08x08 - Chevrolet 3100

[bunniefuu]

A big welcome from the US of A. Yes, Wheeler
Dealers has headed to America to find the best US

classics to buy, restore and sell on for a profit.
I'm in California on the hump for the cars.

And I'm back in Blighty twiddling my spanners
waiting to see what mine's going to send

back for me to work on. The workshop's ready
and I'm ready. All I need now is a car.

Patience, Edward. Patience.
Here's a car. Well, I say it's a

car. Actually, it's a symbol of
American life. A pick-up truck.

This mid-50s classic has got rugged
good looks, a sweet burble from the exhaust

pipe and enough space in the back to carry
everything, including the kitchen sink.

In the 50s, this distinctive
Chevrolet pick-up truck spent

its days hauling loads across
the heartland of America.

Nowadays, the wrap-around
windscreen, swooping lines and

two-fit grille make this 1954
step-side a desirable classic.

Prices for this truck with
its half-tonne low bed and

straight-six engine have
gone through the roof recently.

Unrestored pick-ups are
getting thin on the ground.

Fingers crossed I can
find one for under $10,000.

I've chosen California
to hunt for my rust-free

classic. That's because
it hardly ever rains here.

Pick-up trucks have had
hard-working lives and I want

one that's structurally
sound. I'm using all the tools.

Now, what I'm chasing is the
rare 1954 Chevy step-side pick-up

truck. I tell you what, though,
demand is out, strips apply.

I found one here, 56,
two years newer than

the one that I want,
$95,000. I kid you not.

Then there's another
one a couple of pages on,


This one, $5,100.

If I took that home, it would throttle me.
I think I've got my work cut out.

Well, this has taken a while,
but at last there's an interesting

one popped up. It's exactly
the year I'm after, the rare 1954.

It says, older restoration
in excellent condition,

well maintained and
it runs and drives well.

But I've heard that one
before. There's two pictures on

here and it looks to business
and it's on for only $8,800.

I think I should give the
seller a call. So the colour

sounds very nice, but that's
exactly what I'm looking for.

Cheers then, bye-bye. That is exciting. The
owner, Pete, says it's a good solid car.

He says there are a couple of
problems. One is the engine bay, it needs

some attention and the flatbed at
the back, that needs attention too.

And he's been inundated with inquiries,
but I persuaded him to let me have

first viewing, so I've got no time
to waste. I've got to hit the road.

I'm heading north on a three-hour drive.

I just hope this pick-up
truck is exactly what I want,

otherwise I'm going to find
myself back in this saddle again.

The Chevrolet step-side
owner, Pete, lives just

south of one of my favourite
cities, San Francisco.

You must be Pete. I am
Pete. You must be Mike. I am

Mike, yes. Nice to meet
you. Nice to meet you too.

I've come a long way to come
and see this car. A long way.

Looks amazing, doesn't it?
Tell us about it. It's in good condition.

A friend of mine restored it
approximately 10 years ago and

he repainted it and fixed all
the rust that was on the truck.

That's exactly what I want to hear.
It's a great colour, what is it?

It's a Chrysler cream colour, I
believe. I have an extra can of

paint that goes with it in case
it needs any touching up, so...

How nice is that?
Is it right to have a look under the hood?

Sure. Yeah, help yourself.

Right. Wow. Look at
that. It's all hood and

very little engine in
there. Is that original?

No, it's not, Mike. It's a replacement
engine. My friend replaced it

with the original type engine, 235
cubic inch Chevrolet straight six.

Very nice. Very nice indeed. It's
a bit of a mess underneath, isn't

it? This firewall, that looks like
it could be the original colour?

OK, well that's one of
the things that we could

address. OK, does it run
OK? It runs terrific, yeah.

OK, can I hear it? Sure.
I'll start it up for you. Yeah, please do.

Right, let's see what it sounds like.

That has put a smile on my face. That's
all right. Can you give me a little rev?

Sounds great for a straight six. Very nice.
OK, fantastic. Yeah, you can turn it off.

Right, let's have a look inside then, Pete.
Sure, Mike.

Look at that lovely bent seat.
Oh, it's wonderful.

Yeah, the seat's
reupholstered and the interior

was painted the same
time as the exterior.

Wonderful. Yeah.
Yeah, it's got character inside, hasn't it?

It does, yeah.
These old trucks are a lot of fun to drive.

Well, that's all good.
Let's have a look down the back. Sure.

