National Chevy/GMC Truck Association

[Smooth1SITF]

I have been working on a research project to find as much information as I can about the old organization and association. I'm part of one of their old Chapters called Pickups-n-Panels of North Texas (use to be called Pickups 'n Panels of Dallas). I have been collecting their magazines to do some research on them and then place their history on our clubs website for everyone to share and remember by.

Our Truck Club website is at www.pickupsnpanels.org and I have placed a section in the Links under "About Us" called "NCGTA" where I am working on the backstory, list of former chapters, and a former list of members.

If anyone wants to check it out, and if anyone has any information to add, or any magazines they wish to provide that can help us complete the library collection, that would be great. Let me know, I would love to hear from anyone that was a former member.

[factorystock]

Originally Posted by special-K

Seth started out doing the 47-59s and in short time it went to 47-72.

Back in the 70's and 80's, there was very little interest in the '67-'72's or the '60-'66's. The magazines of the time foucused on 50's customs, which most people were doing. 60's and 70's trucks were easy pickens and cheap!

[georgieb51]

Originally Posted by special-K

I liked the free classifieds. I ran a WTB for '72 tow hooks and K/20 hubcaps. You don't want to hear what I paid back then.

I would like to hear what you paid back then. I love the historical aspect of these trucks. It was nice meeting you in Carlisle too this week.

[Smooth1SITF]

Originally Posted by georgieb51

I would like to hear what you paid back then. I love the historical aspect of these trucks. It was nice meeting you in Carlisle too this week.

I think they were free, if not very low cost.... because I have been searching through the magazines and most of them are repeats from the same thing and same people every month. Or same people and different adds

[special-K]

Now that you brought it up, I do remember you guys being a strong group and seeing pictures. What was the TPI/700r4 (in 47-59) guy's name in Ohio, Jim Sheckle? I think he did front clip jobs, too.

I remember getting a pair of new take off tow hooks. No, not extreme bend. But they came off a Blazer when new because they put a brush guard on. The fellow member/original owner sandblasted them and shipped them for $35 with nuts & bolts (blasted). I was buying N.O.S. 8-lugger hub caps for $30. $120 was a lot to pay for a set late-80s/early-90s. K/20 caps didn't cost anymore that the rest. I got N.O.S. ones from that listing. K/20s have always been my thing.

[Smooth1SITF]

We were a chapter of the original National club. Pickups 'n Panels of Dallas (Now just Pickups-n-Panels). National have over 11,000 members before the organization came to an end in 2000/2001.

I think your referring to National Member 1475 - Jim Shekell from Newburg, IN. Sold a lot of parts in the classifieds section and appears based on my research, VERY active in the shows National put on.

I'm still working on our Pickups 'n Panels In Print magazine library like mentioned earlier in the forum so there is a full record of the organization. If I am correct, we are still missing a total of 26 magazines from both of the 2 original runs. Our full list on hand can be found here:

http://www.pickupsnpanels.org/about-...gazine-library

Originally Posted by special-K

Now that you brought it up, I do remember you guys being a strong group and seeing pictures. What was the TPI/700r4 (in 47-59) guy's name in Ohio, Jim Sheckle? I think he did front clip jobs, too.

I remember getting a pair of new take off tow hooks. No, not extreme bend. But they came off a Blazer when new because they put a brush guard on. The fellow member/original owner sandblasted them and shipped them for $35 with nuts & bolts (blasted). I was buying N.O.S. 8-lugger hub caps for $30. $120 was a lot to pay for a set late-80s/early-90s. K/20 caps didn't cost anymore that the rest. I got N.O.S. ones from that listing. K/20s have always been my thing.

[Smooth1SITF]

I was reading int he notes in the magazines that it was a going rate of roughly .30 cents a word, not exceeding 20 lines and if they wanted to add a picture with it, there was an additional cost of $35.00

Originally Posted by georgieb51

I would like to hear what you paid back then. I love the historical aspect of these trucks. It was nice meeting you in Carlisle too this week.

[Smooth1SITF]

In the first run, correct. They introduced the 67-72's in the magazines starting in around 1992.

Originally Posted by factorystock

Back in the 70's and 80's, there was very little interest in the '67-'72's or the '60-'66's. The magazines of the time foucused on 50's customs, which most people were doing. 60's and 70's trucks were easy pickens and cheap!

