1954 chevy first series pickup ?

[abrahamseven]

I was told yesterday that Chevrolet 's first 1954 pickup was actually same as the 1953 model and the new style 54 model came out in march of 1954. Same scenario as the 55 first series. I thought I new the advance design trucks well but I never heard of this. How about it, anybody here of this ?


steven

[dwcsr]

Chevy did a lot of half year changes such as 47.1 and 2 were completely different, Cosmetically 47.2 to 53 they looked almost the same til 54. 47.1 to 48.2 had under bed tank 49 in cab tank. 47.1 to 49.1 had rear center mount cab mounts. 49.2 they went to side rear cab mounts. Side vents disappeared in a half year change and turn down handle in a half year change. I have never seen a 54 with an original bar grille so i can say it did or didn't.

[mr48chev]

Well this says that the second series 55 was introduced on March 25 1955 http://www.pickuptrucks.com/html/his..._segment5.html

No intro date of the 54 Model though.

I found all the specs on 54 Chevy cars and trucks but no delivery to the public date http://www.gmheritagecenter.com/docs...olet-Truck.pdf

GM Heritage center would be the go to place for info on that though.

I'm thinking that the 54 trucks probably came out in October of 53 as in those days it was a big deal to have your new car model go on sale in October. That went on up into the early 70's at least. I remember going down to the dealerships the night before they went on sale and trying to see the new model through the covering on the windows. Now they pop out before we get used to the current model being on sale.

[67GMCkid]

I've always wondered if different assy lines were switched to the next years models at different times with remaining parts being shipped to the last one still building the previous years model, this could have been done up thru Dec31 ?????????

My 52 was built the end of October in 52 and carries a 52 title,, ok maybe it was sold before Jan 1st, which could explain the 52 title. But All block, starter, carb, Dist, ect are 52 numbers only thing that comes up as a 53 is the generator.

[mr48chev]

There were a few states that titled a new car or truck as the year it was sold rather than the actual year model. Imagine going down to the dealership in October of 1954 and buying a brand new 55 Chevy hardtop and when you got the title back it showed to be a 54 rather than a 55 the war would be on with some of the older guys I knew at the time.

[67GMCkid]

Come to think of it, my 56 Merc was tilted as a 55

[mr48chev]

This has got me curious as to the exact day the 54 trucks hit the showrooms now. I learned to drive in one with a hydromatic in it.

[whitedog76]

I think the person giving you info. may have been confused with the 54/55 1st series.

The 55 1st. series trucks were actually the same trucks as the 54's.

GM needed to re-tool their assembly lines for the 55-59 second series trucks. They couldn't do it all at once. So they were building 55 1st series and 55 2nd series at the same time.

It would be interesting to find out the build numbers from different plants to see who built what at that time.

I also find it very interesting that GM would redesign the AD trucks and only run it for 1- 1.5years. The 54-55 1st trucks had different frames in ther rear, along with different fenders and grilles up front. Very interesting.

I'm an electrician, I've been on a few re-toolings at CAT. Re-tooling an assembly line is the last thing any manufacturer wants to do.

[Hogger54]

You probably know this, but the 54 and 55 AD trucks have a one piece curved windshield, flat bed rails, and the bull nose grill. The dash also had some changes too.

[mr48chev]

Compnared to the annual changes in cars in those years the changes between 53 and 54 trucks tooling was probably viewed as very small changes by the manufacture at the time. out side of the frame rails being different the big changes were in the sheet metal in the cowl top, roof, front fenders, dash and bed pieces. It's entirely possible to convert a cab one way or the other by cutting out spot welds and transferring the pertinent parts to the style you want be it split or curved windshield.

I've even had my 48 cab and box sitting on a 54 frame and looking right for the past 25 years even though there are those who say you can't do it without a lot of problems.

[whitedog76]

Hogger- I guess I did forget about the dash and widshiled didn't I? Us guys with 54 know that very well when we go to find gauges and radios that fit and finding windshields onthe cheap. Shame on you GM for only doing a 2 year run!

Mr.48- Putting an earlier body/bed on a 54 frame isn't a problem. The problem is putting the 54 bed on the earlier trucks.

The earlier trucks kick up further in the rear frame section and the 54/55 have a lower bed floor. This makes a very difficult situation. You have to grind the angle iron out to raise the bed floor, not to mention the splash apron fillers are narrower on the 54/55.

[Old Crow]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

It's entirely possible to convert a cab one way or the other by cutting out spot welds and transferring the pertinent parts to the style you want be it split or curved windshield

Maybe I'm reading this wrong, but I think it'd take more than transfering the center bar to fit '53-back windshields into a '54-'55.1 cab. Cowl vent shape is different, roof line is different, too.
I also don't think you could get a curved windshield into an early truck just by removing the bar.

[oldman3]

Originally Posted by whitedog76

Mr.48- Putting an earlier body/bed on a 54 frame isn't a problem. The problem is putting the 54 bed on the earlier trucks.

The earlier trucks kick up further in the rear frame section and the 54/55 have a lower bed floor. This makes a very difficult situation. You have to grind the angle iron out to raise the bed floor, not to mention the splash apron fillers are narrower on the 54/55.

Whitedog, it's not that bad, I put a 54 bed on my 52 frame, cut off top of frame and then box the frame, bed floor same as stock. Take a look at my build thread for more info, but here's a pic...Jim

[mr48chev]

The reason I see a couple of 47/53 trucks around here with beds that sit rather cockeyed when you look at them I would think.

When I decided to do a mad dash three week from cab sitting on a pallet behind my grandfather's garage (mine now) to a driving truck one of my buddies donated a 54 frame and front suspension. The whole thing was and exercise in cleaning out my friend's extra parts they had laying around now that I look at it. I was 25 years younger then and had a lot more energy than I do now. I also had a huge shop to work in with every tool and piece of equipment I needed ready at hand then so things went pretty fast.