Looking for a pickup!! 1952 3/4 ton Chevy

JD Seller

Well-known Member
Looking at Moline-guys pictures below just reminded me of the first thing I ever drove. It was a 1952 3/4 ton Chevy pickup. Straight six with a four speed. Plenty of power to get the job done. Manual steering that seemed real hard for a 8 year old. Drove that truck all over the place for years. Rarely on anything but gravel.

I have been looking for one like it for a number of years. I want one that is in original condition or even an older restored one. I do not want a show queen. I am going to drive this truck. Just a simple go to town slow and farm along the way ride.

I absolutely HATE where the guys hot rod these old trucks up. It ruins an old truck to me. Guys wanting to hot rod one is making finding a solid one harder to find.

Twenty year ago I had to pass one up that was low mileage and one owner. I have kicked myself ever since.
 
I haven't been by there lately but there was a place in Casa Grande (AZ) that had a yard full or old Chevy pickups for stock. They are (or were) in the business of restoring the old pickups to original condition for customers.

I have no idea what they charge.
 
The Gap didn't help when they had those trucks on display in every store. Shop here did them and when he started had nice trucks to work with when he was done could only find rough ones. He saved all those stovebolt sixes for years but eventually got rid of them-didn't have room.
 
I feel the same about hotrodding but its been my observation, especially over the last few years, that most of the hotrodders in my area no longer sacrifice good original vehicles to build them. Not everybody is like the morons on TV who do that.
 
this insnt a truck,,,saw these at the truckstop the other day,Asked the fellow hauling them if I Could take a picture.I got to talking to him,he just hauls cars ,He didnt own them,he was taking them to the port,they were headed for Sweden.I hope they dont start sending pickups to Sweden.
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I hate "hotroddin" also. I have a 51 half ton Chevy under the shed. It has 104000 miles on it. Drove all through the 80's. I am the second owner. I want to get it back on the road someday if I hold out long enough.
Richard in NW SC
 
I saw this one at a show in KY this past Fall. I think it is earlier than 1952 by the door handles, but just an excellent survivor. How long were the beds on these trucks? Looked like this one was 10' long.
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My first ride was a '53 Chev pickup (dark green) 1/2 ton with a 3 speed on the column. It must have been a late '53 because it had a different grille than the one pictured.
 
I don't always hate what some call hot rodding. My old truck is totally modernized, but I didn't start with a restorable vehicle. Basically, what I had to start with was two piles of junk. I had one damaged cab and two decent front clips, plus a REALLY used pickup box. The frame had been damaged too. So not all of us, in fact few of us ruin a good truck to build something like this.
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The fellow from Gas Monkey Garage sold one just like that or that one to a fellow from Sweden. He buys from him all the time.Good chance that was his.
 
I like them original too. Just sold my 1950 Ford 3/4 ton for $800. All original and had sat in my barn for 30 years without being run. No box on back. Just cab and chassis. Flathead 255 V8. Two days later the buyer had it running.

Still got one in my field that's seen better days and might go to the scrapyard in the spring when I get done moving and sell the place in NY. I told he guy who bought the other one he could have the one in the field - but he never came and got it.
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Most times, it's not so hard finding one, it's getting the owner to sell it. They are all going to "fix it up someday". I found a restorable '50 Chevy 1/2 ton 10 years ago in the back of a storage barn. All complete, interior/seat destroyed by mice, wiring harness rotten / chewed up., Rusted out driver side floor board. All repairable, the only thing non original is the engine, it's a later 235. It even has two of the original hubcaps ! The truck is still in storage, hasn't been touched, so covered and loaded with crap you can't hardly tell what it is ! Yeah ! "Gonna fix it up someday"
 
Neighbour down the road just passed away, there is a 195? ford in his shed. All original paint, faded red, it was his fathers truck. It was cleaned once a year, and used 2 or 3 days a year to haul firewood or move things around the yard.

