How it Started
The Beginning
It all started about January 2021. A friend sent me a link to a Chevy 1.5 ton for sale in Northern California. Price was good and from the pictures looked like a decent truck. Since it was in California, there was no way I could get it up to Washington. My buddy said he would go look at it for me if I was interested. I was interested but told him not to worry since I would never be able to get it up here.
Fast Forward to March
March roles around and my buddy sends me a link to the same truck. The truck was still for sale! I figured for the price, it would have been snagged up quickly. It made me wonder why it was still for sale. This time I agreed to have my buddy go take a look at it. Didn't work out and in stepped a total stranger to me. He was a friend of my buddy and had the means to retrieve the truck if I was interested in it. He spoke to the person selling it, confirmed the date and off he went to grab it. It was a gentlemen's agreement. He gave me first right of refusal and would keep it himself if I decided to back out. The ball was rolling and the ability to own a Chevy 1.5 ton was in my grasp!
I patiently waited the phone call and follow up photos from the retrieval. I knew there might be some mechanical issues but not sure what exactly. He finally called gave me the full run down on it. Overall, the good outweighed the bad and the deal was struck. I was going to be the new owner! Plans were made for delivery and in the process a new friendship was formed.
It was perfect timing for me. He was already planning a trip here to Washington to pick up another vehicle. Again, perfect timing. I helped pay for his fuel up and he didn't have to make the trip up empty. Win - win for both of us!
June 6th
June 6th is an important date in World War II history. D-Day, the day the Allied forces land in France to take the fight to hilter. June 6, 2021 was the day the Chevy was going to be delivered! It was an exciting morning to have the truck arrive. In the deal I also acquired the running gear from a long wheel base G506. Not knowing at the time, I thought I was only getting the specific parts we discussed, not what was left of the whole vehicle. (cab, engine, transmission, transfer case, front and rear axle along with the remains of the frame.) Sadly that truck was too far gone to be a viable restoration project but a good parts vehicle for me.
I knew what to expect from all the phone calls and pictures but to see it in person was so much better! Yeah, it has some issues but overall the condition is great and the amount of original components still on it is amazing too me. For being as old as it is, it retained so much of its military equipment and parts that are usually missing. That was one of the biggest reasons for purchasing it.
Moving Forward
If you expect a quick restoration, I'm sorry to let you down. This will be a long haul. So don't expect daily updates. But when I do update, I should have some great content to add. I'm really looking forward to working on this vehicle. Owning a truck has been a goal of mine. I just never thought it would happen. I feel like I won the lottery with this truck. I have been involved in two other truck restorations and they both were not even as close to complete as mine.
Moving forward, I am trying to learn as much as possible about the truck and equipment. I have been taking the time to see what I am missing and taking as much photos as I can to document the vehicle for others and for when it is time to put it back together.
My goal is to hopefully put together a great pictorial and information based restoration page for those that plan to restore one of these in the future. It should be a fun and interesting journey!