The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1953 Chevy - Help with Identifying

Hello,

I picked up a 1953 Chevy. I am not sure what model it is (3/4 ton?) but it has a 1440 plate on the inside door frame (I hope I am remembering that number correctly). It has a wooden box and dually tires on the back. I am not sure if this is original. I will start with this because I have lots of questions.
[img]http://www.mlsd66.ca/~dforbes/redtruck1.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.mlsd66.ca/~dforbes/redtruck2.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.mlsd66.ca/~dforbes/redtruck3.jpg[/img]
[img]http://www.mlsd66.ca/~dforbes/redtruck4.jpg[/img]

Well, the real experts will be aboard soon, giving you good information. But as a relative newcomer, I'll guess that you're dealing with a 2 ton truck. The duals will be factory, but I suspect these were shipped from the factory as a cab and chassis, and an aftermarket shop put on the wooden bed later.

Or possibly a farmer built the box himself to haul grain.

The question of whether the box is "original" is not straightforward. Did it come from the factory? No. But it was probably added soon, either before the first owner got it, or soon thereafter. It wouldn't have been much use to him otherwise.

So while not "Factory", it was certainly "Original" in that the original owner probably set it up this way.

OK Thanks,

Another question.

1. Are all the model trucks from this era have the same cabs (i.e. the half ton cab is the same as the cab I have?)?

2. Are there any steel boxes of other models (from similar years) that will match with this cab?

Thanks,
Darren

Again, I am not an expert but I have been told that the cabs are the same on the 1/2 ton and 2 ton. However, the hood, grill and front fenders are much larger on the 2T.

I don't think Chevy made a box (we call them beds in Texas) for anything larger than a 1T. I doubt if it would look right proportionally.

If you don't want the grain bed, a stakebed would look good, and allow you to carry some things.

EDIT: I was looking for a picture of a stakebed in the gallery, and noticed several trucks that were model 4400. Is that the number you read instead of 1400? If so, it appears the 4400s were 1.5 tons, the 6400 were the 2T.

That model number sounds Canadian and since you are in Canada I imagine the truck was made and labeled there.

All of that to say the usual US based model identification isn't going to work on that truck. I guessing from the 4's that it is a 4000 series truck, which would be a 1-1/2 ton. Judging from the pictures it looks like the shorter wheelbase, which would be US model 4100.

IF I'm right, the wheelbase would be 137 inches. And if that is the case the bed from a 1-ton would be the right length. The fenders are not likely to be large or wide enough, but it might come close...

OK,

I was playing around in photoshop. I overlayed a photo of another truck similar to mine and cut out everything but the box. Not sure what box this is but am I making something that does not exist? [img]http://www.mlsd66.ca/~dforbes/hack.jpg[/img]

Interesting about the hoods and fenders. I wonder if this is true?

I assume I can take the dual rear wheels off and replace them with a normal set-up?

Thanks for the replies.

Darren

This truck looks like a 1-ton to me. The front wheel openings look small, like the 1/2- and 3/4-ton, and those wheels look like the 18's used on the dually 1-ton. The wheels are 8-lug, versus the 5/10 lug wheels on the bigger trucks. The wheelbase would be the same as the short 1.5-ton (137"). The front bumper is also the 1-ton style, similar to the smaller trucks.

Are those the lever-type door handles? If so, this would be a '51. The Chevrolet script on the side of the hood, possibly missing the series number under it, also suggests '51, as they used only the series number designation in '53, without the Chevrolet (unless the Canadians did it differently).

OK,

There was a series number under the chevrolet emblem on the fender but it was broken. The door handles were the lever action ones. So, I guess it could be a 51 (the guy I bought it from was not into trucks...he just got it at an auction on a whim).

So assuming it is a 1 ton, can I convert the dual tires back to regualar tires and get a one ton steel box/bed to go with it?

Also it has a hoist (that works) and did the one ton steel boxes work with the hoist?

Thanks again for helping me out. This is all a new journey for me. I have wanted to do this for years.

Darren

If everything on the truck is right, it is a 51 one-ton, heavy duty. 51 had the turn down door handles with wing vents, only year for that combo. 51 also had the series number on the side below Chevrolet, 53 had only the numbers. Should also have an 80 mph speedo, went to 90 in 52.

Curious, what are the series number on the hood side?

The clue to the series is the wheels and lugs, as Curt pointed out. The duals mean the heavy duty, which has different brake drums from the lighter trucks. There is another member who recently got a one ton similar to yours. There is also someone from Montana or Idaho who went through the wheel issue last summer, and finally gave up on finding a modern wheel that would fit. IIRC this truck has 18" tires, which can be expensive to replace. Wheels/tires are the downfall to restoration on this truck.

