The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts 1954 chevy cab sizes

the question is...are the cabs all the same size whether i am looking at a 3100,3600,3800,6100 etc.? the fenders, hood on my 3600 are smaller than those on my 6100 of course but what about the cab. i need all new body rubber for the windshield, doors,etc. for the 6100. gotta stop the water from rushing into the cab. yes, the truck is outside in the elements for now. help as always is very much appreciated. thanks.

fredico,

Yes, the cabs are the same.


Stuart

Yep, cabs are the same.

That's a sharp looking truck!
You have the somewhat unusual split bench seat.
Wheels look like 10 lug on 7.25" for 20" tires.

I would like to see more of the tandem setup. Looks like both are driven? is there a tag anywhere on the truck, like glove box?, to say the tandems are original or aftermarket and professionally installed, or are they cobbled together from extra parts laying around the farm yard?

Grigg

Far as I know Chevy did not make a tandem back in those days. Is the truck in the pictures the 6100? That would be a short wheelbase 2-ton.

I too would like to know more about the tandem setup and how it was done.

We discussed this truck in another thread once. As oldsub mentioned Chevrolet didn't offer assembly line Tandems until 1956, so the idea was this truck is a conversion from one of the jobbers used by Chevrolet back then. Such as Trucktor, Truckstell, Thornton, Truxmore,Fabco, or Grico. The 1954 Chevy COE, I had was a 5400 series with a Trucktor chaindrive Conversion. On my truck the original drive axle, from Chevrolet, & the trailing axle, were attached to their own set of frame rails, that were then slid over the original frame rails, all the way up to under the cab. The original frame was the length of a regular medium wheelbase 5400 series COE. With the frame rails from the conversion added it made the truck frame longer. That may be the case here. See my Tandem here, http://rides.webshots.com/photo/1115990817052570246. My truck had a Trucktor ID Plate rivited to the very last frame crossmember.

Grigg, I added tandem setup pics to the photbucket. The rear axle is dead. I could not find an ID plate. But who know under all that grease and grime there might be one. I wish I could help more but this is all new to me.
You are correct about the wheels. Rear tires are 9.00 x 20 and the front tires are 8.25 x 20. Your article "New wheel for Advance Design "Big Bolts" mentioned 1956-1959 1.5 ton trucks to find one piece rims to fit 9R22.5 radials. Any other chevy model for those years i.e. school buses? Are the Budd wheels stud-piloted or hub-piloted?

It does look like a home made tandem setup to me.

The 22.5" tubeless wheels may be found on buses, but your best bet is to look for the wheels, not the truck. I have found several just laying around in junk yards, with no truck attached.
Even if they are on a truck they may not be original to the truck, same as you are planning to do. The vast majority of the 56-59 1.5 ton chevys I have seen still had the 20" wheels any how, seems that the tubeless were not accepted when they first came out, and folks ordered trucks with the tube type even though tubeless was standard.
You just have to start looking, they will pop up here and there.

Grigg

Tires and all look like a military tandem. Can't tell much about the front third member, but it kind of looks like a Timken. Timken later became Rockwell and now Meritor. Does it have a yoke on the back side of the front banjo housing. I would sure think this was a twin screw at one time because it looks like the equalization is 50 50. With a drag, they usually put 60% or more more on the driver. If it runs, the power divider may be locked in. If it is unknown as to whether it runs, someone may have just canibalized the back driveshaft.