The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Early 'Bolts (1916-1936 1st Half) 10 Minute VIDEO...... 1929 Chevrolet Big Trucks in Action!

Just uploaded on a channel I follow. Very cool old footage of 1929 Chevy commercial trucks in action.

1929 Chevrolet Trucks in Action

Fester - That is an excellent video! I think it better belongs in a place that will keep it beyond the 30 day Swap Meet life cycle, so I've moved it over to the General Truck Talk forum for all to see/share. Perhaps this thread can become a place to post other such history finds that capture our Chevrolet and GMC Truck histories?

Recommended viewing for all!

Dan,
I too enjoyed the video & like your idea of a thread dedicated to histories. I was surprised a lot of drivers were hopping in using the passenger side door. I thought.... Is the parking brake in the way on the drivers side like a model T? I don't think so (I don't own anything that old). Maybe its just habit, not sure. Interesting though!

Fester, I was NOT around back then myself - LOL! But I do recall my Grandpa and Dad both telling me when I was a wee lad that folks got in on the passenger side as trying to get in on the drivers side when parked on the street was down right insanely dangerous. Folks driving didn't watch out for doors opening or people trying to enter/exit their vehicles leading to a whole bunch of tragedies. That reasoning stuck around for a long time as we see with AD trucks still mostly outfitted with keyed locks on only the passenger side doors. It was a way to try and encourage folks to unlock and get in on the passenger side to help continue preventing such accidents.

Great old footage
I wonder what became of the original sound track?

I would imagine it didn’t have sound at the time,
but a great sound track added was as entertaining as the truck footage!
The remastering of the film is also excellent. So clear.
I get the idea the film was designed to entice new GM dealers.

Had to look up what a drayman was.
I am wondering if the get in and out of the passenger side deal was due to, what I imagine, was narrowness of roads back then. If you open the driver side door to oncoming traffic, they will either take out your door and/or you, or go in the ditch.

I saw that guy get in the passenger side, which I think was just because he didn't want to walk around. Also, the passenger door is closer to the steering wheel on those trucks than it is on a modern truck. As far as opening the driver's door into traffic, that's less of an issue with a truck with a narrow cab and running boards than on a more modern truck, like the Task Force series. The door wouldn't stick out as far past the fenders.
When my sister was driving my Model A way back when, I had to remind her not to line up the door with the center line of the road, as that would have made the left wheels run on or over the line.

I understand that a lot of local and state laws back then made it a violation to enter or exit a vehicle on the traffic side. It was a safety issue. In a lot of the old films and TV shows you see folks enter and exit only from passenger side. Even today, in most states, you can get ticketed for opening your door into a traffic lane if it is unsafe to do so. Fun fact, many early 20's cars didn't even have a driver's door.

Dan is right about why people got in and out on the passenger side, safety. Matter of fact the model A drivers side had no outside door lock. To lock up the vehicle you had to lock the drivers side from inside and then slide over and get out on the passenger side which did have a locking outside door handle.

My '51 Chevy PU has no lock on the driver's side either. I recall a '54 Chevy Station Wagon that my family had having locks on both front doors.

Same with my '52 GMC, although it now has a key lock installed in the handle.