The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Restoration Package Information

For those of you that may be interested, here is the information that I just received from GM of Canada for my 1957 GMC Pickup:

Vehicle: 1957 GMC Pickup
VIN: 79314809605
Wheels: Black
Paint: 004 - Alpine Blue
Body Number: 23183
Production Plant: Oshawa, Ontario
Production Date: June 13, 1957
Shipping Date: September 25, 1957
Model Number: 9314 - Pickup
Engine: 235 CID 140 HP 6 Cylinder
Engine Number: 266498
Dealer: Sold In Manitoba (Dealer not recorded)
Numer Produced for sale in Canada: 2,656

The cover letter states that my truck will have the same specifications as the U.S. Chev model 3104. But when I look through the manual that I received, my truck appears to be a model 3804 with the 108" box, GVW of 7000 lbs.

It may have been shipped with 17.5" or 19.5" wheels, but it had on 16" when I bought it (and the wheels off of my 2003 Chev Silverado 2500 HD will actually fit!). They seen awfully close to the steering linkage on the front axle, though.

If anyone else can provide any further information about this vehicle, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Thanks,

Photo

Bugger! I didn't know they built a stock 235 that was rated for more power than a stock 270 gmc. The 270 was rated for 130hp. 302 was up to 160hp.

Good to here that they do have info on both GMCs and Canadian models. Isn't a Canadian GMC just a Chevy with a diferent grill?

purty much.

CDN 6cyl GMC's had Chev engines, otherwise they are all GMC, and the frame, suspension and details [dash, grill, trim, options] are not any more Chevy than the US GMC's are, and the V8's were not 283's

Photo - yer truck's vin indicates a 9314 series/model, which is a short 1/2T with a 5000GVW - if you've got a 9' box and tags that say 7000GVW, someone has done a switcheroo on the vin tag the long [133"WB] 6,900/8,800GVW pu is model 9434 - wheel sizes make the difference in GVW - also the 8 [79314809605] in the vin indicates a V8, a 235 would have a 6 instead

Bill

Photo,

Who did you contact for your information? Call or write? We are want to update this Tech Tip.

Any info for the GMC / Canada side will be helpful (from you or anyone else).

Thanks,
Peggy

Peggy,

I contacted GM Canada through the following website: http://gmcanada.com/english/maintenance/parts/parts_vint.html

I received the information about 10 days after requesting it. Just a quick note that it will cost Canadian 'Bolters $ 35.00 Cdn plus tax to obtain the information!

Red58,

You could very well be right. When I purchased this vehicle, I got a frame with the cab and body mounted on it, nothing else! Someone had modded it to mount a V-8 with questionable engine mounts and cut out the original transmission crossmember. I plan on using parts of the frame/cab mounts and the box on a newer chassis, so I was not too concerned about the originality of the vehicle. The dash in this truck is definately GMC with the rectangular instrument panel, not the triangular Chevy one! As there was no front end sheet metal, I cannot say what the original grill looked like.

I also purchased a '57 Chev 1/2 ton longbox at the same time (s/n 93204608865A, engine # C 402118) that was almost complete. This will be a parts vehicle to complete one truck. I love the look of the '58/'59 quad headlights, so that's what I'm going to build (as well as being a '58 model myself!). I'll have to replace the front fenders, but almost everything else is usable.

Thanks,

Photo

Peg

On your tech tip page it says
" For Canadian-made trucks, contact GM Canada with your VIN toll-free (in Canada) 1-888-467-6853, between 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. EASTERN time.

I had contacted Chevrolet Customer Assistance Center (USA), and asked for the "Restoration Package" Being that I lived in Canada and my truck was built in the USA, I still had to contact Gm Canada for my restoration package.

Since it was built in the USA, they had no info on my vin number. All I got in the mail was a 69 page photocopied booklet ( 1941 chevrolet Specifications)with specs that are found in the Salesman book.

My friend who sent for the same thing, except his truck was made in Oshawa, receiced a nice cover letter from Gm Canada with all the vin info and when it was sold, where it was sold and so on.

Maybe I will see if my good friend Kips41 will get me one fron the USA.

