Grandpa's 1940 Chevrolet Pickup

[89 MJ]

This is a very sentimental truck to my family and I. There are a variety of places that I can start the story about this truck, but I think I'll go all the way back to the beginning, before this truck was even in the picture.

 

Back in the late 80s, my father and grandfather restored and made a street rod out of a 1934 Chevrolet Master Town Sedan. This car hit the road in 1987. It got painted in the early 90s. It was a fairly mild street rod that had some revisions made over the years, but it always had a small block Chevy with a tripower. It was my grandpa's daily driver for decades. More on that to come though.

 

 

My grandma used to do daycare, so that was where my cousins, brother and I all went. Naturally, we all liked to spend time with grandpa out in the garage. He was usually either working on some little project on the 34 or working on his prostreet 40 Chevy pickup. It had a big block chevy in it and was chopped and the cab was stretched.

 

One day, my dad had somehow come across the current 40. He was going to buy it, but didn't have enough cash and the sellers wouldn't take a check, so my grandpa ended up buying the truck. It got all of the metal work done, a Heidt's Mustang II front suspension, fiberglass fenders and running boards, a Vortec SBC and 700R4, and (I believe) a 3rd gen Camaro rear end. The prostreet 40 got sold and traded for some parts for this truck because this truck was going to be a lot more drivable. This truck is yet to see the road, but it has done driveway burnouts in town with open headers.

 

And this is where the story takes a turn. 

 

June 1st, 2016 was an absolutely gorgeous day. Perfect weather. My grandpa cut the grass at his house and used his Chevy Avalanche to haul grass clippings to the dump. He then came back and got his 34 and was driving on the freeway. Another car hit him, he went into the cable guardrail, it tore the car up (wooden structure of the body) and he passed. The car that hit him was never found.

 

To this day, we do not know why he was on that road. The media said it was street racing, but the police report concluded that was not the case. I think he probably was just out enjoying the beautiful weather in his car. 

 

Understandably, my grandmother could not stand to look at the 40, so we put it in her storage unit. 

 

This is where the story gets less sad again.

 

When we were loading the 40 on the trailer, we were driving it because it was easier. Now, the truck had a slight fuel leak and had open headers. Well, the truck just happened to backfire and it became a fireball. No damage was done though, which was lucky. This was just grandpa having some fun with us.

 

Fast forward 6 years and my grandma wanted to get rid of her storage unit, as it was an expense she really did not need. I was allowed to take over on the 40, so I jumped at the opportunity. I'm hoping to get the truck drivable next summer.

 

My parents had to go get the truck for me because I am in AZ and the truck is in WI. Here is the only picture I have of it at this time. It is loaded in my parents' enclosed trailer. I do have the bed for it.

 

 

Those of you eagle-eyed people or people with a really good memory will notice the plate number on my grandpa's 34 is the same plate number I have on my MJ and Eagle. This is because I took over on his collector plate.

 

Plans for the truck:

It's going to be a tribute to my grandfather with my own twist. It is going to be a combination of the 34, what he wanted out of the prostreet 40, and what this 40 was going to be.

Aspects it will share with the 34:

1. Multiple carbs (dual quads on this one, more than likely)
2. Ford rear end (I'm thinking I want a 3.73 8.8 with an LSD to hold the power better than the Camaro rear end. The 34 had an 8")
3. Possibly the trunk (I'm not sure yet. We have an extra 34 Chevy trunk that I might want to use as a tool box, but I also know my dad has a plan for it to be an entertainment center too)
4. Trailer hitch (We use our old cars! That 34 towed quite a bit)

Aspects it will share with the prostreet 40:

1. Its a 40 Chevy pickup...
2. BIG BLOCK POWER, BABY!!! (Yup, this is getting my 348 with dual quads)

Aspects that will be unchanged from the way my grandpa had it:

1. Overdrive transmission (700R4)
2. Mustang II front suspension
3. Good, daily drivable truck
4. Color (He wanted GM Arrival Blue from the early-mid 2000s. I like that color too)
5. Possibly lettering on the door

Where is my twist coming in? I want to give it a 60s-70s hot rod shop truck kind of look. This upcoming summer, I want to try to build my 348 for it and get the truck in black primer so I can go out and drive it some.

