The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk '56 Stepside VIN - Need Help

Hi all. Newbie to this forum.
Ok, I'm 50 and have done some work rebuilding engines, etc. My son Todd, with my wife's help, drags home this rolling pile of stuff (not too much rust) and they say "Merry Christmas Dad, you need a project". Body & bed are primer gray. Engine resting catywampus in compartment is reported to be a 454 (no engine mounts). Automatic tranny (reported to be a Turbo-Hydramatic 400) & drive line, & another hood in bed, which is not attached to the frame. Basically a good truck that needs some tough love, and lots of $$, but it rolls & steers, and only a little rust.

Todd still working to get paperwork (title, etc., if there is any), but Todd says it is a '55 Stepside. VIN plate on left front doorpost is painted over. I stripped the paint last night & need help. No VIN in sight. Removed black paint & primer reveal blue paint on aluminum panel riveted to door frame. No other info or plates to be found. Plate has a little blue "56" painted in lower left. Big GVW 5000 LB in middle of plate. Hard to read horsepower numbers say 123 @ 4000 w/ 235 cu in, and 132 @3800 w/ 265 (I think) cu in. Tran has "STD" stamped next to it, and Paint has "76 4" stamped next to it. No other stampage anywhere I can find. Grill is 3 horizontal bars & 4 vertical. Wheel base is about 114 inches. Emblem holes on fenders are above the horizontal line on the fender, so I think it is a '56 3100.

Any help identifying this beast, or the engine, or tranny? Anywhere on the frame that would help?

Any recommended reading?

Looking forward to getting dirty,
Thanks for the help,
Ricky Bob.

newbies always welcome Ricky! congrats on having a family w/ good sense in gift giving

yes, generally above the feature line is 56 - grill makes it either 5 or 6, for the rest it's a short stepside 1/2T [3100]

that tag has the general 'generic' info, but that's not the VIN tag, which is about 1" x 3" and just has the actual ID number for that vehicle - should be something like 3A56K104930 - might find the number [or part of it] on the drivers frame rail top near the steering box if the small tag's gone

engine and trans are obviously not original so you'd hafta get some number off them and search

Bill

With lots of degreaser, paint remover, and then some elbo grease, I found "57L103175" on the frame rail where you said it would be. Couldn't find another smaller plate anywhere. Should it be near the "generic" plate?

Looks like I have a real mixed bag of stuff. '57 frame, at least some '56 body parts, and who knows what else. :confused:

With the 114" wheel base, Im guessing the complete VIN should be 3A57L103175.

Thanks again,
Ricky Bob.

hey who knows where these things have been in their lives? I call my 57 the frankentruck because it's assembled of parts from 9 different ones covering 56-59 + a 62 step box

that sequence number also means it was only the 3,175th truck of the 57 series assembled in L.A. [all plants started at 100,000], which means it prolly was actully built in 56 - but maybe somewhere the last 50 years, somebody replaced the front clip for whatever reason - wreck maybe, or someone just liked the egg crate grille better than the clown's mouth 57 one [most seem to] - check the 'hidden' paint on front areas, like where the fender flange mates w/ the inner fenders, where the grill bolts in, etc, and check some points on the cab as well and see if you find evidence they had different original colors

the biggest change 56-57 is they shortened the steering column a few inches to suit a different steering wheel - the 55-6 wheel is flat across it's face [same as 54 and 55.1 I think], where the 57 and up wheel the hub is recessed the xtra few inches w/ spokes angling out to the rim, putting the wheel rim in the same relation to the driver - if it was a true 57 frame it'd have the shorter column because that was installed before the body went on

the door VIN tags are slightly different places different years, but generally in 56 it's spot welded on the forward drivers pillar halfway above the dogleg if I remember right, and that other tag is halfway below the dogleg where it's wider

hope you can find some paper to go w/ the truck that has a matching number on it, but things can always be worked out as long as you have a good bill of sale!

Bill

How time flies...
With three trips to the DMV, and temporarily installing the 454/TH400 w/ a Brothers mounting kit, and a trailer ride to the CHP, I have a shiny new VIN tag, and a '57 title. Really, the DMV folks & CHP couldn't have been more helpful.
Now I need to complete my build plan & come up w/ some $$.