1951 Chevrolet 3100 Image gallery of my restoration in progress ...
This image gallery is provided for all the great folks at Stovebolt.com who continue to provide inspiration and support (both technical and moral!) Due to actually having a job, I only get to work on the truck on Saturdays (the shop is closed on Sundays), so progress is sloooowwww.
. . . click on image for a larger view, images will open in a new window . . . August 2007
Purchased on 07 August 2007 in Atoka, TN. These pics were taken on day I saw and bought the truck. Nice straight vehicle with only minimal surface rust. Woo-Hoo!.
January 2008 May 2008
Poor truck weathered the winter in Finally drug the ole girl to Florida in April 2008. Sat on this trailer for a month before I started tearing down the sheet-metal.
front of my hooch in Millington, TN.
May 2008 June 2008
Front-end comes apart easily enough. Everything is just bolted together. Everything looks good so far, no hidden rust or surprises. June 2008, finally get an indoor booth .
July 2008
Here's a look at the original 216. Very clean and serviceable. Motor has an old rebuilt tag on it, but company no longer exists. Bed is off, chassis is clean and straight!
August 2008
Interior gutting begins. Enclosed driveshaft and right rear suspension. Have removed the windows Dash is stripped of gauges and panels
Still amazed at great condition of truck.
September 2008
Floorboard is in pretty good shape New hood standing by 235 motor from a '54 panel truck, was able to hear it running before purchase Seat taken to upholstery shop for new padding and recovering.
October 2008
Engine on stand from plans at Stovebolt.com finally took the hood and hinges off Cleared the underdash of all padding. Vent windows removed from doors
Thanks to Stephen "Farmdog" Peterson The blue in lower left of pic is
original Mariner Blue color.
November 2008
Truck on stands, engine out (finally). Wheels off and starting to wirebrush the chassis.
February 2009 Didn't get much done over the Christmas holidays. Wirebrushing the chassis myself would have extended my build time by a couple of years (HA!) ... just not enough free time. I now have the truck at Auto Marine Industrial Services (AMI), a local fabricating and body shop located in Atlantic Beach, Florida. They will blast the chassis and panels to metal, repair areas that need it, prime with an epoxy primer and then paint the truck to the color of my choice (I'm leaning towards the original Mariner Blue from 1951). Great group of guys at AMI, they have been in the same location for more than 20 years. 
Truck as delivered to AMI. I needed some tires to roll the truck out of the teardown bay and I stumbled on these perfect Firestone WWW's on sale locally through craigslist. Paid about half of what they go for from Coker's. AMI will pull the cab off the chassis for a full frame-off resto. Truck bed after bead-blasting.
March 2009 Deconstruction continues. Cab pulled from chassis. Blasting and priming of major body panels. Discovered some pinholes that will require repair. Am expecting to replace the cab corners and lower passenger-side firewall and footwell. Chassis is nice and straight and will require just a pressure wash, bead-blasting, prime and paint. Will replace the stock brake reservoir with an after-market dual reservoir and possibly add the power-assist booster. 
