47-54 Development/Concept Photos

[hewittca]

Introduction

The 47-54 GM trucks are the last ones I plan to document through development and production photography available through GM. Most of these photos are simply production ready versions of each model year before any changes were implemented on the production line, but you will notice a few interesting design proposals throughout. I assume that GM did not have much time to devote to prototyping since GM was eager to introduce this line as the first new American automobile released after WWII. The Advanced Design history and general automotive climate at the time is summarized nicely at DevesTechNet and Hemmings, so I won't try to rephrase this work that has already been done. Instead, for the most part I will let these photos do the talking in sharing a behind the scenes view of these trucks that hasn't been seen in quite a while. I hope you enjoy these!

Disclaimer

Of course, I must state that these are property of GM and I have been given permission to share these with you in a public forum format. PLEASE don't do anything with these photos that would result in requested removal by GM. This essentially means that these photos are for "reference" only and may not be used in any profitable way.

Contents

Part 1: Chevrolet Development
Part 2: GMC Development
Part 3: Promotional Photography

Part 1: Chevrolet Development

-Mid 1946
By mid '46, approximately one year after the end of WWII, GM had finalized the design for their all new post-WWII trucks called the Advanced Design Pickups. Although at first glance, it appears similar to the previous generation GM trucks, dimensionally it was very different. It also borrowed design cues from the Chevrolet Fleetline which was already in production for several years at this point. Shown here is a pre-production prototype.








-Early 1947
Shown here are the finalized drawings and production ready version of the new for '47 Chevrolet 3100. The main difference from the prototype is that they dropped most of the chrome trim.








-Mid 1948
There were no significant design changes to the Advanced Design trucks for the first few years of production. Shown here is a production ready '49 3/4 Ton. The keen eye will notice the only distinguishable difference here is in the hood emblem, which now says Chevrolet and the series designation, compared to saying Thriftmaster on earlier years.




-Mid 1949
This is a production ready '50 3600.



-Early 1950
This is a prototype truck that was used to propose design variations. In these photos, you will notice the vent windows that would be introduced on the '51 model for the first time. I found the "1942" plate interesting, as this is clearly not a photo from 1942.




-Mid 1950
These are photos of production 1950 Chevrolets.












-Late 1950
These photos are the most interesting to me from this series. These show several design proposals GM was experimenting with. Most notable is the grill proposal which would not make it to production, as GM opted to keep the same 5 bar grill it was using through '53. I also liked the bowtie tailgate which reminds me of custom tailgates you used to see on 80s-90s custom builds. The last photo shows what appears to be a proposed repositioning of the bed.







-Early 1951
These photos show the production '51 Chevrolets. Note the introduction of the vent windows for this model year which was proposed in early 1950.





-Mid 1951
Again, GM proposed another grill update for the Chevrolets. This time around, the update would be used but not until the '54 model year. They would continue to use the same 5 bar grill until then.



-Late 1951
The production ready '52 is shown here. The notable differences here are the push button door handles, no rear bumper, and no model designation on the side emblem.



-Early 1953
There were very little differences to the '53 model trucks, and GM was already focused on the updates they would introduce for the '54 model year. Shown here are the early pre-production versions of the '54 model year trucks. I found the last photo interesting with the bed floor cutouts for the frame.








-Late 1953
This is a production ready '54. Note the new grill, side emblems that only show model designation (no Chevrolet), bowtie hubcaps, flat bedrails, notched bumper, round taillights, and one piece windshield all retained from the design proposal from earlier in '53.











Also new for '54 and available for the first time on a Chevrolet pickup was a two-tone cab paint option.



After 1953, GM turned their attention to the next generation of trucks, the Task Force Pickups. Their development can be followed here. The Advanced Design would continue on through mid 1955, at which point production shifted to the 55-59 series trucks. Of course, alongside the Chevrolets were the GMCs, and I plan on updating this thread soon with a look at the development of the 47-54 GMCs.

[mongocanfly]

Pretty neat history there

[MARTINSR]

Very cool! Was there any description on this one? It looks like the same bed just raised up a bit? I have seen a few more photos of different grilles and such.


Brian

[Keith Seymore]

First let me say: thank you for starting these threads, not just on this sub forum but for all the model years. Thank you!

Secondly - these photos are from before the GM Tech Center was built and commissioned in the mid 1950s, so I have been looking through them trying to figure out where they were taken. (I'm not sure why that is so important to me).

One of the photos looks like it might be just outside of Building 1 at the Milford Proving Ground; I also have an inquiry in to some other local experts who might be able to tell me where the Verhoven Chevrolet photo was taken and where the dealership was located.

