The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk How to tell a 54 from a 55 1st?

Hey all,

I have a chance to buy a one owner 54 or 55 1st series. I will post pics when I can.

Is there any way to tell between a 54 and 55 1st? Just trying to figure out what year truck I am looking at...

Another barn find from North Dakota. It was purchased new and driven for farm duties. Parked in the shed when the owner died and it is just waiting for me to scoop it up.

The real deal barn find!

There are not many differences between the '54 and '55.1, but there are a few.

For one, the '54 still used the enclosed drive shaft while the '55's had an open drive shaft.

The emblems on the sides of the hood were different from '54 to '55. Both had "3100", or other model, emblems, but the emblems on the '55 were larger and totally encompassed the "3100".

The second & third digits of the VIN plate, found between the door hinges on the drivers side of the cab, should be either X54XXXXXXX or X55....

There may be other differences, but these are the ones that I come to mind.

I was reading about the differences in the AD's, and was wondering about mine. It's a '49 and there was an early and late '49. According to the site Too Many 2 Count posted the center bar in the headliner screws in on the early, like mine does. The cab windlace slides into a track on the late ones, like mine does! I bought a glove box for it last year and had to get the early model one. Wonder if mine was made mid-year and they just used up parts on hand while stating to use new ones. Too much thinking. My head hurts!!!

There is at least one mistake at the link above (sorry). The original 1955 painted (non-chrome) grill was all white with black inner bars. Many 1955 and 1954 grills were repainted all white - that was cheap and easy repaint for either year.

do it really matter if this is what you want a 54 or 55.95% of the people don't know anyway.Just make it look pretty.Are you taking it to a big show????

The only visual differences are the 3100 hood emblems and the open drive shaft. I have an original service manual (54) to which there is a supplement for the 55 1st that covers the open drine line feature.

Did you check the code on the ID plate on the driver's side hinge post (between the hinge mounts on the cab)?

You don't say if this is a Chevy or a GMC.

If it's a Chevy the 2nd and 3rd characters in the serial number are the only sure way to tell. Any of the other identifying marks are clues, but represent things that could have been changed.

If its a GMC it's even harder. The serial number won't tell you if the truck was manufactured as a '54 or '55 1st because GMC did not make a model year change even though changes such as the open driveline were made.

I've seen a list of production line counts by plant that say when the change to open driveline occured, and that's probably the best indication of which a given GMC really is.

You also haven't told us if the truck is a 1/2- 3/4- or 1-ton. My '49 1-ton is open drive and I believe all AD 1-tons are open drive. 3/4-ton trucks have a different arrangement. All the torque-tube vs. open driveline stuff above assumes you are dealing with a 1/2-ton.

Here are some pics of the truck. Based on emblems, it appears to be a 54.

Front left side

front right side

the old 235

looks like a pretty good dent in the lower pass side grill...maybe a chunk missing

left rear
The inside....nice flower wall paper...but pretty darn good...

All in all, I like what I see...

Based upon the hood emblems, I think it's a '54.
The ID / VIN plate should tell the truth.