07-04-2001

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  This is the 283 engine that has gone to the scraper yard. The guy I bought the truck from sold me a lemon. After noticing that this motor slowly drinks anti-freeze, I pulled the heads off, only to find the block is cracked. The heads where also showing some fatigue (stress cracks around the flanger ears, which wasn't noticable until the heads where removed).  
  After some further investigating, I found the frame is also damaged. I would have gone after the guy that I bought this truck from, but he conviently skipped town after I bought it.  
  Had I known that the motor was junk, I wouldn't have bought the new distributor cap, spark plug wires & breather cap for this motor.  
  One of the previous owners install come cheapy aftermarket radio antenna. As you might have guessed, this will be going.  
 

Options That Came On The Truck:

  • Stainless Grille Bars (this is not year correct, only earlier year trucks had ss grilles)
  • Rear Corner Windows
Theirs evidence that this truck had (at some point in time):
  • Exterior sun visor, most likely a Fulton Sun Shield (2 sets of holes in the door jam pillar posts)
  • Fog lights (2 holes in front bumper filler panel)
  • Original radio (1 poorly bondo filled hole on the upper cab cowl)
  • Ventien blind (1 set of holes over & under rear window)
  • Hood ornament (2 holes filled in hood, under center strip)
  • Soft bed cover (holes on bed side rails for cover snaps)
  • Hood ornament (2 holes in between hood center halves, under center strip)
  • Peep mirrors (2 holes in front of exterior door window mouldings)
Parts missing or in other words, hacked parts:
  • Upper grille baffle butchered
  • Raditor support missing
  • Lower grille baffle missing
  • Lower grille baffle supports missing
  • 2 vertical grille supports missing
  • Ignition switch (has some weird one in it)
  • Door jab cab door rubber retainers (welded to cab) missing
  • Cab may be bent. Someone bolted cab to frame on driver's side for v8 steering column clearance
  • Both headliner bows (floating & fixed) missing
  • Wrong hood emblems for 1953
  • Seat riser support cut at ends
  • Some wheels are missing studs (eek!)
  • Shocks missing
  • 1 bed support crossmember missing
  • Has 10 bolt car rear end (which isn't quite wide enough so tires rub inside rear bed panels)
  • Heater is out of a 1960's Chevy/GMC pickup truck
  • 2 interior windshield mouldings missing
  • Top interior filler center clip missing
  • 2 heater ducts missing
  • Driver's side interior door moulding cracked near vent window
  • Dash cut at radio opening & choke pull knob
  • Glove box mounting bracket/trim missing