The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk popular truck

speaking with a guy on the phone this morning and we got into a small debate about certain yr trucks, he thought one yr was more popular then what I thought, but any rate I went to our gallery and counted the two groups, came out about equal, I would think that this site would represent/answer our question but I am sure it would not be exact if you ask the whole world,, what would you think?

Whats the question?

Which year is more popular? Seems to me that popularity wise, all the trucks between '47 and '72 are equally popular.

I personally lean more twards the Art Deco trucks.. with the early AD trucks my second choice.

That might be a good anwser, I would probably start a war if I mentioned the 2 yrs,, the debate was started when he mentione that his yr would be worth about 3,000 more then my yr,, I said every thing being even, they would probably be close to the same, Fred

Your friend must have a 55 - 57 truck.

Am I right?

Did you guys seek a specific year and find it? I searched for 47-53 and ended up with a 55 1st. Basically I wanted an AD. I wonder if you were to find more of 1 year than the other, if it is mainly because more of that year could be found.

I have a 62, 3/4 stepside which I love but if I were to be honest, I'd vote for 55-57 as the best looking, most collectable trucks.

Are you talking about what is more popular with collectors, or out on the street?
As a kid growing up in a rural community, I'd say that 90% of the trucks then were either AD Chevys, or '48-'50 F-words. Over the years since, it's gone back and forth among the various brands.
The 'bolt I have now is an AD, although I wish it was an Art Deco.

How confusing is that! AD could mean Advanced Design ot Art Deco to the newbie. BTW my vote is 54-55.1 Love them grilles

Popularity is rooted in two factors.. the first of which is probably the "want" factor.

You want a truck like you had when you were 16.. or you want a truck like your father or grandfather used to drive.

Others may just want a particular year truck just because they saw one at a show or in a magazine and thought, "Hey! I want one like that!"

Which leads us into the availability factor..

I dig the Deco trucks.. I really wanted a 1/2 ton to match my 2 ton.. something about that body style and look really speaks to me.

In my pursuit of a '42 thru '46 1/2 ton I ended up with a '50 1/2 ton. The price was right, I had a blast getting her running, and I really enjoyed driving it around.. and yes, the early AD body style really grew on me.

As a result, i'm a fan of the early AD trucks ('47 thru '50) far more so than I was before I owned one.. heck, even the '67 Custom started to grow on me a bit.. a simple matter of what I wanted vs. what was available at the time.

I'd be willing to bet there are many guys out there with classic Stovebolts who can say, "What I really was looking for was a (insert model here) but what I ended up with is this.. and it's really grown on me"

The '67-'72 trucks have really started to become popular.. is it because of a new batch of younger rodders and truck guys are recapturing their youth, or looking for a truck like Dad used to drive? Partly, yes.

Another large segment of '67 - '72 fans are probably guys who would prefer to own a Deco, Advance Design, or Task Force truck, but availability of those trucks is getting slimmer with each passing day (and as a result the price increases) so they go for a little later model truck that still has a cool look, but far more accesable and better suited for their budget. (both for initial investment and cost of parts)

As far as one model year being worth $3,000 more than the following model year.. that seems like a bit of a stretch.

all I know is I got what I wanted,,,,,,,,,Fred

That's what happened to me, Fumblin. I set out for a 47-53 and found a 54 at the right time/ price. Fell in love with it. Had to sell it when I moved. Looked for another one but found a 49 (right time/ price) Fell back in love with that style. I like the split windshield and no vent windows of the 49 but I like the grille and the push button door handles of the 54. Guess I'll make me a puzzle truck next time.

Anyone have an Old Car Price Guide handy? I think last I looked there was little difference in value across the AD and TF trucks.

I just did a quick survey that represents the interest group I care most about.

Year Votes
1989 - 1
1978 - 1
1972 - 1
1955 1st - 2
1954 - 1
1953 - 1
1952 - 2
1951 - 2

There you have it. The most popular years are '51, '52 and '55 1st. Advance Design/New Design trucks beat all others by eight to one. There can be no doubt Advance Design trucks are the most popular!

If you don't believe it come count the trucks in my yard for your self!

