A Much Simpler Time in 1950 by Seth Doulton
As we look at the 1999 Silverado and the year 2000 models, one can't help but remember how simple the trucks were 50 years ago. Everything about them was simple. I mean, come on, even a heater was an accessory. A $35 accessory for the cheap heater and $58 for the top of the line heater. In 1949, the big news was twelve colors, and in 1950, the big news was the new Synchro Mesh 4-speed transmission. There were no onboard GPS or North Star Systems or computer-designed suspensions 50 years ago.
The closest thing to a GPS System (Global Positioning System) was a rear-view mirror that sold for $4.25 extra or a safety spotlight that sold for an extra $19.50. If the person liked the goodies and added all the bells and whistles to a truck back then, they could run up a bill of around $300 pretty easily. Hey, a radio with an antenna was about $90. That's a lot of money considering the half-ton pickup only cost about $1200. So, let's see here. If a new 1949 half-ton sold for $1200 and restored today they are worth around $20,000 - that means a 1999 Silverado that sells for around $30,000 will be worth...$500,000??? Wow! I hope I'll be around to see if the 1999s do become collectible and also if they will be worth anything near what their ancestors are bringing.
As I mentioned before, one of the hot new sales pitches on the 1950 truck was the Synchro-Mesh 4 -speed transmission. The Synchro-Mesh transmission meant no more double-clutching. The transmission has Synchro-Meshing cones that help to slide the shifting collars from one gear to the next and eliminate "'grinding the gears." The twelve colors that were available in 1949 were Cape Maroon, Swift Red, Omaha Orange, Armor Yellow, Cream Medium, White, Jet Black, Sun Beige, Forester Green, Sea Coast Green, Windsor Blue and Mariner Blue. Have you ever noticed that there are a lot of green 1949 Suburbans? Well guess what? Green was the only color for Suburbans in 1949. There were two greens, however: Fathom Green and Seacrest Green. Speaking of Suburbans, the standard panel trucks did not come with a right-hand seat., It had to be special-ordered with the options package #263-A.
What happened with most panel trucks ordered was that right-hand seats were not in the order, knowing that the panel was only going to be used by a driver for delivery purposes. There was no need to add another $28 to the price to have a seat that was not needed. The other problem was, once the customer took delivery of the panel truck and figured out that he would have liked to have a right-hand seat, it was too late because they couldn't be ordered through the parts department. Here are some other interesting facts about the 1949 trucks. The add-on for a chrome grill was $10.40. The chrome grill came free with the DeLuxe cab option #390A. The cost for the DeLuxe cab for the pickup was $51.90 and for the panel it was $41.55
I mentioned before that the half-ton pickup model number 3104 sold for $1205. The half-ton panel truck model number 3105 sold for $1395. Model # 3107, the
Canopy Express sold for $1445 and the half-ton Carry All Suburban #33116 sold for $1625 If you were ordering a truck for sale in the state of Washington, you would need to add the dual taillight option #249. The tire sizes available were 15" x 6, 15 x 8, 6.50-16-6 and 6.70-15-6.
Watch for my next column looking back 50 years as I investigate the 1950 model Chevrolet.
1950 by Seth Doulton
Fifty years ago, fifteen more horsepower was all Chevrolet needed to get the truck buying customers all revved up. That's right, the big news for the brand new 1950 model trucks was the Load-Master 105 that had 15 more hp than the Thriftmaster put out in 1949. Besides new, larger valves and a new compression ring combination that improved the seal to allow more power and less oil usage, Chevrolet also had a brand new power jet carburetor. This power jet was a big step up from the Carter down draft of 1949. It provided faster warm-ups, improved low-speed performance. The newly developed design maintained the proper mixture of fuel for all operating conditions which allowed for smoother, quicker response to the accelerator, 105 horsepower at your toe tips. At first glance, the 1950 models looked pretty much the same. But, with a closer eye, the first thing that you see is that the old hood side emblem that read "Chevrolet Thriftmaster" has been changed to only read "Chevrolet" with a number underneath. Chevrolet had been using model numbers for years, but this was the first time that they used them to distinguish the models on the other side of the truck. Through the years I have had a lot of questions about what the numbers represented. Besides the obvious - payload differences - here were also dozens of other feature changes that not only made the trucks carry the loads but also gave them power to pull.
For instance, the 161-inch wheel base stake truck came in two popular models, the 4400 and the 6400. Here is a short list of some of the standard features from both...first the 4400 and second the 6400.
Springs 4400 front 1600 1b and rear 4465 lb. 6400 2200 front and 7800 rear.
Axles 4400 3500 front and 10,500 rear 6400 4500 1b front and 13,000 lb. rear. Tires
4400 6.50-20 1700 1b. rating and 6400 7.50-20 2375 lb. rating. Engine 4400
Thriftmaster 216 90 gross horsepower. 6400 Loadmaster 235 93 gross
horsepower. Cooling system 15 qt on the 4400 and the 6400 had a 17-1/2 qt.
System. The big difference of course was the load capacity; 4200 1b. for the 4400
and 10,000 lbs. For the 6400 when outfitted with 8.25-20 12-ply tires.
The numbering system broke down like this: 3100 was a 116" wheelbase for payloads up to 1200 lbs. 3600 125-1/4 wheelbase for payloads up to 2000 lbs. 3800 137-inch wheelbase for payloads up to 4300 lbs. 4100 137-inch wheelbase for payloads up to 7500 lbs. 4400 161" wheelbase for payloads up to 7200 Ibs. 6100 137-inch wheelbase for payloads up to 10,600. 6400 161-inck wheelbase for payload up to 10,400. 5100 cabover engine or COE 110-inch wheelbase for payloads up to 11,200 lbs. 5400 COE 134-inch wheelbase for payloads up to 10,400 and the 5700 COE 158-inch wheelbase for payloads up to 11,000 lbs. When you add the weight of the truck, you come up with some whopping GVW. The GVW on the 5700 was 16,000 lbs for the 2-ton giant. This truck had a 4500 1b front axle and a 13,000 full floating rear axle. With 2200 lbs springs up front and large 7800 rear springs
Ordering a truck by the numbers made it easy to get the right truck for the job. A custom made truck to fit your needs. The numbering system really looked new on the outside but when you looked under the skin of the new 1950 Advanced Design trucks, the new features seemed endless. A new, flow-through muffler that allowed the gases to flow straight through for increased performance, new Hydrovac brakes standard on 5000 and 6000 series trucks and options on 3800, 4000 series trucks and 3942 forward control delivery bodied trucks. The 3000 series trucks for the first time had cylinder shocks or direct double-action shocks instead of the arm shocks.
1950 was also the first year for the cab that breathed. A constant flow through design - cooler in summer and also aided in keeping windows clear in winter. The colors for 1950 were the same ones that were available in 1949. But, unlike 1949, they offered all 12 colors for the Suburban. You may remember in a previous column that the 1949 Suburban was only available in two shades of green. The colors were Sun Beige, Jet Black, White, Windsor Blue, Armor Yellow, Cream Medium, Forester Green, Mariner Blue, Cape Marron, Omaha Orange, Seacrest Green and Swift Red.
In researching the 1949 and 1950 trucks, I've found some great information and photos of the Suburbans and Panels of 50 years ago. I can't wait to share it with you. Stay tuned.