February 2010

During the Advance Design truck era, 1947-1955, most all spare tire assemblies were under the bed. Though not always convenient, this kept the extra tire away from the bed box and out of the way.

In 1940, GM began offering a slightly wider bed on their Chevrolet pickups. This width increased from about 46 3/8" to 48 1/2".

Though Chevrolet and GMC were usually close in their construction during the 1940's, they were far apart in a few areas. GMC in particular advertised some of their major differences as being steps above the competition.

  For the Perfectionist During the first half of the Advance Design years (1947-1955), GM offered a special panel truck as an option. This deluxe model was designed for a company wanting to give a more upscale appearance to their retail customers. During the era of one car families, the lady of the house looked more toward home deliveries for...

Prior to 1941 in GM pickups, the bed wood of choice was oak. The change to yellow pine occurred at this time and it was used until the end of the wood bed floors in 1987. This southern yellow pine is a hard wood and should not be confused with softer white pine.

Chevrolet and GMC cabs are basically the same during 1955-1959, however their dash boards differ. Thus, removable dash items such as guages, glove box doors, and radios will not interchange with Chevrolet. It seems it was a way GM divided the two marques using limited expense.

The demand for in-dash factory air conditioning or GM trucks greatly increased during the 1960’s. (Automobiles had this feature available since the mid 1950’s.) An under dash “box” (Cool-Pack) was available on trucks since 1958, however, this unit was dealer installed and took up much cab room especially for a third passenger.

During the beginning of the Advance Design years (1947-1949) new Chevrolet Suburbans were sold in one color combination; Channel Green (light) on the lower body and Fathom green (dark) on the upper. Unless the customer paid extra for a specific paint such as for school bus use or a commercial paint color for a company, the two tone green was...

There are few GM accessories that are more unusual and rare than this item that was seen at a recent truck show. It was offered by GMC dealers in 1958 and 1959.

When we look for rare Chevrolet truck accessories available during the late 1950's and early 1960's, few are more unusual than the Chevrolet dealer installed "Cool Pack" air conditioning system. Truck cabs were not engineered for factory air as there had been little demand for this expensive accessory. Most people didn't even have air conditioning in their homes, much less in a truck that was usually for work related jobs.

Since the introduction of GMC's first 1/2 ton pickup in 1936, there has always been a sharing of most sheet metal parts with Chevrolet trucks. This was done mostly for economic reasons. However, when possible, each of the two brands tried to make inexpensive changes to be different than the other. Some specific examples of this occurred during the Advance...

The new Task-Force truck design was introduced in mid 1955. For some reason the panel truck carried the same left tail light as the Advance Design used from 1947 through mid 1955. This is strange as the new body was designed to hold a right and left tail light.

When observing un-restored GM trucks of the 1947-1955 era, one will notice the majority of these vehicles were originally dark green. An explanation is simple. Green was their standard color! If you did not specify one of the other approximately eleven non-extra cost colors, your truck would be delivered green. The standard color of trucks had been thought of as...

Purchasing a 1947-1955 optional cigarette lighter assembly from many vendors provides you a reproduction that is far from correct. It appears an overseas manufacturer decided to offer a lighter assembly made with the currently available 12 volt base and joining it to a 1947-1953 headlight knob.

During 1940-46 the Chevrolet GMC trucks came standard with an unusual interior paint. It added a little extra appearance with minimum extra expense. This has been referred to as "Hammered Paint". While drying this paint develops a fish eye appearance. This helped make up just a small amount for no cloth door panels or related extras found on GM cars. After...

In evaluating the available paint colors on 1946 and older GM commercial vehicles, one should keep in mind the general attitude toward pickups and large trucks during that era. Unlike today, customers bought and owned trucks for work! After five o'clock and on weekends most trucks were parked and the family sedan became the driver. This relates not only to...

After seventy years, authentic car and truck restorations are very difficult. With the limited survival of the 1936 GMC (the year of the company's first ½ ton) this truck is especially difficult to restore just right. Some literature has survived but what we see is usually in black and white. The question is the grill housing color of this rare...

Serious early truck restorers often ask 'What is the interior color of the original cab sheet metal parts, versus the exterior color?' The answer for the 1934-46 trucks is simple. The removable panels from the cab interior were always the inside color. If a component was welded in as part of the cab structure, it was sprayed the exterior color...

When observing un-restored GM trucks of the 1930-55 era, one will notice the majority of these vehicles were originally dark green. An explanation is simple. Green was their standard color! If you did not specify one of the other approximately eleven non-extra cost colors, your truck would be delivered green. The standard color of truck had been thought of as...

  During the 1955-1959 Chevrolet Task-Force truck years, the panel body style remained very popular. To help sales continue to grow, a two tone paint scheme was offered. This option was used for the business customer that planned on having their logo applied to the panel. A wide band on the sides and back was painted Bombay Ivory*. This two...

  If you ever wondered about the color of the primer used by GM before the initial paint, these photos give the answer. This 1957 Chevy 1/2 ton had been polished through the paint in most areas. Of course, our question is: Why didn't they stop polishing when the primer first appeared.

The following article used by permission of the writer: Robert Hensel, Technical Advisor Coordinator for the Vintage Chevrolet Club of America.  Bob passed away several years ago but his GM truck certainly lives on! I do not know of any book that gives the engine colors for all Chevrolets. I have found it here and there in many Chevrolet letters...

Its the annual convention of the American Truck Historical Society. This year, 2010, it is in Pleasanton, California. Over 700 trucks of all sizes and makes gather at the Alameda County Fairgrounds. In a far grassy corner is a sub group of local early GMC owners. Most seem to be acquainted and use this show as a reason to renew old friendships. There are few "trailer queen" trucks in this group, just dependable daily drivers. Most owners know how to repair the occasional problems that are a part of driving a 50 year old truck.

Finding a forgotten 60 year old stored vehicle to restore is very unlikely in today's world. They have been already found and junked or are in the hands of a new owner. The most unusual exception is our feature truck of the month.