[special-K]

The magazine was included with the annual membership fee and as I recall it, running a listing was free. Yeah, Jim Shekell in Newburg, IN. That was a long time ago, I forgot how to spell his name and where he lived but I met and talked to him a few times. I was saying I remember your chapter being active. I remember seeing shots of you all rolling down the road. My number was in the 1600s I believe. I don't remember that the 67-72s weren't accepted until years after I had joined with mine. Are you sure it wasn't always 47-72? I'd have to check my P&PIPs. I remember we were talking about how to handle expanding in the future, whether to bring in the square bodies or bump it up annually at say, 25 years.

[Smooth1SITF]

If I am correct, your name is Tim and your member number is 1681 according to my research records.

According to what I noticed from my research, yes, it was started only 40's-60's.... Then expanded up to 72 before it broke up in the early 2000's. But, that was based on Seth's business at Golden State Pickup Parts because that was the year frame was what he was originally selling at the time when the magazine started.

Our club was leaving the main focus at 25 years and older. As time passes, the years go by, so we include more as we go. Right now we are at the end of the square bodies and running into the early 90's now.


Right now I am researching the members and creating database of them. Once I complete that, im going to try to research who I can and what I can and put the story of the organization together and then publish it on our clubs site. I was fascinated in the association and hate that it went away, but I really want to preserve its memory and I wanted to do it that way. I will be continuing to work to find the 26 magazine editions I am missing so I have a library for our members to use and look through. Plus, there are a lot of good Tech Tips in them.....

As for Jim, it appears he is still around. I think I found him on Facebook and appears to be doing Clown work... and the pictures on his Facebook show his trucks still in the background so I believe its him. Pictures from the magazines look similar to what he looks like now.

Originally Posted by special-K

The magazine was included with the annual membership fee and as I recall it, running a listing was free. Yeah, Jim Shekell in Newburg, IN. That was a long time ago, I forgot how to spell his name and where he lived but I met and talked to him a few times. I was saying I remember your chapter being active. I remember seeing shots of you all rolling down the road. My number was in the 1600s I believe. I don't remember that the 67-72s weren't accepted until years after I had joined with mine. Are you sure it wasn't always 47-72? I'd have to check my P&PIPs. I remember we were talking about how to handle expanding in the future, whether to bring in the square bodies or bump it up annually at say, 25 years.

[special-K]

Oooh... scar - ee . Well, my name is in my signature, but you did your homework alright. Saved me from looking for my old card... heh heh

Seth was dealing in '72s by the late-80s for sure. The magazine started in '88 or '89 didn't it? I'm looking at December '91 volume 3 number 5, first one I grabbed, and the second truck featured is a '67 Stepside. The cover has two 60-66s and first article. There are WTBs for 67-72 stuff.

[Coley]

Wow...great thread and I too was a member of it....one of the Canadian Members from Ontario.
I still have all the issues I collected while a member and still read through them on occasion.
I remember buying my '66 through the magazine. It was located down near Orlando, Florida and my wife and I flew down and drove it back to Toronto, which is where we lived at that time.
It was a great magazine, nice trucks, good articles....I always wondered what happened to it.

All good
Coley

[Smooth1SITF]

Seth started the National Chevy / GMC Truckin' Club in 1981, the first issues he was the Editor on were started at that time and went through to 1985. That run had Volume 1 in 1982 through Volume 4 in 1985. From what I understand, it was a lot to keep up with and Seth couldn't keep up with it so he decided to stop (from my brief readings).

After roughly 4 years, him and Jim Knight got together and decided to re-start it as the National Chevy / GMC Truck Association in 1989. They started a second run of the magazine with Jim as the editor and went through 2000/2001 when the Association dissolved. That second run of the magazine have a new Volume 1 in 1989 through at least Volume 11 in 2000. Haven't verified why but I heard Jim's health was deteriorating and thus bringing the Association to an end.

With that said, that's why December 1991 is showing Volume 3, its the 2nd run of the magazine. We have a full listing of the magazines we have researched on our website separated by the runs at:

http://www.pickupsnpanels.org/about-...gazine-library

There may be more, but this is what we have on hand in our library and what we know are missing. I'm still trying to obtain the missing ones for our library and have been going all over looking for them. I believe I am missing at least 26 of them. If anyone on here has some of them that are listed as missing on our site, and would like to help us preserve them in our library, I would love to hear from them.

Like I was saying before, the club I am a part of, was one of the original Chapters of the Association (Chapter #9 - Pickups 'n Panels of Dallas) and we want to preserve the memory of the association and not let its work and memories go to waste.

I had only found out about the National Association by accident looking for old club logos on Google when I re-built our new website. There is nothing on the web about them other than this Thread here and its old listing on a database of car clubs. And I wanted to change that.

