Little trivia question

[MARTINSR]

What piece of Chevy sheet metal stayed the same for 34 years?

Now I am heading off to camping for a few days so if you all don't get it, I'll be back with the answer. But I will bet you do. Pretty wild, I was amazed and then went "of course duh."

Brian

[DPete]

Step side tail gate

[mongocanfly]

^^^^what he said^^^^..stepper tailgate would have been my guess

[57 shorty]

Front bed panel.

[MIKESAD50]

The truck bed side panels

[1project2many]

I'm not really sure if the question is asking about the part numbers being the same, or the actual parts themselves.

The tailgate on my '57 is OE GM bought in the '90s. I worked for an old Chevy dealer back then and I looked up every part that my truck needed in the old books. Over the years the part numbers changed for the front panel, tailgate, and sides. The chains and the chain covers were the same number all the way to the end of the stepside bed in '88 or so. The bed sides were not so different, but the fender mounting holes had moved over the years so the part numbers changed as well. My current bed is from a '65-ish Forest Service truck and the fender holes had to be moved forward. The front panel and tailgate appeared the same but something must have been different if GM changed the numbers. My new from GM gate installed with no problem and no one has told me it is not correct for a '55 so there may be no noticeable difference. As I remember it, the only other part that was the same over the years was the corner braces used on trucks with a bed mounted spare. Come to think of it, the stake pockets were available separately so that part may be the same for the entire life of the stepside.

[Advanced Design]

Interesting question. My guess is heat shield around exhaust manifold.

[47 Fasttoys]

how about licence plate mount?

[47 Fasttoys]

How about engine sheet metal, 4 blade fan?

[joedoh]

Originally Posted by 1project2many

I'm not really sure if the question is asking about the part numbers being the same, or the actual parts themselves.

it is the tailgate, LMC lists the application of their stepside tailgate as 54-87, which is 34 years and is far to much of an exact coincidence not to be true

as for why the part numbers can be different for the same part, I spent a lot of time in a production engineering environment and the drawing tree, which is the list of prefixes and part numbers assigned for any finished product, is finished months before the first part is designed. most likely, the drawing for the 1987 tailgate likely refers to a drawing that points to base part number that is the same as the 1954 part and sometimes incorporates any revisions or CO's (change orders) that are stacked against it, like tolerance changes or even finish prep. the first couple numbers refer to the model and year, and it would throw everyone off to see a 1954 model drawing in the 1987 drawing tree. it is not uncommon for a top level part number for a x model to have a pointer to a top level print for a y model if it is truly the same part. if I recall there is a GM engineer on here who could probably look in the drawing system and confirm or deny, my money is on confirming.

[1project2many]

Joedoh, thank you. That's a great insight into an aspect of design that most of us would never hear about.

In the case of the tailgate, the part number chain appears broken in the dealer catalogs. The catalogs listed the original number 3810424 up to 70, and would spell out that it fit 54-69 trucks. Starting in 73 the number 14026349 is listed for 73+ trucks. Where I expected something showing the gate fitting 54-73, there was nothing. The old tailgate is not listed as fitting the new, and the new gate is not listed as fitting the old. Then around 89-90 the parts history books give the new number as a substitution for the old number.

Regardless, the one I ordered in '92 fit fine, and the aftermarket versions appear to do so as well, so maybe we have our answer.

[vics stuff]

I would have to say step side tailgate.
Vic

[_Ogre]

tailgate and front bed panel was the same 54 thru 87, that would be 34 years
same bed panels 55 thru 87, only difference was holes for the fenders changes in 67 and 83
same bed everything 55 thru 66: panels, fenders and steps

the 54 bed had embossing for the fenders


mean while... ford probably did slight changes every 2 years so nothing would interchange

[1project2many]

same bed everything 55 thru 66: panels, fenders and steps

Maybe with short box...

[_Ogre]

dang. you could hold a party on that step

[MARTINSR]

Yep it's the tailgate, isn't that wild!


Brian

[vintovka]

Since its trivia time what was the first year Chev Trucks had PLASTIC coated wires?

[mongocanfly]

54

[vintovka]

mongocanfly wins. 1954 was first year of plastic coated wire in Ads and others. For those who have not worked with cloth covered wires. This was a real improvement. Since they were new at it they often added extra heavy plastic coatings which may still be serviceable today unlike rotten, frayed. mouse eaten cloth covered ones. Less fires too!!

[1project2many]

Mice don't actually like the cloth covered wires. They like the salt and oil that soaks into the cloth when we touch the wires. So if you have to work with cloth covered wiring, wear gloves.

[hogfarm]

What about Fleetside?Did the stay the same for 34 years?

[mongocanfly]

fleetside...naw....those changed with every body style

[MARTINSR]

I didn't plan on this being a trivia thread but it can be fun, ok, what Chevy Passenger car shared the same tail lamp lense with some of our Chevy AD trucks?

Brian

[mongocanfly]

37-38?

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

37-38?

Yep, it's your floor!

Brian