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Success Story: 1955 Chevy Pickup Restored!

One of the more gratifying aspects of helping to sell vintage cars and trucks is hearing from the owners a few months or years later as to how that project turned out. As some of you may recall, I’ve been helping to sell cars and trucks off of a property in North Georgia belonging to a close friend of mine, and while I haven’t posted lately, we’ve still been moving a lot of metal over the last few years. Most of the cars featured in previous posts have found new homes, and I’ll be adding a fresh post shortly with new finds for sale! But for now, feast your eyes on the finished result featuring a 1955 Chevy pickup that we featured here on Barn Finds a few years back that’s been reborn and looks absolutely stunning.

This picture may be familiar to some of you, as the truck was listed as an Exclusive (via the hyperlink I included above) early on in my partnership with the property owner. The truck was one of the first ones we decided to do a “litmus test” on, both in terms of how easily we could pull a deal together and the prospect of working together on moving metal. The Chevy was a good target, as it was close to the road and was a complete, running truck, so it wasn’t a surprise that we quickly found a buyer from several states away. I love stories like these, as for all the naysayers who question prices or the condition of the vehicle offered, there’s usually someone – a very quiet someone – who reaches out and tells you they’ll be there tomorrow with a trailer in tow.

That’s exactly what happened here, as the buyer – a gentleman from New Jersey – set up the time and place and showed up as promised, right on the button. The truck was everything he expected it to be, and it was on his trailer and headed back north in short order. The new owner got to work, and shared with me that he was able to keep the stock 235 engine, three on the tree, and rear end. He added new suspension and front disc brakes, along with replacing the water pump, fuel pump, manifold gasket, gas tank, and fuel lines. The carburetor was rebuilt and all new wiring installed. Some rust and prior accident repair were needed, but the frame was in great shape. He also added some chrome details as well.

The interior got a refresh and the bed was finished with new wood and chrome decor strips. The new owner reports he also used the project as a means for teaching himself how to weld, so talk about a win-win! I am grateful that he decided to share this update with me, as it made the previous owner and myself quite proud at all the projects we’ve been able to move onto new homes, and see them come back to life. Heck, I’m living proof of this as well with my 1986 Isuzu Trooper two-door project that I rescued from my friend’s property just over two years ago as well – a project you can read more about here and hopefully see some new updates on in the weeks to come. Keep your eyes peeled for my next update on new projects for sale from the Georgia collection!

If you have a project that needs a new home, get it listed on Barn Finds Today! Find more info on listing with here.

Comments

  1. Avatar JACKinNWPA Member

    Very nicely done and a fairly quick turn around, I’m proud of all of you.

    Like 15
    • Avatar Phlathead Phil

      Photo #1 shows a 1955 3100. Photo #2 shows a 1957. What’s up?

      Like 0
      • Avatar Peter Loeffelbein

        I saw that too. It could be just a swap of hood and grill parts, I did that to my first 57, I wasn’t fond of the fish mouth shape. The fenders need some mods too due to the grill mounting holes.

        Like 1
  2. Avatar alphasud Member

    Beautiful truck and a great success story. I hope someday soon to add to the success stories with another featured BarnFind.

    Like 15
  3. Avatar Nevadahalfrack Member

    Great truck to save. Terrific teamwork with the save and upgraded restoration. IMHO this is another one of the best reasons for following BF.

    Like 8
  4. Avatar Taylor W

    Awesome and beautiful truck. Its always nice to see a vehicle be loved and restored. Speaking of which, do you guys remember the 58 Chrysler New Yorker Town & Country Wagon? Would you be down to see that when its done (almost) with restoration?

    Like 21
    • Avatar Jeffrey Happ

      Yes, please!

      Like 6
  5. Avatar Skorzeny

    Jeff, a great story. Warms the heart to see a great truck like this back on the road where it belongs. I’m glad it made financial sense for everybody! The self taught welding is great too!

    Like 6
  6. Avatar Ken Carney

    Reminds me of the truck that Dad and I
    built when I was 15. Ours was a dented,
    rusty parts chaser for a local truck stop
    when we bought it, but 9 months later,
    we had it running great and looking sharp. We swapped the tired 235 for a
    292 cube Chevy 6 and a 4-speed tranny.
    We added some Astro mags that we
    plucked from a wrecked Chevy at our
    local wrecking yard. Then, we covered
    the body in a gorgeous ice blue paint job. Mom and Sis recovered the seat and door cards in a darker shade of
    blue naugahyde with metal flake in it.
    The carpet was scrounged from a
    furniture store and looked great when we cut it to fit. In all, we built the truck
    for $1,500 in ’69, which was quite a bit
    of money then. A friend of Dad’s liked
    it so much that he paid $3,000 for it in
    1971. Sure wished I had it now.

    Like 8
  7. Avatar John

    Beautiful! Thank you for no stupid cleared patina (AKA rusty crappy paint) This is how an old truck should be saved. Not exactly original, (wheels, chrome) but VERY original. A few touches to make it yours… tell the story of the truck… love and enjoy it.

    Like 10
  8. Avatar JBD

    Great success story! Always good to see a nice classic saved. I let a ‘55 Chevy Apache short bed truck get away. It was a 327 Corvette motor/ 4 speed ex- race car that sat for at least 15 years until it was garaged. Hopefully it was fixed up and restored.

    Like 2
  9. Avatar Duaney

    The title is absurd, aftermarket mag wheels are not a “restored” vehicle.

    Like 1
    • Avatar Tom Bell

      Agree with the above–aftermarket “mag” style wheels on a vehicle born as a work truck is ridiculous and spoils the end result. I hope he kept the originals for a future owner more attuned to restoration.

      Like 1
  10. Avatar Kman

    And the finishing touch. A red solo cup on the bed. PERFECT!

    Like 2
  11. Avatar JP

    My dad had a black ’55!

    Like 2
  12. Avatar nelson w. rayder

    It look to be two different trucks. a Restored ’55 and a ’57 unrestored.

    Like 1
    • Avatar Dave

      Agreed – from what I remember of the Task Force trucks, the grill of the original ‘57 required fenders specific to the 1957 model year – if the restored truck is the same one, they had to change grill as well as the front fenders –

      Like 0
  13. Avatar David Bassett Member

    Great before and after story. Is that shade of blue original to that year truck? Like the overall vibe and don’t mind the wheels at all…unless I was to use this truck for actual truck work. Cheers!

    Like 1
  14. Avatar Stan Marks

    This awesome blue beauty, with the before & after pics, hits the bullseye.
    One of the best bf presentations, I’ve ever seen.
    The wheels & new front grill, doesn’t take a thing away, from the original.
    I love it…..

    Like 2
  15. Avatar Kevin

    Restored? No. Restored means ‘to factory original’, as it came from the factory. Still, it’s a nice truck, just not restored.

    Like 0

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