I'll jest drive my '65...

vRooom...

-W

In AD trucks, the no vent windows and split windsheild is my favorite, too.. which is why I really favor the late '47 thru 1950 years.

BUT..

I do like the push button handles better than the refridgerator door handles.

Once I get my '46 1/2 ton together, I might have to make an "AD parts buggy" of my own.

I LOVE LITTLE BABY DUCKS, OLD PICKUP TRUCKS, SLOW MOVING TRAINS---------------------AND I LOVE THEREFOR I AM. RON

I like'em all.

Woogeroo and i too will drive my 64.

39-40 Chevy trucks are the most desireable trucks known to man, bar none...

Rusty -- You must be right. I wasn't even looking for an old truck and a '39 was dropped on my doorstep (figuratively, of course). Now I have a '49 that I wasn't looking for at the time.

It must be nice to actually think about what you want, and then go looking for it and buy it. That's never happened to me :rolleyes:


John

Same deal as looking for a woman,, wasn't looking for one but.....................been a good old girl 44 yrs next month..plus she got a good deal

I like opening the refridgerator almost as much as I like driving my truck.

When I was lookin for a truck,I had an AD in mind.I found this 55 2nd series on Ebay and liked the looks of it.I was top bidder,had it transported home.A big dissapointment.The only thing good about it was it had a decent body.The seller lied like hell about what was in it mechanically,etc.Found out very quick that Ebay will not stand behind you on a bum deal.Made the best of it and turned it into a real nice steet rod.As for most popular year.I like them all.

Dale, where did the guy mis-lead you? you sure have it looking good now? man, is it still hot down here or what, about 100 now and it is almost six........Fred

I'm with Rusty Rod.

1939 - 1940 are the best looking trucks Chevy and GMC ever made.

That's my final answer.

Since GM made more 1966 trucks than any other year, it clearly was the most popular in it's day.

From what I see on the road, the 1967-72 models seem to be the most common ones.

When it comes to the styling, the pre 1960 trucks seem to have the most fans.

ALL PRE 1973 GM TRUCKS ARE POPULAR IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.

i would not pass any of them up.. like the 39-40 but have made up my mind to focus on the 47-53 like the grill, the 54 is ok but the front end just doesn't do any thing for me. so i'll stick with the ones that i have. right now their are 5 big bolts, 5 pickups and working on more. just can not have enough. my 2 cents..mike j

TooMany2, I completely agree. That's the main reason I got my '50. It runs. Also, if it doesn't start, there's only one or two reasons why. (and a computer isn't one of them) As for the rest of the thread, my favorites are 49-59 or 69-72. But no matter what year, I think that the folks here in Boulder like seeing a truck that doesn't look like every other vehicle on the road.

• Some people actually like their old trucks
• Some people wouldn't take $3000 more for their old truck, if they even knew what it was worth.
• Some people actually don't care what their old truck is worth.
• Some people won't let anyone have their old truck until someone pries their dead fingers off the wheel.

The rest are just speculators and only act to increase demand.

Fred.,truck was advertised with disc brakes,Edelbrock heads,Holley 4 bbl.carb.,new exhaust,custom interior,just to name a few things,which were not true.Had the truck shipped from Colorado to Cleveland.I picked it up there,before I got home with it,(60 miles)blew holes in both mufflers,they were rotten.It had drum brakes,regular Chevy heads.Edelbrock carb,etc.Interior consisted of two old bucket seats that were falling apart.My wife filed a complaint with Ebay,which went nowhere.The seller pleade ignorance,said he thought everything was true as advertised.Yeah I just went ahead and made the best of a bad deal.After a lot of hard work and many $$$ it is a decent looking truck.Oh yeah as with all street rods there is more to do,new rear suspension,etc.Maybe someday it will be done.

Hey Fred one more thing ,it did make me feel good when it won a dust collector,er trophy for runner up at a show with many nice classic cars and street rods.Makes you feel like the hard work was worth it.

It does at that,, I have won 3 with mine, all had a lot more money in theres,,we have a local one next weekend at home depot, less then 2 miles from me,not sure if I will enter mine, I am more into just going to the meet/show then have my truck judged,,thanks for the heads up on the response...Fred

All my trucks are for sale. I just ignore all offers under $100,000.