Originally Posted by special-K

Oooh... scar - ee . Well, my name is in my signature, but you did your homework alright. Saved me from looking for my old card... heh heh

Seth was dealing in '72s by the late-80s for sure. The magazine started in '88 or '89 didn't it? I'm looking at December '91 volume 3 number 5, first one I grabbed, and the second truck featured is a '67 Stepside. The cover has two 60-66s and first article. There are WTBs for 67-72 stuff.

[Smooth1SITF]

Thank you Coley. Thanks for sharing! I'm currently in December 1993 of my member research and I'm sorry, so far I haven't found your listing so I don't have your member number available right now, unless you have it. If so, let me know and I will add your info to our former member database. If not, as soon as I find it I will let you know.

I agree, it was a great magazine, lots of good information and it was a shame it came to a end. Once I finish researching the magazines I have in our library, I am going to start research of the association itself and its story. I plan to post its story on our website at: http://www.pickupsnpanels.org/about-...ta/about-ncgta once I have the story together. I'm hoping when I find one of its final magazines it will disclose that.

Originally Posted by Coley

Wow...great thread and I too was a member of it....one of the Canadian Members from Ontario.
I still have all the issues I collected while a member and still read through them on occasion.
I remember buying my '66 through the magazine. It was located down near Orlando, Florida and my wife and I flew down and drove it back to Toronto, which is where we lived at that time.
It was a great magazine, nice trucks, good articles....I always wondered what happened to it.

All good
Coley

[special-K]

I knew the club in the beginning but never joined. I was involved with people who were. I still an not much of a club guy, just not my thing. But I did start joining some just to support them and getting magazines with other benefits is cool. The National Chevy GMC Truck Club was the first I joined. Funny, now this not a club guy belongs to ATCA, ATHS, AACA, AMCA, HOG, C10... others

[Coley]

I'll go back through the binders of PnP mags that I have and see if I can find my membership number.
As well, I will check and see if I have any of those missing issues....
Again, it was a really great magazine and I always looked forward to its arrival!
There is something still to be said about the printed word and magazines vs. everything on line.

All good
Coley

[special-K]

Yep, this was pre-internet back then and we were all hooked up nationwide. Even before the club we formed our networks through word of mouth, swap meets, Hemmings and other classifieds like Old Cars, Round-Up, etc, etc. It took being resourceful, that's for sure

[pickupman]

Yep still got my club window sticker on my 67, not sure if I still have any of the magazines anymore though will have to see

[Smooth1SITF]

We have a couple members with them still on their trucks.... If you still have the magazines, and would like us to help preserve them, please let me know.

Originally Posted by pickupman

Yep still got my club window sticker on my 67, not sure if I still have any of the magazines anymore though will have to see

[Smooth1SITF]

Awesome! Let me know... Thanks Coley!

Originally Posted by Coley

I'll go back through the binders of PnP mags that I have and see if I can find my membership number.
As well, I will check and see if I have any of those missing issues....
Again, it was a really great magazine and I always looked forward to its arrival!
There is something still to be said about the printed word and magazines vs. everything on line.

All good
Coley

[special-K]

I wish I had put a sticker on the '72 GMC. All the trucks I put them on are gone. I have a t-shirt, a couple hats, and terry towel still. I think it says "Heartbeat of America, Yesterday's Chevrolet".

[Smooth1SITF]

I was able to locate an old National shirt that I obtained and placed in our library/museum. Good find... Was in almost new mint condition. Appears it was never worn.

Originally Posted by special-K

I wish I had put a sticker on the '72 GMC. All the trucks I put them on are gone. I have a t-shirt, a couple hats, and terry towel still. I think it says "Heartbeat of America, Yesterday's Chevrolet".

[special-K]

I have worn mine quite a bit and for the last several, at least 10, it is special occassion-only. I usually where it at Carlisle Trucks, but I guess I have it stashed no to preserve. I also have an original Dick Cepek t-shirt with the Deals Wheels Blazer. That thing is fragile!

[Smooth1SITF]

Oh wow, hold on to that one!

Originally Posted by special-K

I have worn mine quite a bit and for the last several, at least 10, it is special occassion-only. I usually where it at Carlisle Trucks, but I guess I have it stashed no to preserve. I also have an original Dick Cepek t-shirt with the Deals Wheels Blazer. That thing is fragile!

[mike16]

internet didn't kill the clubs but it kills the magazine industry. especialy during a down turn in the economy. Look at the pontiac end of the industry two magazines for years and now none. While Chrysler fans seem to have two or three magazines still going strong.

there is no accounting for taste