panel truck

These commercial vehicles (the Panel Truck and Canopy Express) were designed by GM for local delivery purposes. They usually came with a seat for one delivery driver. A second passenger was not needed so the company that bought the new vehicle saved the cost of a passenger seat. Yes, the passenger seat on the panel truck was a factory option...

Its 1947! A 14 year old Burt Fulmore thinks of a method of getting to school each day from his home in the small town of Economy to Bass River, Nova Scotia Canada, seven miles away. (This island province in eastern Canada is 450 miles above the US most northern state of Maine). He knows his father’s 1937 panel truck...

Jim Carter Truck Parts, in our Feature Truck of the Month series, we try to find examples that are just a little different. This month’s 1941 Panel truck certainly fits in this category! Jeff Stires of Conway, Arkansas is the proud owner and builder of this unusual ½ ton Panel truck. At first glance, it appears to be another great...

Be careful in purchasing used Advance Design rear bumper braces! Even the seller may not know there are two different shapes. When installed incorrectly, the rear bumper will not be in the correct position. The more common rear braces are on the half ton pickup. They are designed to lower the long horizontal bumper so the tailgate can swing down...

In our July 2022 Feature Truck of the Month, we noticed an approximately 7” x 7” metal plate covering a square hole in the center floor board of the 1936 Chevrolet Panel Truck. This vehicle looks almost untouched in regards to changes over the years. It was used for light weight deliveries as most panel trucks were purchased to do...

This month our feature truck article could be called a “three in one”. We don’t usually put several together but in this case they all are from the same era. Their proud owner is Jim Foltz of Long Beach, California. A true older car and truck enthusiast over many years. He has owned vehicles such as a restored WWII military...

Unlike earlier years, the 1960-66 Suburban and Panel Truck rear bumper is not the same as the front on this single body unit.Two items separate them from the front. The bumper brace holes are punched in a different place. They have a separation of 16 1/2” on the rear and 19 1/2” on the front. Thus, they cannot be interchanged.A...

Jim Winter’s 1941 Panel Truck As an aid to delivery drivers working after dark, GM provided an overhead “reading light” on the headliner bow between the front seats. (Same place with or without the accessory right side seat) Its on-off switch is on the wood plank panel metal protector at the left of the driver’s shoulder. CARGO LIGHT: Because only...

Its 1947! A 14 year old Burt Fulmore thinks of a method of getting to school each day from his home in the small town of Economy to Bass River, Nova Scotia Canada, seven miles away. (This island province in eastern Canada is 450 miles above the US most northern state of Maine). He knows his father’s 1937 panel truck...

General Motor’s method of saving tooling cost on commercial vehicles shows up in the production of these tail light assemblies. By the mid 50’s years the increase demand for turn signals, two taillights were required on the panel truck and Suburban’s. GM built them right and left, installed in the body, at the factory for the first time. These were...

Jim Winters of Rochester, Minnesota looked two years before he found the vehicle he wanted to restore in his retirement years. He did not want to spend the time and money required for a major rebuilding unless it suited him just right. Many cars and trucks were checked but few gave him that special feeling he wanted. When he saw...

To add better night visibility to all Pickups, Big trucks, Suburban’s, and panel trucks, General Motors offered a 4 inch diameter 1940-1953 Accessory GM Reflector as a dealer installed accessory.  With the single small factory taillight, seeing of these vehicles on the road could be difficult especially if their one bulb burned out.  To help correct this problem GM offered a...

Attached are some pictures of the correct 1947-1955 GM panel truck seats. The right side was a factory option. This would be special ordered if the owner was planning on two passengers. Though they have been recovered with cloth instead of factory “leatherette”, they are correct in all other ways. What is interesting is how GM made the optional right...

Owner: Paul Flammang It’s another era in our country. We were just coming out of the Great Depression. Employment was on the upswing and car sales were better than since the 1920’s. Families with a little more income began to move away from the downtown centers and new neighborhoods were developing at the edge of cities. Public transportation began serving...

These years are the 'last of the breed'! Due to the increasing popularity of the new G-series van, panel truck sales had continued to suffer since the mid 1960's. By 1970, General Motors panel truck production came to a halt. GM did not even wait until the end of the body series in 1972! This 'enclosed body on a pickup...

Even before the 1920's, light commercial hauling using panel trucks had found a loyal growing customer base. With increasing numbers of small businesses and the population gradually moving to the cities, the panel truck found a place in our society. By the 1930's, most all truck manufacturers had designed a panel body to fit on their existing pickup truck chassis...

What a rare panel truck! This little 1934 Chevrolet is almost a "one of a kind". With it being under construction, we just had to share these pictures.

With the introduction of the Advance Design panel truck in mid 1947, it was soon evident that a serious safety hazard existed with a few companies, some night deliveries required the rear double doors to be open. This prevented the taillight from being seen! No doubt this caused some accidents particularly with a fast vehicle coming from behind, with dim...

The very practical panel truck produced from the early 1920's through 1970 was an excellent cargo vehicle. Merchandise was protected from the weather and equally important from easy theft. Being a freight hauler, its cargo floor is like the pickup truck. Hard yellow pine and cross sills support the weight and merchandise slides on the metal strips.

In designing the panel truck, engineers realized that this vehicle must have a bumper for body protection. This bumper however, created a slight problem! It held the person loading freight further away from the vehicle cargo floor. He was required to lean further forward to reach merchandise. To help solve this problem, GM modified the standard bumper to come closer...

  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...