The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1954 Chevrolet Truck dealer provided documents

So I stumbled across something not seen before in my years of purchasing/collecting Stovebolt Truck documentation, manuals, etc.

I purchased a sealed bag of various GM/Chevrolet pamphlets/booklets for a couple bucks at an Antique shop recently. Couldn't really tell what was in the bag as it was sealed and the only thing visible was what looked like a 1954 Chevrolet Car Owners Manual. Once I got it home and opened, I found there was a 1957 printed copy of "Story of General Motors" and the before mentioned 1954 Car Owners manual.

I figured no big deal and probably no loss on the few bucks I spent, but then leafing through the Car pamphlet, out drops the below folded card. I think this may have been an insert that went inside every new vehicle Owners Manual with each new vehicle sold, specifically due to the tire pressure chart and data on the inner pages as much of that applies to trucks. I've never seen nor heard of one before, so I think it may be kinda unique???

It has a GM part number "3711019" printed on it, but that number doesn't show up in any GM Master Parts and Accessories books. Interestingly enough I found one such example being offered on ebay for $55, with pictures matching what I have. I also found that there seems to be a couple of later (1955-57 and/or 1955-59) - similar documents printed on a different color card stock whch have their own different GM#.

Does anyone have any recollection or knowledge of these, when they were offered and were they in fact included in truck owners manuals too?

Appreciate any info folks might have to share.

Great find!

Nice!

The owners' manual for my high school car showed a similar break in procedure. I followed that instruction after I rebuilt the 270 for my GMC circa 1980. Maybe it is a reason the engine still runs well 45 years later.

How is it that modern cars - basically those built for the last 40 or 50 years - don't have any break-in requirements like that?

Otto, I beleive it is a combination of casting and machining techniques (cylinders and pistons) and piston ring technology changes over the years. It's probably a lot more complex than that but because of emission regulations engines need to be performing like they are broken in from basically new. Those changes are also why modern engines are often seen to exceed 200,000 miles without rebuild when back in the day 100,000 miles was considered a milestone.

I once had a discussion with a person who worked for US EPA about the agency's desire for vehicles to be in emission compliance when they went to th scrap yard. It was not a position that I could wrap my head around.