Talk:Chevrolet Advance Design

1948 Chevy Thriftmaster

If another image of a Chevy AD Pickup is desired on the main page, I've uploaded a picture of my 1948 Thriftmaster. Chevy1948 (talk) 23:40, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

Advance Design Weight Class designations

The weight classes on all the Advance Design trucks were as follows:

• Chevrolet 3100; ½ Ton pickups and light trucks.
• Chevrolet 3600; 3/4 pickups and light trucks.
• Chevrolet 3700; 3/4 Dubl-Duti Walk-In Delivery Vans.
• Chevrolet 3800; One Ton pickups and light trucks.
• Chevrolet 3900; One Ton Dubl-Duti Walk-In Delivery Vans.
• Chevrolet 4100; 1½ Ton Short Wheelbase Trucks.
• Chevrolet 4400; 1½ Ton Medium Wheelbase Trucks
• Chevrolet 4700; 1½ Ton Long Wheelbase Trucks
• Chevrolet 5100; Cab-Over-Engine Short Wheelbase Trucks.
• Chevrolet 5400; Cab-Over-Engine Medium Wheelbase Trucks.
• Chevrolet 5700; Cab-Over-Engine Long Wheelbase Trucks.
• Chevrolet 6100; Two Ton Short Wheelbase Trucks.
• Chevrolet 6400; Two Ton Long Wheelbase Trucks.
• Chevrolet 6700; School Bus Chassis.

In the cases of 1/2, 3/4 and 1 ton trucks, the designations get even more complicated than that when you focus on separate bodies. Also, these numbers continued into the "Task-Force/Apache era. ----DanTD (talk) 23:38, 31 August 2011 (UTC)

@DanTD: don't forget that the model number was also related to the wheelbase, so some of them can't be identified only by their wheelbase, all the more as they share the same cab and body:

• Chevrolet 4100; 1½-ton short (137" / 3.48 m) wheelbase trucks.
• Chevrolet 6100; 2-ton short (137" / 3.48 m) wheelbase trucks.
• Chevrolet 4400; 1½-ton medium (161" / 4.09 m) wheelbase trucks.
• Chevrolet 6400; 2-ton Long medium (161" / 4.09 m) wheelbase trucks.
• Chevrolet 6500; 2-ton long (179" / 4.55 m) wheelbase trucks. This one seems to have been unveiled in 1951 only. It doesn't appear in the previous brochures (1947, 1948 and 1950 ), and the CaaarGuide listings say the same thing...).
  

But I wonder about the

* Chevrolet 4700; 1½ Ton Long Wheelbase Trucks

I searched in the 1947 to 1954 brochures, but I didn't find it. Don't you confuse with the 4500 (4502, in fact) that was a school bus basis?

In the cases of 1/2, 3/4 and 1 ton trucks, the designations get even more complicated than that when you focus on separate bodies.

Same thing with the heavy-duty 4000 and 6000 models: 4402 for a Chassis + cowl basis 1½-ton truck, 6603 for a chassis + cab 2-ton one, 6419 for a high rack stake 2-ton model, etc. But these light-, medium- and heavy-duty model numbers are Chevrolet internal codes. "Outside" model numbers were only 3100 to 6800 (a 212" / 4.75 m wheelbase School bus).

Same model numbers indeed for the 1955-57 Task-Force trucks (but with different wheelbases), but to be precise the TF have also a new ½-ton 3200 truck sharing the same wheelbase and bed with the ¾-ton 3600 one, plus 7000, 8000, 9000 and 10000 heavy-duty models.

The 1958-59 Task-Force Apache have 2-digit model numbers (31 to 38), so as medium-duty Task-Force Viking trucks (40 and 60).
Regards,
BarnCas (talk) 03:04, 19 December 2014 (UTC)

I believe the 4500's were the smaller school bus chassis. ---------User:DanTD (talk) 17:54, 19 December 2014 (UTC)

3602 (12 pupils), 3802 (16 p.) and 4102 (?) buses are also possible, as shown in the 1954 brochure. But for now, I never saw documents about a 4700 truck or bus.
BarnCas (talk) 00:26, 21 December 2014 (UTC)

AK Pickup link

is there no page for the predesessor to this generation of truck? or is the link just broken? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.235.83.23 (talk) 16:45, 25 January 2013 (UTC)

Line about the COE may need additions/clarification

While reading the article it occurred to me that the line about COE's might be slightly misleading in the sense that the COE cab is not an exact match for the truck cab as the cowl area is significantly different to accommodate the unique hood and fenders. In addition to the cowl the doors for a COE are uniquely shaped to accommodate the changes to the cowl and also the front fenders. Because of the differences in the cowl and the doors those cabs cannot be swapped or replaced by those same parts from a pickup without major modifications.

Should this be included in the full article for potential restorers or owners looking to make repairs?

(Pistongrinder (talk) 14:59, 8 August 2014 (UTC))

Canopy Express?

In the second paragraph there is a list that includes the Suburbans, panel trucks, and COE's as also being built in the Advanced Design product line but the Canopy Express is missing from the list. Admittedly the CE is very rare but in the spirit of a complete article may I add "Canopy Express" to the list? Anyone have any reason why it shouldn't be included?

