The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop just got my first truck and i need help!!!!!!

i have been admiring an old truck that has been stuck behind an old barn in new hamshire for the last few years ( i have a camp in N.H. that i spend weekends & a few weeks a year at, i live on long island n. y.) i made contact with the owner and asked him if it was for sale,he wanted to know why i wanted it i told him i thought i would like to restore it, and to my suprise he gave it to me! from the little info i have gotten it apears to be a 1947 chevy loadmaster dualie w/ a stackside dump body. ( ihave not been able to find a VIN )I would like to find someone i could take the truck too,to at least get the basic body work done, are there shops that specialize in restoring trucks like this? i have looked in Hemmings but no luck,I would like to do the mechanical work myself but i do not have the time ,place ,or ability to do body work. any suggestions would be greatly appreciated, i do not know where to start ( i haven't even been able to get it out of the weeds behind the barn) i would like to get something going before the cold new england winter sets in & the sooner i get it moved else where my wife hopefully will stop telling me i'm nuts and the truck is ugly ( she just doesn't get it !! ) thanks for any help

You've come to the right place. Welcome. As far as figuring out what it is, you first have to figure what it is. Make sense? There was a mid-year changeover in 1947. Many vehicles made in '46 were titled as '47s. If yours is a late model, called Advance Design series, your ID plate should be on the forward doorpost on the driver's side. Someone else will have to tell you where it should be on an early (Art Deco) series truck.
For questions about getting it going (or getting it home, whatever) use the search feature of this site. Someone has probably asked before and gotten several opinions about how it should be done, most of them right. If you don't find an answer that way, just ask.

If you going to be up in NH on Aug 22 there is a big old truck show and swap meet put on bt ATHS in Barrington behind Calef's (a local landmark eveybody knows - I think they even have a webpage). There would be lots of locals there to ask about body work, also lots of parts and lots of restored (and not) old trucks.

Tim Welcome to the 'Bolt! If you have any pictures that you can post that would be Great!

You're gonna have fun with it Tim, If it's an art deco style truck, the VIN tag will be on the passenger side , edge of firewall, under the rear edge of hood. Another way to tell, does the hood open strait back, like your current vehicle (probably) does? If so, it is an Advance design. If it is two halves that open side to side, it is an art deco truck.

Hey, Tim

Wow! What a gift! My eyebrows popped when I read the part that said "he gave it to me" ... you're ahead of the game already!!!

If you're gonna bring it back to L.I., find some local car shows in your area and go to them ... you'll get all the references you need that way. Search Google.com for "car shows + Long Island."

Are you gonna restore it? Or are you gonna street rod it?

Probably the most knowledgeable guy in the country on thse old AD trucks has a restoration shop in Stephentown, New York. His name is Bob Adler. He is the Tech advisor for the Vintage Chevrolet Club of America for 47-54 Chevy trucks. His e-mail add is bobadler @ nycap.rr.com

hey, thanks for all the quick responses! I do believe it is an "advanced design " model. I got some literature from CHEVYDUTY.COM. I did find a plate on the drivers side door post but the only number on it is the chassis # 20W-1-9941 it also list GVW 16000#. The tech people @ Chevyduty said that this number was not the VIN # and they could not verify from it what yr it is? I will be in NH this weekend and I try to get a picture to post, also thanks for the info about the show in NH later this month,and thanks for the info about the shop in upstate NY I'll look him up. I hope to restore the truck not make it a hotrod (but you never know?? )

Tim, That Number you got off of the ID Plate is the, "Model Series Identification Number". If it is indeed a 2nd series 1947 year model truck, that 2nd digit in the no. is a "Q", instead of a "O". So, 2QW would decifer into, 2 = Tarrytown, New York, assembly plant, QW = 2nd series 1947 161"in. wheelbase Utility 2 Ton.