Classic of the Month: ’53 Chevy Turns Heads

Growing up in Argentina, Pablo and his father were no strangers to classic vehicles.

“When I was young, I helped my dad fix some classic cars,” Pablo said. “Since that moment, I just fell in love with trucks, all classic cars,” Pablo said. 

Pablo’s first classic car was a Volkswagon Beetle that he found for a bargain. He also learned to drive on a Willys Wagon.

Later in life, he saw a 1953 Chevy truck for sale in a popular Spanish magazine for classic cars and trucks. 

“My wife realized I was almost in love with the truck, so she got together with my brother and they bought the truck,” Pablo said. “She gave it to me for Christmas in 2005.”

The ‘53 was all original when Pablo’s wife and brother purchased it. He noticed some rust in the floor, and when he started to dig in, he noticed more rust. The repair turned into a bigger project than he initially thought, so he decided to go with a full restoration instead. Most of the parts came from Classic Parts of America. 

Pablo did some of the work himself, and some of the work was outsourced to a shop near his house. Finally, he decided to replace the engine. He found a place in New Jersey that made the engine turnkey for him. 

At the time, he was living in Spain, and his parts came from the United States. He said it usually took a couple of weeks to arrive, but once it arrived there were additional taxes to pay. He applauded Classic Parts for their efficiency in sending parts overseas.

“I think you guys are very efficient in order to send the parts,” he said. “It’s not a big deal. You just have to be patient.”

A lot of the work Pablo did on his ‘53 wasn’t foreign to him since he grew up working on classic cars with his dad. If it was something new to him, Pablo had no trouble learning. 

“I kind of know things, and if not then I just dig in,” he said. “Youtube, I ask people who know how to do it.” If a job greatly exceeded Pablo’s skill, he handed it off to a professional. 

“If you get to the point where the job can’t get done in the right way, that’s when you need to ask for help,” he said.

Pablo is happy with how easy his truck is to drive, and the heads it’s turned overseas and in the U.S. 

“It was a long process,” Pablo said. “It was like 2-3 years because all the parts I had to order, and wait, and find the right people to put it together. Now I’m just to the point, I’m enjoying it.”