 

Because you read all of that, here are some of my inspiration photos.

 

I dig the no bumper look. That's the way my grandpa was going to run it too.

[jpnjake]

That’s gonna be a really cool truck and sorry again about your grandfather, it’ll definitely be a cool tribute build 

[89 MJ]

5 minutes ago, jpnjake said:

That’s gonna be a really cool truck and sorry again about your grandfather, it’ll definitely be a cool tribute build 

Thank you, it should be fun. Truth be told, he went out the way that he would've wanted to. It was a beautiful day and he was in the car that he loved.

[89 MJ]

My parents picked up the bed for me yesterday. 

[Manche757]

How did you manage to find a bed for a 1940 truck? Have it made?

 

Were the original front ends so low to the ground?

[89 MJ]

1 hour ago, Manche757 said:

How did you manage to find a bed for a 1940 truck? Have it made?

 

Were the original front ends so low to the ground?

My Grandpa had the bed made for it. You can buy new bedsides for a lot of these trucks though. These ones are actually inspired by the 54 and newer GM truck bedsides. Note how the top of the bedside makes a 90 degree angle, much like how most newer truck beds are flat at the top. The 53 and earlier GM trucks had bedsides that made 45 degree angles. My Grandpa, Dad, and I all prefer the 54+ bedside style (which is what my dad will be running on his 53 Chevy COE) because it gives more availability for tonneau covers. That was way more information than you were looking for, I'm sure.

 

All of the trucks I posted pictures of, including mine have been lowered. These trucks had a straight axle originally that, in my case at least, was replaced by a Mustang II style suspension for better handling, disc brakes, and parts availability. I will attach a picture of a truck at stock ride height. Way too high for my taste. And this truck will get worked too. My family has a history of using our hot rods for work. My grandpa's 34 towed trailers, my parents' old 49 Chevy truck helped them remodel their house and was a frequent sight at the lumberyard, my parents' 46 Chevy sedan towed our car trailer (with only a gokart on it) and plenty of other small trailers.

[Manche757]

The grill is awesome and makes the look of the truck.  I like the original level look. Your family has quite a menagerie of vehicles. Ones from the 1930s, with headlight laterns mounted on the fenders, are often considered nirvana for antique vehicle collectors.  Any from that period? Chevrolet 1930s pickups had wood frames are rare finds today but I sure would like to have one. Mind if I ask how old your Dad is? It looks like he liked older cars when he was young.

[89 MJ]

2 minutes ago, Manche757 said:

The grill is awesome and makes the look of the truck.  I like the original level look. Your family has quite a menagerie of vehicles. Ones from the 1930s, with headlight laterns mounted on the fenders, are often considered nirvana for antique vehicle collectors.  Any from that period? Chevrolet 1930s pickups had wood frames are rare finds today but I sure would like to have one. Mind if I ask how old your Dad is? It looks like he liked older cars when he was young.

Only my grandpa had a 30s vehicle, his 34. My dad is 47. My cousins, brother, and I are all 5th generation car people. My great-great grandma and great-great grandpa got into the hobby when they restored a 1914 Overland that they pulled out of a dry riverbed. We have pictures of it at home.

I'll give a quick rundown of the current Pre1990 cars in my entire family's collection. Everything else has been sold.

 

My Parents:

64 Chevelle SS Convertible

64 Chevelle Convertible (parts car)

53 Chevy COE

 

Me:

40 Chevy pickup

86 AMC Eagle

89 Comanche

 

My Brother:

89 GMC Jimmy (parts truck/project)

83 J10 Honcho 

79 J10 (parts truck/project)

 

My Cousin:

72 Lemans GT (poor man's GTO, even has the GTO rubber bumper from the factory)

 

[89 MJ]

I updated the title of this thread. It previously was "1940 Chevrolet Pickup Street Rod". I changed it to "Grandpa's 1940 Chevrolet Pickup" because, despite the fact that the truck is now mine, it is still my Grandpa's in my head.