(Pistongrinder (talk) 15:05, 8 August 2014 (UTC))

@Pistongrinder: rare indeed: only one picture of a Canopy Express in Commons: a 1953 Chevrolet 3100 Canopy Express that was previously "hidden" as Chevy panel van.
Regards,
BarnCas (talk) 01:36, 19 December 2014 (UTC)

@BarnCas:so rare in fact I've only ever seen one in person in all the years I've been following this body style. I have however noticed a surge in the number of CE's being saved. Several 1947-1955 GM truck Facebook groups have several examples surfacing recently. (Pistongrinder (talk) 20:54, 13 January 2015 (UTC))

@Pistongrinder: If you want to see some more, 9 models are visible in the gallery of the Stovebolt crew.
BarnCas (talk) 23:51, 14 January 2015 (UTC)

Suggested additions to year-by-year changes for 1954

In addition to all the changes outlined currently for the 1954 model year, there should also be included a note about the big revisions to the dashboards of the entire range of bodies within the Advanced Design offering. While the dash retained the same 2 large round gauges, a speedometer and a quad gauge, the horizontal ribbed design of the glove box door and center section of the previous years' dash was replaced with a smooth glove box door and a vertical ribbed center section. The Choke and Throttle cables and nobs were moved from a vertical stack found previously to the right of the gauges to a horizontal row now under the center section of the dash along with the ignition switch and cigarette lighter. The Headlight switch and nob remained to the left of the speedometer. Additionally the lock for the glove box was moved from above the glove box door as in the previous models to actually in the door which was changed to a 'piano hinge' style hinge for the 1954 model year. The last big change relates to a long horizontal rib stamped into the dash that runs the full width of the dashboard running above everything.

A comparison of the 1947-53 dash to the 1954-55.1 dash can be found by comparing the following links:

1954-55.1 - http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/ca/full.aspx?Page=64

1947-53 - http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/ca/full.aspx?Page=62

This information could be easily added to further expand the readers understanding of how significantly GM changed the design of the truck for 1954.

(Pistongrinder (talk) 15:29, 8 August 2014 (UTC))

Chevrolet vs GMC

Other than the title including the word 'Chevrolet' there is no indication within the article that the GMC versions of this body style were entirely different from both a visual standpoint, front sheet metal, and the engines offered. In fact in the opening of the fourth paragraph GMC is referred to where it should say 'General Motors Company' or 'General Motors Co.', that specifically is misleading and should be changed.

Would it be best to include a not about the differences and begin a separate article to detail those differences along with the GMC evolution year to year?

(Pistongrinder (talk) 15:29, 8 August 2014 (UTC))

@Pistongrinder: if somewhat different "internally", most of the (sibling) cab year changes were similar: fuel tank move in 1949, vent windows in 1951, push-button system door handles in 1952 and one-piece windshield in 1954. But they had apparently another trucks line name: according to the Stovebolt crew, the GMC trucks were called New Design. But for now I didn't find any official document with that name...
Regards,
BarnCas (talk) 01:47, 19 December 2014 (UTC)

@BarnCas: After a little bit of searching I found this page within Wiki itself that seems to at least acknowledge the name of New Design. I agree that further investigation is required before creating the page but I would suggest that this alone is enough to warrant at least exploring it, would you agree? At very least I think a note that the GMC were noticeably different would be reasonable, thoughts? (Pistongrinder (talk) 20:48, 13 January 2015 (UTC))

@Pistongrinder: I really would like to, but honesty forbids me to use the Commons category as a source, as I created it . All these trucks were classified as "Unknown trucks", "GMC vehicles" or "Chevrolet Advance-Design trucks", so I decided to do something for them, and this name doesn't seem to be out of the Commons' aims...

I don't know what you mean when you say "noticeably different". GMC New Design trucks line had indeed different engines and some more models (the "long" ½-ton 102 -which has the same wheelbase as the 152- or the 2½-ton and more heavy-duty trucks), and it has to be said. But if I'm not mistaken, for what is visible, i.e cabs, wheelbases and beds/bodies, the GMC and Chevrolet trucks were strictly similar.
BarnCas (talk) 00:03, 15 January 2015 (UTC)

@BarnCas: What I was reffering to with "noticeably different" was the fact that front end was unique. While the fenders technically interchange with the Chevy version, minus the additional holes, the the hood, core support, hood latch, grille shell, grille, do not. Further to swap a Chevy radiator into a GMC would require either modification of the core support upper cross beam or its elimination all together because the Chevy Rad has the cap directly on the top while the GMC has an elbow neck that sprouts off the inner side of the radiator top tank. If you park a GMC next to a Chevy, even the same year, they are noticeably different. I have reached out to several groups I am part of in search of original GM marketing materials to support to disprove the 'New Design' title.. stay tuned to this same bat-channel! (Pistongrinder (talk) 10:59, 19 February 2015 (UTC))

I'm putting to rest the idea of a separate page for the GMC versions of the body style after and exhaustive and lengthy search for original GM documentation to support the name "New Design". However GMC was a distinct variation on the body style which warrants inclusion in the list of body changes over the years or minimally a note. The bulk of the front sheet metal in the GMC's do not swap into the companion Chevy front sheet metal as mentioned above. Maybe the cleanest way is to make a note in the introduction paragraph that GMC had a subset/version of the AD truck and design and follow that up with a duplicate table of the changes over its years. Thoughts on that idea? Summary: I feel in the spirit of a complete article GMC warrants at least a note of being an alternative version. Pistongrinder (talk) 17:00, 8 April 2015 (UTC)

Chevrolet Advance-Design (with a hyphen)?

Hi!
As Chevrolet official brochures used a hyphen in the name Advance-Design, shouldn't the title of the WP article (and the names in it) reflect/respect this writing? See the 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953 and 1954 brochures.
Regards,
BarnCas (talk) 03:24, 19 December 2014 (UTC)