How to tell diff between 47-53 AD trucks

I have always prided myself on being able to tell at a glance the year and make of any american vehicle from a model "T" to 73 Buick ,but there is a few of the "AD" trucks i cant distinguise and thats the 48-50 and the 52 from a 53.Heres how i know the others apart :

47 both side (left side between door and fender) and cowl vents on cab and no wingvents in doors,but only year with the gas tank under the bed and has a filler neck through the bed side ,pull down ext. door handles

48-50 everything the same at first glance as a 47 except gas tank is behind the seat .Only thing i have heard is that the headliner insert didnt have a middle support until late 49 ,but not sure on that .If the interior is gone thats out the window anyway.

51 only one with wing vents in the doors and pull down door handles like 47-50, side vent on drivers side of cab now eleminated and replaced by wing vents in doors

52 and 53 same as a 51 but have thumb button type door handles ( all 47-53 have angled bed rails)

54 and 55 first series curved windshield ,flat bed rails ,and "Nose Bleed frontend "(which is pretty obviously different from a 47-53).


I realise that many have the parts switched out over the year like say 50 model doors on a 54 ,but supposing they are unchanged .How can i tell 48 49 and 50 apart visually from each other and a 52 and a 53 apart from each other ???

 

Dont tell me that you AD truck owners have been relying on what the title reads as to which year you have .Apparently there is alot of people that cant tell them apart.I recently went to a guy i work with farm to get sum parts for my 50 im doing off of what he thought was a 54 2 ton (6400 series) wrecker.He also told me that he has a 50 model "3100" that he was gunna build someday.When i got out there i told him he had them misyeared .The 2 ton truck was a 47-50 (no wing vents in doors had the side vent on cab and pull down ext. door handles ).The "3100" that hethought was a 50 ,was infact a 52 or 53 .It had thumb button type ext. handles and wingvents in the doors ,plus had the angled bed rails.This man is twice my age ...

 

thanks i wondered why mine(a 52) didnt have the the side air vent

 

'48 had the tank under the bed and pull down ext door handles, at least mine does!

 

48 had the gas tank under the bed too...

47-48 have a smooth firewall...

Firewall on a 49 is one year only...looks like a 47-48, but has an extra bead on the top...

50's have extra beads stamped in the firewall...

 

The 50 was the 1st year with tube shocks, previous had lever action.

The earlier trucks, 47-8 had 3 point cab mount, 49 and up later have 4 point mount. the cab interior bracing changed with the move of thegas tank location.

The oil pressure gauge changed when they went to the 235 motor, from 30 to 60 lbs.

he frame changed in 54 to accommodate the new bed, the kick up was 2 inches less.

51 was the change to self energizing brakes from the huck style.

Not many visual exterior changes over the years, door handle, vent windows are the main ones.


jerry

 

WRECKER !, Did you say 6400 series Wrecker? Does it have a Factory Wrecker unit, or was it a shop built tow truck. I'd like to see it, if it's a Factory Wrecker.

 

48 should not have the tank under the bed, and 47 was floor shifted the rest were column

 

www.stovebolt.com i have to believe you will find any/all AD info there.

 

Also, the earlier ones had 9 boards in the bed... I think in 1952 (or late 51?) they went to 8 boards?
　
I’m not sure how to tell the difference between a 47 and a 48....or the difference between a 52 and a 53... maybe someone else knows?...

 

Or you coul shave a bunch of crap and swap beds like I did, and keep um all guessing.

 

Im not sure if it was a factory wrecker unit or not but it looked to be well made.It had a "Tulsa" wench still on it and a bush bumper from Hell on the front...

 

Thanks for the info guys .This is exactly the info i was after .I didnt know that bizz about the firewalls being different between 48, 49, and 50 now i do ..

 

54 and 1st series 55 had a completely different dash as compared to the earlier ones. Also the 55 had open driveshaft where 54 had torque tube.

 

My father in laws very original '48 has the gas tank under the bed. It shows no signs of tampering, and the tray behind the seat is intact. It has cab vents, and the door handles pull down.

 

Still no info on how to tell a 52 from a 53 ? I did learn a bit more than i new about the others though ,so thanks for the replies ...

 

1952: Last year for splash oiled 216 (short side cover)... 30 PSI oil gauge and oil distributor cover on side of block.

1953: First year full pressure 235...60LB gauge and oil distributor plate deleted.

1947 cabs exclusively don't have a notch in the dash for the column shifter.

 

Found this:
http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/ca/full.aspx?Page=9

 

Thanks Bretcopsy ,thats exactly what i was after .Apparently my 50 has the stock speedo gauge of 80 mph max ,but has the other gauge cluster from a 53 ,cuz it shows 60 psi max on the oil pressure gauge ...

 

I didn't see in that writeup when the driver's side vent was dropped. My '50 Burb has it, love my balls cooler vent!

 

Me to ,its one of my favorite things about these 47-50 models and proly why the 3 that i have owned over the years were two 50's and a 49.Its funny though i see alot of people weld them in .The vent was dropped in 51 in favor of the wing vents in the doors (which i dont like as much myself) ...

 

Does anyone know about the VIN # on your truck? My title VIN# and the one on the door are not the same. Two of my titles both 53 1/2 tons start with letters like LBM and LBA then 6 numbers. Nothing close to what is on the truck door. Where would they be if the # on title is not the same as the one on the door?
Robert

 

^^^any body^^^

 

They were all 47s until NSRA changed it's eligibility rules.

 

Did the AD trucks with the vent window's have the stainless garnish moldings?

 

Some states used the engine number for their registration. Most seem to be from 50's and prior IIRC.


jerry

 

i have a 53 bought new by my mom. it has a 30lb oil gauge. was the 235 an option?

 

I had a 53 that I bought from Texas and the VIN # on the title started with "LBA" too...

May be what Jerry said in his post above?... I don't know...

I think the stainless garnish moldings came on the 5 window trucks...plain ones on 3 windows...

 

The first number in the serial number is the year of the truck. If it starts in 8 it is a 48. 1 is a 51, etc. The serial tag is on the driver A pillar.

 

I think the stainless garnish moldings were part of the deluxe package for 47-54 (5 window cab),but im not positive .I have a set of the stainless ones that im gunna use on my 50 3 window ...