The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop 8 Barrel exxon( ESSO) oil truck

New here! I am restoring what is suppose to be
an Exxon ( although I believe Esso would be period correct) 8 barrel oil truck. It is a 1952 chevy 1 ton with a 9 ft bed complete with fenders. It has a gvw of 8800 . The guy told me
it was an EXXON truck although I believe being that it is a 1952 he may have ment ESSO. Anyway
what ever it is it has been sort of restored sometime ago. I can find plenty of evidence that it was some sort of multi colored truck . There
is blue paint under the running boards, red on the frame and firewall and possibly a sort of tan on the cab and fenders and bed. Not really sure about the tan but it is in areas that would
have been painted by the factory. The original primer seems to be red oxide or something like that. What I would like to know If there is some sort of reference I can check outto get the correct colors . This truck is in excellent condition and is 99% rust free . It has 17 inch wheels , four speed , 216 ( which I would like to replace with a 235 (54-up) . Anybody got one?
Thanks for any info!

Darin I would check with the oldest automotive paint supplier that you have locally. They might have some info going back in to the 50's for commercial trucks. It is a long shot but worth a couple of phone calls.

Good luck

I think Standard Oil (Esso) officially changed their name in 1974 to Exxon. Interestingly, it was only the U.S. where the name was changed. Everywhere else in the world, it is still Esso.

Hey Darin, Where are you in "North Cakalak". We might be neighbors. Got any pictures of that truck you can post.

Thanks for all the reply's. I am near Boone in western Watauga County. I will try to get pics tomorrow . The truck is dismantled as of Tuesday except the cab is still on the frame. I thought about looking at some of the diecast trucks that seem to be everywhere and sort of copy one of them. Atleast I can get an Idea . I like the old trucks with company logos and such. I am in the process of rodding a forty **** coupe which is a solid carand but wish it was as solid as this truck .Need a 235 54 -up pleeeese!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Darin, I've got a engine that was pulled out of a '55 Chevy 1st series COE. I was told it was a 261, but I think it's more like a 235. Would need to be rebuilt.

Darin, welcome to the 'bolt board!
My great-uncle had a Mobile filling station that started out as an Esso. He even named his dog "Esso"
For some reason he changed over to Mobile, and became a distributor for them. He had a '47, second series, bob tail tanker, with the cab painted black & the the tank painted the Mobile red. He also had a '49 GMC tanker that was painted a kind of orangish red. I don't know, but it seems like back then, they didn't have to stick to company colors that much, as long as the name was right.
One other thing I remember about his trucks, was that both of 'em had the stub of a "King Edward" cigar in the ashtrays