Ralphy & Brian,
Thanks for the advice and corrections.
I am pleased to hear that body-colored wheels and back running boards was a common combination. That is what I have on my 1954 suburban and I like that appearance better than the running boards being body colored.
My information came from a venerable 1954 restoration packet and from a 1998 article in "Pickups 'n Panels 'n Print" by Bob Adler, who is careful in his research. I should have said that my information was from 1954 documents and might not pertain to 1953 or other years.
1. Three stripes were used on body colored 16" wheels. The body-colored wheels were supposedly standard on 3106 and 3116 (suburbans) and on the Deluxe Equipment 390 RPO ("5-window cab"). There is no mention of stripes on other wheels, such as larger truck wheels and the 15" wheels that were available on 3600, 3700, and as a RPO on 3100 (wheel stripes might have been available in the DeLuxe Equipment larger cabs but my Truck Data Book and Restoration Pack state "3100 Series DeLuxe only" - who knows?). Even though the factory documents state that body-colored wheels were standard on 1954 suburbans, I have seen photos of black wheels in Chevrolet documents.
2. In mid 1954, a 430/431 Deluxe Cab Equipment for Series 3000 Cab RPO was available that had body-colored wheels AND running boards on at least the 3100, 3600, and 3800 models (this was different from the DeLuxe Equipment 390 RPO). The availability of the body-colored running board (in 1954) was confirmed by Bob Adler's article and by an 18,000 mile collector's truck (original and pristine) that had the 430 Deluxe Cab Equipment & the 393 Chrome Equipment RPOs (chromed bumpers, grill and hubcaps; and, two-tone interior paint and upholstery). I do not know if the earlier deluxe paint options provided body-colored running boards.
3. The 1954 Deluxe Cab Equipment option was supposedly only available on 5-window Chevrolet cabs and Panel Trucks but was (supposedly) available on 3 and 5 window GMC cabs (as per Bob Adler's article - he obtained information from Jim Carter).
If Woogeroo is painting his 1953 truck any of the original shades of blue (Transport Blue or Mariner Blue), the pinstrip color (for wheels and body beltline) would be Cream Medium color (this changed to Bombay Ivory in 1955). The hubcaps were Thistle Gray (Dupont 1953 Bulletin No. 25).
Woogeroo, If you are interested, Jim Carter sells an instruction sheet with information on how/where to paint the pinstripes (wheels and beltline).
Tim