I do like the low beds on these. They're
fantastic, can't they? Really simple.

It is very simple. It holds quite a load.

This is all a bit nasty though, isn't it?

Well, let's plywood.
The wood for the bed is

available in oak, which
really gives it a nice touch.

Nice finish at the end. Yeah, lovely.
OK, well, it all looks good up here.

Can I just check underneath as well?
Sure, yeah.

Right, now underneath. Well,
that looks nice and clean, doesn't it?

Yeah, it's very clean, yeah. I love that
simple engineering, that ladder chassis.

All nice and tidy and you can see
the load bed and that all looks good.

And it's got twin exhausts.
That's fantastic.

All right, well, so far,
I'll tell you what, I'm

impressed. It's a very,
very nice looking truck.

I'm just desperate to get
it out on the Californian

Highway and give it a
test drive. Is that OK?

You're welcome to, yes. Superb.

I don't want to get caught
up in city traffic, so I'm heading

to a quiet town south of San
Francisco for my test drive.

Well, I feel like a good
old boy in this. It's like

time has slowed down and
I've gone back to the 50s.

I'm telling you what,
what a nice place to be.

It's so charming. It's
not like normal driving.

It's more like a state of mind. I like it.

It hasn't got much power,
but it's got plenty of torque. And

mechanically, it all seems pretty
there, even after all these years.

Inside, it's got a period piece, the
painted dash and these old dials.

And I love the bench seats, but inside,
it's a bit noisy. It's boomy in here.

You've got the engine
roaring away and every bump

and crack you go over, it
crashes through the frame.

I'll tell you what, it's
pretty rough and ready.

So, what am I going to do? Well, to be
honest, I think I found a bit of a gem here.

All right, the rear bed needs some
work and the engine bay needs attention.

Also, I reckon the engine could do with
an upgrade, but just think of the basics.

The bodywork is good.
The chassis is nice and strong.

I even like the paint colour.
I probably wouldn't change it.

Now, he's asking $8,800, which, to
be honest with you, I think is pretty fair.

And he probably has got some people
who want to batter down these doors.

But I'm here and I've got
the dollars in my pocket,

so I'm going to go back
and be a bit cheeky.

I'm going to try and
bid him a little bit less.

But this, I think, is a truck
that me and Ed definitely

want and we're going to
have so much fun in this one.

Well, I've got to tell you,
Pete, I thoroughly enjoyed that.

It's a very characterful test drive.
I like it. I like its simplicity.

There's those jobs to do to it.
Obviously, I want to get it back home.

And I've sort of made my mind up that this
is the one that I want. I want to buy it.

OK. But it all comes down
to, as we say in England,

brass tacks. How much
you're prepared to take for it?

I want $8,800 for it.

I've got $8,000 cash, if you're interested.

No, I can't do that. I want $8,800.

$8,200.

I've got a lot of other
people looking at it.

Oh, come on, have a deal with me.
How about, then, $8,500 cash?

And I'll drive it away.

I'll go to $8,700.

No, you're going the right way. $8,600.

$8,650, you've got a deal.

Hold out your hand. Yes, I've just
bought myself a Chevy Stepside.

What a hard deal. The truck cost me £5,400.

Back in Britain, I could sell on the
Stepside for at least twice that money.

But only if this rough-and-ready US
pickup learned some modern road manners.

I bought myself a slice of
automotive American history.

Well, I couldn't be any happier than I
am right now with our little pickup truck.

I think I've drunk gold.

I'm driving across one of my favourite
cities, San Francisco, heading to the docks.

But the city streets are a real
challenge for a car that's 57 years old.

Come on, baby, you can do it.

These hills of San Francisco have
proven a challenge for our little truck.

It's straining away on the way up.

Downhill, it's a
completely different story,

because these drum brakes,
they're really earning their keep.

It is great fun, though.

Now, the other thing is this truck
really does draw some attention.

Wherever you go, people are waving at you.

It's very nice.

Now, despite its
problems, I reckon we could

be in for a big profit
with our 50s truck.

I don't want to move it
away from its originality.

I want to try and keep it
a stock little pickup truck.

It would be easy to stick a
V8 in it and turn it into a hot rod.

I just don't want to do that.

If we get it right and there's no
major problems along the way,

then this would be such a
rare beast back in the UK.

I could probably name my own price.
Fingers crossed.

I'm leaving the streets
of San Francisco behind

and driving across the Bay Bridge
to drop off the pickup at the docks.