The original owner, probably a farmer, could have bought this truck with the bed and lift installed. If he did, the usual procedure was for the dealership to either buy the cab/chassis from GM and have it delivered to a bed company for installation, then sent to the dealer. The other way was for the dealer to receive the cab/chassis and have the bed installed locally. Sometimes the farmer would install the bed themselves, but they usually did not get the lift option, which was a more complex installation due to drilling the frame.

The bed Darren used is from a 3/4 ton, shorter wheelbase truck. If your wheelbase is 137", you should be able to put a one ton bed on her, but the wheels will not fit. About the only way to make them fit would be to swap the differential with a later model, single wheel pickup. That would give you better road gears, but you would have different wheels and tires on the front axle.

Thanks everyone for the info. I am going to check the id plate on the foor post and post it here.

I don't want the dual tires on the back and I don't have a problem swaping to a modern rear axel. In fact, my old man suggested dropping the cab on a different frame. Not sure what that involves. It would be cool to keep the hoist for a steel box/bed but I assume I would have to go with a 3/4 ton frame?

Darren

Is that a Portuguese Water Dog or a standard poodle? :p

I don't think the 1-ton with dually option had different brakes than the single-rear-wheel 1-ton. At least the Chevy specs don't show a difference. All 3800's had 14x2.5 rear brakes. The DRW option did upgrade the springs, though.

An SRW 1-ton would have had 17" wheels standard, with 7.00-17 tires. I don't know if those would be easier to find than the 18's. Changing the rear to single would also require changing to the SRW front hubs to use the same wheels. The rear hubs were the same for single or dual.

Actually it is a Newfoundland Dog with a shave for the summer. His name is Toopy (go figure). It belongs to the friends we bought the truck from.

There is an emblem on the side. It says 1430. I can get the id tag info right away here. I am trying to start it. It has 6V system and the battery is hooked up on the negative terminal and grounded to the back of the firewall. However, I have no idea what is supposed to be hooked up to the other post. I assume it something has to run to the starter. This is all new to me so forgive my drool.

Darren

A 1430 is a Canadian 1 ton.

Thanks for the reply. So a one ton it is...good to know. [img]http://www.mlsd66.ca/~dforbes/1430.jpg[/img]

I have a few more questions. The passenger door has a lock in it but the driver's door does not. Is that normal?
[img]http://www.mlsd66.ca/~dforbes/1951doorhandle.jpg[/img]

I also don't think the battery is hooked up and don't know how exactly. Here are the images if the engine bay.
[img]http://www.mlsd66.ca/~dforbes/battbox3.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.mlsd66.ca/~dforbes/battbox2.jpg[/img] [img]http://www.mlsd66.ca/~dforbes/battbox1.jpg[/img]

This is all a learning curve for me as this is my first old truck. Thanks.

Darren

The id tag on the door post reads.
Model:1433
Serial Number: 2143301705
Engine: XC520417
Trim: 394
Body Serial: 130
Paint: 231

Does anyone know if I can still use the 3/4 ton frame and steel box/bed with this truck? Thanks.

Darren

I'm not that familiar with the Canadian serial numbering (someone please correct me if wrong), but I think this truck is a '52. The first digit of the serial is the last digit of the model year (2='52). The next four digits are the series or model (1433=1-ton cab & chassis, 137" w.b.). The rest of the number is the unit production number.

The Unit production number is pretty low, so I guess it's possible this one came through with leftover '51 doors and hood emblems, unless those changes weren't made on the Canadian models until later, if at all.

I know nothing about the Canadian engine serial numbers, but it looks like it could be a prefix (XC), followed by the model year (52), then the unit number. This is just a guess. If you can find the casting date code on the engine block (a letter followed by 2 or 3 numbers, probably on the right side of the block near the starter), that would help verify the year of the engine (which may or may not be original to the truck). The last digit of the date code would be the last digit of the year.

A Canadian truck resto pack would probably help in deciphering all of the numbers.

It is normal that the AD trucks only had a lock on the passenger door (standard).

The battery is not in the factory location (again, unless this is a Canadian thing). It should be on the outside of the frame under the passenger side floor. And that negative cable is way too puny for a 6-volt system. The ground to the firewall probably isn't too great either. For good starter operation, the negative cable should attach directly to the engine, with ground straps to the body and frame. The positive cable connects to the terminal on top of the starter. Both cables should be at least 0 guage.

If you want to swap the cab and front clip to a 3/4-ton frame, that is doable. I think it would be cooler to keep the duals and find (or fabricate) a 1-ton box.

Edit:
There is no date in the engine numbers. It is strictly a sequence number. An X prefix by itself would denote a 216 truck engine. Still not sure what the C is.

Thanks Curt for the info. It is a real help. Yeah, I assumed the battery needed to be under the floor but the guy who had it said he had never seen it there. I would like to move it back to that location.

Darren