The Silver Book
"There's profit in selling equipment"

A "Silver Book" was a manual produced by Cosgrove and Equipment Associates, of Detroit, Michigan that was sold to dealerships to help salesmen with promotions, and to provide information about vocational and special equipment available for Chevrolet trucks from non-GM manufacturers.

1952
"The purpose of this Directory is to furnish authentic information and sources of supply of equipment for Chevrolet trucks in order that Chevrolet dealers and their salesmen may supply the vocational requirements of their truck owner and prospects. . . .

The "SILVER BOOK" was first compiled and published more than a decade ago. It has been revised and improved annually, recording the improvement in implements and methods by the equipment industry.

1954
". . . Properly equipped Chevrolet Trucks can handle all but a very small segment of the total truck operating field profitably, and making this possible is the fact that equipment manufacturers have kept up with the necessity for developing a greater and more varied line of bodies and other devices. For years the makers of Chevrolet trucks have cooperated with manufacturers of all types of equipment, with the result that trucks for a wide range of vocations are now available...

"USE THE SILVER BOOK
IT WILL HELP TO SELL COMPLETE TRUCKS!"

There is a Silver Book for each of the Advance-Design years, 1947-1954. The book covers:

• Chevrolet Truck Specifications
• Toppers, Campers and     Coaches
• Utility Beds, Grain Beds and     Farm Bodies
  
• Aluminum Bodies, Step-Vans     & Special Needs Equipment
• Bumpers & Grille Guards
• School Buses, School Bus     Conversions, Ambulances,
      Crew Cabs & Limos
  
• Air-Ride Seats
  
• Mirrors
  
• Delco-Remy Equipment
  
• Filtering Systems
  
• Fuel Tanks (specifically for     heavy-duty models)
  
• Hubs, Suspension Systems
      & Braking Systems
  
• Wheels & Tires
  
• Winches, PTO's & Towing
  
• Snow Plows
  
• Specialized Bodies &
      Utility Boxes
  
• Fire Trucks, Dump Beds &     Garbage Beds
  
  

Richard Brown's 1947 Chevy Thriftmaster 1/2-Ton Read the story in the Gallery

I started noticing that when people had a very detailed and maybe somewhat obscure question about the 1947-1955 1st series trucks ("Advance-Design") in the forums, Tim "tclederman" Lederman would usually chime in with a very detailed answer. This is not an unusual occurrence here on the 'Bolt, as we are blessed with many Chevy / GMC truck happy people who are willing to share information and advice.

However, Tim would not only give a good answer, he would also give a reference to which section of what manual would show a part or describe a repair procedure relevant to the question asked.

I started pondering to myself "Hey, this fella seems to know a good bit about these trucks and the manuals. I should get him to help me on a tech tip about AD truck manuals!"

I sent him a private message on the forum with my proposal and he agreed to help with the information and the details. So, here we go with this guide to the manuals and information available for the 1947-1955 1st Series trucks -- Advance-Design. ~ Woogeroo

A little background about these trucks

The 1947 truck model year started in late 1947 and Chevrolet called this new series of trucks Advance-Design Trucks. The 1946 model trucks were sold into 1947 and were registered as 1947 trucks, but they were called 1946 trucks by Chevrolet. The 1947 Advance-Design trucks were the first new series of Chevrolet trucks following WWII (GMC also introduced their new series of New Design GMC Trucks in late 1947). The Advanced-Design series continued until mid-1955. As was the case in 1947, 1955 was also a transition year for Chevrolet trucks. Unlike in 1947, in 1955 Chevrolet called the earlier trucks 1955 First Series (or 1955-1st or 1955st) Advance-Design Trucks, and the later series of 1955 trucks were called 1955 Second Series (or 1955-2nd or 1955nd) Task Force Chevrolet Trucks. (On the Stovebolt site, we also refer to these mid-year series trucks as 1947.1 and 1947.2; 1955.1 and 1955.2. The Advance-Design series is sometimes listed as Advance Design or Advanced Design, but the true nomenclature as used by Chevrolet in their Specifications Data and Information Sheet is Advance-Design. In the day, magazine editors sometimes took literary license! I suppose we have, too! ~ Editor)

The general appearance of Chevrolet Advance-Design trucks changed in subtle ways between 1947 to 1953 but there were more substantial changes in 1954 and 1955. There are several web sites that list year-by-year changes, and there was an excellent article printed in 1984 by the Light Commercial Vehicle Association (which later became This Old Truck, and which is now named Vintage Truck) that describes year-by-year changes in the Advance-Design trucks.

