Chevrolet 3100s for Sale

Across a generation and a half, from 1947 to 1957, the entry-level Chevrolet pickup was the Â½ ton 3100. The 3100 replaced the 1941-1947 3000-series, which was an internal code for the half-ton that wasnâ€™t advertised on the outside of what enthusiasts now...

Across a generation and a half, from 1947 to 1957, the...

Across a generation and a half, from 1947 to 1957, the entry-level Chevrolet pickup was the ½ ton 3100. The 3100 replaced the 1941-1947 3000-series, which was an internal code for the half-ton that wasn’t advertised on the outside of what enthusiasts now refer to as the AK-series, “waterfall” or “art deco” trucks.

The 3100 designation was in line with the rest of Chevrolet nomenclature during the “Advance Design” era of 1947 to ’55, whereunder ¾-ton trucks were badged as 3600s. The 3100 badge hung around through 1957 before being replaced with the more evocative (and thus marketable) “Apache” name for 1958.

Factory-engineered four-wheel drive didn’t come to Chevrolet’s half-ton line until 1960, after the 3100 series had disappeared, but aftermarket conversions existed from companies like NAPCO (GM used NAPCO parts to produce purpose-built 4x4’s as early as 1956), though, as with Ford’s Marmon-Herrington 4x4’s, conversion was typically lavished only on higher-capacity vehicles. The 3100 was especially problematic for conversion before 1955 due to its torque-tube driveline, shared with Chevrolet passenger cars. The equivalent GMC pickup used an open-drive rear axle, and Chevrolet would switch to that setup in its ½-ton when its passenger-car line changed over.

The 3100’s first year was 1947, when it replaced the older AK-series, which dated back to 1941. The new trucks had more modern, bulkier styling and roomier cabs. The result was the best-selling pickup in the United States during its entire run (a trend for Chevrolet dating back to 1937!). Styling changed only in detail up through 1954, when the cab was treated to a one-piece, curved windshield in place of the two panes of flat glass used previously and a new grille was substituted. The styling of 1954 continued into 1955, with the first-series ‘55s, which used slightly different badging.

The 1955 second-series 3100 brought a heavily restyled generation (dubbed “Task Force”) that closely aped the new “Motoramic” Bel Air passenger car but used substantially the same chassis. Perhaps the greatest single change to the 3100 in these years was the debut of a the new 265-cu.in., OHV V-8—making the 3100 a better competitor to the Ford F-100, which had introduced OHV V-8 power for 1954, with its new Y-block engine. A 12-volt electrical system was also introduced with the second-series. The 1956 and ’57 3100s were mildly re-styled, but essentially the same, with the exception of the Chevrolet “Cameo Carrier” and GMC “Suburban” (not to be confused with the 3100-based SUV of the same name) pickups of 1955-‘57.

Drivetrains in the 1947 to ’57 period ranged from the venerable 216-cu.in. “Stovebolt” six-cylinder, which used splash oiling and poured bearings, up through its developed brother the 235-cu.in. six (boasting full-pressure lubrication and insert bearings), and finally the 265-cu.in. “Loadmaster” V-8, which came in the restyled 3100’s of 1955. The 216 was dropped after 1953, when the 235 became the standard engine.

The changeover from 216 to 235 coincided with a major new optional transmission choice in the 3100: Hydra-Matic Drive. Rather than saddle truck owners with the light-duty Powerglide two-speed automatic (optional in Chevrolet passenger cars since 1950), GM elected to utilize the beefy four-speed “Hydro” as used in Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Cadillac cars. In later years, drag racers would point to the Hydra-Matic’s availability in Chevrolet commercial vehicles as justification to run that firm-shifting unit in sedan-delivery based stock-class vehicles.

Other transmission choices ranged from the standard, column-shifted three-speed manual transmissions (light- and optional heavy-duty), a floor-shift “granny gear” four-speed, and overdrive. This last trans is rarely seen, but was an excellent option for low-geared pickups needing higher cruising speeds.

The 3100 was perhaps not the most awe-inspiring name in Chevrolet history, but the Advance Design and Task Force ½-ton trucks that wore the badge were big sellers for Chevrolet when new and are among the darlings of today’s collector-car scene.

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