The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts The Stovebolt Volunteer Fire Department 1955 GMC Series 410 Firetruck

Hey everybody!
Earlier today I brought home another project, in my search for some information on the truck i ended up here.
I have acquired a 1955 GMC Series 410 firetruck.
I don't know much about it other than it was ordered from GMC in 1955 for the Buffalo Fire Department and they took ownership of it in 1956 or 1957.
From what I understand the series 410 isn't common as i cant find ANYTHING on the internet about it.
Looking for any insight and or wisdom for info on the truck and on a place for any parts for the truck, not necessarily fire truck related items as i am unsure if its going to stay a firetruck but more stuff like 2 speed rear end parts, brake parts, etc.

Also i have been told that there really weren't titles back then, and this being owned by the city that there probably never was a title.
How do I go about getting this thing titled and registered to drive it on the road.

I can try and post some pictures later if it will help.

Thank you in advance!

welcome to the site! I am not up on the GMC trucks, but I'm sure someone will be along that knows about the GMC model designations.

assuming it is a 2nd series 55?

I and several other members have extensive libraries of GMC information. However, we are at the at the ATHS show in Des Moines and returning home today. In the mean time, if you will post the chassis number in the door and it will help. There should be a line set inside the glove box door. Also a link to some pictures would help. The site does not allow pictures, but welcomes links to something like Google photos.

I agree with Mike regarding you probably referring to an X series GMC - late 1955 Blue Chip series. The 1954/55 GMCs were Z series (go fugure).

There was no 410 Z-series GMC in the GMC series/model document on oldGMCtrucks.com (Rob English's web site).

http://www.oldgmctrucks.com/page0193.html

Awesome, thank you.
The info i have was passed along to me by the previous owner.
I looked quick, the tag is still in the door jam but no sticker in the glove box.
I will try and get some pictures together today and get them posted.

Thanks again!

Hey guys, sorry its taken me so long to some photos on here. Hopefully these help!

https://goo.gl/photos/TWKDTSsdFAmdNRBJ6

Edit Jan 2024 - these images are also included in post further down the line here.

Sorry can't help with identifying model info, but wanted to say that is a sweet rig. Obviously GM's paint job was better than the fire body manufacturer. Unusual to be an all dark colour. Is it from Buffalo NY? Not as many tankers make it long term. Even if you don't keep it that way it'll be an awesome truck to enjoy.

My book lists a Y series 410. I think it was similar to the 424 series that was made for the US government. It appears to be a 370 series front clip with 400 series axles. I have never seen a 410 series, but here is the listing in the GMC master parts book.

Edit Jan 2024 - the link provided to an image hosting site did not work. But that GMC master parts book should be out there somewhere on the Net.

Contact your local Motor Vehicle Administration about getting a title, every State is different, but they ALL have a way of dealing with it.

Mike B

What engine and trans. does it have, 370 Olds? NP-540 series?

Ed

You were/are facing the same issues I have with my 450 Series. Love the look of these GMCs. Still looking for the "right power train fit" for highway use but still lots of work before I get to that problem. Good luck

What are your options for highway use? What engine and trans do you have now?

Ed

Good morning Gents!
I am going to see if I can revive this old thread I started about seven years ago. I received a lot of great replies and thank each of you for taking the time to bestow some information to me.

I was asked to post up the data plate to help to de-code for further information. I was a bit apprehensive at the time as I was working with my local DMV to get a "bonded" title for this rig and was told there was a window of a few years after the bonded titled was issued that it was possible for anybody to come forward and claim ownership of the truck and I would need to sign it away. That grace period is over and I am finally ready to start working on this project!

I am wondering what the truck is (still) and what parts/body panels would be interchangeable with other years/models. So, still needing some more IDing of the truck. Once again, I am at the mercy of the wealth of knowledge that is spread across this forum - any help is greatly appreciated!!!

The data plate and images are attached to this post as well as a link to the pictures.

https://goo.gl/photos/TWKDTSsdFAmdNRBJ6

That's great to hear you are ready to start working on this project. I cleaned up some of the posts in here, getting rid of the broken links. In that regard, I also added the images in your photo link site to your post here, just in case, for whatever reason, that link goes belly-up. Please keep us posted on your restoration as I think you'll have some good followers here. The SVFD stays alive and well.

Hey there and welcome back! Glad to hear you have got your title sorted out and can continue on with trying to ID what you have! With that in mind, I think this 1955 GMC Truck New Model and Features document will go a long way in helping ID your basic truck details. I had to read through the entire thing to try and pick out the pieces that help define your truck.

Clearly it is a "410" series which coincides with the 1st and 2nd digits of your serial number. From what I can tell from the booklet, the "410" series came in 4 different wheelbase option lengths, indicated by the numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4. Using a best guess thought proccess, I think the 3rd digit of your serial number would indicate the #4 wheelbase. The "Y" character denotes the "1955" model year. That leaves the last 4 digits "1550" to be the sequential production number as that truck came off the assembly line. I don't know for sure on GMC, but Chevrolet production numbers usually started with the number 1001. If GMC is the same, then your 1550 serial number would indicate it was the 550th truck off the assembly line for the 1955 model year.

