The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk hello I'm needing help - 1957 swb truck - original equipment?

i just bought a 57 swb truck base model no chrome no v8 just 235 with 3 on tree my question is were can i find stock photos of the trucks back in the day i want to restore back to factory specs and have a question or two like ....
were the mirrors white or black round or square
was the front turn signals clear or amber
was the heater box black or grey metalic
you see so many versions i wanna do one like they chevrolet did in 57
are there any books out there any help would be greatly appeaciative thanks

A few ideas immediately come to mind:

At the top of this page is a "Links" page. Go there and look under Publications. That is a good source for books.

Have you looked in the Gallery? Cool trucks there!

Also, get you a shop manual (many suppliers) and you can see some original specs. Do a search for "resto-pack" (both with and without the hyphen) within Stovebolt. You can send away for a FREE packet of restoration information, comes directly from Chevy. They'll want your VIN, year, model, name address, etc. That is a great way to get some original spec info.

(I'm not saying my 'bolt is a picture of originality, and it is a 58, not a 57. That said, my '58 has black round mirrors, amber parking lamps (no directionals) gray/silver heater box.)

My $0.02

Bill

Amber parking lights are not original to task force trucks. Those came out later.

The mirrors were round. Mine is painted body color and is only of the drivers side. I have the big rear window so I guess they thought visibility wasn't an issue. I don't know if other trucks had them on the passenger side as well. There is a three bolt mounting for the mirror and reproductions are available.

As Cletis stated the parking lights were originally clear.

As far the heater, I'm not sure what color they were and it may depend on which heater you have. Take it apart and see if you can find traces of original paint.

The best source for originality info would be to see an original unrestored truck. I have a '58 like that and my guess is most things would be the same so if you have any questions I'd be happy to help.

any of the 3 grades of heaters were sort of hammertone grey, mirrors were black and standard ones round as said above, but there was also a rectangular head available optionally - the '57 acessory manual here will give you some idea of available options

Bill

I have seen factory mirrors in white and black. The one that was on mine when I got it was white. I've also seen both white and black on the bumpers. Mine were black under the white house paint that was on them.

I am the second owner of my truck and it seems pretty stock. You can see pictures of it in my webshots album. Round black mirror and clear turnsignals.

Relatedly, on the Gallery page, there is a lovely looking truck that is used as the link to the 55 Second Series - 59 trucks. Any idea whose truck that is? It is blue with a white roof. The picture is small, but even so, it looks to be in great shape and I want to see more of it.

Bill

I'll say it again...now granted mine is a '58 but my mirror is not black or white (yes, it's absolutely original). My truck is painted two-tone ivory and gold from the factory and my mirror is painted the gold body color. Maybe it's because mine came with the chrome grille and bumpers though. It would have looked pretty out of place to bolt on a black or white mirror.

Mike - wasn't yours a special color? anniversary or something?
there's a real low mile original '59 in the gallery, the one mirror appears to be white .... in Gunnells' book, there's one picture that appears factory of a '59 with a black mirror, a couple nicely restored others with black mirrors

it seems that from the factory, the standard single mirror could have been white like the rest of the standard trim [actually called Arctic Beige] - mirrors obtained from the dealer would have been black, like most replacement parts

and TxBill, I don't think there was a year when bumpers were black from the factory, always the Arctic Beige or chrome

Bill

From what I've seen, most were white or chrome, but I have seen a few factory pix with black bumpers, and like I said, mine were black under the house paint. Perhaps an odball run?

You have a good memory Bill. Yes, I suppose because mine had special paint that that's a possible reason that my mirror is painted body color. I looked of pics of that original '59 and it does appear to have a white mirror so that blows my theory about trucks with all the chrome having the mirror painted body color.

I don't recall seeing factory chrome mirrors. Are there really such a thing on the TF trucks? I know they make repro mirrors in chrome. Also, were the dual mirrors an option? Mine only has the single mirror.

Chrome mirrors were part of the chrome package (RPO 393). Dual Mirrors were an option, bracket part # 3717439 LH, #3717440 RH.

Here is a link for you give them a call and get the restoration package for your truck. IT'S Free so why not. You will need the year, model, and the VIN# and they will put it in the mail. Keep after them if you don't hear from them in a week or so. Things do fall through the cracks now and then. Phone # 1-800-222-1020.

Hey Bill,

I've got the the whole chrome and stainless package on my truck but it still came with a painted mirror. Were the brackets chrome plated or just the mirror head?

I beleive that if they hade the chrome head, the bracket would be chrome, too. The factory pix in my referrence books show either or, no mixed (chrome head with painted bracket) types. Could be because of the special package on youres, seeing as it's body color instead of white or chrome.

thanks guys for the help but i may be wrong the restoration packet does it show pictures and is the interior on my truck the same as exterior lmk thanks

Huh? Some punctuation would help, I think.