For now the only thing I can say with certainty is that this is the Fisher Building [red arrow], on Grand Blvd at Woodward (and across from the old GM headquarters building - blue arrow), so that would place these in the Detroit/New Center area, viewed from the south side looking north.

K

[OrrieG]

Thank you for taking the time to post these, very interesting.

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

Very cool! Was there any description on this one? It looks like the same bed just raised up a bit?

There was no information directly, but I do remember reading that '53 was the last year they used wood blocks under the bed, whatever that means. Maybe they set the bed directly on the frame and this photo is comparing with/without the wood blocks?

Originally Posted by Keith Seymore

First let me say: thank you for starting these threads, not just on this sub forum but for all the model years. Thank you!

Secondly - these photos are from before the GM Tech Center was built and commissioned in the mid 1950s, so I have been looking through them trying to figure out where they were taken. (I'm not sure why that is so important to me).

Im you enjoyed them! Ive also enjoyed your expert insider contributions to each thread. It is interesting to learn about where these were taken as well. I noticed the backgrounds were different than in photos from development of later models, but it didn't really register at the time I was putting all this together.

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by hewittca

There was no information directly, but I do remember reading that '53 was the last year they used wood blocks under the bed, whatever that means. Maybe they set the bed directly on the frame and this photo is comparing with/without the wood blocks?



Im you enjoyed them! Ive also enjoyed your expert insider contributions to each thread. It is interesting to learn about where these were taken as well. I noticed the backgrounds were different than in photos from development of later models, but it didn't really register at the time I was putting all this together.

The thing is the fenders are the same height. So the fenders are bolted to the bed different too.

I personally always thought the beds were too low compared to the cab. If you look at the crazy difference between the hood height compared to the bed height from a Ford F-1 and the same year AD!

Brian

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

The thing is the fenders are the same height. So the fenders are bolted to the bed different too.

I personally always thought the beds were too low compared to the cab. If you look at the crazy difference between the hood height compared to the bed height from a Ford F-1 and the same year AD!

Brian

That thought ran through my mind as well while I was putting this thread together. Never noticed it before that though. I wonder if there was a technical reason for it, or if the designers just thought this looked best because I don't see any reason why they couldn't have made the bedsides several inches taller.

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by hewittca

There was no information directly, but I do remember reading that '53 was the last year they used wood blocks under the bed, whatever that means. Maybe they set the bed directly on the frame and this photo is comparing with/without the wood blocks?

unless I am mistaken, the wood block was used on the sides, so that a heavy load at the rear wouldnt warp/bend the bedsides. they started using them in the early 40s or maybe the late 30s

edit: 41
http://www.oldchevytrucks.com/blog/i...-improvements/

edit again: I guess the wood also went between the cross sills and frame. so I was wrong. pobodies nerfect haha

this history stuff is amazing, thanks for taking the time

[Advanced Design]

Hewittca, thank you for your work in putting all these history / development threads together. I've enjoyed each one, though the AD trucks are my personal favorite. And like Keith mentioned above, these were taken before the Tech Center existed so these pictures are showing some interesting backgrounds.
Thanks again.

[MARTINSR]

Here are a couple I have in a "Collectable Automobile" magazine from 2004.







Brian

[MARTINSR]

One of the photos isn't opening for me, hmmmmm

Brian

[mr48chev]

That is one nice presentation

One more visible difference on the 49 an up is the location of the gas filler.

On the blocks under the bed, the rear part of the frame is slightly different on the 54 than on the 47/53. I'm thinking the kick up over the rear axle is higher on the earlier frames than on the 54 frame. If and when I get to the point of working on my truck in Ernest I'll try to get the frames side by side for a comparison as my truck as it sits has a 54 frame under it. Right now I couldn't tell you what it had for blocks or didn't have as it currently sits.

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

Here are a couple I have in a "Collectable Automobile" magazine from 2004.

Thank you for adding these! I wonder why these weren't included in the photo set available through GM. I assumed there were most likely many more photos taken than what GM shared with me, but I suppose many of them are for GM eyes only.

