Ditto to Roy. The straight 6 will get you lots more attention at car shows.
There are so many 350/350 combos at car shows these days that I just ignore
them. If you want to make it easier to start after long storage, there are fuel
injection options out there. FAST is one manufacturer.
Lyn 1955 1st series chevy truck, 5 window
--- In old-chevy-truck@yahoogroups.com, <old-chevy-truck@yahoogroups.com>
wrote:
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: dave@...
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 y
our opinions and suggestions. Thanks! Dave
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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