YEAR DESIGNATIONS

Many trucks that are found in salvage yards have been stripped or have "mutated" to the point where their true identity is unknown. I've seen 1955 Chevy trucks with 1957 grills, 1948 Chevy trucks with the gas tank in the cab, etc. Listed below is information that will aid you in the identification of your truck. Bold Battle Red designates a major change, major re-engineering modification, or key year identifier.

Late 1947 - In mid 1947, GM introduced this new design truck. Gas tank is mounted under the bed & fills through the hole in passenger bedside. Bed contains 9 boards. Truck name stamped in tailgate. Bed approximately 3" wider than prior style. Wiper motor mounts under the dash. Three-speed transmission uses floor shift. Windshield is 2 piece, non-movable type. Windlace around door opening is held in place with screw-on metal retainer. Headliner center bow is screwed to roof of cab. One piece door glass, not vent windows in door. Hood side emblem says CHEVROLET & THRIFTMASTER. Shock absorbers are lever-action type. Serial #'s, EP 1/2 ton, ER 3/4 ton, ES 1 ton, etc...

1948 - Similar to Late 1947. Hood emblem on 1947 is die cast metal. Windlace around door is black rubber and secured with metal strips screwed in place. Gas tank still under bed. Headliner center bow screwed in place. Redesigned three-speed transmission now uses column shift with linkage attached to case side. Serial #'s, FP 1/2 ton, FR 3/4 ton, FS 1 ton, etc...

Early 1949- Similar to earlier trucks, except gas tank is now located behind seat inside of cab. Hood emblem becomes chrome-plated steel. As in '47 and '48, on Chevrolet light trucks hood-side chrome emblem states THRIFTMASTER. Large truck side hood emblem states LOADMASTER. Serial #'s, GP 1/2 ton, GR 3/4 ton, GS 1 ton, etc...

Late 1949- New style cab windlace fits in metal track around door opening. Headliner center bow is now "floating type", not screwed to roof of cab, as before. Hood side emblem says CHEVROLET, no longer says THRIFTMASTER. Series designation emblems also on side of hood; 3100 on 1/2 ton, 3600 on 3/4 ton, 3800 on 1 ton, etc. Serial #'s same as Early 1949.

1950- Modern tubular type shock absorbers replace lever-action type shocks. Driver's side cowl vent handle is flat steel, not maroon knob as in previous years. Headlight frames remain chrome-plated brass. Wiper knob chrome plated steel. Last year for driver's side cowl vent. Serial #'s HP 1/2 ton, HR 3/4 ton, HS 1 ton, etc...

1951- Vent windows in doors are introduced. Outside door handles are still turn-down type. Only year with vent windows and turn-down handles. Mid-year change from 9 board bed to 8 board bed. Engine in pickups remains 216 cubic inch babbit bearing low oil pressure type for Chevrolet, (used from 1937 to 1953). GMC continues with the 228 cubic inch full pressure engine as their standard unit. Seat adjustment horizontal rod under cushion is run through a rubber grommet which is secured to the seat riser frame. Earlier year seats adjusted with a metal cable. Last year for 80 mph speedometer. Last year for chrome window handle knobs and chrome wiper knob. Serial #'s JP 1/2 ton, JR 3/4 ton, JS 1 ton, etc...

1952- Outside door handles are now push button type. Speedometer now shows maximum speed of 90 mph. Horizontal trim above & below radio speaker grill & glove box door are painted steel, not stainless steel as in prior years. All beds are now 8 board type. Chevrolet hub-caps changed from chrome plated to gray painted steel with black block letters, however, stamping and shape remain the same as prior years. Some say a very few deluxe 1/2 ton pickups still carried the chrome cap. In mid-year, GM stopped using 3100, 3600, 3800 emblems on side of hood. However, CHEVROLET emblems are used the entire year. Inside window handle knobs & wiper knob are now maroon. Serial #'s , KP 1/2 ton, KR 3/4 ton, KS 1 ton, etc...

1953- Last year for 216 cu.in. babbit bearing type engine. Hood side emblem change to large 3100, 3600, 3800, etc...only. No CHEVROLET emblem on side. Hood emblem now stainless steel. First year for the optional left side mount spare on this series of pickups. Door post ID plate is now blue & silver. Prior years were black & silver. Last year that wood blocks are used under bed. Serial #'s, H 1/2 ton, J 3/4 ton, L 1 ton, etc...

1954- One piece curved windshield. New design "bull nose" grill. Completely redesigned bed. Top of bed sides are now flat, not angled as in previous years. Newly designed dash. New insert bearing 235 cu.in. engine and 261 cubic inch six cylinder on large trucks introduced. Rear bumper is an option since 1951, but is now dropped in center to make room for new license plate location. Taillights are now round. Serial #'s, H 1/2 ton, J 3/4 ton, L 1 ton, etc...

Early 1955 - Many refer to this truck as the 1955 1st Series. Almost identical to 1954, except different hood side emblems & driveline is changed from previous enclosed torque tube type to the new open driveshaft design. Final series with the six volt system on Chevrolet. GMC continues to make 12 volt an option throughout the year into the next body style. Serial #'s, H 1/2 ton, J 3/4 ton, L 1 ton, etc...

