Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Hi Everyone-

I've been reading the posts here and learning a lot these last few weeks, so I thought I'd 'give back' by making some posts of my own about my truck project. "Marvin" is a 1953 Chevy 3100 that my parents bought back when I was a little baby, and that's been 31 years ago! Not sure why, but when I was a toddler and learning to speak, I started calling the truck "Marvin," so that's always been 'his' name. Been in the family ever since. I drove it in high school, but around the time I turned 18, it developed some clutch and brake problems. So, the truck got put into barn storage at the time. Has been there for the last 13 years - well it was, until earlier this week. My dad had a couple buddies help pull the truck out of storage, load him on a trailer, and today he drove north to where I live.

Once he got up here, we drove on to a local shop that I'm putting my trust in. We dropped the truck off there, and starting Tuesday, it will be completely disassembled for a frame-off rebuild. It might not be as respectable that I'm paying for the work to be done instead of doing it myself. But, I don't have the knowledge or experience or resources to even think about trying this. And, I've been dreaming about doing this for, literally, decades, and I want to make sure it is done right. So, I am handing it over to some true professionals.

I'm told this could easily be a year-plus project. That is just fine for the work to be done right. I've waited many years already, one more is no problem! I plan to visit the shop often and take many pictures of the progress and I'd like to post them here to share.

The first set of pictures from today is nothing fancy, just unloading the trailer!

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Here's Marvin on the trailer after his ride up from Iowa. All the time in the barn has been a bit rough, for sure, but I'm sure he enjoyed his first ride in 13 years!
http://i.imgur.com/Mzl3c.jpg

Some more pictures showing how he arrived:
http://i.imgur.com/TgkPu.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/1zYFF.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/8HAuz.jpg

Couple pictures of the interior. Definitely seen better days:
http://i.imgur.com/HevXV.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3DAkE.jpg

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Backing up to the shop door. Good driving, Dad!
http://i.imgur.com/98uwj.jpg

Ready to go inside:
http://i.imgur.com/DtAF2.jpg

Pushing onto the lift where the truck will sit while being disassembled:http://i.imgur.com/S1g1g.jpg

Couple shots underneath. Plenty of surface rust and caked dirt under there, but overall things are straight and solid:
http://i.imgur.com/5hgob.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/VS5Gp.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/dVPD6.jpg

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Bed has seen better days, I believe. So has the exhaust system:
http://i.imgur.com/2mEjB.jpg

235 served well and faithful since 1953. Feel bad taking it out, but this is going to be a bit of a "resto-rod" project, and a small-block is calling my name:
http://i.imgur.com/c1m4T.jpg

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

shoot i'd clean it up and get it road worthy and drive it like it is. btw nice truck hope they do you a good restoration.

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Overall, not much really happened, but it was still a very exciting day. Complete disassembly begins Tuesday, with body and frame sent out for sandblasting directly afterwards. Will be a long project, but I will try to visit the shop often and report back here with pictures and stories when I can. I know I've really enjoyed reading about other projects and have learned a lot from them, so hopefully I can try to return the favor!

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

It' about the truck. Not wether you paid to have it done or not. And the fact that it was your first car and been in the family for awhile, thats even better. Bring it back to life!

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

good truck glad to see it being restored.and welcome will watch this one.

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Very nice truck and please do keep us posted.

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

What a sweet story! You will never be able to part with this precious truck!
dne'


[QUOTE=torchlight;5570208] "Marvin" is a 1953 Chevy 3100 that my parents bought back when I was a little baby, and that's been 31 years ago! Not sure why, but when I was a toddler and learning to speak, I started calling the truck "Marvin," so that's always been 'his' name. Been in the family ever since.

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Truck looks to be in good shape, hope the shop does a good job for you, keep posting pics and updates, will be watching this build....Jim

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Welcome and congrats, from another Minnesota AD truck fan!! Marvin looks to be in very good shape!

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Yeah, I noticed when the tailpipe comes out through the bed it tends to rot the wood around it.:lol:

Just kidding, it's always great when there is a longterm story behind the vehicle.

