paint

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...