What tools came with my '50 3600 when new??

[weim55]

I would like to find all of the original tools that would have come with my 1950 3604 3/4 ton pickup when delivered new. How many pieces for the jack? Is the handcrank for the engine also used for the jack? Any other hand tools? Storage bag? Any other paper besides the owners manual? If any of you have pictures of the stuff that would be wonderful to help with the search.

Thanks,

Steve weim55 Colorado

[_Ogre]

nothing came oem.
jack, lug wrench, spare, rear bumper, radio, turn signals, even the heater was an option
50 was electric start, no hand crank available

[mr48chev]

The trucks that you could use a hand crank on have the provision for the hand crank on the hub/balancer on the engine.

The listing for the 1950 trucks on GM Herritage center is rather vague as to what optional equipment was available. https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/doc...olet-Truck.pdf

Ogre pretty well nailed it in that straight from the factory most AD trucks and even up into the mid 50's left the factory pretty bare of options. That is how the manufacture and the dealer kept the base price down although very few trucks ever left the lot with no added options on them. You went down to the dealer and picked the one that was the color with what transmission you wanted and then sat down with the salesman and worked out what additional items and accessories you wanted on it and the truck was sent to the service department to have those put on or in. Northern trucks were usually factory ordered with heaters but southern trucks might not be.

Tight fisted farmers like my grandfather didn't go for many options on their new trucks when they bought them then. I can remember my grandfather, maternal uncle and my dad building the bed and stock racks on my granfather's 48 1 ton when I was little and painting them to match the light green on the truck. It was a big deal that my uncle took the branding iron and burned the brand into stock racks. I'm not sure my grandfather was all that happy with it at the time but the brand was still on the stock racks up into the late 60's.

[weim55]

I mention the hand crank as the '50 3100 I owned in late 80s had one. I was so broke at the time I couldn't afford a new 6 volt battery so I hand cranked the 216 every morning for a month! It works! Every 216 I've ever seen has the clutch head on damper for a hand crank so I assumed all the trucks came with one (?)

Steve weim55 Colorado

[Henry50]

Yes you can hand crank a 216 and they did make a tool you could buy from gm. I think the 46 and back trucks had a spot in the grille for the crank, and 47-53 had a notch in one of the grille bars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oJr...eature=related

[Henry50]

https://www.chevsofthe40s.com/detail...ned_Steel.html

[_Ogre]

46 back definitely has a hole for a hand crank, that's a 41 in the video
did not know the 47-53 had the option

[Henry50]

VLCHEK – The Vlchek Tool Company was founded in Cleveland, Ohio on February 18, 1895 by a blacksmith named Frank J. Vlchek. The company continued to produce mechanic's tools at least until 1969. Sometime prior to 1965, the company became a subsidiary of Pendelton Tool Industries, Inc. The Vlchek Tool Company was then purchased on 6/30/69 by Flambeau Products and tool production was discontinued. Open end wrenches, hammers, screwdrivers, spark plug wrenches, 9" adjustable wrenches and pliers were supplied to Chevrolet by Vlchek. Prior to World War II, Vlchek also sold tools to Buick, Oldsmobile and Pontiac. They supplied tool kits for Chevrolets up until the year 1966. That was the year that Chevrolet discontinued offering tool kits. The tool kit was a standard item provided with each and every Chevrolet from the beginning of production in 1912 through the year 1948. In 1949, the tool kit became an optional accessory. Generally speaking, the tool kits included: one or two screwdrivers, a pair of pliers, a hammer and a spark plug wrench. The tools were usually housed in a tool bag. Cloth bags were used up until about 1955. After that date, a plastic tool bag was used. The only Chevrolet tools which were stamped with the company name "Vlchek" were some spark plug sockets which were made in the 1950's and 1960's. Many open end wrenches can be found at swap meets with "Vlchek" stamped on the tool, however, it is believed that these tools were sold at local hardware stores and were not included in the Chevrolet tool kits.
The following titles, take you to pages where drawings of each Vlchek tool are found. You will note that most of the tools have dates beside them as to when the specific tool was produced for Chevrolet. Most of the information on Vlchek tools has come from: Chevrolet Parts Catalogs, NOS tool kits from original unrestored Chevrolets and from talking with a Vlchek salesman who had worked at the Vlchek Tool Company from 1946 through the mid 1990's.

[Henry50]

Here's what an original 1948 gm tool kit looks like,