Solid, Running, Driving 1954 Chevrolet 5 Window, Short bed, half ton pickup 235

1954 Chevrolet Other Pickups Deluxe Additional Info:

Up for sale is my nice, solid, great running and driving, 1954 Chevy 5-window, half ton, short bed pickup. As you can see, it has an old repaint, and plenty of years have given it the patina so may people try to fake. Oh, and its NOT a rust bucket! This thing runs and drives GREAT for being over 60 years old, and I would not hesitate to gas it up, and spend an hour driving it. Its obviously not a perfecttruck, but its in shockingly good condition for a 98% original truck that has never been fully restored.
As you probably know, the 1954 Chevy trucks got some great upgrades that make them stand out from the 47-53 models, this includes the curved windshield, and new grill, that are specific to the 54 and 55.1 trucks. And in 1954 these trucks also swapped to from the 216 to the 235, which gave a very small bump in displacement, but most importantly switched to a far more reliable full pressure oiling system over the old splash oiling.
Mechanical: The 235 6 cylinder runs like a sewingmachine; it fires right up with the original foot pedal starter, and idles smoothly, and has the kind of power it should have. Both the oil and coolant are clean. The 3-on-the-tree transmission shifts smoothly, and the clutch has a great feel(no shudder from a warped flywheel or worn out motor mounts) . It has the original closed driveline, and the rear end does what it should. There are no whines or other out of place noises from the transmission or rear end. The king pins in the front end are tight, and the truck steers well, and does not have any excessive play or slop in the steering. The shocks are working good too, and it gives a surprisinglygood ride for an original straight axle truck. Its had a recent brake job(drums turned, new shoes, wheel cylinders, hoses), and it stops strong and straight as an arrow. Has 4 fresh bias ply wide white walls(new just a few years ago with very very few miles), and a full size bias ply spare in the original location. The truck has been converted to 12v, but still uses a generator. There are no significant leaks(Im sure it weeps a few drops every once in a while). While I believe this truck is mechanically sound enough to take a road trip, it would have to be on back roads, because these trucks were geared low from the factory(4:11, because they were made to be worked, and highways were obviouslya bit different then). It cruisesgreat around town, on farm-to-market roads, and small back road highways, but I would not try to get this truck on the interstate around here; the chassis would be up for it, but motor would be screaming. The fastest I like to cruise it is about 50 mph, and it still has some left should you need to pick up the pace, but as it sits, you are not gonna ride down the highway at 70mph(or if you did I doubt the motor would last). If this is an issue, there are kits to swap the factory 4.11 gears to 3.55, or there are other transmission and rear end options. The parking brake works. All of the bushings look to be in pretty good shape.
Body: It has an old low buck paint job, that receivedlittle to no body work prior to being sprayed, they just beat a few dents out with a hammer, and called it good. This give it a cool old worked truck patina; but more importantly it shows whats actually under the paint. There are not globs of bondo covering up damage on this truck! Also, with the age of the paint jobs, any hidden(covered up) rust would have already exposed itself, via paint bubbling up. I would consider this truck to be roughly 97% rust free, as it has some pin holes on the far inside edges of the cab corners, and some small holes in a few isolated places in the floor, all of which are only visible from under the truck, and would not need much if any attention unless your doing a full blown show quality build, and even then; the floor would only need a few very small places patched, and the same goes with the cab corners. The fenders are very solid, as is the bed. You can see where there was some minor rust at the front of the bed that was obviously killed before it was repainted, because the paint has stayed intact. The bed has a sheet of diamond tread steel over plywood, it does not look bad, and is very functional, but it has not been welded in, so you could go back with an original style bed wood kit if you so pleased. The tailgate is very solid, and has a few dings, but is definitelynot beat up! The visor is in great shape. The rear bumper is a heavy duty shop built part common in that era; its functional and tough, and also adds an tow ball. The front bumper looks to be in pretty good shape, and has an accessorybumper guard. The grill has a few dings, but overall is in pretty good shape. The running boards are solid, but the driver side does have an imperfection around the middle, but nothing major. The doors are solid, the hinges are tight, and the latches do their job, but the doors do stick a little bit(still usable as-is), so they could use a little adjustment and grease for smoother operation.