With all the factory parts on the engine I hope you find someone in need of original parts who can use them.

Good luck. Jim

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

welcome aboard from sin city ! you have a great project and a great story - keep us posted and best of luck -no matter how long it takes .

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Quick update from today - stopped by the shop after lunch to drop off a check and chat about some chassis and bodywork planning. It was such a great experience to meet and talk to the guys that are going to be working on the truck. They are already knee deep in disassembly, as the pictures show. After a couple more days, the frame and body sections will be going out for sandblasting. The sandblasting will reveal the true extent of what rust repair will be required. There will be some, for sure, but the word so far is that the truck seems to be in surprisingly solid shape all around, despite the visible surface rust.

Also, we have discovered that Marvin used to be green! Although that was over 31 years ago, because he was red when Dad bought him.

http://i.imgur.com/U7cp5.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Q9Mnn.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xV15j.jpg

Piles of parts!

http://i.imgur.com/n4GSr.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/YmDD6.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/La5o0.jpg

Traveling for business all next week, so it might be a couple before I can stop by the shop again. By my next visit, disassembly will be 100% complete and we should have everything back from sandblasting, so things will be looking quite different indeed!

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

from the looks of the parts it seems to be a pretty solid truck.

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Wow, Marvin is probably the most solid and dent free classic I've seen in the midwest in a very long time. It will be interesting to see if you were lucky enough to avoid the typical passenger floor rust that gets almost all of us... me included...

I really like the pinstriping on the hood, fenders, and tail gate. Are you planning on having the stripes put back on?

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

I did take detailed close-up pictures of all the pinstriping - the hood, fenders, grille, door handles, and the tailgate. Haven't made any final decisions about exterior paint, but I wanted those pictures specifically so we can recreate that pinstriping if I decide to. It certainly is a defining visual characteristic for the truck.

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Welcome. It looks like you definately have a nice solid truck to start with. What are your plans for it? I am in the same boat with you as far as skills and the know how. I have done a few things myself to my truck, but think it will be getting finished up in a shop. I wanna make sure its done right and last so my son can enjoy it eventually.... hes only 2. It is mine for along while:lol:

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Nice truck and history. There is no shame in having somebody do the work for you, heck most of us wish we could. Even though the fun for me is making it with my own hands, every project gets overwhelming at some point.

I don't think you could have started with a much cleaner truck, that one is better than 99% of the beaters we drag up on this side of the forum. I love the old school pin striping, any plans to add some back as an homage?

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Stopped by the shop yesterday to check up on progress. The guys there are doing some amazing work. The truck has been completely disassembled down to every nut and bolt! All parts have been sand or media blasted down to the bare metal, so we can see what was really under there. Pretty happy with what was found. Definitely some rust here and there, but overall very solid. The frame was in especially good shape - no structural rust, straight, true, and solid all the way around.

Right now, they are working on getting all the body panels rehabilitated. Rust repair where necessary, and fixing any dings or dents. The guys at the shop do amazing work. We may use an aftermarket patch panel in a couple of places, but they are mostly just fabbing their own patch panels from scratch - true craftsmen, and it is incredible to watch them do the work.

Next week the work on the body panels will continue, and also will start boxing the frame and getting it ready for the suspension work. Think I'll be ordering a Scott's IFS, and the guys at the shop are going to fab up a custom 4-link with a 9-inch Ford for the rear. Will be very cool to watch that process as it develops.

