55.2-59 fender difference between light and medium duty

[jmlloar]

looking at a set of medium duty fenders.
how much diff is there between the pickup fender and medium duty fenders?
I'm considering them hoping it is just larger and wider at tire opening.
also fitment to hood and radiator support?
I know they will match the cab but other than that what makes them different???

[_Ogre]

depends. you should really add the year and make of your truck in your signature

55-59 chevy/gmc trucks have the same cab in all but the coe model
3100 to 3800 have the same cab, fenders, grill, doors, every but frame and suspension

58-59 viking trucks were the medium duty trucks up to 2 ton
the cabs were the same. fenders, hood, grill were wider with bigger wheel openings
hard to tell but the fenders are 2" wider on each side

58-59 spartan trucks were the heavy duty otr haulers
the cabs were the same. fenders, hood, grill were wider with bigger wheel openings
same as viking


viking



spartan



you also had the coe version, like buggy, if you've been here a while

[jmlloar]

55.2 to 57

Sorry forgot to say that.

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by jmlloar

55.2 to 57

Sorry forgot to say that.

you've been here long enough
really ought not have to ask you the year, make and model of your truck

[_Ogre]

same, chevy just didn't have the cool names
APACHE, VIKING and SPARTAN
manly names, not like the 55.5-57

truck, medium truck and heavy duty truck

[_Ogre]

and now i see you have a 3/4t gmc
i'll be honest, no idea, not familiar with gmc
they don't have cool names either

[jmlloar]

gmc or chevy doesnt matter. fenders are same

[1project2many]

There are *many* subtle differences between fenders across the years and makes. From 55-57 Chevrolet lists five different part numbers for fenders for each side of the vehicle. Here's their breakdown:

Chevrolet:
1955-1956 all except Forward Control
1955 Forward Control and 1956-57 FC except series 4,5,6
1957 Series "3" (3100, 3200, etc)
1957 Series "4,5,6"
1956-1957 Series "4-6" Forward Control

Folks on other boards say the front axle was moved 2 1/2" forward on the series 4,5,6 "Non-LCF" trucks causing the wheel well opening to be moved about 1" forward.

GMC fenders have some differences from Chevrolet fenders but IIRC they are minor and have to do with holes for grille and light mounts. I tried looking parts up in the GMC catalog but it requires a bit more practice than the Chevy book.

[jmlloar]

Originally Posted by 1project2many

There are *many* subtle differences between fenders across the years and makes. From 55-57 Chevrolet lists five different part numbers for fenders for each side of the vehicle. Here's their breakdown:

Chevrolet:
1955-1956 all except Forward Control
1955 Forward Control and 1956-57 FC except series 4,5,6
1957 Series "3" (3100, 3200, etc)
1957 Series "4,5,6"
1956-1957 Series "4-6" Forward Control

Folks on other boards say the front axle was moved 2 1/2" forward on the series 4,5,6 "Non-LCF" trucks causing the wheel well opening to be moved about 1" forward.

GMC fenders have some differences from Chevrolet fenders but IIRC they are minor and have to do with holes for grille and light mounts. I tried looking parts up in the GMC catalog but it requires a bit more practice than the Chevy book.

ok lets simplify this. lets say whats the diff between a 1956 chevy 1 ton and a 1956 chevy 1.5 ton other than emblem holes????

And just for info. other than the fender emblem holes. the 55, 56 and 57 gmc fenders are the same as the 57 chevy in the pickups. the gmc grill needs the dimple and hole that the 57 chevy uses. and the gmc fenders have the chevy marker light holes but they are not used and are hidden behind the gmc grill and the grill actually holds the marker lights.

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by jmlloar

ok lets simplify this. lets say whats the diff between a 1956 chevy 1 ton and a 1956 chevy 1.5 ton other than emblem holes????

You asked a very open ended question about an unknown truck and then get indignant when we can't answer your specific situation. Don't be a that guy. Gmc and Chevy are not the same. Mostly marker light and trim differences. The big difference is the wheelwell opening, it is huge. Compare any 3100-3800 wheel opening vs the pics above. Probably 4"-6" difference for the 22" wheels the big trucks ran

Yes your hood will fit. I mention that in my 1st post. Had you read it

[dsraven]

how much difference are you looking to gain? are you talking about going to a larger tire diameter or a wider stance or both?

[jmlloar]

Originally Posted by dsraven

how much difference are you looking to gain? are you talking about going to a larger tire diameter or a wider stance or both?

both

[1project2many]

ok lets simplify this. lets say whats the diff between a 1956 chevy 1 ton and a 1956 chevy 1.5 ton other than emblem holes????

According to GM, provided you don't have "Forward Control" Bertha style truck, none.

Chevrolet:
1955-1956 all except Forward Control

And just for info. other than the fender emblem holes. the 55, 56 and 57 gmc fenders are the same as the 57 chevy in the pickups.

I learned that after spending a weekend at a local farmer's removing the fender from a '57 GMC truck that had been parked in the woods for years. I worked my 17 yr old butt off to remove it with hand tools only to find it was not the same as my '55 Chevy fender.

