Hauling in High Style - 1947-'55 Chevrolet First Series Advance Design 1/2-ton Trucks

Chevrolet today sells a "Work Truck" package, but by postwar standards, these light haulers are hardly stripped. Items that once would've drawn oohs and aahs at the Cadillac showroom have somehow snuck into the 21st century work truck: power locks, cruise control, air conditioning, visor vanity mirrors, AM/FM stereo with various accessory inputs and a tilt steering column.

It's no secret that light trucks get more and more luxurious with each passing model year. This is partly due to customer demand, but in no small part because manufacturers can build bigger profits into vehicles dripping with chrome and loaded with accessories. The 1941 to '46 (or "'47 first series") "Art Deco" Chevrolet trucks definitely marked a turning point in truck design when the company began imbuing its haulers with elaborate grille work and trim to appeal to truck buyers' sense of style. But the 1947-'54 (or '55 first series) Advance Design Chevrolets took passenger-car styling and comfort to a whole new level. The headlamps were no longer appendages, but were incorporated into the broad front fenders. Ye olde push-out vented windshield was replaced with fixed glass and the windshield wipers were now in the cowl. These trucks didn't have the high snowplow-style front ends with side-opening hoods either, but a broad, elegant grille very much in the style of Chevrolet passenger cars topped with a front-opening hood. The door hinges too were of the concealed car-like variety.

An optional electric clock tops off the instruments in this first-series 1955 Chevrolet. Bench seat, narrow by today's standards, was advertised as being broad enough to seat three across.

Inside, the Advance Design trucks were clearly built with the operator in mind. The new cab was wider, with more head and legroom. Chevrolet boasted that its Unisteel cab, so named because the top, side panels, back, windshield frame, cowl and floor were all welded together to form one single unit, would seat three men comfortably. The seat cushion and back moved together when adjusted, and the seat rose when moved forward to help shorter drivers see over the dash more easily. There were scoop-type ventilators on the top of the cowl to let some fresh air in, though a heater/defroster was still optional.

Visibility was also taken into account when the Advance Design trucks were still on the drawing board. The windshield area was larger, and corner panel windows, meant to help reduce blind spots, were available as an option. Those corner windows were standard with the Deluxe Cab, which also included stainless window and windshield trim. Thicker dash and floor mats and better insulation than on previous Chevrolet trucks helped keep noise down, and there was room for tools under the seat. The dash had provisions for a pushbutton truck radio and speaker, and an ashtray was standard, as was a big glove compartment, for operator-sized hand protection.

When it came time to do some hauling, Advance Design Truck owners found a 50-inch-wide bed with stronger front panels and tailgates than on previous trucks.

It takes a practiced eye to tell these trucks apart, since they changed so little from their introduction in the summer of 1947 until they were phased out in 1955. When scouting Advance Design trucks, look first for vent windows in the doors: 1947-'50 trucks didn't have them, while trucks built in 1951 and later did. A lack of chrome trim is a hallmark of the Korean War-era trucks built from 1951-'53, and in 1952, pushbutton door handles were introduced. Also, 1947-'48 trucks had a gas filler mounted on the box, but in 1949, the filler was moved to the cab. In 1954 (the year of our feature truck), the front end received a very mild makeover that most notably included a one-piece windshield and a much bolder crosshair-shaped grille.

Advance Design trucks also used new series designations. Half-tons were known as 3100, 3/4-tons as 3600, and one-ton trucks, 3800. (This creates some confusion among casual observers today, as from 1960 and on, GM one-ton trucks used designations beginning with a three: C-36, C/K-30 or 3500, while half-ton trucks from 1960 forward used designations beginning with a number one: C14, C/K10, 1500.)

If these trucks have an Achilles heel as collectibles among Chevy truck lovers, it's the lack of a V-8 engine and the use of six-volt electrical systems throughout the range. (Though clearly people paying upwards of $30,000 for a 60-year-old pickup aren't concerned with performance.) What you will find under the hood of Advance Design trucks is one of two overhead-valve six-cylinder engines, depending on the year. Up until 1954, light trucks were powered by a 216-cu.in. straight-six. In 1954, the more modern 235 with full-pressure oiling and insert bearings became the standard engine. Light trucks used a three-speed synchromesh transmission, with a four-speed as an option. (Heavy trucks came standard with a four-speed.) In 1954, a heavy-duty three-speed was offered as an option, as was the Hydra-Matic automatic transmission.

Perhaps due to Detroit's emphasis on marketing trucks in the past decade, there has never been a better time to build or own an Advance Design truck. Values for these trucks seem to be at all-time highs, while the availability of aftermarket sheetmetal has never been better. New reproduction sheetmetal for Advance Design trucks, as well as a variety of patch panels and trim pieces, is all offered by the aftermarket. There's nothing but money and time preventing you from making your classic Chevrolet truck look like new again.