[Manche757]

Impressive.  Let the 1940 pu be a forever truck.  Post a pic of the 1914 Overland when convenient 

[89 MJ]

26 minutes ago, Manche757 said:

Impressive.  Let the 1940 pu be a forever truck.  Post a pick of the 1914 Overland when convenient 

Will do. I’m in AZ until December, but I’ll have my brother or parents shoot me a pic

[89 MJ]

My dad got the truck to run after putting a new battery in it. Of course, not without its issues though. The truck currently has a TBI 350 in it. My Grandpa replaced the TBI with a carb, but because it is a TBI engine, it does not have a place for a mechanical fuel pump. The current electric fuel pump makes way to much pressure and was flooding the carb and the fuel pressure regulator was puking fuel. We'll have to figure that out so the truck can at least be moved around the property.

[89 MJ]

The bed is on. I do have rear fenders for it, they should be in my dad’s enclosed trailer. The truck didn’t have the bed on when we got it because my grandpa was doing some work on something towards the rear before progress on the truck stopped. The bed had to go on though because my parents bought a “new” truck. It’s a ‘17 Sierra that’s been hit on the right side. So we have 77 years of GM truck technology sitting in our driveway. 
And the fuel pressure regulator got replaced. 

The hood got warped when that middle piece got welded in, so it’s going to be replaced by a stock hood. 

Yup, that’s a 2” receiver on a street rod. I told you we use our hot rods for work. And I also see that this has the pre-54 bedsides. I thought it had the post-54 bedsides. 

My parents’ new truck. It’s a double cab, so it has the shorter rear doors, with a 6.5” bed. 5.3, Z71 package, 6 passenger interior, and heated seats. Should be a good truck. The right side doors are in the bed. The right rear is straightenable, but the right front needs replacing. As does the fender and front bumper. The rocker panel is also pushed in. It also mangled some of the suspension, but that was fixed pre-picture. 

[Pete M]

your grandpa sure had good taste in trucks  

[89 MJ]

1 hour ago, Pete M said:

your grandpa sure had good taste in trucks  

Indeed he did. I believe between him and my father, they had like 5 or 6 of these trucks over the years. He also had a 67 Chevelle SS396 in Marina blue that he got from—get this—my great-great grandmother. 

[olddude]

I love it! Of course, I love old trucks. I had a 54 GMC 5 window that I restored and put a SB Chev. engine in. Wish I still had it.

[89 MJ]

56 minutes ago, olddude said:

I love it! Of course, I love old trucks. I had a 54 GMC 5 window that I restored and put a SB Chev. engine in. Wish I still had it.

Nice! I also have a build thread of my dad's 53 Chevy COE on here. They are neat trucks for sure!

[89 MJ]

A side by side comparison to my parents 17 Sierra that they bought wrecked and are fixing. 

 

The grille above the little door in the shop is the grille off of my grandpa’s 34 (see first post for story). It’s been 6 years since these two front ends have been under the same roof. 

[Manche757]

What is the grill from above the large door?

[watchamakalit]

Looks to be a Willys product

[89 MJ]

3 hours ago, Manche757 said:

What is the grill from above the large door?

 

29 minutes ago, watchamakalit said:

Looks to be a Willys product

Above the large door is a Willys Wagon grille, then a 51 Chevy truck grille, the 34 grille to the right of that, and on the next wall is a 46 Chevy car grille. 

[89 MJ]

Here’s a okay picture of the engine. It’s just a TBI crate motor that has a 4 bbl carb and an aluminum intake on it. I plan on doing more work on this thing tomorrow too. 

[89 MJ]

I did not get done as much as I had hoped to while I was in WI. The electric fuel pump that my grandpa installed died, so I replaced it with a mechanical pump because I prefer them. That was the first time I’ve heard the truck run in person in over 6 years. It felt good. 

[Pete M]

 

[89 MJ]

Over the summer, I was able to find another hood for the truck, along with a windshield frame, which I needed. 

 

There is a slight issue with the hood, though. This hood is for a 41-46. I need a 39-40 hood. The difference is is the front where the top grille bar is on a 39-40, there is the bottom of the hood. The hood sides are also different. Thankfully, I should be able to trim the front of the hood to work with my grille and I have other hood sides. It’s a shame to modify this hood, but I never found anyone interested in trading this hood for a 39-40 hood