1954 Chevy 3100 5-Window Pickup Is Simply Perfect
Building a classic cruiser the right way.
Classic work trucks will always hold a special place in our hearts here at Chevrolet Forum. They’re an achievable classic dream car, subdued and understated like their hard-working owners.
Due to the hard life they endure, many examples that were once common sights in rural American towns have all but disappeared. Thankfully, restored examples do exist, ready to show a new generation what work trucks used to look like.
This 1954 Chevrolet 3100 5-window pickup may never haul another load of gravel ever again, but after a recent frame-off restoration, it looks like it’s ready to. Painstakingly restored with a few choice era-correct upgrades, the owner wisely resisted the urge to go overboard on the exterior.
Pretty, plain, and simple in a subdued nonmetallic blue with matching steel wheels, this truck wears a minimum of chrome and looks mostly stock. Look a little longer, and you’ll notice the absolutely perfect stance of this classic truck.
How’d they nail the look so perfectly? Lowered Posies leaf springs all around support a 3.08 rear axle with an open diff from a 1950 Pontiac and a three-inch dropped front axle from Nostalgia Sid’s.
The truck is still powered by a straight six, albeit a 1956 235 CI with a hotter cam and electronic ignition. The original Hydra-Matic automatic transmission is still in place, a rare first-year option on this truck.
You’d be surprised to find air conditioning and power windows in this simple work truck, but they’re there, tastefully retrofitted and blending in well to the plain interior.
Subtle touches that update the truck and make it more useful and reliable for modern driving are a recurring theme. In fact, “subtle” is the one word we’d use to describe this truck. In a world of blinged-out billet builds and rough and rusty rad-rod wannabes, we think this classic Chevy pickup is just right. We guess that makes us Goldilocks.
