The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk What were they thinking?

I am a proud owner of a 49 Chevy 3/4 ton. The Ole Girl is still original and I love the way people just come up and start a conversation about how their Dad or they themselves used to own one. I drive my 49 everyday, I just have to, it takes me back to a simpler time. I look at all those cookie cutter cars and trucks zoom by, but I don't care because I'm enjoying my ride, yeah she's a head turner allright.

Here's the thing though, people always ask me this same question to which I have no answer, maybe someone can tell me, what were they thinking when G.M. put the door lock on the passenger side of the truck and not on the driver's side. It can't be because as some have said, maybe it was for safety reasons, the roads were more narrow back then and it wasn't safe to exit from the driver's side. But that can't be it, because if that were true then why did cars have locks on the driver's side.

Somebody help me out here so I won't have to shrugg my shoulders and look like an idiot, which might not be completely possible.

That is for when you went to pick up your date so that you always opened the door for her first,and they got in and opened your door for you Truck builders were just smarter back then Actually I don't know either and have always wondered the same thing

Arrgh! Archive search! Archive search!

Short answer - old traffic laws.

SAMCS777, welcome. you can move the lock to the other side. i have a 54 and i did it. btw you expressed my ideas about my truck exactly. ron

GMC is right. There was a really good discussion of this here recently. Search the forums.

Yea.. it was traffic laws.

In the days of old, it was illegal to enter a vehicle parked on the street from the drivers side, because that was the side that was in the street.

You had to get in on the passenger side and slide over.. not a problem with those slick bench seats.

Might be a problem with todays cloth seats and center consoles, tho!

I don't know why it's legal now.. public protest? safer roads? safer cars? All of the above?

There used to be alot of kooky laws on the books.. that was just one of 'em.

Connecticut used to have a toilet seat law until the 1970's.

But why wouldn't the same laws to protect truck drivers not apply to car drivers, whose cars had locks on the driver's side?
Certainly federal law makers wouldn't value the life of a truck driver over that of a car driver.
There must be something missing here, there are some stupid old laws on the books but they usually pertain to city or state and not federal law.
Does anybody know if this was a Chevy thing or if all trucks of that era had no driver's side door locks?

Hey Doug 57, you mean to tell me toilet seats are no longer required in Connecticut, I'll have to remember to bring my own if I should happen to pass that way.
Is that Booger Hallow or Hallow Booger ,
Sorry, I couldn't resist :rolleyes:

What works on a '52-'6? door won't work on a '47-'51 door.

Doug57 is in Georgia - same state I am - we have brick outhouses now, with ac(and seats)!

-W

thanks for the answer fumblin46. i always wondered too.
i've replaced the lock cause i didn't have the key, but i kept the lock only on the passenger side; just because!

O.K. AD_ Pickup, but wouldn't G.M. want to provide the same safety to their car buyers as they do their truck buyers, after all dead car buyers don't make very good repeat customers.

Also if it was an option to have both doors with door locks, then howcome I have never seen one, and I've seen a thousand of them, not to mention if you think about it, what would've G.M. charged, probably no more than $4.00 at the time, if even that. A person would have to be some kind of cheap not to buy that option. :rolleyes:

Nope, good try but there has to be a better reason.

By the way, what year is your truck? Because Cletis doesn't think I can put a driver side door lock on my 49.

I did think of one good safety reason, if you get s@#t face drunk and fall out of your truck on the driver's side you'd fall in the middle of the highway and end of story, whereas if you fall out on the other side, the worst that could happen is you might fall and roll over to the fire hydrant and all the dog pee.

Samcs777, I think it is because it's a truck, there fore one lock passenger door is all it needs. As above two locks with key is an option. Cars on the other hand are different. With a car you get stuff that a truck doesn't have. You should expect back in 1949 or what every year you have. In other words a truck is just that . Plain Jane and built to haul. Cars have creature comfort.
Jbennett
1940 burb
One lock passenger side

I'm real sceptical about the "law" requiring one sided locks, I'd hafta see a believeable reference to that, and it would have had to be a federal law back when there were almost no federal laws regarding motor vehicles, as that one side thing started with the earliest locking trucks!

how come everybody whines about the lock thing, but nobody questions why the gas filler is on the passengers side until 55 2nd?

the reason the lock is on the pass side is the same as the reason the gas filler was on that side - waaay back before you young'uns, there weren't "gas stations", all gas pumps were curbside at garages - pull over, slide out, fill up, slide back in - safety may have been the initial justification, but the fact that they kept the filler and locks on the passanger side has to do w/ how cheap these vehicles were, the fact they were 'workin mens trucks' where frills were unimportant, and the fact that GM needed real good reason to change things - ain't the money they spend that earns the profit, it's the money they don't spend!

the reason they switched from locks in the doors to locks in the handles is so they could offer the optional drivers door keylock, and they weren't available before that - the reason they switched the filler to the drivers side is because by 55 there were almost none of those old style "fueling service" setups at local garages anymore and too many folks were gettin cranky about it

Bill

O.K. jbennett, if one plain jane truck only needs one lock, then why not on the driver's side? Can't get any simpler than that.

Nope, nice try, who's next?

red58, wow, some real good stuff there, however it's not that I'm from the show me state, because I'm not, but cars and trucks have had their gas tanks on both sides and front and rear since before my 49 was built.

The early forties V.W. had gas tanks in the front, my new SUV has the tank on the driver's side, heck the 57 Chevy car hides the gas tank behind the tail light, car and truck mfg's were just creative that way.