The route home takes six
weeks, and I'm dead excited,

because I'm here to meet the Chevy
at a warehouse at Chatham Docks.

Well, I've made it back to Blighty,

and our pickup trucks made it
all the way back to England, too.

Now, I'm in a bonded warehouse
on the side of the Thames,

and apparently it's around here
somewhere in amongst these boxes.

Look at that!

Our 1954 Chevy Stepside looks
just like I remember it. Fantastic.

Now, it's cost £1,950 in
shipping, plus a bit of tax at £300,

so it owes me an extra
£2,250 on my purchase price.

But the best way for me
to get that money back out

and hopefully show a
profit is to get our Chevy

back to the workshop and
Ed as quickly as possible.

The pickup isn't road legal in the UK,

so I'm arriving at the
workshop by truck and trailer.

Top work, Paul. Well done.

Wait until Ed sees this one.

Ed!

That is fantastic! A Chevy Stepside pickup.

What do you think of that, then?
That is so cool. What year is it?



It's got no rust on it whatsoever.
Just look at that paintwork.

Nice. Was it done recently?

It was done by the previous owner,

and he's even got a
quarter paint that goes with it,

so we've got a little bit of paint.
Interesting.

Saying that, there's very
little paintwork that he's doing,

but look inside. Oh, that is very cool.

Very retro. I love the bench seat as well.

It's gorgeous, isn't it?

Now, it's got a four on the floor.

A four-speed gearbox. It has.

It's also got a stove and a banjo.

A heater and a stereo.

Get you? You're down with the kids.

Now, the problem is with
this, what really lets it down

is driving it in today's market is
terrible because it's so noisy inside.

It's rattly and it's boomy, so somehow
we need to address that problem.

Maybe a bigger banjo,
maybe some sound deadening.

Sound deadening is a really good idea.

Let's show you under the hood.

Because you're going to
like this bit, the business end.

I fell in love with it when I see it.

Now look under there.
What do you think of that?

Well, I would say it was kind
of untidy and agricultural, really.

It is very agricultural and
there's very little there.

It looks really simple.

The good news is it goes. It does work.

The bad news is it's very underpowered,

so we need to get more
power out of this engine.

I seem to remember, actually,
there was a conversion.

either for like a two-carb
or a three-carb kind of kit.

Well, it has got twin exhausts.
Does that help?

That would be cool, actually, because you
can get the exhaust gases out more easily.

You might as well then
just put maybe twin carbs

on the top to get the
fuel and air in. Fantastic.

Well, that sounds like you've got
to do a lot of work on the engine,

which means to me maybe
the engine's going to come out.

Is that right? Possibly.

Because if the engine comes out,
look at the thing to address under here

because when somebody comes to buy a car,
they always want to look under the hood,

and if they get under the
hood of this one, it's a mess.

It's a kaleidoscope with colours.

There's wires hanging everywhere.
It needs tidying up.

Now, what do you like at woodwork?

Why? Let me show you round the back.

Feast rising there, Ed.

I see what you mean about the woodwork.

I mean, it's just a manky old bit of ply,
isn't it, with some rusty metal on top.

It certainly is. Maybe
there's a kit out

there to make it look
a bit more interesting,

a bit of bling perhaps,
maybe a bit of teak.

A bit of teak? What you're
saying is give the pickup a pickup.

Exactly, yeah. It'd be nice if this
reflected the rest of the vehicle.

Now, what about this?

I reckon a little bit of a facelift.

I mean, it's a lovely
truck, but it just needs

something to make it,
well, I don't know, pizzazz.

Well, the obvious thing,
I guess, is the wheels.

I mean, they look pretty original,
but they don't look that exciting.

It's maybe a little tiny something there.

Now you're onto something.

See, the wheels are the
shop window dressing of

any vehicle, so we should
change the ones on this.

It's going to be a great
truck at the end, I guess.

Of course, it's going to be
a fantastic pickup at the end.

Right, let's get it off,
get it in the workshop.

Right now, our Chevy
pickup is looking pretty

good, but to get it


we need to take it
apart and then rebuild it.

And the first job on the list is to
sort out that rather untidy engine bay,

and to do that, I need to take
out the engine and gearbox.

The bonnet, or hood, on
the step side weighs a ton.

Well, not literally, but
you wouldn't want it

dropping on your head while you're
working, so Paul is helping me remove it.

I'll prep it later to have the
underside resprayed a nice black.

Before I can take out
the straight six block,

I'm draining the radiator
and lifting it out of the way.

