Vintage Chevrolet Trucks

Knowing that a couple of our female staff, and probably quite a few others, enjoy seeing the old trucks.
I thought I would snap some pictures to share.

The First truck is a 1939 Chevy dual-wheel, 1 1/4-ton truck with a 2.5-yard dump bed.
I hauled all the gravel for my shop building with this truck in the early 1990s.
Still sporting the original 216 cubic inch with babbitt bearings, all six volt.
This 39 body is sitting on a 1942 Chevrolet frame and running gear to make it more operator-friendly.
In 1939, they used an enclosed driveline, called a torque tube. A bad universal joint required removing the rear differential for repair.
By 1942 (no doubt WW2 had something to do with this), Chevrolet had switched to a Hotchkiss design with an open driveline, allowing for quick repairs in the field.

The second truck is a 1953 Chevrolet 3800 (ranch wagon). Often referred to as a five window, with the curved rear corner windows.
A single wheel 1-ton truck with a 10 ' bed, I hauled a lot of firewood with this truck.
With the four-foot racks and a ten-foot bed, there was never any argument about whether I brought a full cord or not!
When I got it, it had the original 216 straight-six cylinder engine. I replaced it with a 1959 235 engine with full-oil pressure bearings (no babbitt)  
I then converted the entire electric system to a "modern" 12-volt system for ease of starting and brighter lights at night.
This truck was my daily driver for many years.

Both trucks were running great, backed into place, and turned off, thirty years or so ago...
With a charged battery and some fresh gas, either will start up and go back to work!
They sure knew how to make quality, long-lasting trucks in those days.

Oooohhh a 10ft  bed! I can't believe the wimpy 4-6 ft beds the pretend city trucks have these days. Yes, they knew how to build them back then!

Oh, those are the shmexy trucks... the new one have no soul.

Gasp! The triangle window "air conditioner"!

I know, I miss the "wing" windows, which were a wonderful feature that went away in the late sixties and seventies.
A/C, window defroster, cigarette smoke ventilator, they were an integral part of your car.
My 67 Camaro had wing windows, and my 1968 Camaro had "flow-through" ventilation.
My 1973 Ford Highboy pickup has them, but the newer Ford pickups do not.

oh swoooooon!!! how lovely, thank you especially for the pictures of the dashes and interiors. (is that a wasp nest inside the vent in the 'original AM radio' picture??)
I am so amazed that in Montana these trucks lasted so well. We rehab old cars and (admittedly it is a bit more humid here but still) often cars from the 80s look worse than that. Absolutely gorgeous, thanks so much for sharing.
(now for the rest of the day i'll be remembering the 53 Studebaker pickup I had the privilege of driving for a summer and probably grinning like a fool....)

Oooh! I swoon!! I love old trucks. Modern trucks have no soul.
And I AM amused that all the replies here are from the ladies, take notes guys, weird smart permie women like old trucks!  :D

Pearl Sutton wrote: weird smart permie women like old trucks!  :D

Seriously, my photo roll is distributed as follows:
50% dogs
50% old vehicles
They can make whatever algorithm they want, they have no chance with me or the rest of the Permies gang....