The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Truck ID (part II)

This is a follow up to the eariler post on truck ID. As I said before I have a '54 GMC, bed wood is 89", large leaf springs, (7 leafs and 3 "helper" leafs below that). The wheel base is 122", ID plate # has three numbers, a space, two numbers, a space, a "C" then another space, a "Z" then another space, and then four numbers. The engine number is an "E" followed by nine numbers. According to the ID plate it is max gross of 4800. I tryed to attach some pictures but couldn't figure out how to do it. I'd be happey to e-mail the jpgs to anyone that's interested. (or maybe someone can coach me on how to get a picture on a post). Just wondering if anyone can tell me for sure the engine size and if this thing is a 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton or what. Anyone that wants to drop me an e-mail to get the jpgs here's my address. Caninelaw@aol.com Oh, BTW...found a guy about 20 min. drive from my house that had both rear fenders for sale for $50 each, since mine are pertty poor I figured I go look at these and see if they were more salvagable then mine. Turns out they were about as stright as brand new ones and there are only two 1/4 inch bolt holes in one and only one in the other that need to be patched and absolutely NO RUST!...figured they were worth $50 each....
Thanks again!

[ 11-13-2001: Message edited by: 54gmc ]

[ 11-13-2001: Message edited by: 54gmc ]

With a gvw of 4800 and 6 lug wheels, it has to be 1/2 ton. GMC, unlike Chevy, had long bed 1/2 ton in the first series. The curb weight of the truck should be about 3800. If it were a 3/4 ton the gvw would be about 5600, and it would have 8 lug wheels. For the engine size, check the serial number stamped on the boss just aft of the distributor. The first three numbers should be the displacement, 270, 248, 228 or whatever.

Fred, Thanks! Info was helpful...1st 3 numbers are 248 so I guess that makes it a 248 GMC. Now, are these a problem to et parts for or will most of the 235 stuff still fit?

Very few 235 parts work on the GMC engines. But the GMC engines were superior and were built for trucks, not cars (like the 235).

54gmc, have you checked out this site? Old GMC Trucks Lots of info there, including how to decode your ID plate. I bought a shop manual for my GMC about 4 years ago and it has paid for itself many times over. It is a reprint of the factory shop manual, although they called it a "maintenance manual". I think this was done to differentiate it from an "assembly manual". There are more than a few places that have them available, in fact you can go to the links page on this site and find them. Or you can go to The Filling Station , that's where I ordered mine. There is just so many little things you don't think of, then when you do, you can consult your manual. These manuals were written in the days when people used good english; much better than a chilton's manual, which is written in 6th grade english . Feel free to email me if you have more questions, otherwise good luck with your project!

gmc248,
Thanks for the info on the gmc website! Great! Printed up a bunch of info off of the site. Now I know all about the truck...great resource! Thanks again!

Um, er, dose'nt anybody remember the "Double Duty" trucks?