Then, I'm clearing access to the
engine by removing the front grille.

Now, it might seem a bit
drastic taking the front of

the vehicle off just to get
to the engine and gearbox,

but actually, it's been quite easy
to undo all the screws and bolts

that hold everything in place,
and once it's out of the way,

it's easy to get that nice big straight six
and gearbox just away from our step side.

The twin exhaust system is next to come off

because I need good access
to the underneath of the truck.

To save myself some time, I'm planning
to remove the engine and gearbox together.

But before I can do that, I've
got to remove the differential,

and I've got a clever tip if
you're tackling this at home.

Now, a useful top tip here.

When you take a prop shaft apart like this,

you've got these little caps on the end,

and if I was to pull
one of those off inside,

there'd be loads of little
needle rollers, little bearings,

and obviously, if you drop them on
the floor, they're going to go everywhere.

Rather than do that, I'm
just going to get a bit of tape.

and just go around the
outside and that way.

While I'm jiggling things
around at the other end,

this end will stay intact.

With the diff out, I can
free off the last few mounts,

and I should be able to lift
the engine and gearbox free.

Somehow, with classic cars, things never
quite turn out the way you think they will.

This lovely old truck is
very simple in design,

but it turns out I can't
just take the engine

and gearbox out as one
lump as I first suspected.

Now, the main reason for
that is when it was constructed,

they put the engine
and box onto the chassis,

and then they bolted
the body on top of that.

Now, of course, I can't go to
the trouble of taking the body off,

so what I need to do is take the
gearbox away from the engine.

So now I've got to strip off
this bellhousing cover plate.

or bolts before I can get to the gearbox.

More time and energy, but it's the
only way the lump is going to come out.

Well, the gearbox is
already starting to move,

so now we need to support its
weight with this little Jack here.

Paul is helping me at this delicate stage,

and eventually the gearbox is free of the
engine and we can drop it out and away.

Now, this engine is a
big, heavy lump of iron,

and there's no really obvious, easy places
to attach normal lifting chain hooks.

So what I'm going to do is
actually put a strap at this end,

a strap at the back, and
then attach those straps

to either end of this clever little device,

and the idea is you actually
wind the nut in and out,

and what happens is it moves
the carriage of the cradle,

and therefore it changes the
centre of gravity of the engine,

tilting it one way or the other,

so you get much more control when it
comes to getting it out of the engine bay.

If you don't own one, then a hoist
costs around £30 a day to rent,

and after a morning's work,
the engine is finally up and out.

With the engine and wiring now removed,

you can clearly see how
messy our engine bay is.

What I need to do now is
give it a really good degrease,

then a proper rubbing
down, and then a nice new

lick of paint is going to
help lift our 54 stepside.

When I bought the pickup,

I knew we'd need specialist
parts, so while I was in California,

I dropped into one of the
most amazing spare shops.

You can buy original
parts, custom interiors,

anything you want to
make your truck unique.

Hi, sir, how are you doing today?

I'm very well. I'm Mike.

Hi, Mike. I'm Mike as well.
What can I do for you?

Okay.
Well, listen, it's an exciting place, this,

but one of the things that struck
me straight away is the load bed.

This is a deluxe oak kit with polished
stainless strips, polished stainless bolts.

Look very nice in my truck.
How much is this?

$629.99. Is there a cheaper option?

Yes, there is a cheaper
option, a standard pine kick.

That one's $309.99.

$309.99.
Now you're making my kind of noises.

I'll have one of those. Okay, awesome.

Anything else I can get for you today?
Yes, there is.

Wheels, yes. I'm taken by these.

I love the display of wheels on the show
here, but these ones, they're just amazing.

Yeah, that's our smoothie wheel.

They come bare steel.
They don't come red like that.

They leave it to you to paint your
own color and make it to your own fancy.

It gives it that good, classic look that a
lot of people are going for these days.

Nostalgia. Yes, sir.

That's the word. Now, look at
this chrome ring round the outside.

I love that, and that half moon.

They are separate, about $160
per wheel to get those all together.

$160 for a whole set? Yes, sir.

I've got that for, so I'm definitely
having those in my truck.

Brilliant.
Now, if I'm going to go for all of this

and make it look a bit
brighter on the wheels,

which is sort of the
shop window of the car,

I need to do something
about the front end.

Now, at the moment, it's got.

this badge, which is on the hood,

and it's dented, and
it's a little bit faded,

so can I get a replacement one of them?

