The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network - View Single Post - Starting my 55 series 2 short bed step side

**Dan in Pasadena** · 04-23-2017, 01:07 AM

Kai,
Congratulations for appreciating this era truck at such a young age. Let me impart a little advice. There are three important basic steps:

1. Make it STOP! Nothing else is more important to start
2. Make it go. This means make it reliable, not necessarily fast - it won't be with a 235 but it CAN be super reliable.
3. Make it cool. This is when you begin to make it look like you want it to look. I'll add that almost every car guy you will run into wishes they'd kept the first car/truck they "loved" and had never sold it. Be patient.

Making your truck nice doesnt have to take an incredible amount of money unless you want it done in a month - then it costs a fortune. Take a look at the start of my thread, not the end.
I started out with a truck in worse condition than yours.

I'm NOT a fan of what guys call "patina" these days. To me, what they're calling that is the result of decades of neglect. To me patina is when an old vehicle has been so well cared for over the decades that the paint has been polished-through, the chrome still shines in places but has been polished until removed in the most noticeable places, etc.

My truck went from looking like crap; a derelict that hadn't been driven in over 10 years to a decent looking "shop truck" look with a bunch of Rustoleum spray cans, a LOT of elbow grease and $160 of vintage Torq Thrust knock off wheels from Craigslist.

Fix that front bed panel for $80 and sweat equity:
http://www.truckandcarshop.com/trucks47_59/t47_068.html

Here's your passenger side door for $150. An EXTREMELY good price by the way:
https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/pts/6085963691.html

04-23-2017, 01:07 AM	#16
Dan in Pasadena Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Glendora, CA Posts: 6,331	Re: Starting my 55 series 2 short bed step side Kai, Congratulations for appreciating this era truck at such a young age. Let me impart a little advice. There are three important basic steps: 1. Make it STOP! Nothing else is more important to start 2. Make it go. This means make it reliable, not necessarily fast - it won't be with a 235 but it CAN be super reliable. 3. Make it cool. This is when you begin to make it look like you want it to look. I'll add that almost every car guy you will run into wishes they'd kept the first car/truck they "loved" and had never sold it. Be patient. Making your truck nice doesnt have to take an incredible amount of money unless you want it done in a month - then it costs a fortune. Take a look at the start of my thread, not the end. I started out with a truck in worse condition than yours. I'm NOT a fan of what guys call "patina" these days. To me, what they're calling that is the result of decades of neglect. To me patina is when an old vehicle has been so well cared for over the decades that the paint has been polished-through, the chrome still shines in places but has been polished until removed in the most noticeable places, etc. My truck went from looking like crap; a derelict that hadn't been driven in over 10 years to a decent looking "shop truck" look with a bunch of Rustoleum spray cans, a LOT of elbow grease and $160 of vintage Torq Thrust knock off wheels from Craigslist. Fix that front bed panel for $80 and sweat equity: http://www.truckandcarshop.com/trucks47_59/t47_068.html Here's your passenger side door for $150. An EXTREMELY good price by the way: https://orangecounty.craigslist.org/pts/6085963691.html __________________ '55 Big Window Shortbed, Drive-It-&-Work-On-It slid down the "slippery slope" to a Frame-Off Rodstoration! LQ4/4l85e/C4 IFS/Mustang 8.8 rearend w/3.73's Dan's '55 Big Window "Build" - Well, Kinda! Last edited by Dan in Pasadena; 04-23-2017 at 01:33 AM.