Greetings..My name is Mark Sullivan, but my pals call me Sully. I have been looking at this site for some time and have been impressed with the advice and kindness you all share. A little about me, since you willl no doubt ask anyway. I leaned to drive in a 65 Mustang. It was new. You can probably figure my age. My first car was a 60 something Corvair Monza. Wish I still had it. My second car, and my favorite, was a 62 VW sedan. I drove it from high school to college and beyond. It morphed into a California look car which I raced some weekends at the strip in Seattle. It ran in the 15s. I have usually had a pickup, mostly big Fords. About three years ago, a coworker decided to sell his old Chevy AD. Now since I was without a truck, and am a sucker for cool old stuff, I bought it. It was titled as a 52. I soon learned, however, that it was either a 54 or 55 first. It was converted to 12volt with 2 speed wipers (a requirement in the Pacific NW), and the column shift was moved to the floor over a transmission as he said, 'from a chevy van '. A hurst Mystery Shifter was installed by someone along the line. Near as I can tell, its a mystery to figure out what gear I'm in. Anyway, I got the bad rust spots repaired. It is in 4-5 shades of brown primer with cute little corner cab windows I found out was the Nu-Vue option. I discovered the radiatior was 1947 vintage. The 235 was rebuilt with a pretty Offenhauser valve cover. It had 57 sedan hubcaps. The side hood emblems match the style from 54, but since the driveline is exposed, maybe it is a 55. The ID plate was missing and replaced with a State sticker when the truck was brought to Washington from Alaska, so that is no help. The grill is painted a different color than the body, so maybe that is a clue. Is it possible that when the tranny was changed, that the old torque tube driveline was changed too? The literatue says 'and other minor differences' when comparing a 55 to a 54. Does anyone know what they are? Is there a chassis number anywhere? The truck has a long way to go, and 40 MPH is about right on the back roads. I just love it. No wonder you guys rave about these artifacts. Thanks in advance for any advice and counsel. Sully
Welcome aboard, Sully! this link is pretty good in helping people distinguish the subtle changes through the AD years. www.chevytrucks.org/resources/adguide.htm As for as chassis numbers, i know the earlier AD's didn't have them, not sure about 54-55's. If you think that the engine could possibly be the original engine, you can find out the year of the engine by the serial # on it. no matter what year it is, enjoy it! they are way cool in my opinion. here's another link http://1954advance-design.homeip.net/AdvanceDesignTrucks/AdvanceDesignTrucks.html#1954
Welcome Sully! It sounds like your truck is a homebuilt hybrid,but what the heck,as long as it gets down the road! Mine is supposedly a 53,but subtle little differences make me wonder sometimes. From your description of the driveline,it must be an early 55. The guys here are a wealth of knowledge,and should be able to answer 99% of your questions. Have fun!
Welcom, jump right in Welcome Sully, great to have another AD man at this site. Sounds like you at least get to drive yours, many of us are still in the dream stage, awaiting the day of cranking er up and gittin down a dirt road. I have found that just about anything goes with these old trucks especially if someone who didn't appreciate quality got aholt of them before us. I have become proud owner of 5 and one half trucks over the past year and all are mixed and matched in some small area. But they are all great fun. We would love to see some pics of your ride, I am SEE oriented, besides we just love to see progress, so make us go oooo and ahhhh. Jump in and have fun. TB'sD
Thanks for the nice responses. The links were quite helpful, Ken. I will scrape some paint off the grill and ponder some. Pics are somewhere down the road. I have been parking the truck (which I have cristened Sparky) out in the elements, and have noticed the North side turning a nice shade of green. This is, of course, moss, out state plant, closely associated with the slug, our state invertabrate. Anyway, a lot of cleanup before visuals can happen. Sully
Welcome! Oh you'll fit right in! You put up two posts and I got a good chuckle out of both! I -um like the name... It sounds like you're driving what I'm going to end up with. As Federale said (I think it was him...) A "hybrid". At least it's all Chevy, just different years. Mine will be a GMChevy. (And different years) All the good stuff from a GMC with Chevy filler stuff. (Just kidding all you Chevy guys not brave enough to embrace the front of a GMC.) Anyway, we will wait on the pictures- but not to long. Will I- May I be the first to say something about using the "F" word in your first post, however? Please remeber- some of us have children that might see what we are reading! Just be sure to park your truck in the opposite direction for that all-around soft fuzzy green look! LOL!