You need to know what year model your truck is. If you need help with that, there are various web sites that have a "VIN decoder" which can help (including a few decoders here on Stovebolt.com).

If you need help finding your "VIN," use our Search page, and type in "VIN". We have lots of information on VINs - finding them, figuring them out, etc.

VIN was not a term used by Chevrolet during the Advance-Design years. Chevrolet used the term Vehicle ID or Vehicle Serial Number - standardized VINs were not introduced until 1981 (referenced here on Wikipedia).

Once you've got the year of your truck, head to the table below. The column on the right lists the various manuals and other literature that are available for that year model truck. Most of the Chevrolet truck Shop Manuals have a small code on the lower right corner of the front cover, which is indicated in the table in red.

Besides those listed in the table, there is also a 1947-1955 1st Series Factory Assembly Manual Chevrolet Truck. This manual has drawings and diagrams of many areas of the truck, and shows many details that can be handy when trying to restore or just fix things. The reprint of this manual has handy information, but can be a pain for finding things, as there are no page numbers nor an index for finding exactly what you are looking for. When you find things of interest, we suggest using a sticky note to mark it.

Note for old GMC truck owners:  a large amount of 1947-1955 GMC truck information can be found on the Old GMC Trucks web site.

Keith Hardy has been collecting, scanning and posting a wide array of Chevy (and now some GMC) manuals on his website, Old On-line Chevy Manuals. He has over 355 manuals, with over 25,000 scanned pages. He has links to other sites which also provide Chevy and GM manuals, including the Old Car Manuals Project ("Old Iron On Line"). It is all provided free. Some material from Keith's site that would be pertinent to Stovebolters would include:

• Chevrolet Manuals and Information / Model and Engine Identification Information. Owner's Manuals for ... Trucks - 1928-1960.
• Chevrolet Information, Installation, Service and Repair
• Chevrolet Shop and Repair Manuals
• Chevrolet Master Parts and Accessories Catalogs
• Chevrolet Sales, Service & Training Booklets
• GMC Truck Manuals and Information
• Ready Reference ~ Time Saver ~ 1954 Edition ~ ... Truck
• Chevrolet Interchangeable Parts Catalog (... General Motors Truck) ~ 1929-1954 and 1929-1955
• Four Speed Transmission Overhaul - SM420 - 1949 and later
• 1948-1954 3-Speed Transmission Overhaul Manual
• 1941-1954 Rear Axle Overhaul Manual
• 1947 - 1955 1st Series Paint Codes
• Chevrolet Stovebolt Six (the Cast-Iron Wonder) ~ 216 / 235 / 261 Engine Information (History, Horsepower, Casting Numbers, Head-Bolt Patterns, Side-covers and Valve Covers)
• Casting Codes, Locations & Engine Serial Number Locations ~ Low pressure 216 and 235 (1937-1953) / High pressure 235 and 261 (1954-1963)

There are many others. You really need to wander around Keith's site to see all that he has. Maybe you would even be able to lend him a hand. He has a backlog to get scanned and up-loaded. He has done a terrific job with these and it has been extremely helpful for people who are looking for original / factory information.

The different manuals mentioned here are sometimes available used at swap meets and on-line auction web sites. You can get new reprints from many vendors on-line. See our Lots O' Links page for vendors and publications (we actually have a "literature" section) -- and it's all free!! Check our Swap Meet ... if you are looking or selling.

We have another Tech Tip for you about the General Motors Heritage Center. When you start gathering information to make up your "Baby Book" for your old truck, this hobby, or even events of days gone by when your truck just came off the assembly line, this is yet another good place to check. Data, details, pictures, videos ... LOTS of it. Pour yourself some coffee, and maybe get a snack. We think you'll be in there a while. A real treasure trove! (And they're just getting started!)

Start looking. Start reading. And let's get your Stovebolt baby on the road again!

Tim and Woogeroo

-30-

The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
The secret of getting started is breaking down your complex,
overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks
and then start on the first one. ~ Mark Twain