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'56 Farm Truck, Build Projects

The ’56 3600 Farm Truck

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Lightning Lewie, the owner of the 1956 stake-side 3/4 Chevy brought it out to California from Alabama a few years ago. The truck had been in the family since 1966 and was surprisingly well-kept, with minimal rust. But he wanted this beast to look good, and he wanted a few conveniences, like power steering and power assisted brakes.

Okay, so far that’s pretty straightforward. But as the title of the post says, this is a farm truck. Six cylinders, 235 cubic inches, 3-speed manual transmission, and a 4.57:1 rear end ratio. For all intents and purposes, about a 50 mph top speed.

Follow us as we address all of these issues.

Getting Started

Engine assessment and flat bed removal

Sandblasting

What is under the paint

Improving the Brakes

Adding vacuum assist

1956 Chevy truck fender repair

Fixing the Fender

Daddy musta hit a tree

Chevrolet 235 six closeup photo

The GM 235 Six

Assessing the engine, on the stand

Installation of frame, bed wood, and strips.

Farm Truck Update

Painting begins; shortening the steering shaft

Light seen shining under carb insulator, showing warpage.

We See the Light

We spot the air leak causing the low vacuum and rough running

dashboard completed on our 1956 Chevy truck

Interior Restoration

Making it comfortable

The Six and Muncie

Installing the drivetrain; wiring the overdrive

rebel wire kit under the dash wiring

Rebel Wire 9+3 Kit

Rebel Wire comes through again to make it as simple as possible

Finished and Awesome

Restoring the Farm Truck was a pleasure, good friends and good times with this one

'48 Patina, Build Projects

The 1948 Chevrolet 3100

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When my friend and fellow barn junkie, Lance, asked if we could get his recovered ’48 half-ton running again, I agreed. His truck – in his family for decades – was mistakenly sold from the private property where it was being stored, it took him quite a while to find it and reclaim it.

The reclaimed truck was minus its engine and transmission, and what remained of it was in a sorry state. Things were not looking good for this budget build until we found a restored ’48 chassis with a 327 small block and TH 350 transmission. The previous owner had thrown in the towel on his project.

Tackling the Interior

We find great seats in the strangest place

’48 Chevy Truck Rebirth

On the road again… in pictures

'73 Triumph TR6, Build Projects

1973 Triumph TR6 Restoration

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After declining to rebuild my neighbor Wendy’s Triumph TR6 for a few years because I was too busy building these old trucks, she finally approached me with an offer I couldn’t refuse. “Give me $250 and send another $250 to my favorite charity, and it’s yours.” Thus began a two year rebuild… not at the Barn but in my garage.

My plan for this narrative is to post plenty of pictures.

Where it sat for nearly twenty years
Now it’s a “fuelie”… Patton TBI system
Short drive in the TR6 on a nearby twisty road.

Triumph TR6

A body-off, ground-up restoration in photos, click to navigate to the individual posts

Rescue Assessment

Just how bad is it?

Pulling the Engine

With a little help from my friends

Engine Stand Adaptation

A balancing act

Engine Disassembly

The first look inside

Engine Preparation

Getting it ready for the machine shop

Machine Shop Work

Prepped and ready to begin assembly

Removing the Body

And making sure it doesn’t fold in half

Repairing the Frame

Ramming the passenger front suspension back into place

Frame and Suspension Rebuild

Cleaning, painting, new parts, and making sure it rolls straight down the road

Rebuilding the Engine

Putting it all back together

Installing the Drivetrain

The engine and trans reunite with the frame

Body Installation

The body goes back on with a little help from my friends, and the engine hoist aka the Swiss Army Hoist

Carbs to Fuel Injection

Converting the Stromberg carbs to Patton’s TBI dasystem

Dashboard and Interior

Making a dashboard and completing the interior

TR6 Factory Hardtop

Fitting the hardtop and fabricating a headliner

'01 CLK55 AMG, '18 Subaru, Problem Solving

The Daily Drivers

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We endeavor to keep the 2001 Mercedes CLK55 AMG and the 2018 Subaru Outback driving daily

2001 CLK55 AMG

Limp home mode solved… conductor plate replacement

Upper Engine Oil Leak

Oil filter housing leak solved; trying to keep the garage floor clean and dry

CLK55 Oil Level Sensor

Replacing the oil level sensor and sealing up the oil pan; and correcting ChatGPT for the benefit of mankind

Outback Head Unit Fail

Finding the correct solution for the notorious head unit delamination

ABS/ESP/BAS – Chasing Down C1401

What looked like a failed ABS pump turned out to be a $70 K40/4 relay-module fix.

"59 Apache

1959 Chevrolet Apache

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Our first project at The Barn

What to do when you have a big old barn with a cement floor and electricity? Go find an old truck, of course. In this case, we jumped in with both feet and ended up with a somewhat sorry 1959 Chevrolet 3100 Apache, short bed, step side, small window.

Decoding the Apache

What engine, transmission, and differential do we have here

Engine Test Bench

Testing the rebuilt 350 SBC

Why Rebuild the 350

This engine was a ball of fire, literally

Rebuilding the Engine

To be on the safe after the fire, we decided to rebuild the engine, with help from The Boy

Apache Back on the Road

Our first truck, the one that belongs to us, is back in business

Conversations

Conversations

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Posts that are NOT about cars… click an image to read the conversation

Campaign Finance

A conversation about corporations, Citizens United, campaign finance, and our elections

Who Is This Candidate, Really

Sources of information on candidates, and the money behind their campaigns

Flying Too Close To The Sun

Navatek CEO Martin Kao and Maine Senator Susan Collins take campaign finance law to the limit. 

Immigration: 1880-1920

Between 1880 and 1920, tens of millions of immigrants arrived in the United States during an era with few numerical limits on immigration.

The Chinese Problem

In just fourteen years, the United States went from encouraging Chinese immigration under the Burlingame-Seward Treaty to restricting it with the Chinese Exclusion Act.