Davin puts a fresh spring in the Chevrolet 3600’s step - Hagerty Media

The Hagerty Chevrolet 3600 is still hanging around on the Redline Rebuild Garage lift. Its three-quarter-ton chassis was rescued from a dirt field where it was trying its best to return to the earth by way of oxidation. Davin isn’t going to let that happen, of course, so he’s been tackling various projects all over the truck on the path to getting it roadworthy again.

This week it was the front suspension. The setup is a simple design, with parallel leaf springs positioning a solid beam axle. The relatively minimal number of overall components should make for an easy rebuild, right? Well, not exactly. The solid axle is durable and sturdy, but years of use and abuse have taken a toll on this poor pickup.

The springs were broken and required replacement. Like any DIY project, that meant replacing more than just that one single part. New bushings and shackles got the axle attached to the truck again, but the kingpins that allow the spindles to turn on each end of the axle were pretty knackered.

“The kingpins were something I was pretty well expecting it would need when we dragged it out of the field,” said Davin. “Luckily this truck is so simple compared to a few of the other vehicles that have hung on this lift. It is a pretty quick process to get everything swapped out and back together.”

The front suspension was the last thing necessary before this truck had the green light to go back on the ground. Next, it’s ready to have the engine and transmission reinstalled. Of course, there is much to do before the Chevy 3600 is fully driving, and if you want to follow along with the progress be sure to subscribe to Hagerty’s YouTube page to receive updates with each video that goes live.