Late 1955- In mid-year 1955, Chevrolet introduced this new body style truck. It was completely redesigned from previous years and very few parts will interchange with the older models. Grill design has 3 horizontal bars & 4 uprights. Single headlights in front fenders. Fender side emblem is one piece and mounted below horizontal line on fender. Emblem on front of hood is longer at the top than bottom. Small step between cab and rear fender. First year for the optional V-8 265 cubic inch engine. Serial #'s, H2 1/2 ton, M2 1/2 ton longbed, J2 3/4 ton, L2 1 ton, etc...

1956- Very similar to 1955 truck. Fender emblems are two piece and mounted above horizontal line on fender. Emblem on front of hood is longer on bottom than top. Front hood emblem has a cast in V if a V-8 truck. Serial #'s, 3A 1/2 ton, 3B 1/2 ton Longbed, 3E 3/4 ton, 3G 1 ton, etc...

1957- Similar to previous years but with the following changes. Fender emblems are now one piece mounted above horizontal line on fender. Front hood emblem is same as 1956 but paint scheme is reversed. Hood has two raised humps on top running front to back. Grill now has inner and outer oval ring separated by 8 "teeth", 4 on top and 4 on bottom. First year for the optional V-8 283 cubic inch engine. Serial numbering system is same as 1956.

1958- Dual headlights in front fenders. Grill is now a one piece design with parklights mounted in ends of grill. Last year for the Cameo pickup. First year for the optional fleetside bed. Fender emblems have series designation (31,32,36,38 etc...) and Chevrolet in center of emblem with Apache on top rear of emblem. Front hood emblem is 31" long with vertical design in background behind bowtie. Serial numbering system is same as 1956.

1959- Very similar to the 1958 trucks. Fender emblems are now larger design with Chevrolet and Apache in center of emblem with series designation (31,32,36,38 etc...) at rear of emblem. Front hood emblem is 36" long with square pattern design in background behind bowtie. Serial numbering system is same as 1956.

1960 - In 1960, Chevrolet introduced this new body style truck. It was a completely redesigned truck from the previous years, both in appearance and functionality. Front suspension is a newly designed torsion bar system. Rear suspension is a coil spring and trailing arm design. The low mounted grill consists of 2 horizontal bars connecting dual headlamps. CHEVROLET is embossed across lower bar. Center opening of grill has 3 louver insert. Front of hood has oval openings on each side. Parklamps fit in center of vertically louvered bezels and fit in these hood openings. Windshield is a wrap around design. Front windshield pillars slope forward. Vent windows are wider at tip than bottom. The dashboard consists of two large arches on either side. Instrument cluster is housed in left arch. The right arch houses the glove compartment. Master cylinder is a dual cylinder. One side operates brakes. The other side controls a hydraulically operated clutch. Small back window is standard with big back window optional. Front bumper vertical bolt holes are 3 1/4" apart. Custom cab trucks have aluminum trim strip from front fender to rear of bed on fleetside models. Side emblem consists of CHEVROLET on top with the word APACHE and series designation below.

1961- Very similar to 1960 truck. Lower bar of grill is now smooth. Plated grill insert is similar to 1960 but also has four vertical louvers and the letters CHEVROLET. Parklamps now have winged design bezels on either side of lens. Side emblems consist of the word APACHE and the series designation only.

1962- Similar to previous years but with the following changes. New modern hood without oval openings as in previous years. Character line around body is now continued around sides and front of hood. Parklamp lens is mounted in similar location surrounded by aluminum bezel. Turnsignals are now standard equipment. Grill is similar except center oval has 9 rectangular openings made from 2 vertical and 2 horizontal bars. Lower bar again has CHEVROLET embossed. Single headlamps are now used surrounded by large ribbed bezels. Custom cab trucks trim extended from front fender to rear of bed on fleetside models. A second strip of trim branched off of door trim and extended to rear of bed. Side emblems consist of a red bowtie and the series designation on top of a vertically ribbed background.

1963- Similar in appearance to earlier years. Front suspension now uses variable rate coil springs. Clutch uses mechanical linkage. Grill has CHEVROLET embossed in lower bar and single headlamps surrounded by smaller round bezels. Center of grill consists of 56 rectangular holes formed by 3 horizontal and 13 vertical bars. Front bumper vertical bolt holes are now 4 3/4" apart. First year for the 230 C.I. and 292 C.I. engines. Side emblem is a vertical rectangle with series designation on upper portion and red bowtie below.

1964 - Redesigned cab. Windshield is now flatter design than before. Windshield pillar posts slope back. Vent windows are wider at bottom than at top. Redesigned grill consists of numerous vertical and horizontal cross hatches for a screened look. Upper grill bar has CHEVROLET embossed. Single headlamps are surrounded by rectangular bezels. The dash is now full cab width and has a lip along entire top edge that forms a shelf to reduce glare. First year for self-adjusting brakes. Factory in dash air conditioning optional. Emblems are a square with series designation embossed and bowtie on top.

1965- Similar to 1964 trucks. Side emblems are now rectangular shaped with bowtie in left portion and series designation in right portion.

1966- Similar to 1964 and 1965 trucks. First year for the optional 327 V8 engine and Turbo-hydromatic transmission. Side emblems are rectangular shaped with bowtie on top and series designation on bottom.