Here are some pictures -

Passenger side rear and drivers front fenders ready for the body shop:
http://i.imgur.com/Aee0j.jpg

Passenger front fender getting the expert treatment:
http://i.imgur.com/F1JkF.jpg

Frame sitting upside down on the jig, but looking good:
http://i.imgur.com/N1iFv.jpg

Cab was solid, but still some trouble spots to take care of:
http://i.imgur.com/DDwZQ.jpg

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

You can see a handmade patch section being tested for fit on the bottom of the passenger door:
http://i.imgur.com/eZ8au.jpg

Work is already complete on the other side of that door, looking gorgeous:
http://i.imgur.com/3Hq06.jpg

Pile of parts! Haha wow oh man this is my truck sitting there:
http://i.imgur.com/KA1u4.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/RjvP4.jpg

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Looks like they are doing a good job for you, I like what I see....Jim

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Progress being made, time for an update! These pictures were from multiple days:


Plenty of work to do on the cab, starting with some firewall smoothing. Not going to smooth entirely, will keep those awesome original stamping details.
http://i.imgur.com/VepVr.jpg


Repair complete on these pieces, the worksmanship is really fantastic - no body filler used.
http://i.imgur.com/HLjoF.jpg


Couple pictures from outside the shop. Decided to add a personal touch to the truck by getting the wood for the bed custom milled out of a tree from our family farm. Took down a nice 50-year-old shagbark hickory.
http://i.imgur.com/feXUV.jpg


Check out the beautiful contrast between the heartwood and sapwood.
http://i.imgur.com/7r0A9.jpg


Cutting down to 10-foot sections.
http://i.imgur.com/NtFGT.jpg


Oh man this fresh green hickory was HEAVY! Got it loaded up and took it to a sawmill nearby. It has been milled to proper size and the boards are currently sitting in a kiln getting dried down to the proper moisture content. Can't wait to see when they are done so they can get finished into correct bed boards. The hickory should look really good..
http://i.imgur.com/w9u7l.jpg


continued...

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Back in the shop, patch panels starting to go on the cab.
http://i.imgur.com/pDGKr.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/MaOdp.jpg


Frame starting to get boxed in.
http://i.imgur.com/f9nj4.jpg


Bit later, most of the boxing is complete and the underside of the frame has been smoothed.
http://i.imgur.com/KhfhK.jpg


You can see the care that is being taken to preserve some of the original visual cues. Planning to keep the original crossmembers, and those cool parking brake cable brackets.
http://i.imgur.com/eKBiz.jpg


And flipped over so smoothing can begin on the top of the frame. You can see the new rear end housing sitting on the floor (Moser, 9 inch Ford). Rear suspension work will begin soon.
http://i.imgur.com/9Zm83.jpg

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

nice! Please keep us updated!
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

These pictures just from today. Before suspension components can be added, we needed to mock up the stance. Very happy with the result.
http://i.imgur.com/h1v9q.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/oa55u.jpg


http://i.imgur.com/zzBXb.jpg


I don't want the runningboards to get too low. Definitely lower than stock, but not so much the tires have to be "tucked" up under the fenders. Slight rake. Really love this stance!!


One more showing the frame supporting the mock-up.
http://i.imgur.com/igZ2K.jpg


That's all for now! Repair work on the cab and rear suspension install to continue after Christmas. Will also be ordering an IFS from Scott's, can't wait to see it.

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Man that is some beautiful work on the sheet metal and the frame, very nice, can't wait for the next update...Jim

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

What shop is building this and where are they located? Looks like they do nice work! Interested to see some more updates!
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Looks like a great project. Subscribed!!

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

A few quick updates. Work on Marvin continues, nice and steady.



First, a couple pictures from a couple weeks back:

Doing some initial mockup to find the centerline with an old smallblock motor:
http://i.imgur.com/JDKuSro.jpg

Also have to mockup the rear end for the same exercise. This is a new 9-inch Ford rear end housing from Moser that will be used for the truck:
http://i.imgur.com/CbQo4Pe.jpg



Then fast forward to today - took a couple hours off of work this afternoon to drive up and see the progress:

Now we can mockup with the motor we will be actually using - the LS 5.3L crate motor was delivered recently. Transmission is also on the way now (a built 4L60E), but it has not arrived yet:
http://i.imgur.com/luHhsSD.jpg

Also, you can see that Marvin now has a new rear suspension!
http://i.imgur.com/26RsVDE.jpg

