Thanks for the info Possum!
From what I could find, the truck most likely started life as a Model 3442 104" wheel base (judging by the size of the truck pictured) Forward Control Delivery Chassis. The number Troy emailed “C5812E58F115229” as related to a 1958 Chevy Postal Van is one that can’t be easily decoded with the typical Chevrolet vehicle serial number information. It was probably created/assigned by the specialty body company that built the truck body and includes at least some of the base chassis ID info. I'm thinking the chassis was probably stamped with a Chevy chassis ID number at the factory, which I think may be found on the left frame rail. Someone with more info will point out if that's right or not.
According to various resource info I have (see links below), in 1958 Chevrolet produced 3 different “Step Vans” also known as “Double Duty” trucks on commercial 3/4 ton “Forward Control Delivery Chassis” and built/sold the bare Forward Control Delivery Chassis to specialty body builder companies to produce custom delivery style trucks for various buyers. In this case, the US Postal Service.
All 3 Chevrolet built Double Duty models (Step Vans) were rated at 3/4 ton (Maximum GVW of 10,000 pounds), but there were 3 different wheel base chassis for 8’, 10’ and 12’ bodies.
The eBay truck appears to be an 8’ Forward Control Chassis with right hand drive to accommodate the postal truck operation needs. The automatic transmission would have been the 4 speed Hydramatic as indicated by the shifting guide decal on the dash.
Being a specialty body truck, the manufacturer (looks like “GERSTENSLAGER”) would have come up with its own vehicle serial number sequence that may or may not incorporate the original chassis and engine serial number???
It’s a very interesting truck for sure. I hope this info has helped Tony a little bit. If/when he does purchase the truck, I suggested he might want to consider signing up with Stovebolt. He said he has actually owned several 1948-52 Chevy trucks so he said he is definitely interested in joining our community.
A couple other bits of info he provided in another email indicated the truck originally had 8 lug 17.5" split rims, which have since been changed to 15" rims by the current owner. Those original rims indicate they would be correct for the identified Forward Control Delivery Chassis, which also appears it could be equipped with the 3/4 ton (12" x 2" front and rear) or 1 ton brakes (12" x 2" front and 14" x 2-1/2" rear) according to one dealer info chart pic below.
Here are some links to more info for anyone interested:
1958 Chevrolet Full Line dealer handout.
1958 Chevrolet Truck Engineering Data document.
1958 Chevrolet Truck Data