[58CameoAZ]

Got to say thanks for posting these as well as the TF ones, I dont know much about the
AD trucks and can i ask a ?, I really like the Chrome molding on the front and rear fenders
in the first pics, was this a deluxe series offered at the time? just seen this on this forum
and believe someone posted a truck for sale somewhere that had the molding on the fenders? I am just curious as i have seen this for the first time here, do they reproduce these? seams like they would be a hard to find item?
anyway thanks again for sharing, its fun to look at the old pics,
Allen

[hewittca]

Originally Posted by 58CameoAZ

Got to say thanks for posting these as well as the TF ones, I dont know much about the
AD trucks and can i ask a ?, I really like the Chrome molding on the front and rear fenders
in the first pics, was this a deluxe series offered at the time? just seen this on this forum
and believe someone posted a truck for sale somewhere that had the molding on the fenders? I am just curious as i have seen this for the first time here, do they reproduce these? seams like they would be a hard to find item?
anyway thanks again for sharing, its fun to look at the old pics,
Allen

I am also not an expert on the AD trucks, but as far as I can tell that trim was only offered on the panels as a deluxe option. I have seen a few custom pickups where the owner added the deluxe trim, but I can't find any info on this being available from the factory. There is a nice writeup on the deluxe trim option over on oldchevytrucks.com.

[whitedog76]

A couple of Martin's pics look a little like the Brazil 3100.

[MARTINSR]

OMG how about this one! I am "friends" on facebook with Harley Earl's grandson (Harley was head of GM design in the forties and fifties) and he just posted this.

WILD!

Brian

[hewittca]

That is a crazy cool photo! These photos you've added here prove that there must be many development photos that I missed. I wonder if there's any way to definitively source all the available photos so we could pick out the ones like these that show GM's thought process that lead to the finalized production design.

[67swb72klb]

Cool photos!!

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by hewittca

That is a crazy cool photo! These photos you've added here prove that there must be many development photos that I missed. I wonder if there's any way to definitively source all the available photos so we could pick out the ones like these that show GM's thought process that lead to the finalized production design.

Oh there must be a ton. I have a book "GM Motorama" http://www.ebay.com/itm/GMs-Motorama...IAAOSwo0JWL~Qw

It has some awesome photos of the cars, but hardly a truck at all.

What I love most about the miniature trucks is the fender mouldings. I would have been happy enough to see them in miniature but to see those mouldings, very cool.

Brian

[MARTINSR]

I also just noticed it looks like the rear windows are much larger! And notice the park lights are like a GMC. I got a pair of them from a 53 Corvette for my truck.

Brian

[hewittca]

Part 2: GMC Development

I've finally had a chance to sort through the 47-54 GMC photos and wanted to share them all with you. There are not too many concept designs for the GMC. Most of what I have to share are preproduction ready versions of the GMCs for each model year. There were not many visual changes to the GMC during this generation except for a slightly revised grill in '49 and '54. Other than that, it would take an expert to distinguish between the years. Nonetheless, I thought I would share what I have. Enjoy!

-Early 1947
As with the other GMC generations I've documented, the early GMC's were essentially the same base truck as the Chevrolets, except for some varying styling cues and options. Pictured here are the production ready '47 GMCs, and also outfitted with some accessories.






-Late 1947
Model year '48 was a continuation of '47 since it was only a half year production. Visually, the '48 was identical to the '47.






-Early 1948
Unlike the Chevrolet which carried the same grill through '53, the GMC received a slightly revised grill for the '49 model year.




-Mid 1949
The '50 model year GMCs were virtually identical to '49. Below are depicted the production ready models. The last photo is an interesting one. It depicts all the available pickups for 1950 with a spec chart for comparison.












-Early 1950
These photos depict the production ready '51 model.





-Early 1951
For the '52 model year, it appears GM was prototyping a revised hood for the GMC with a more sloped leading edge. Ultimately, they abandoned this revision as seen in the subsequent production ready '52 photos, but it was an interesting proposal. Also note the push button door handles and removal of the model designation from the hood, as was also the case on the Chevrolets.






-Early 1952
By this time, GM was prototyping the grill revision that would become the '54 model year update.




-Mid 1952
Shown here is the production ready '53 model. The last photo depicts all the available '53 model year pickups from GM's top competitors. It's interesting to me just how similar the truck designs were. No manufacturer appeared ready to take the lead and make a revolutionary change to the pickup, yet...










-Early 1953
By this time, GM was already well into the development of the Task Force trucks, but they did introduce a revised grill for the final production year of the 47-54 pickups. Also new was the available two tone cab and single piece front glass.











That's it for the GMCs. I hope you enjoyed this update.

[MARTINSR]

Love the example with the other makes!

Brian

[whitedog76]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

Love the example with the other makes!

Brian

I find it interesting too. Makes you wonder what ideas/technology the manufactures were getting from one another.

The GMC looks small compared to the other trucks, with the exception being the Stude.

The last interior picture is my favorite. I've always liked the 54/55 GMC dash vs. the Chevy. It looks like it belongs in a truck. The seat is definately cool too.