Enough of Chevrolet's Advance Design trucks have moved off the farm and into the hands of collectors that they are getting pricey. Current collector-car pricing guides place the low value for these trucks between $6,000 and $9,000, while the high ranges from $35,000 to $45,000. A decade ago, these same price guides estimated selling prices at approximately half those amounts.

Was the Advance Design the beginning of the modern era of comfortable, car-like trucks, which led to trucks being used for "non-truck" uses? Maybe. But these trucks were rugged to a fault, which means there are many still around today despite the high attrition rate for work vehicles.

Engine

Advance Design series light trucks were offered with the 216.5-cu.in. six-cylinder until 1954, when the 235.5-cu.in. six stood in as the standard powerplant for light- and heavy-duty trucks. The 216 is a dependable engine, and parts are widely available. These engines used babbitt bearings, which, if in good condition, will be more than reliable enough for pleasure driving. If a rebuild is in order, you can choose to have new babbitt bearings poured or have a machine shop install insert bearings. The 216 also did not have a full-pressure oiling system.

Cracked head castings are common among older Chevrolet sixes, and finding replacement castings--that aren't also cracked--has become increasingly difficult.

The 235 used in Chevrolet light trucks and passenger cars beginning in the early 1950s is legendary among six-cylinder enthusiasts for its power and reliability. Its high-pressure oiling system and insert bearings make it a more willing powerplant in modern traffic. If originality isn't a concern, but better highway performance is, installing a 235 in place of a 216 is a common swap and is relatively straightforward.

Transmission and drivetrain

For 1947, a floor-shifted three-speed was the base transmission in Advance Design series half-ton trucks, while a floor-shifted non-synchronized four-speed was optional. In 1948, a column shifter was made standard with the three-speed transmission in 3100s and continued as the base setup through the Advance Design run, while the four-speed gained synchros in second, third and fourth. Chevrolet literature shows that a Borg-Warner heavy-duty three-speed was offered as an option on 3100, 3600, 3700, 3800 and 3900 series trucks beginning in 1954, and Hydra-Matic was also offered as an option. A 3.90:1 final-drive gear ratio became standard beginning in 1954, but 3100 series trucks prior to that were equipped with 4.11:1 gears. An open driveshaft became standard on half-tons starting with the first-series 1955 trucks. The biggest complaint most owners of Advance Design half-tons have with their trucks is the low final-drive gear ratio, which, combined with the slow revs of the 216 engine, makes for a farm implement-like driving experience. A 3.55:1 gear set is available from the aftermarket for pre-1954 half-ton trucks with 4.11:1 gears, which can make driving them a little more enjoyable.

Brakes

Hydraulic four-wheel drum brakes with 11-inch drums were standard on half-tons throughout the entire run (early trucks used 1¾-inch-width linings, front and rear; later trucks used 2-inch linings in front, 1¾-inch, rear). Boosters were available on heavy trucks, but not on light trucks. Parts are widely available, and everything needed to renew a 1947-'55 truck's brake system is offered: drums, shoes, cylinders, brake lines, hoses, hardware etc. The aftermarket also offers front disc-brake conversion kits and frame-mount dual-chamber master cylinders and vacuum boosters for modern stopping performance.

Chassis

All Advance Design half-tons rode on a 116-inch wheelbase, with leaf springs fore and aft. The front axle was an I-beam unit. with king pins supporting the spindles. The frame is ladder-type, with four crossmembers and rails measuring 2 1/4 x 5 3/4 inches. While frame rot isn't chronic, on these trucks it isn't unheard of. Leaf springs and rebuild kits for steering components are easy to find today. With the popularity of these trucks as hot rod projects, it isn't common to find complete running chassis available for sale without the cab and bed, which can be a treasure trove for anyone building a stock truck.

Interior

Though Spartan by today's standards, Advance Design trucks were built with operator comfort and pleasing aesthetics in mind, plus they were marketed like passenger cars--as evidenced by the availability of the DeLuxe Cab with corner panel windows, stainless window and windshield reveal moldings as well as an armrest and sun visor. Advance Design trucks also boasted improved insulation, with thicker floor mats to make the cabs quieter, and there was room for tools beneath the seat. The arrival of the column-mounted shift in 1948 in 3100 and 3600 series trucks, with a shift pattern identical to passenger cars, was another nod toward driver convenience. (As was the foot-operated parking brake.) Today, virtually everything needed to make an Advance Design truck look like new inside is available from the aftermarket. Kick panels and door panels, rubber pedal pads and boots, seat upholstery kits, dash trim and gauge restoration kits and more are all available from Hemmings advertisers.

