Interesting '47 Chevy 1-ton. Steel pu bed

[cayoterun]

I found a early '47 Chevy 1-ton dually with a factory steel pu bed.
What I know for sure:

The truck was bought new by a farmer not far from here, so know it's ownership since.
It has a steel factory bed on it. The bed is 9' long and 53" wide inside. It has insets in the bed for the dual wheels. The bed is like the pickup beds, but bigger.
I have the title and it's titled as '47, but has '46 sheetmetal.
The data plate has been removed, but I might find it in with the boxes of parts.
I made a short search for one like it, and only found one, but it had single wheels.
The truck was bought by a local family from original owners estate and they intended to restore it. Completly disassembled it in a million pieces, then lost interest. I bought it and got it home yesterday to cut the bed down to use on the truck I'm working on. After looking at it, I decided it was maybe a low production truck, and maybe I shouldn't cut it up as it might be a collectable????
I'll post some pics after I have a chance to sort it out a little, and can get a better idea of it.
Can any of you give me more info, or where to look. I don't intend to do any cutting on the parts 'til I learn more. It might be worth restoring.
The cab has bad rust out over the windshield on the inside, but that seems to be the worst part that I have seen.
Any help or advice would sure help. Will post more when I learn more
Thanks,
Cayoterun

[Todd68Chevy]

I do not know anything about the bed but I do own a 1 1/2 ton truck that is 46 body style and titled a 47. As far as I have found out the larger trucks in 47 were both body styles and was a mid year change or something. Hope this helps some.

[dwcsr]

There was a 47 1st and second series just like the 55 1st and second series.

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by dwcsr

There was a 47 1st and second series just like the 55 1st and second series.

Yep they had the Advanced Design trucks in the works but they didn't go on sale until June 28, 1947. They still sold the earlier design as 47's until then.
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/1947-1...let-trucks.htm

I think that one ton steel bed/box was a rare one even back then as I have only seen a couple of them in my lifetime. It may have been a carryover from a military bed.

[OrrieG]

Sounds rare to me, I'm pretty sure you could get 9' 1 Ton single axle beds. I would use it or pass it on to someone who can before cutting it up. MR48's guess on a military hold over application would make since, maybe they had them left over and just sent out a few to dealers to get rid of them. It would certainly be a conversation piece at shows and such. Does the original owner have any pics of it in use at the farm? Those would be priceless in proving it was a true factory installation. I looked online and can find 1 ton dually panels, but no pickup beds.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by dwcsr

There was a 47 1st and second series just like the 55 1st and second series.

...and a 2007 1st and 2nd series!

[cayoterun]

FIRST, I WAS WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. The truck is not a dually. It's single wheel. As I looked at it first, I thought they had only one wheel on rear, and parts was scattered all over his place, so only saw it in bits and pieces.
I did find one single wheel on internet, but it was classed as 3/4 ton. Hope I can find it again.

I dug around in boxes a little, and it sure looks like the truck had been built from left-over parts on the shelf. The window registers were blue, some metal seat parts were red.

Still no trace of the data plate, yet. Previous owner will send title, so wonder what it will say.
Pic shows bad rust over windshield, but haven't found anymore that bad.
Resto sure wouldn't be for the faint-hearted. I think every nut, bolt, and screw has been removed. How much lost, who knows. I had/have no intentions of fixing the truck up, I plan to use it for parts, but curiousity got the best of me. I can still use the parts, but If someone out there was interested in building it up again, PM me.

Cayoterun

[cayoterun]

I found a truck, Page 101, in the Jim Carter truck Parts catalog, K.C., Mo. It looks like a Chevy sales brochure that shows Chevy trucks offered in 1934. They offered a truck listed as a 1-1/2 ton Open Express, (131"wb), cost $655. The bed and running boards looks like the exact same bed as this one. It has single rear wheels, too. Fenders are different.

I rough measured this truck wb, and it's 134"+-wb. If they offered trucks with that bed for that long, there may be someone out there who needs it. I can cut up a pickup bed, or something else. I'm going to hold off awhile before ruining this bed.
On 5 other truck beds offered, dual wheels and tires were offered as an option for $20.00 extra. Duals weren't an option for the steel bed truck according to this.
Cayoterun

[special-K]

It's a '47 1st Design 1t. The always offered them. They even offered larger trucks than 1t with pickup beds in earlier years. Here's a pre-war 1t pickup:

[cayoterun]

Interesting. Learn something new everyday. I like to learn about stuff that's not familiar to me. Also, I hate to scrap something someone else might need to bring old iron back to life. Especially stuff that wasn't too common.

I guess I thought this was a dually when I saw the insets of about 3-4 inches inside the box. The rear fenders seem narrower than a regular pu fender looking at pics. They also bolt on the bed different.

Does anyone know the measurements of a regular pu bed??? Length and inside box width.
Thanks for the pic. Special K.
Cayoterun

[Clyde65]

That looks alot like a jeep or military type bed, not the fenders though. I am just throwing that out there, no real proof.

[cayoterun]

I could almost be the guy who run the cl ad that didn't know what he had. I sure don't.
I looked at the truck a little yesterday, and it looks as if it could have been originally blue, then military??? green overpainted. The po who disassembled it has sanded almost all the paint off the cab and fenders down to bare metal, then surface rust has taken over. In the span of time at the end of WWII this truck was built, people would buy almost anything they could get due to war rationing.
I'm going to chase the local history as far back as I can. First owner is deceased, but maybe can find some of his heirs.
Anything you guys can offer is appreciated.
Cayoterun

[BlueJeep]

Originally Posted by Clyde65

That looks alot like a jeep or military type bed, not the fenders though. I am just throwing that out there, no real proof.