Unfortunately not. Nobody's making those.

I mean, your guess is as good
as mine, finding one of those, man.

But what I can suggest, we do have a grill,

a complete chrome
grill to just make it pop,

make it shine to the eye.

No way. I have to say that.

Yeah, let me show you.

Oh, Mike, look at this place.

You seem to have everything here.

We've got millions of parts in stock, but
the one you're looking for is right here.

Awesome.
That's the cream on the cake for me.

That's going to make such a
difference to the front of my truck.

It certainly will.
It's a stock reproduction grill.

You can just bolt it on, no
modifications or anything.

Brilliant. And how much is it?

$569.99.

So that's $570. So if I have that,

plus I have the four wheels, plus
the beauty rings and the half moons,

and I go for the pine,
the cheaper rear bed

kit, how much is that
all going to come to?

You're looking at $1,520.

$1,500 cash?

I'll pay the bill somehow.

Hold out your hand. Sold.

Those parts really fit the
bill to upgrade our stock truck,

but £950 is a big bill,
and it's the first of many.

I want a UK sale price of
£13,000, maybe £14,000,

but we must keep a lid on the
part spend if we want a decent profit.

This Chevrolet step-side
looks straight out of a 50s movie.

Unfortunately, when I got behind a wheel,

I discovered it wasn't such a film star.

The engine was slow,

and the cabin was very noisy.

Can you hear me over there?

It's so loud, I've got a headache.

through driving it.

The engine is Ed's next port
of call as he tries to upgrade

this 20th century truck so it's
at home on 21st century roads.

Before I stick this old lump back
into our freshly repainted engine bay,

what I need to do is
a bit of a modification.

I'm going to take off the old carburetor.

in its associated manifold and then put
on a new manifold with twin carburetors.

The idea is we should get
a bit more power out of it.

When you think that when
it came out of the factory

this engine could muster
a massive 123 horsepower,

every little extra helps.

Stripping down the top of an engine
is a job I've done many times before,

but what I do need is
advice on exactly what parts

I need to upgrade this
five decades old engine.

So I found a company in the US
who recommended a twin carburetor kit.

It should give a performance
hike of around 10 horsepower

and improve the throttle
response for modern roads.

The parts cost 593 pounds,

a big investment and I hope it pays off.

Well here's our new twin carb kit.

You can see it obviously
looks nice and shiny

but it's got one carburetor
more than our original setup.

If I just take these little chaps off.

Now you can see that on
the original setup we have one

carb having to service three
of the inlet manifold ports.

and of course that means it's actually
ultimately servicing six cylinders.

Whereas on the new
system, with the two carbs,

one carb only has to
service one and a half ports,

therefore three cylinders,

so you're going to get twice as
much fuel air mixture into the engine

which means you're going to get a
bigger bang and therefore more power.

So it really is a great little thing to do.

The old manifold pre-heater is
a perfectly serviceable bit of kit

so I've stripped it off the old inlet
manifold to use on our new one.

Next my attention moves
to the cylinder head.

Preparation is really important
if this upgrade is going to work.

Now before I can put on the new
manifold and new set of gaskets

I need to make sure that the
surface of the head is spotlessly clean

because otherwise the
gaskets won't seat properly.

With the head clean and tidy
the shiny new gaskets go on

and then the new
manifold can be offered up.

It's a dry seal so there's no
need for sealant on the gaskets.

The all-important twin carb
retters are next to be bolted on.

I've been assured they'll
work straight out of the box.

If they don't I might
need to adjust the internal

needle valves to get exactly
the right fuel air mixture.

Now apparently this straight
six engine was one of the options

for the checker cabs which of course
those famous yellow cabs from New York.

The oil filter is the
last part to bolt into

place and the twin
carb conversion is done.

And with that all the uprating
work on this engine is now complete

but before I can find
out how well it's worked

I've got to put this lump
back in the freshly painted

engine bay and that
bit is going to take ages.

And that work starts now.

because the pickup truck
is back from the paint shop.

Our pickup truck has been
away at the spray booth

and now it's back I'm really keen to
see this lovely new painted engine bay.

And there it is, look at that.

That is very clean and
tidy, I love the cream paint

and the bulkhead now looks really smart
and the whole thing now ties in so well

with the excellent paintwork
we already had on this vehicle.

I'm being really careful not to
damage our freshly painted bulkhead.

Thankfully the engine bay in this truck
is huge so I've got lots of wriggle room.

