speed Hydramatic.
Sure, you could install a 350/350, but (yaaaaaaaawn) that would be…………………pardon me, all of a sudden I’m so sleepy…
Amen, brother!
Why does the rear wheels look so off center in the fenderwells, is this common for these trucks ???
Wow- did the factory use a SWB chassis with a LWB truck? It looks like a Rambler American.
Some one swapped a 5 lug rear end into the truck, 6 lug front wheels are still on. If they used different springs when they did the swap it placed it incorrectly in the wheel opening.
yes, it is common for them to look that way. I noticed this on my 54 the first time it was built in the 90’s
Up to 55 Chevy trucks had a closed drive line. This looks like it has been converted to a five lug open drive line. They probably planned on installing a later engine and transmission.
283 would be my choice with a t5 tranny. Leave the outside as is. Nice truck!!
Good luck to the new owner!!!
Nice old truck. Take it off the trailer befor posting.
This should do just fine.
https://www.cummins.com/engines/repower
Put a coyote in it!!!!!
Now that is real Armstrong steering!
My first vehicle was a 54 Chevy 3100. I bought it at the ripe old age of 12.
Truck belonged to a friend of my dad’s. The friends wife got angry with him after finding her best friend in his lap topless. She took it out on his “show truck”.
My dad asked me how much money I had saved from my grass cutting business. I responded that I have $175 (bunch of money in 1977), so he loaned me the extra $25 to buy the truck. I spent the next 3 years undoing what the angry wife had done. She spray painted obscenities all over the truck, busted every window except the corner windows, yanked handfuls of wiring out, slashed tires, etc.
The truck had a 325 hp 327, Muncie 4 speed, and a 59 Pontiac rear.
I drove the truck for 6 months after I got my license and swapped it and $500 for a Plum Crazy 70 Super Bee.
Wished I had both of them back now….
My dad came home with a 54 in 1967. I went into hiding when I saw it. It was all white with bells on the roof and a ice cream box in the bed with big letters saying Tiny Tim,s ice cream. A couple of days later I looked out the window and saw him working on it in our back yard. I felt bad and went out and asked if I could help. Well we got the ice cream box out of it and then he handed me a hammer and chisel and told me to chop off all the old bolts holding the wood in the bed ( took forever). Well after a lot of work new dark blue paint new bed wood I really took to that truck and the smile on my father’s face driving it made all the work worth it.
I had a 1948 GMC and I swapped in a 292 6 with a 350 turbo trans. Opened up the rear end with a center section from a late 60’s P/U. It was a simple conversion and ran great. The real problem is finding a decent 292, they are very prone to having cracked blocks
351 Cleveland and C6 just to annoy the Chevy guys.
Or maybe a 340 with a 727. :)
I swore that if I ever got another I would drop in a stroker small block Ford and a TKO.