Body

Advance Design Unisteel cabs were built to be rigid and long-lasting, with coating applied in rust-prone areas subjected to wheel splash or moisture. The bed front panels and tailgates were strengthened, as were the bed cross sills. Since sheetmetal was shared among Advance Series trucks, there are used nose, cab and bed parts out there, but this once seemingly bottomless well is drying up. The aftermarket has really stepped up in recent years due to increasing demand, and now offers high-quality reproduction front and rear fenders, hoods, doors, firewalls and floorpans, door jambs, bed panels, as well as a vast array of patch panels. If you're forced to begin with a rusty Advance Design series truck, with enough time, money and patience, it is possible to completely reconstruct it to like-new condition. Help is as close as the advertisers in the Trucks and Commercial Parts section of Hemmings.

What to Pay

PARTS PRICES

Bed wood kit, oak (nine-piece): $349.95

Bed side: $289.95

Brake drum: $44.95

Brake shoe set, front: $34.95

Brake shoe set, rear: $49.95

Chrome front bumper: $189

Clutch kit (235): $169.95

Dash panel: $449.95

Door handle set, chrome (1947-'51): $39.95

Exterior mirror head, black: $7.95

Floor mat: $139.95

Floor pan complete: $549.95

Front fender: $499.95

Fuel line steel: $74.95

Gauge refacing kit (1947-'51): $9.95

Glove box door stainless steel: $99.95

Grille, chrome (1947-'53): $599.95

Hood: $459.95

Kick panel set: $19.95

Leaf spring, front: $259.95

Leaf spring, rear: $179.95

Oil pump (235): $119.95

Radiator: $279.95

Rear corner windows: $49.95

Rear fender: $369.95

Seat reupholstery kit: $189.95

Steering wheel: $299.95

Windshield (two-piece): $100

Windshield rubbers: $25

Club Scene

Vintage Chevrolet Club of America

PO Box 609

Lemont, Illinois 60439

708-455-8222

www.vcca.org

Dues: $35/year; Membership: 8,000

Advance Design Year to Year Differences

From the outside, the Advance Design light trucks appear to have not changed or to have changed very little from their introduction in 1947 to their finale in 1955. But there are some interesting differences and refinements. Here are a few of the more apparent, notable differences:

1947 - Advance Design trucks debut in the summer of 1947 with such innovations as a fixed windshield, wipers mounted on the cowl, a cowl vent, a front opening hood and passenger car styling with headlamps mounted in the fenders. All-steel cabs were available in standard or DeLuxe, with corner panel windows. Some of the prewar features were still present, however: The six-volt battery was located under the floor, the door handles were the twist-down type and the shifter (three- or four-speed) was mounted on the floor. The Standard engine was the babbitt bearing 216-cu.in. six-cylinder.

1948 - Minor changes included improvements to the vacuum wiper system, a steering column-mounted gear shift was standard with the synchromesh three-speed and the parking brake was foot-operated.

1949 - The gas tank on '49 models was moved to the cab, behind the seat, and the hood side emblems say "Chevrolet," with a smaller model designation badge below. (3100 for half-tons, 3600 for 3/4-tons.)

1950 - The 1950 truck is virtually a carryover from the previous year, except for the addition of tube-type hydraulic shock absorbers to replace the old lever-action shocks.

1951 - The most obvious difference between the 1951 and previous trucks is the wing-style vent windows in the doors. Less obvious is the mid-year change from nine boards in the bed floor to eight.

1952 - Pushbutton door handles first appeared on the 1952 trucks, while the model designation badge on the side of the hood below the Chevrolet emblem disappeared. Stainless interior trim was minimized, perhaps due to the government demand for strategic materials during the Korean War.

1953 - The Chevrolet badges were now missing from the hood sides, replaced with a redesigned model designation badge.

1954 - A number of subtle yet notable changes were made to the Advance Design trucks in their final full model year. For instance, there was a new grille that replaced the delicate horizontal bars of the earlier trucks with a bold crosshairs design; a one-piece curved windshield replaced the former two-piece design; new bedsides with flat top rails were standard; Hydra-Matic was an option, the Thriftmaster 235 with insert bearings and full-pressure lubrication was standard issue on light trucks, the rear bumper was modified with a center drop to accommodate the license plate, and the taillamps were round rather than oblong.

1955 - Advance Design trucks would soon make way for the radically restyled Task Force trucks. These trucks are usually referred to as "first series" 1955s. These trucks had the battery located in the engine compartment, a standard open driveshaft like later trucks and a revised hood side badge with the Chevrolet name incorporated below the model designation.