It's a one man job using the hoist to
drop the engine on its mounting points.

But an engine isn't much
use without a gearbox

so Paul is on hand to
steady the heavy lump on the

transmission Jack and help me
relocate the four speed manual.

Next the prop shaft is reconnected

and then the twin exhaust
pipes that are so essential

to making this twin carb
conversion work really well.

The cleaned up radiator is slid into place.

topped up and pretty soon I'm ready
to give the new carbs their first test.

I'm not expecting it to
fire over straight away

because obviously the carburetors are filling
up with gas as the Americans would say.

Here we go.

Well they sound nice and rorty.

but they're definitely going
to produce a lot more power.

But of course this truck isn't
all about go it's also about show

so it's about time I completed
the front end transformation.

by fitting the bonnet and
also another new key part.

The bonnet or hood has been given
the usual coat of satin black underneath

to tidy it up.

In post w*r America there
wasn't much money around

for innovation and retooling.

so the bonnet and many of the body panels

remained the same on this
truck from 1947 until 1955.

But by the mid 50s the
US public wanted something

with a bit more bling and Chevrolet
delivered it with a new front grill.

Well this is looking great
with the black paint underneath

the bonnet there but there's
something that Mike bought

that's really going to lift
this truck into the major

league and that's his
bullnose chrome front grill.

Now it was an option in 1954

but many trucks went with
a painted grill just like ours

but I think really this
is a thing of beauty

and we really should
get it onto the truck.

Look at this front end come alive.

It's lost its rather dated look
and picked up a real personality.

Mike was definitely right to buy this
part even if it did cost 350 pounds.

And I've given the little bonnet emblem

a touch up with satin black to
match the new front end look.

Ed, wow, look at the
truck, look at the grill.

Fantastic.

It does make a huge difference doesn't it?

Well I always knew our
master plan to keep the truck

stock but to give it a
lift would pay dividends

and just look at this
chrome stuff on the front.

that's really going
to attract into punters.

It really will but the
beauty's not just skin deep.

Have a look under here.

Look at that.

Look at that lovely freshly
painted bulkhead, the twin carb kit.

It looks superb in here doesn't it?

It looks so much different
from when I bought it

and that twin carb kit that really helped
pep up that sluggish throttle response.

Do you know what Ed, as always you work
really hard and the results are excellent

and I always knew we was
going to earn a few quid out

of this motor but now I'm
absolutely convinced of it.

Well you can start
dreaming of this huge sale

price but I have still
got a load of work to do.

Well come on sunshine get on
with it because I'm counting the days.

It's time to tackle the scrappy wooden
floor of our step-side pickup bed.

So why am I underneath?

Well you see all these bolts
and there are loads of them.

Well they actually hold the plywood to
the metal structure of the pickup's bed

and the thing is they're
really really tricky

as far as access is
concerned particularly down

the edges and down at
the front over the chassis.

So I've got a bit of a bold plan.

The idea is to undo the eight bolts that
hold the whole pickup bed to the chassis

and remove all of it off our pickup.

Now that should certainly
give us some access.

If you bear in mind
this truck's 50 years old

you'd expect these bolts to be
hard to shift but they're flying off.

The previous owner said
the truck had been given

a light restoration so perhaps
this bed has been off recently.

Old steel like this is heavy
so it's a three-man lifting job

and I've laid some thick cloth on
the floor as we drop the bed down.

We don't want to damage
the nice cream coachwork.

Well now I've definitely got better
access to all these nuts and bolts

and if a socket doesn't
work I can just use a grinder.

Mike always says the wheels
are the shop window of a car

but on this truck I think
it's the bed that people

will focus on so this job
is going to add real value.

This old wood is a turn off.

The new stuff will give
the truck real kerb appeal.

The replacement kit costs 195 pounds.

Well it's the last half
going off to recycling

and then we can start
putting the new bits in.

This is the kit that Mike bought
for us to bling up our pickup bed.

Now these mild steel replacement
runners actually came uncoated

which of course is never
going to last a British winter

so I've had them powder coated in satin
black which makes them look a bit tougher.

It's going to be a bit more hard wearing
and of course it's quite a nice touch

because it kind of respects
the originality of our truck

while at the same time gives it a subtle
new look which is what Mike is looking for.

Now the wood also came untreated.

I've given it three
coats of varnish already.

I should give it just one more
coat before I put it into the truck.

