The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk How Rare Is A 1947.2?

In addition to my earlier question about lowering straight axles, I have another question about the rarity of the 1947.2 trucks. I bought a parts truck from a salvage yard with VIN 3EP-H-3613. That is - built in St Louis, MO. 1/2 ton. August 1947. All the paint is gone from the VIN tag, but the VIN is clearly stamped. The VIN is attached with clutch head screws and is oriented sideways on the pillar like the GMC VIN tags (ie the numbers are vertically oriented as opposed to horizontally oriented). It is a 5 window cab. Missing the driver's door. No bed or tranny. Original engine. Rusty floor. The suspension has been hacked - front and rear. It didn't have a title but did come with a bill of sale from a salvage yard that's been in business for 60+ years. I suspect I could get a title from the DMV. Is this truck rare enough to be worth a restoration back to original? Or should I use it for parts as I originally intended - all the front sheetmetal and grill are in nice shape, as is the remaining door. The corner windows are good. What are your thoughts? Sorry about the long post.
Larry

I know of three in this area, one driving and two parked.

It sounds to me that it makes more sense to part it out. I believe that their are lots of them out there that are more complete, and less mutilated.

John

I do not believe any of the AD trucks can be considered rare. They were the first major redesign after the war and GM sold a lot of them. While the 47-2 and the 55-1 are probably the lowest production numbers in the AD years, there are still a lot of them out there. I believe a restored 47-2 would not be much more valable then say a restored '53, and may be less because some folks would like the more "modern" features on the 53. Just my .02

There is a least 1 in El Reno, Oklahoma being hot rodded. Welcome to the "Bolt". You will find several Oklahoma Connections if you hang around long enough. I bought a '52 from the same salvage yard in Stillwater. All the AD's there seemed to have had the front/rear suspensions cut off. If you want to go back original let me know as I have the suspension/axle parts to put it back.

The only thing I would add to the above is the 55.1 Panel truck is fairly rare if you run across one of those. I read somewhere there were only 750 of those made.

It's good to know that I won't be committing a sin if I cut it up. Better to ask first than be sorry later.

If anything is rare, it would be the '47 FIRST series trucks.. which aren't really all that rare.

Neither are any more collectible than a '46 or a '48 except to the most anal retentive of collectors.. and for the truck to appeal to those folks, it would have to be all numbers matching original.

larry , off topic , does the 60 year old salvage yard happen to have any 39 chev's ? i've been searching & searching for my missing in dash ashtray , with no luck . thx . frank

I see them on occasion on eBay.

project 39, I'm going to the yard tomorrow (Wednesday) to search for more treasures. I'll ask the owner and take a look for you. If he has it I'll grab it for you.
Larry