This is exciting, and I love what the shop did with the rear setup. They did an awesome job at listening to what I wanted for the truck. You can see it is setup as a 4-bar (but not parallel) with coilovers and using a wishbone-style (or y-bar) track locator. The bars and cross-members were built out of big, beefy chromoly tubing, and the bracketry was laser cut. Can't heap enough compliments on the tig welding all around. Coilovers and mounting hardware just for mockup purposes for now - some nicer stuff will go on later in the build. The whole thing is mostly just tacked to the frame for now - final welding in will happen a bit later. Here are some more pictures:
http://i.imgur.com/pY9GclY.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/behlDGQ.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xaZg2oz.jpg



So, progress continues. More to do in the next few weeks. New IFS from Scott's Hot Rod's should arrive in a couple weeks. Once the transmission arrives, motor mounts and transmission crossmembers can be dialed in. And, sheetmetal work on the cab will be starting in earnest soon. Will post more updates after my next visit!

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Looking super, nice work...Jim

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Looks awesome!!

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Truck is looking good!

Can you share some info on the rear suspension? Looking at it, I can't understand how it would not bind...usually you see upper links or a wishbone, but not both. Seems like both "sets" of upper control arms would fight each other as the suspension tries to cycle. What am I missing? Does the wishbone telescope in and out?

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Those guys really do nice work. Any mods planned for the 5.3?
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

You're exactly correct! If you look closely at where the locator is attached to the pumpkin, you can see it is a rod and sleeve type of assembly instead of a solid piece. This allows free telescoping and pivoting movement at the pinion centerline, but side-to-side movement remains extremely limited. There will be a grease zerk in the sleeve so it can be lubed up from time to time.



Yes, a couple things. The 5.3L is a really solid motor, but the torque curve could be lower for my preference. So, going to use long tube headers. Also plan to use a carb intake and an EZ EFI system. This may sound dumb, but there are a couple reasons. One, this will bring the torque band down compared to the stock style intake. More importantly to me, the look under the hood - I want the benefits of an EFI system, but really prefer the looks of a carb intake and air cleaner under the hood. The ignition coils will also be hidden so standard style valve covers can be used. The appearance of the motor this way is important to me because it all affects the character of the truck once the project is complete.

Will also upgrade the valve springs and swap to a different cam better suited to low end torque. All these things will also bump the HP some, as well.

The lower end torque is important to me because the truck is never going to the drag strip or anything like that - will be used just cruising and having some fun with around town. So, we won't often see those really high RPMs. So, I want to bring the motor's torque curve lower where I will get more use out of it.

Now, one other idea I'm kicking around is, Wiseco sells a set of rods and pistons that allows you to keep the stock bore and install a longer 4-inch stroke crank. This would stroke the motor to a displacement of 359, and the longer stroke again is nice for lower/mid torque. Part of me thinks this could be a fun and fairly unique modification, but it also might be overkill. Will continue thinking/dreaming about that one! :lol:
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Very nice build you have going on. I was wondeing about the suspension binding also until I looked closer and concluded that that center point had to be a slip joint. Have you driven anything with a 5.3 engine? Just wondering because mine has plenty of bottom end even in a heavy Suburban. Of course, more power is always a good thing, LOL, but I would question if it's worth the extra money and trouble if you don't really need it. You would probably have traction problems with a stock 5.3 in an AD anyway.

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Yes, traction and 'too much' grunt is definitely also a concern. That is why I'll probably just start with the bolt on additions for now and save swapping internals for some later winter if I drive it and think I really want more. I certainly want the truck to be fun to drive, but also easy to drive.
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

That's pretty cool! What made you go this way vs. something smaller like a panhard or watts link? Just different?

Re: Marvin (1953 3100)
 

Well, the particular shop working on the truck has a preference for this style, and after some research of my own I thought it looked like a nice design. There is the periodic maintenance to deal with (grease) but that's not really a big deal and you're absolutely right - I do like that this is a bit more of a unique touch for the project. :)
Posted via Mobile Device