Dave, You can buy all kinds of "restored" and "modified" trucks but the neat old original untouched versions are rare indeed. I made some changes to my truck, then made some more but am now moving backwards towards more original. 6 volts works just fine. I converted to 12 and went back. The sound the starter makes on 6 volts is just plain cool. The stomp starter gets lots of attention. My vacuum wipers draw lots of attention. Sure you can't go fast with the old 216 and the original gear train but people love waiting for you so they can watch it a bit longer. For safety I did upgrade my master cylinder to a dual resevoir type. I also added an auxillary standby 6 volt battery 'cause no one else can give you a jump if you need it. I built a bracket to hold an Optima battery and BOLTED it to the frame just back of the regular battery, then I ran a second wire from + to the starter. Then I got one of those battery disconnect thingies for the - side and I have a strap ready to connect should I ever need it. However, I haven't needed it so far. I check the charge on my spare battery often enough to know its good to go should I ever need it. Long answer to say keep it stock.
Roy '51 3600 The Sleepy Dragon ----- Original Message ----- From: d...@kvederis.com To: old-chevy-truck@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, August 31, 2013 11:35 PM Subject: [old-chevy-truck] to restore or not to restore - just getting started I have a 54 Chevy 3 window. The original owner was a Texas farmer who kept it for 40 years with no major changes to the truck - it is well worn but very original. I bought it 20 years ago and stored it until my retirement a few months ago. It is time to restore it and I am on the fence about whether to 1) keep it as close to original as possible (for example 6 volt electric), 2) do a modest upgrade (for example 12 volt/ add a radio/change door locks/etc) or 3) really goose it up (for example, go V8 short block/stick on the floor/ lots of chrome/etc. My goal for the truck is to have a great looking and reliable daily driver that I can leave to my son someday. I might drive it in the local fourth of July parade but it won't be entered into a Concours d'elegance competition. I am neither a collector nor car restoration enthusiast but I do appreciate well done restorations and fine paint jobs. I came across and joined your old-chevy-truck group. I am very open to hearing your opin ions and suggestions. Thanks! Dave [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Ole Chevy and GMC trucks rule! To unsubscribe, send an email (with no subject, no body, just the email), to: old-chevy-truck-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.comYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/old-chevy-truck/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/old-chevy-truck/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: old-chevy-truck-dig...@yahoogroups.com old-chevy-truck-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: old-chevy-truck-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/