As I said, this is just what I can figure from reading the reference document and more on GMC Serial Numbers from this Serial Number Info Page from Old GMC Trucks. I think some of our fellow GMC owners with more knowledge than I have will come along and correct any of this info I may have guessed wrong on, or maybe add more details like what the "#4 wheelbase" length actually is.

Hope you enjoy reading the resource document and this info may help you move on to more steps in your project!

Dan did a good job of deciphering the serial number, but this info from the 1955.2 to 1960 GMC Master Parts book shows a little more.

Your model 414 has a 172" wheelbase, one of 5 wheelbases available with the 41x model. It was equipped with a 270 cubic inch six cylinder engine. It would have either a Timken H100 rear end or the optional Eaton 2 speed electric rear end. The standard transmission was the venerable SM420 four speed with an option for a Clark 205V five speed.

The 4xx series truck's standard electrical system was 6 volt positive ground with an option to have 12 volt negative ground.

Bill, Thanks so much for straightening out my attempt at decoding. Much better details!!!

I will head out to the shop later on today and see if I can ID the rear end that is in this thing.
As of now, it has a 261 jobmaster engine in it that's dated from '59.
This truck had an electric pump on it so I'm guessing it had a TON of idle time to keep the batteries charged - the odometer shows 06535. Common sense would tell me that its turned over and its 106535 or maybe even 206535 given the engine is not original.
The guy I got it from had it for 25 years, used it for the first 2 years to water a racetrack he built in his field then it sat for 23 years after that. He bought it from the guy who acquired it from the Buffalo MN Fire Department. He was very adamant that the mileage was true and it had never rolled over - Given how clean the frame is and the condition of the paint on the floor inside the cab I would almost agree with him but I guess we'll never know...

When I found this truck, it belonged to the dad of a guy I worked with. We did a little trading and it became mine. As mentioned, it had been sitting for 23 years - I brought my dad with to pick it up. All we did was dump fresh fuel in it, check fluids, and top off the coolant. It fired right up and drove 35 miles home. Only thing I forgot to grab was a kidney belt - the flat spots on the tires from sitting all those years made the ride miserable.

My end goal with this truck is to either make a rollback truck out of it or build a ramp body for it. This is where I will need the most help. I am looking for things such as upgrading the suspension/drive train. I am trying to figure out if its worth while to use the original frame and just upgrade or buy a newer truck and just do a cab swap. I picked up a pair of 12v cummins this past summer, in doing some quick measurements, it appears one of them would fit into this truck nicely.

Do you guys have any experience or knowledge with this? Are there axles/brakes that swap into these trucks ? Its got the split rims with dayton wheels, the last shop anywhere near me that would work on these just closed.

I am no stranger to fab work, just wondering if anybody has already been down this road and can offer some advice.

My apologies for the Sunday morning ramblings!

Thanks again guys, I appreciate the help so far!!

FWIW, the mileage may actually be pretty close to accurate. Most "Fire Trucks" rarely spent much time on the road. Much more idle time to make sure they were ready to roll when called for. Being used later to occasionally water down a track over 2 years wouldn't add much to the ticker either.

With your consideration to convert to either a rollback or ramp body truck, further discussion and conversations would probably be better posted in the Big Bolts forum to get the best help and responses, especially considering your questions about changing/upgrading the driveline/suspension. Another alternative spot to consider may be the HiPo Shop forum.

Good luck and looking forward to seeing more of your truck and the project as it progresses!

I will head over there and ask a few questions. Thank you, sir!

Do you happen to know the classification of this truck?
is the "410" series considered a 2 ton, 3 ton, or .. ?

I went back and looked at the original linked 1955 GMC Truck New Model and Features document I posted above and found on Page 50 of that booklet that the "400" Series models for 1955 had a 19,500lb GVW designation. That being said, I think ??? that the truck would have been at least a 2 Ton classification, but I don't have any other resource documents to confirm that. 1955.2 Series Chevrolet trucks that were rated as "2 Ton" in Chevrolet literature were assigned an 18,000lb GVW according to this similar resource document. Maybe the GMC 414 would have been rated as a "2-1/2 Ton"???

Perhaps that's another tidbit of info one of our GMC guys could provide an answer on???

I've never seen any GMC bigger truck documentation that used "ton" classification. Using this '56 GMC document as an example, you will see lots of GVW, GCW and axle capacity specifications, but no "tons".

A 410 series truck is considered a Heavy 2 1/2 ton, as is a 420 series. 450 series is a 3 ton, and a 470 series a 3 1/2 ton.

I second that your milage is probably accurate. My 59 chevy has 16k original and ive been told is on its 3rd 348. A lot of the miles are probably from the driveshaft run pump. Mine is a 2 1/2 ton at 24000lb which was the top single axle for chevy. I would guess yours is equivalent to a lower 2 1/2 ton.