[jmlloar]

lots of searching to find out,
no reproduction gmc fenders made, but the dimple on 57 only chevy truck makes them the same as the 55 56 and 57 gmc. so actually if you order a 57 chevy truck repo fender it will fit a 55 56 and 57 gmc other than emblem holes are different and the 55 gmc will need a few holes for lower piece of the grill "mustache" drilled below where the chevy marker light would be. but the actual stamping is the same.

Reason I was asking about fenders is I can get a set of medium duty ones that only look from pictures to have a larger cutout for tire and a wider lip around the opening. if thats the case and my pickup hood will match it, I think they will fit better with my wider wheel to wheel measurements and going up to a 17 or 18" wheel.

[1project2many]

Originally Posted by jmlloar

lots of searching to find out,
no reproduction gmc fenders made, but the dimple on 57 only chevy truck makes them the same as the 55 56 and 57 gmc. so actually if you order a 57 chevy truck repo fender it will fit a 55 56 and 57 gmc other than emblem holes are different and the 55 gmc will need a few holes for lower piece of the grill "mustache" drilled below where the chevy marker light would be. but the actual stamping is the same.

That's very useful information. The GMC parts manual was much harder to interpret. They use a series of drawings showing front and side of truck and a three letter code to identify the truck. I can see it being useful to a parts counter employee (match picture to truck then order) but for this query it was not helpful.

Reason I was asking about fenders is I can get a set of medium duty ones that only look from pictures to have a larger cutout for tire and a wider lip around the opening. if thats the case and my pickup hood will match it, I think they will fit better with my wider wheel to wheel measurements and going up to a 17 or 18" wheel.

I'd be interested to know the actual difference, say wheel opening width alone or is the wheel well center moved also?

[paulspickupparts]

Fenders are taller and wider on the Series 4 5 and 6 (1 1/2 - 2 Ton ) than the series 3 pickup version . Hoods are also longer. Plus the front area that meets the grille supports is a different shape and will not match to the pickup. I just cut a big truck fender to grill support area to a guy that is converting a 55-57 Chevy pickup to the big truck grille . He is using pickup fenders with the big truck (boob style grille ) . Also have to convert the upper grille cross bar. I have never checked the actual wheel center opening of a 1/2 ton verses 1 1/2 ton. I will do that sometime a if you were building a 4 x 4 with large tires that would be a nice setup to use. Good luck .

[jmlloar]

Originally Posted by paulspickupparts

Fenders are taller and wider on the Series 4 5 and 6 (1 1/2 - 2 Ton ) than the series 3 pickup version . Hoods are also longer. Plus the front area that meets the grille supports is a different shape and will not match to the pickup. I just cut a big truck fender to grill support area to a guy that is converting a 55-57 Chevy pickup to the big truck grille . He is using pickup fenders with the big truck (boob style grille ) . Also have to convert the upper grille cross bar. I have never checked the actual wheel center opening of a 1/2 ton verses 1 1/2 ton. I will do that sometime a if you were building a 4 x 4 with large tires that would be a nice setup to use. Good luck .

by taller and wider you mean the wheel opening? Since they both use same doors cant be the actual fender left to right unless the fender bulged out.

could have sworn hood part number was same for both. will look again tonight. at least on 55 and 56 and same goes for both on 57

[paulspickupparts]

Originally Posted by paulspickupparts

Fenders are taller and wider on the Series 4 5 and 6 (1 1/2 - 2 Ton ) than the series 3 pickup version . If you look just ahead of the door gap they almost immediately curve out . Also they are taller on the front . from the top of the fender on the front the big truck is taller by at least a couple of inches . The rears that meet the door are slightly taller in that area. The ribbed area of the wheel opening has thicker rib than a pickup . So it comes out slightly below the door . Chevy and GMC compensated on the big trucks by putting a little scabbed on rocker molding . This add on rocker molding matched the profile of the fender and is wider than the original rocker molding. Its not much taller and mainly in the ribbed area. Probably a 1/2 to 1 inch . I believe the hoods will interchange but thru 55-57 but would have get the tape measure or the impact out to be sure . Plus the front area that meets the grille supports is a different shape and will not match to the pickup. I just cut a big truck fender to grill support area to a guy that is converting a 55-57 Chevy pickup to the big truck grille . He is using pickup fenders with the big truck (boob style grille ) . Also have to convert the upper grille cross bar. I have never checked the actual wheel center opening of a 1/2 ton verses 1 1/2 ton. I will do that sometime . If you were building a 4 x 4 with large tires that would be a nice setup to use. Good luck .

edit

[Rickysnickers]

Ok, fellas. Let's stay on topic.

[jmlloar]

Got my answer.

Thanks for the help.

[mr48chev]

Width wise the 3000 series are 74.58 wide for most models and the 4000 series are 78.75 wide across the fenders. I don't know about hood fitment but since the extra width is with a lip on the outside of the fenders the fenders may well be the same.

GM heritage center pfd has most of the needed measurements This should be 57. https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/doc...olet-Truck.pdf

From what I am reading on the pfd the axle center line of 4000 series trucks is 2.5 inches to the rear of the axle center line on 3000 series trucks not forward. Someone would have to have access to both sizes of truck an measure from the front of the door to the center line of the axle/hub to tell though.