Vehicle Description
1953 Chevrolet 3100 Pickup
Originally, rat rods were a counter reaction to the high priced
"customs" and typical hot rods, many of which were seldom driven
and served only a decorative purpose. The rat rod's inception
signified a throwback to the hot rods of the earlier days of
hot-rod culture, built according to the owner's abilities and with
the intention of being driven. Rat rods are meant to loosely
imitate, in both form and function, the "traditional" hot rods of
the era. Biker, greaser, rockabilly, psychobilly, and punk
subcultures are often cited as influences that shaped rat
rodding.
For consignment, the counterculture version of a garage queen hot
rod in the form of a rat rod. This 1953 3100 Series pickup from the
bowtie group fits the part to a T! A bit of intentionally left on
rust, aging, previous coats of paint, and some mixers in weathered
chrome. Mostly original parts used, slammed on airbags, and some
newer mechanicals and instruments, and you are good to go you dirty
boy, you.
Exterior
This truck walks a fine line between invasive rust and rust adding
character, erring on the side of the latter, along with peeling
paint, previous paint, rusted add ons, old beat up badging, some
missing parts and some snappy wide radial whites in excellent
condition which wrap powder coated red steel wheels, also
excellent. We have a sound, fabulously beat up just before it's
ready to say uncle pickup that has plenty of character and probably
a slightly true story to go along with it which you will make up
upon its purchase. Think of it as a blank canvas, where you the
artist will utilize on your wall, (or garage and shows), to tell
said tall tale, the more embellished the more valuable this vehicle
becomes!! Noted anything important to the safe functioning of this
car has been well hidden but certainly attended to, so despite it
looking fresh from the junkyard in actuality it is a work of
intentional planned art, that like a savant, runs like a Swiss
Watch, but looks like it was salvaged from the Titanic. From the
visored windshield to the weathered wood lined bed, it's all ultra
cool in my book.
Interior
A creaky swing of the doors which by the way are solidly hinged, we
see gray vinyl door panels with carpeted lowers whichare a
deviation from the weathered exterior and window surrounds. Some
shiny handles and a nice armrest float in an otherwise smooth and
flat door panel. Moving inside across the plush gray carpeted
floors, we can plop our bodies into some low back gray vinyl
buckets which are in nice condition with no tears, rips, or cracks!
In front of these chairs resides a late model gray plastic dash
with a semi-unfinished cluster hovering deeply within the eyebrow
cutout in front of the driver. Toggles for the air ride controls
have been added and working perfectly I might add, along with a
dash top mounted tachometer and air pressure gauge within a cubby.
An AM/FM/CD stereo hovers above the non functional heater/AC
controls. The headliner shows in more smooth gray vinyl and the
back of the cab is a patined steel, perfectly matching the exterior
motif. Lest we forget the litany of toggles on the top left of the
dash to control the turn signals, fog lamps and the torque
converter electronic lock up function.
Drivetrain
Like a fresh dollop of whipped cream on a 3 day old piece of pie,
the 305ci V8 is taking up every patinedinch of the engine bay. This
has EFI and a 700R4 4-speed automatic on the back. A 10 bolt rear
axle takes the brunt of power emanating forth from this beautiful
mill, all wrapped in the black and slightly rusted dripping glory
metal engine bay, but with only slight wear on this pristine
monster within I just described.
Undercarriage
Even with the airbagsfully extended this hauler was too low to fit
on our lift. That said, we note an independent air bag front
suspension working with another airbagarrangement on the rear.
Power disc brakes on the front and power drums in the rear bring
this hauler to a respectable halt.
Drive-Ability
Upon first impression you'll either love it or hate it. Once you
drive it though you begin to "get it" and it's merely the rat rod
look that is fooling you. The power plant and drivetrain as well as
suspension is no fooling around with gobs of power to shake some of
the rust off the outside, and your brain upon a push of the
accelerator to the floor. Smooth shifting and cruising has been
achieved all the while having it looking like it was sitting
outside since it was purchased from the dealer. A great driver but
with non functional wipers, speedometer and odometer, and as
mentioned earlier, no heat or AC. While Classic Auto Mall
represents that these functions were working at the time of our
test drive, we cannot guarantee these functions will be working at
the time of your purchase.
It's the look, it's the story (which you will totally make up), and
it's the movement in car artistry, which is on this metal canvas,
from 1953 Chevrolet. Rat rodding at its finest on the beat up look
end, and on the pristine well oiled mechanical end neatly hidden
underneath all that rust! A super cool build, well thought out, and
very sound on the mechanicals even if it "don't look it".
L53B022068
L-Los Angeles, CA Assy Plant
53-1953
B-3100 Series
022068-Sequential Unit Number
Classic Auto Mall is home to more than 1,000 classic and
collectible vehicles for sale via consignment in a climate
controlled 336,000-square foot showroom (that's more than 8
acres!). The largest single location consignment dealer of classic
and collectible vehicles in the country is located in Morgantown,
Pennsylvania, just 1-hour west of Philadelphia off Exit 298 of the
I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. For more information visit
www.classicautomall.com or call us at (888) 227-0914. Contact us
anytime for more information or to come see the vehicle in person.
There is no guarantee of mileage. A $299 Dealer Administrative fee
is not included in the advertised price.
With so many great cars, you know we have a lot to talk about, and
we do that each week on the Classic Auto Mall Podcast with host
Stewart Howden. Stewart discusses new inventory as well as trends
in consignments and car prices, while interviewing celebrities and
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