I could have oiled the wood which would
have sealed it and given it a matte look

but I think four coats of satin yacht
varnish are a much better option.

It will bring out the
colour and the grain

of the wood and give
the bed a subtle shine.

Once the wood is dry then I secure
the first key piece in place in the bed.

Sometimes these custom kits
don't quite fit so I did measure it all up

before I started screwing
the wood in place.

It's all going pretty well.

I've only just bolted one piece of
wood in position but that's very secure

and once I've done the
same thing on the other side

I can then bolt in the original beam
supports that came with the truck.

You can see they just go up and
down like so and once they're in position.

I can then clamp down the wood and I do
that by using this section of metal here.

You can see it's got like
a little kind of curled edge

and that falls into a
little groove in the wood.

and that gets then bolted
down onto those beams and so

the idea is then, of course,
the wood is nice and secure.

It's going to look fantastic.

It's going to do a wonderful job.

As the wooden runners go in I
can really see the bed transform.

This job will take a whole day from start
to finish but the results are fantastic.

Well, that is looking pretty
special so it's all done for now.

This bed can go back onto our chassis.

Easy, easy, easy, easy.

I love the agricultural
simplicity of this truck.

I just thread the eight bolts back
through the bed and into the chassis.

Lift the truck on the ramp and then fit
and tighten the nuts and the job is done.

Sorting all this wood has been quite time
consuming but what a fantastic improvement

and the transformation
hasn't stopped there.

I replaced these rusty old tailgate chains.

with some shiny new ones
and as a last finishing touch

I've got this lovely little emblem
here just to pop into there.

The truck is looking sweet but
it still sounds awful on the road.

The cab is such a noisy place to
be so join us as we try to sort that

with a clever soundproofing kit.

as we head toward the
finishing line with the 54 Chevy.

Our plan is going well
for the 54 Stepside Chevy.

We're keeping the character
but bringing it into the 21st century

with some subtle upgrades
but the parts bill is climbing fast

so I'm keeping a close eye on
spending and our potential profit.

This is a very basic vehicle.

There's no power steering,

there's no fancy options, there's
not even any sound deadening

so I'm going to do a little
audio test with this sound meter.

So here we go.

Well there you can see on
the display 104.4 decibels.

Clearly that is way too loud
but thankfully there is an upgrade

that we can do which is going
to improve our truck to no end.

It's a specially designed.

automotive insulation material.

First I've got to gut and prep
the cab which takes an hour.

Everything needs to
come out so I can fit as

much sound deadening
insulation as possible.

The bench is now covered in the various
sections I need to attach to our truck.

Now you can see they're
pre-cut which is very handy.

Now the material itself
is actually quite clever.

It's made up on this
side of loads and loads

of layers of this kind
of fibrous material.

The idea of that of course.

is going to be around in the summer.

Now before I can stick the
insulation panels into place

on the floor I need to put down
some sound deadening material.

Now if you imagine you were to ring
a bell and then touch it with your finger

that ringing would stop almost instantly
and that's exactly what this material does.

It's kind of like a dense rubber.

You actually stick on to
various parts of the panels.

It will remove any of the booming

that's going on inside the cab.

Then it's time to cover the
floor with the large sound

and heat absorbing panels
and glue them into place.

Top tip with contact
adhesive wait until the

surface is touched dry
before you stick it down.

Now the kit also comes with this
aluminium tape and the idea is to tape

over all of the joints because of course
sound and heat can get through all the gaps.

Mike sourced this whole sound
insulation kit online for £285.

I reckon a garage would charge
you around £300 to fit it but

this really is something you
could do over a weekend at home.

Now it's time to find out if it works.

So just turn on the ignition.

It sounds better
already but I'll just check

at the meter a little bit
to see what happens.

Wow.

That sounds pretty good.

So 92.9 decibels.

Now, bearing in mind,

before we did all this sound
we got just over 100 decibels.

That is a significant reduction in noise.

So I think it's also going to
make a big difference to road noise

when we go on our
test drive which will be

soon because this
truck is nearly finished.

I love these new wheels that
Mike bought us from the States.

They're called smoothies.

They're kind of a retro look.

so they match the running boards,

the rear bumpers and
the new strips in the bed.

They do look rather
groovy so let's get them on.

The powder coating costs £140.

Good value and a great look.

Now the last thing to go
on is this lovely shiny hubcap

and when you couple that with the beauty
ring this is going to look fantastic.

It's nice and easy to pop into place.

Look at that. Awesome.

