I have a 1949 Chevy 3100 1/2 ton pickup that I would like to start fixing
soon. I am a newbie at the restoration/modification process and need some
input before I start. The truck was my great grandfather's and it has been
sitting in a garage unused for the last 15 years. Before that, my
grandparents used it around the farm, and now I would like to fix it up
again to use it as my primary mode of transportation. I don't want to
totally convert it into a hot rod, but I do want to modernize things so that
it has the original outer look with new mechanical "guts." The 235 engine
that it has is pretty weak for highway use, and the transmission/gear ratio
wouldn't accommodate my driving preferences. I'd need to completely replace
the brakes as well because they were terrible 15 years ago, and also to add
a second cylinder for safety reasons.
I'm planing to update the suspension, brakes, and drive train,etc. by
putting the body on a newer frame, but I don't know what model / year truck
would make the best fit. Like I said before, I'm new at this and so I would
like to do the whole thing as painlessly as possible, but I still want to do
it right. Also if any of you have ANY helpful suggestions whatsoever,
please do not hesitate to email me with them.
The toughest thing about the whole project is knowing what parts I can swap
in without too much modification. I would greatly appreciate knowing how
anyone else fixed up a similar truck, and hear what you had problems with,
might have done differently, or just things you found out along the way. I
have been on this list for the past two months and I can see that you are
all very knowledgeable, so hopefully you will share a little bit of that
with me.
You can either reply to the entire list or contact me personally at
srjilek@stthomas.edu
Thanks for your help
Scott Jilek
49 Chevy 3100
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