I agree, I do not think this is a GM bed. GM beds are 50" wide and the stake pockets are shaped quite a bit different than the ones in that picture. I have a 9' bed off my 1 ton and it's not tubbed.

[cayoterun]

Originally Posted by BlueJeep

I agree, I do not think this is a GM bed. GM beds are 50" wide and the stake pockets are shaped quite a bit different than the ones in that picture. I have a 9' bed off my 1 ton and it's not tubbed.

I just measured this bed again, and this one is 53" inside box. It's tubbed 3-1/4" inside on each side.

I also talked to po, and they have pics before disassembly and are going to run down any local history they can. After all these years, we looking for 2nd and 3rd generation relatives from original owner for info, if possible. She read the info from title, so VIN# NM146507, 47 Chev, type, PK, Model, 1-ton.

I'm not expecting to find it's a high dollar truck, but if it's collectable, I'd sure like to get it where it's appreciated.
Cayoterun

[Dieselwrencher]

That is a unique box for sure I'm guessing.

[special-K]

Why would the military build a stylish special vehicle 2 years after a war that left them with huge amounts of surplus? Maybe someone widened the bed.

[BlueJeep]

Is the bed floor steel or wood?

[cayoterun]

Originally Posted by special-K

Why would the military build a stylish special vehicle 2 years after a war that left them with huge amounts of surplus? Maybe someone widened the bed.

I went out and looked, and the bed shows no signs of modification. Notice the tailgate, it don't look like a typical pickup tailgate. The bed is built about as heavy as a tank. The floor is a typical wood floor, rotted out by now.

Sometimes this old odd-ball stuff has an interesting story to tell.

Unrelated to trucks, but stuff like this is what whets my curiosity poking around in junk yards. A friend and his wife volunteers for the museum in Boise City, Ok. People will donate their junk iron to the museum and he will gather and haul it off. The proceeds go to the museum.

There was an old abandoned junkyard in town, so owners gave the iron to get it cleaned up. An old Air Stream travel trailer was there, no wheels or axles, full of junk. We researched it by serial# in Airstream archives and found it was the first trailer off the assembly line of a new model they introduced in 1951. Posted it, and a professional travel trailer restoration company bought it and paid for the delivery. We loaded it up and delivered it to them in Denver, Co.
As we were cleaning it out, there was a card-board box with a bunch of small glass syringes and bottles. We stopped right then, and went to the Sherriff's office about 4 blocks away. They came and picked them up. Never did learn anything from them, but gave that small town something to gossip about for a few days.
Ramble over,
Cayoterun

[special-K]

I'm curious to see if you turn up any more info. I know other companies made beds. IH trucks used beds made by Knox.

[Dieselwrencher]

That bed looks like it would be a good one for my Dad's 47 Dodge.

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by cayoterun

I went out and looked, and the bed shows no signs of modification. Notice the tailgate, it don't look like a typical pickup tailgate. The bed is built about as heavy as a tank. The floor is a typical wood floor, rotted out by now.

Sometimes this old odd-ball stuff has an interesting story to tell.

Unrelated to trucks, but stuff like this is what whets my curiosity poking around in junk yards. A friend and his wife volunteers for the museum in Boise City, Ok. People will donate their junk iron to the museum and he will gather and haul it off. The proceeds go to the museum.

There was an old abandoned junkyard in town, so owners gave the iron to get it cleaned up. An old Air Stream travel trailer was there, no wheels or axles, full of junk. We researched it by serial# in Airstream archives and found it was the first trailer off the assembly line of a new model they introduced in 1951. Posted it, and a professional travel trailer restoration company bought it and paid for the delivery. We loaded it up and delivered it to them in Denver, Co.
As we were cleaning it out, there was a card-board box with a bunch of small glass syringes and bottles. We stopped right then, and went to the Sherriff's office about 4 blocks away. They came and picked them up. Never did learn anything from them, but gave that small town something to gossip about for a few days.
Ramble over,
Cayoterun

The bed is original to your truck. 41-47.1 had that bed and it measured 108 x 52 7/16. I think you have a 3/4 ton not a 1 ton. The wheels are wrong for one ton. How many nuts on the wheels?

[cayoterun]

Originally Posted by dwcsr

The bed is original to your truck. 41-47.1 had that bed and it measured 108 x 52 7/16. I think you have a 3/4 ton not a 1 ton. The wheels are wrong for one ton. How many nuts on the wheels?

This truck has 8 lug wheels. Our bed measurments are the same. The only thing I have is this truck is titled as a 1-ton, but I sure won't rule out any errors we find.

The post by CLEMDADDY, 49- l ton. The bed on that truck looks the same as this bed except the difference in the fenders. I wish his had a tailgate for comparison. They must have used that bed a long time. I, also, wonder if his bed is tubbed on the inside.
Cayoterun

[special-K]

Here are two examples,single rear (1t) and dual rear (1 1/2t),of that same truck bed. The dual wheel fenders are wider:

[cayoterun]

Neat pics. Have been in touch with Jim Carter and he' sending more info. Wants more pics and info on the truck here. Any additional info, I get, I'll try to post it.
Thanks,
Cayoterun

[cayoterun]

Went out digging some more in boxes and took more pics. Two interesting things found.
1: A hubcap that fit these wheels.
2: The ellusive data plate. #s don't match info given over phone from po, but plate raises some more questions? Only stamped #s on it. 8DSD-----2009. Could??? this be the 9th or 2009th truck like this built??? Some serial#s don't all start with 0. I wonder about these. I'll look around on the frame and other places.
I'm going to keep digging.
Cayoterun