With that, our charming
Chevrolet is finished

and it's ready to rock and roll.

It's a truck with so much character
and this sensitive restoration

has kept the best of the past but
added some clever modern touches.

A trip to the Golden State landed
me this 54 with a great body.

The basics were all there.

The plan was to give the truck a bit of
a rev up while retaining its personality.

So first job was to
give the lazy straight

six a bit more pep with
a twin carb upgrade.

The engine bay itself
needed a tidy up and respray.

Luckily a tin of paint came with the truck.

Then it was on to the rotten
rear which Ed managed to turn

into an eye catching feature with powder
coated runners and a new pine wood bed.

The noisy cab was treated to a
comprehensive sound deadening kit

to improve the 21st
century driving experience.

How did the figures add up?

Well the truck was good value at £5,400
but the parts bill was surprisingly high.

Factor in shipping and
taxes at a little over £2,000

and the final bill for our
beauty is just short of £11,000.

Ed, wow!

Look at the Chevy!

Oh!

I recognise the old step
side mate but that is brilliant.

You pulled off our plan to perfection.

Well it is great because we managed
to keep that kind of stock truck look

but at the same time we've improved the
drivability and also that roadside appeal.

It would have been so easy
to just shovel in a big V8,

give it a layery paint
job but no it's an

honest truck and it
deserves so much better.

However I can see a
little nod to the hot rod.

What with these tasty wheels
on it but I really like them.

I reckon I can demand top notch
money for it but first I reckon me and you

deserve a day out in
the countryside with it.

Look at us!

Deep in the heart of
England rolling hillsides, crops

in the fields and poppies
on the side of the road.

It's magic!

It is and yet we're in the ultimate
symbol of Americana, a pick-up truck.

I've got to say it does
seem a little bit strange

driving around these lovely
little back roads of Kent.

It certainly does.

A fish out of a walk on this
motor and people look surprised

when they see us coming round
the corner in our pick-up truck.

But you know what Ed, it is the
perfect place to put it through its paces.

It doesn't want a test track and it
doesn't need a fast mountain road.

It demands the open countryside.

That way we can enjoy an
experience behind the wheel.

The speed out of the corners,

just listen to that, it sounds great too.

In fact, talking of sound, what
about the sound inside the cab?

Does that seem a lot better?

I'll see what you did there, very clever.

Now the sound proofing
has made it much better

because before we wouldn't
have had this conversation.

Now it is cathedral quiet and I
can hear every word you say.

So it does have its pros and its cons.

I think the thing that I'm most proud of.

is that we've managed
to retain the originality

of it, but at the same
time the exterior work,

you know, with the grill, the wheels

and the bed have really
transformed our charming little truck.

So I think we're going to
be in for a bit of a profit.

So what are we going to pitch the price at?

Well, pick-ups like this are a rarity

this side of the pond and it's really
hard to pitch it in the marketplace.

But with that in mind

and as good as this one looks,

good call Edward, good call.

I advertised our 54 Chevy
Stepside on some websites

that specialise in American
classics at 15 grand.

Now I know it's a bit cheeky at
that money but there's an old saying,

you don't ask, you don't get.

Now this guy behind me, George,

he seems to know his
stuff about American cars

and he seems really
keen after the test drive.

But is he willing to do a deal?

So you do like it then, George, didn't you?

Yes, I do.

And this is the nicest one I've seen.

Very good, excellent.

But I think 15,000 has been a bit cheeky.

Well, I think at 15 grand
I was trying it on a bit but

it's a lovely truck and there's
a lot of work gone into it.

What were the wheels and the chrome?

I think it's really smart
but you are probably right.

I was asking a bit too much money
but where do you want to be with it?

Well, I'm looking at 13,000.


that's you being cheeky.

No, I'll give you a grand off.

If you want it, it's a
lovely thing, 14 grand.

Yeah, a bit too high.

I'm looking at 13 and a half.



Let me just get that in my head.

If you make it 13,600,
you've got yourself a deal.

Deal.

Yes, you just bought
yourself a Chevy Stepside.

George got himself a good deal but me
and Ed have made ourselves a great profit.

£2,607, get in.

This is the first pick-up truck.

we've had on the show.

I've got a funny feeling
it's not going to be our last.

This Stepside has bought us a
good profit and do you know what?

It's been great fun to have it round the
workshop but now it's time to move on.

If you want to see what
me and Ed get up to

next, then join us soon
on Wheel Of Dealers.

Tala.