Whenever someone asks if mine is for sale I tell them you'll have to talk to my son sbout it cause it's really his. They say "Where can I find him?" and I say "He's right there in the car seat". (He's 10 months old)

Interesting range of anwswers...

Here's my input...

To me, now 38+ years old, grew-up in suburban MD (was "rural" then, is metropolitan sprawl now), the "quintissential" old truck will always be the '47-'53 Advance Design pick-ups...there were still plenty of these on the roads in the early '70s, during my "formative years"

Now for personal experience:

During the above-mentioned "formative years", my Grandad had a '54 Chevy 3600 3/4 ton 5-window pick-up; a very tired, plain-jane stripper of a truck. From what I can tell, he bought it somewhere around 1968, and it had at least 121,000 miles on it then. Where there was still paint, it was chalky Juniper Green; elsewhere (top of hood, top of cab, fender crowns, was surface rust).

I vividly remember riding with Grandad in this jalopy, and was small enough that I could stand on the floor, hook my little fingers into the defroster vent of the garnish moulding, and just about see over the hood...I preferred standing over sitting, as the orignal seatcovering was mostly gone, and the horsehair stuffing was pretty "picky" against my tender little legs...
I also remember the smell of that truck: that wonderful GM combination of horsehair seat stuffing, faint whiffs of gasoline, and a hint of exhaust...

Grandad gave me that truck around 1976 (I was about 9 years old at the time) and I still have it.

I generally prefer the '47-'53 AD styling over the '54-'55-first, but an AD is an AD.

My next old Chevy pick-up was a '64 C-10 short stepside that I picked-up off the used lot of a local Chevy dealer for $195 around 1990. The original owner had traded-it in on a used S-10.
Also "juniper green"...it looked fairly solid, ran (230 six), and had a valid inspection sticker.
This truck was a great runner, reliable as sunrise, and I liked it a lot.
What I didn't care for was that the cab was short on leg-room (more so than my AD), so it wasn't very comfortable for longer trips.

Then there was my '41 Chevy 1.5 ton dump truck...an old yard-goat from a local junkyard that also served me well...I really like the Art Deco trucks for their styling...
Would love to have an Art Deco Pick-up.

For the record, other trucks I have owned or would like to own:

'36 Chevy pick-up (owned)
'48 International KB-2 ( owned)
'49 GMC 100 pick-up (own)
'51 Chevy 3600 (owned)
'55 Chevy first-series, 4400 dump truck (own)
'61 Willys 6-226 4WD (owned)
'70 Ford F-100 Sport Custom (owned)
'72 Chevy C-10 8' fleetside (my "new truck")

'48-'53 Studebaker (like to own)
'48-'52 Ford (like to own)

Hey guys... just wanted to throw in my 2 cents worth. I've always been of the mind set that if you own (or are a fan of) ANY year of classic Chevy, you are a friend of mine. Now before I put in my vote I just have to say that I love and appreciate any good restore of a good pre-1973 truck (within reason of course) My personal preference is the 65-66 Chevy especially if its a hot rod 4x4... and to think I've been laughed out of debates before. lol
Can't we all just get along?? best of luck

well let'see I was looking for a 46 panel when i bought my 53, i've owned a 72 pickup and currently have a 72 blazer that i bought when i was lookin for a 66 burb and with all that my current daily driver is a 2002. having confessed all that i dont think i need to go see my shink or do i????????? now i really confused lol!!

My vote goes to the 47 to 54. The round styling and the front grill... perfection.

curly, welcome aboard,, you will enjoy this site..a lot of good stuff here...regards..Fred

My favorites are:

1969 (Dad and his brother had identical '69 3/4-ton sequential serial numbered trucks, ordered new!);

1967 (smooth styling, no sidemarkers);

1966 (Dad's shop had two, bought new, sweet styling!)

and 1955 (I had a Cameo that I paid $200 (that's right!) in 1984 that I drove all over the place!)

The 1946 and 1949 trucks are really nice, too, for their smoothness and exceptional lines.

My "lottery garage" would have these!