Interior: The original seat was recovered at some point, and is in pretty good shape. The glass shows its age(small bubbles around the edges, some scratches, and other small imperfections), but none of it is cracked or broken. The door panels are not pretty, but those are easy to replace/recover(I have some black vinyl I will throw in to do that). The big factory steering wheel makes steering this even at low speeds easy(would be tough with a little aftermarket wheel). The vintage Motorola radio under the dash is not working, but the vintage Delco fan above the rear view mirror works great. There are not any side mirrors currently mounted. The carpet is there and aged, and not too bad, but I am missing the little cover for the hole in the floor to fill the master cylinder. I think I have an extra roll of plain jane black or grey automotive carpet I will throw in if I can find it. There is a non-factory headliner, and the visors are not pretty, but are all there and ready to be recovered. I do have an aftermarket ABS 1pc headliner insert, that I may sell separately, but can include with the sale if it does not sell elsewhere first. The aftermarket blinker assembly works. The headlights and brake lights work. The horn does not work(may be a very basic fix, I have not looked at it). The fuel gauge does not work(probably just needs a new sender, it does have the original fuel tank). The seals/rubbers are showing their age, and wont seal up like fresh ones would, but seem to be doing a pretty good job considering their age. The wipers do not work and I have not checked to see why; best case be a bad vacuumline($2-3), or it may benefit from an electric wiper conversion($219). The original radio hole has been covered with a pieceof sheet metal and 2 visible rivets, but the dash HAS NOT been cut.
I've tried to give as thorough and accurate of a description as possible, but most of this is obviously subjective; so I encourage you to come take a look at the truck in person and we can take it for a spin. If you think of any key points I missed feel free to ask. If your interested in the truck I encourage you to shoot me your phone number and good times for me to call you, or you can also call on my cell at 972-989-4OO3, but Ill warn you up front: Im a full time firefighter/paramedic, run my motorcycle and hot rod parts business on the side, and have a newborn baby boy at home, so I am beyond busy, and lack anything resembling a regular schedule, so me calling will probably be easier; since the "good times" to call me are all over the place. Also note, I am open to reasonable cash offers, but if your local I expect you to take a look at it first.
Clear title. I recently got this truck on a partial trade for my high dollar, frame-off resto-modded 54 5 window truck(the pewter truck in some of the pictures). I parted with my pewter truck it to free up money for my baby and other medical expenses. I dig this 54,but I just want something a little more different that what I already had(if it doesn't sell soon Ill keep enjoying it and start doing little things to fix it up), so while CASH IS KING, I will consider trades up/down/across. I have very wide interests, but here here is a list(not all inclusive) of a few things I would consider doing some trading on: a pre-1967 Fire engine(prefer open cab, and has to be under 27' in overall length, or be easy to shorten). Pre-73 pickups, pre 66' cars(older the better). Im a big fan of station wagons, and early suburbans/carryalls, panel trucks and milk/bread trucks. Just about any pre-66 car, or any era truck thats been bagged(air ride) I've also been wanting an old 4 door sedan(from roughly 1937-1960) since I just had a baby. A trials motorcycle(beta, gasgas, sherco). Vintage motorcycles & scooters. Sporting/self defense items. Jeeps, land crusiers, land rovers, early broncos, blazers and scouts. or????
If you've got decent credit, Legacy Texas may be able to finance this truck for you, and you could also try JJ Best. Im happy to assist with shipping anyway possible, and may even be able to deliver depending on your location and my schedule, but those agreements and arrangementswill have to be made and agreed on before the purchase. IF YOU ARE IN INTERNATIONAL BUYER, OR ARE PLANNING ON HAVING THE TRUCK SHIPPED, CONTACT ME FIRST TO MAKE THE ARRANGEMENTS.
UPDATE 11/29/16: I drove the truck around town running errands for a few hours(I probably drove 20 or so miles), and wanted to update the listing with a few little observations from today. It was a blast to drive, it ran great, and got compliments just about everywhere I went! The temp and amp gauge both worked great, and the truck never got hot, nor did it skip a beat even with the high beams on, so the charging system is working good too. I noticed that the oil pressure gauge was not working, so I bought a basic mechanical gauge from Orileys, and installed it on the left side of the columnbelow the dash. It shows roughly 15psi it idle, and 25-30ish while cruising, which is right where it should be. I filled the truck up and the fuel gauge is showing full, but it may just be stuck on full, so Ill have to drive a few more miles to see if it goes down as more fuel gets used. The backlight for the heater switch comes on when you turn the switch, but the blower fan is not hooked up. The heater core is still plumbed in, and not leaking. I looked at the horn under the hood, and it only had a wire on one of the terminals, so my guess is that the horn and heater fan motor were not hooked up after it was converted to 12v. I did notice that only the 3 center clearance lights on top of the cab come on, and the outer ones on each side do not. The tail, brake, low beam, and high beam lights, as well as the indicator for the high beams, are all working. The dome light works.
ALSO: I have a very nice custom fit multi-layer indoor/outdoor cover(cost me 2-300 if I recall), that I have used when I parked my other 54 under the carport. Its very soft on the inside, breathable, and still rated for outdoor use, but I only ever used it to keep dust off under the carport.I am including this cover for free with the sale of this truck, so thats a bonus.