sheet metal

The hood receiver plates through all of the Advance Design years (1947-1955) interchange. It is their attached hood release lever that is different due to the grill change in 1954. Note: The accompanying photos show the extra length of the 1954-1955 lever. To add extra stability to this length, a groove was stamped in the lever to prevent bending.

  The differences found on the cab during the beginning of the Advance Design years are subtle, yet on close study soon become quite evident. It probably exists on all vehicles when a body style is first introduced. Lab tests on a vehicle tend to overlook a few problems that later surface when it is in the hands of the...

Did you ever wonder why the 1934-46 GM trucks show major rust on their horizontal flat sheet metal? The mystery is solved! These pictures show without a doubt what a wonderful home Chevy and GMC trucks provide for field mice. After the truck has been abandoned at the edge of a pasture, placed in a salvage yard, or just stored...

Curved Windshield The large one-piece laminated safety plate glass windshield has an area of approximately 1116 square inches. Electric Windshield Wipers Provide constant wiping action regardless of engine load or accelerator position. Wipers have 13-inch blades and a wiping speed of 110 strokes per minute. Two-speed wipers, including a push-button-operated windshield washer, are standard. Wiper arms and the metal portions...

To make the base fleetside tailgate just a little different from Chevrolet, GMC kept their letters body color and surrounded them in a contrasting color. On Chevrolet just the letters have the different color. 1967-1972 GMC (above) 1967-1972 Chevrolet (above)

  How did this happen? Strange but true. The 1971-1972 right front Chevrolet pickup fender has one of its two 350 emblem holes punched incorrectly. This causes the horizontal emblem to slope down at the rear. The left fender is correct. The person that owns this all original 1972 truck states that all 1971-1972 Chevrolet trucks have this unusual feature...

  The convenience of reaching cargo is ideal in a step bed pickup. The step between the cab and rear fender provides a place for the loader's feet while reaching into the bed. Thus, this pickup is referred to as a 'step bed.' With the introduction of the fleetside box in the late 1950's, there was no step. Placing cargo...

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".