Nephew who is into motorbikes is renting the house from the estate so I imagine one of his buddies will end up with the truck.
 
I wish Sweden would send pickups over here.
If Volvo built a pickup with the same standard they build the semi tractor it should be a great machine.
 
Yup, picked up a 1975 Kawasaki H-1 hoping to relive my youth by "fixing" it up someday. Sold it 7-8 years later for about a hundred less than I paid for it................
 
There is a 1955 for sale in my Craigs List for $1500. Said that it ran and drove to where it is, and that was only about a year ago. Looks to be in pretty darn good shape... It is a lot more than a 3/4 ton though, looks like a 2 ton with a 10 foot frame behind the cab. Has a crane on it, home made.

I think that hot rodding is not always a bad case, IF you like that kind of stuff. My old man has a 1973 Camaro that is restored all original, and then he has a 1972 ElCamino, that is FAR from original. It is built as a full blow toy! Has a 350 that runs like a 454, and a turbo 300 built special to his likes. Looks normal from the outside, but it sure doesn't feel like it when riding in it... :)
 
I grew up driving a 1951 Chevy must of been like a 2 ton ? had a 20 foot grain bed that dumped.
 

There used to be a place in Sterling Colorado that had a bunch of late 40's early 50's Chevy and GMC pickups. West side of town if I remember right. Does anybody in that area know if the pickups are still there?
 
Like this one? It was rusty when my uncle used it to haul grain 30 years ago. Now the doors and fenders and nearly falling off although it looks not too bad in photos. Its about a two ton. Got a 3/4 ton parts truck in the bush.
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Place on the east side of Lamar Colorado that
'specializes' in old trucks.Driven by several times
on trips to Kansas.
 
Sounds just like what I had as a kid- got a job on the farm next to ours when I was 13. The farms were back to back but still quite a walk, and I needed something to go from field to field to change irrigation pipes (he had 5 40's in a row). So I started driving the dark green Chev pickup- I think it was a '51, but they were all pretty much the same in those years. Great old truck- I remember learning to heel and toe the accelerator and starter pedals when starting it.

Back roads were all gravel in those days, and deputies didn't like to patrol them because of the dust- so the rule was, I could drive anywhere, as long as road was not paved.

My pet peeve is not so much "hot rodding" them- at least then, they're still on the road- but rather the guys who let them sit outside for 30 years until there's nothing left, because "someday I'm gonna fix it up." Then, it goes to the crusher after he dies.
 
Have you tried Doug's 4-Wheelers down by Pella? He often has many older pickups and cars on hand (and tractors as well). Might be worth a look. Mike
 
Larry---I think the Cadillac is a 1952 model, with the exhaust coming out the bumpers. I wish someone would identify the 1958 Buick's MODEL. I've seen only ONE in my life like that. It was above the Roadmaster model.
 
I know of one, but of course the kid (about 40)intends to restore it some day. He has had it for years and I doubt it will happen, unfortunately
SDE
 
That Buick is probably a Special being that it's a two door. I had a 1950 Buick Special with the straight eight.
 
Front to rear, %8 Buick Roadmaster Park Lane, 56 Cad Coupe Deville, 55 or 54 Cad Coupe De Ville. Can't tell without door handle photo. Exhaust pipes extending beyond bumper is incorrect. Would love to have that 56.
 
58 Buick is a Limited, biggest, most expensive of the line. Old "Nail Valve" 364 V-8. I had a '58 Roadmaster, which was one model down in price. I weighed it at 4900# at our local elevator. All '58 Buicks were the ugliest cars I have ever seen.
 
I remember my grandpa's early 1950s Chevy pickup. I got to ride to town with dad in it when he got repairs or lumber. I have a lot of fond memories of my dad and that pickup. I remember the horse hair covered spring cushion seat and the octagon shaped starter button on the floor. I think it was a 3 speed "on the tree". My cousin later bought it and restored it, but it was ran into by someone and totaled. That was a sad day.
 

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