Fantasy Build: How We’d Finish this 1954 Chevy Pickup
Iconic Chevy is less a blank canvas and more of a solid jumping-off point.
This 1954 Chevrolet 3100 5-window pickup that we spotted recently on an online auction site is one of the most iconic vehicles from Chevrolet’s history. If someone says the words “classic pickup truck,” you’re either picturing this, a Ford flipnose, or a later Chevy Cameo pickup.
It’s impressive to imagine something becoming so unmistakably identifiable even decades after it was produced. However, these all started out as simple work trucks, designed to be used, abused, and eventually thrown away and replaced. Thankfully for us, this example wasn’t.
Mildly updated with a more modern Chevrolet small-block V-8 and a Turbo 350 transmission, this example presents as mostly stock from the outside. The Rally wheels and raised white letter Cooper tires peg this as being an older restoration, but the two-tone paint job holds up. It’s a very classy silver and black affair, and with a few minor changes, this is something we’d gladly drive up to a black-tie gala in, in a matching suit, of course.
Some subtle pinstriping would really do the trick, and lowering it on air ride with some larger chrome wheels would be a dramatic attention-getter that would tie the exterior together. We’d also swap out the taillights and some of the trim for more era-appropriate pieces.
We’d of course upgrade to disc brakes up front at least, and maybe some finned aluminum drums out back. Both would look really cool behind a nice set of five-spokes, especially with black powder-coated Corvette calipers.
No interior pictures are available, but an air conditioning retrofit and a well-hidden stereo would add the modern conveniences we would need, and we’d opt for a floor shifter and a tasteful red interior to complement the silver and black exterior.
All in all, this truck looks to be a great basis for a project, no matter what direction you’d want to take it in. Most if not all of the hard work has been done, so we’d drive and enjoy it for a while as-is before changing anything.