Rob

Photo - you do have a hodgepodge there!! 93204608865A is a 59 vin, not 57, which would start with a 7

what you need to watch is that the different front sheet metal makes some problems mixing the years - the 58/9 frame is about 2 inches longer than the 55/7 to accept the gravel pan below the grill, and the hood hinge mounting holes on the firewall are very slightly different, so it's a job to get the 58 hinges to fit properly on a 57 cab .... you'll be back

Bill

Red58,

Oops, it's the new model typing fingers that I'm trying to break in!

The second truck should read '59 Chev 1/2 ton!, not '57!

Yep, I'll be creating a "Frankentruck" (I know that I've seen that somewhere!). I have no idea how long it'll take, but am not in a hurry and have no deadlines to finish by!

Thanks,

Photo

From what I know about AD's (I know it doesnt really apply to Photo here.)

But is that so Red58?

The more I ponder about it I think you (did I ever doubt?) that you are right. Somewhere I remember reading that GMC's and Chev's were built in different plants until late 60's(?) and then large trucks (larger then one ton) went to the GMC plants and small (half to one ton) to the Chev plants.

So they were built in different plants. See now i'm crossing over, with the TF series, the whole dash was differemt, but with AD's just the dash grill was different. But with the exception of that, the cab is exactly the same right? Same with the box? Fenders and hoods are different. Are the frames the same?

So if not, that means GMC and Chev each produced their own of the same part? (they each produced a TF cab, when all they really needed to do was make their own dash) See that doesn't make sense to me. If they didn't do that, meaning one built the cab for both companies, they wouldn't be ALL GMC or ALL Chev, right?

Fill me in. I think i'm making this more complicated then it has to be.

Just curious, what were the GMC V8's?

I'm not up on all the differences, but I believe GMC always used heavier duty bits on "hard parts", like steering/suspension, the earlier GMC frames were heavier and longer to accept the longer 228, 248, 302's [tho that might not be true for CDN ones] - in the US GMC's were all built at a GMC plant in Pontiac until 1950[?] then were also assembled at some of the Chevy plants - the many other differences were cosmetic really, tho GMC guys like to think it makes'em 'special' - different colors mostly, and the gauges, but I just remember that it took GMC way longer to figure out + isn't the ground side

for the sheet metal, they shared nearly all of it, but each truck plant stamped their own, all 10[?] Chev plants in the US and the 2 in Canada, as well as the Pontiac GMC plant - all the dies made to the specs designed by the same team

the V8's for GMC were Pontiacs and Buicks, and with the TF series, I think most GMC's in Canada did use GMC 6's as well, like the 248 & 270

here's a site about TF GMC\'s , tho it prolly doesn't have any CDN info

Bill

Task Force GMCs? Those are Blue Chip GMCs!!! I think my 59 1/2 ton had 1/2 inch wheel studs.

some of the early v-8s were also oldsmobile in the heavier trucks. they were pontiac in the 1/2 to 1 ton trucks.

hmm, interesting.

See I have two '53 (edit: Canadian) GMC's. One, one ton parts truck, and my little half ton. Compared to the other (edit: Canadian) Chev's of the era, everything seems almost exactly the same. Both my GMC's have (had) 235's, one was a low pressure, one full pressure (now both full pressure). I've never seen a 248 or 270 in all the Canadian GMC's i've looked at (or all the GMC's I've looked at for that matter).

I guess one thing that is shared with American GMC's, separate from our Chev counterparts is that positive ground. My Canadian GMC was + ground.

Sorry to highjack your topic Photo.

Colin

From what i've seen, and you may have seen more, but I don't think the use of stronger/more heavy duty bits is true for Canadian models.

you might be right about the CDN ones, particularly as both were assembled at Oshawa, but also note that most of the differences would only be detectable with digging and measurement - like slightly heavier shackle bolts, or the difference in frame material thickness or length, and the difference in the front cross member and radiator frame - the CDN GMC's did use Chev engines, which I thought changed in 55, but a buddy got a good original 58 from the praires that had a 261 - there just doesn't seem to be much hard info about GM Canada's production in that era

Bill

Photo,

Here\'s one of the "Frankenbolts" .


Peg