Those old time gas stations did offer curb side pumps, but cars and trucks could pull up by entering the driveway from the other side. Didn't matter which side the gas tank was on.

Getting warmer, who's next? :rolleyes:

er... I know we're talking about ADs here, but my 46 has a lock in the door on the passenger's side, and a lock in the handle on the driver's side.

AFAIK, it is original.

I know that they moved the lock from the handle to the door on the passenger's side in 42. Did they put a lock on the handle on the driver's side prior to the 47 AD run?

If it was an option, I think I have an explanation. It was originally owned by a railroad, and there were a few other bells and whistles on it that have broken (or are missing).

Sam, many cars before than had fillers directly on the back, but mostly still on the right, towards the back - name some trucks that had the filler front or rear, or even drivers side before 49 - sure not GM - name one truck of any kind post 50's that has the filler on the pass side - people stopping for gas at those old stations stopped on the street if it was on their side, and pulled in if they were going the other way, filler still right side, toward the pump - if the filler was in the back or front, it still wasn't on the "street side"

the lock thing is as I said - went w/ the filler, and the reason there was only 1 is cuz yer truck was just about the cheapest vehicle made, and they didn't waste money on frills - some farmer or tradesman in his overalls didn't care - cars had key locks on both sides, [but not on the back doors] and if they could have gotten away w/ making the ladies in their dresses slide across [split seats mostly] they sure would have!

that's my story and I'm stickin to it! if you've got a better one .... what was yer question?

Bill

AD_Pickup, Sorry if you took my curiosity the the wrong way, I'm not in the least bit upset:mad:

On the contrary, I enjoy the stovebolt because of all the great info and good knowledgeble people here.

Remember, the only stupid question is the one you don't ask.

I always tell my kids and grandchildren, I don't have the answer for all their questions, but if I don't know the answer I can usually point them in the right direction to ask someone who will. Knowledge is a great thing to be shared with all.

By the way, Is GM one syllable or two, Ha HA.

red58, no I don't have a better story or answer for your questions, if I knew the answer I would have never asked the question. I'm a newbie just trying to pick the brains of more knowledgeable people on the subject at hand.

When you ask questions, sometimes the answer seems vague, so you ask more questions, it doesn't mean I think your'e wrong, you may be 100% right, I'd just like to hear more input on the matter.

Look I'm not trying to [censored] anyone off, so lean back from the computer screen and stop squeezing the mouse so tight, go to the fridge and get a cold one and let's all be friends.

yeah I think Sam's just killin time - noticed he changed his post to 57 Chev from the new SUV, but that's still post-55

I'll check back to see your list of pre-49 vehicles w/ fillers on the drivers side, Sam, especially GeneralMotors, and post 55 vehicles w/ the filler on the passenger side

Bill

No, I didn't change post from 57 chevy to new SUV, I just added the 57 chevy as an example of gas tank placements. I still think that was a cool place to put it.

But listen, I don't come to the stovebolt to rile people up or waste my time or anybody else's for that matter.

When you get to be my age you learn to be a little thick skinned, so the fact that some people take my questions the wrong way doesn't bother me, but if people who visit the stovebolt see these kind of response's they may take this as a reason not to ask questions, and that would be a shame. No hard feelings.

If I get bored one afternoon I'll dig around in the old law books at school. It didn't have to be a federal law - if enough states require something (or a small number of states with a large volume of car sales), the automakers will do it nationwide. Of course, that leads to odditys like the early-80s CA-spec Corvettes with the 305...

Thanks GMCpanel, by the way I did ask the local Chevy dealer a couple of months ago, but no luck there, they haven't got a glue. I also did an archive search here without any luck so if you know the link can you post it here?

AD_pickup made mention of a restoration pack from GM, Do you know where I can find one?
Thanks, Sam

modern Chevy dealers don't have a clue about anythinmg older than 20 years!
they certainly couldn't conceive of something like this as a "dealership"

info on the resto pak here

as for riling - only 1 here appears a bit upset, with some reason I think
"Getting warmer, who's next? :rolleyes: " is a bit troll-like
let us know when you find a definitive answer that suits ya

Bill

My 50 3100 and the recently aquired 50 6400 both have cigarette lighters, radios, heaters, and a single door lock on the passenger side.

The '52 Dodge 1/2 ton has one door lock.. on the passenger side (altho the gas filler is on the driver side)

GM didn't put just one lock these trucks because of a federal mandate, they did it because thats the way the world worked in 1950.

Tires had tubes in them like bicycle tires, and turn signals were optional equipment.

Slick bench seats were the standard (and in '46 weren't even adjustable!)

You'd be lucky to find a cigarette lighter in a new car today, let alone an ash tray.. even bare bones cars today have turn signals, heat, and adjustable seats (usually buckets).

Alot of things have changed in 55+ years.

I think it has more to do with the times than anything. WORK trucks were WORK trucks... No frills. People weren't so afraid back then of having their truck stolen. Most probably never locked their truck anyway.

My 48 has a three position ignition switch... Locked, On, and Unlocked. You could take the key out in any position. If you take it out in the On position, you can still shut it off and turn it back on... so you don't even need a key.

Working men probably didn't even want to bother with fumblin' around for a key... Let alone locking a door.

Its a german thing. My VW Jetta has the gas cap on the passenger side.

And both vehicles (the 55 2nd chevy truck and vw jetta) have 12 volt access ports for cell phones and other entertainment paraphernalia. They were 50 years ahead of their time.

Old man Ford, Dodge, and the boys from General Motors were all german.

Its a german thing.