Old UPS Chevy Panel Delivery Truck

We have this old Chevy delivery truck at our building every so often. I finally got some photos. It says 3800 on it and I would assume it's a 50's model? I'm just guessing by the grille on it that is pretty sweet looking. Kind of nice that the company saves it and keeps it around. I love the tail lights. Wish I could find me a set for my current build.

 

That's an early 55 or a 54 judging by the grill.

 

54-55. 3800 means it's the one ton model, it has a pretty long wheelbase doesn't it?

 

As for the tail-lights....check out the tail-lights on a '39 chevy car...if they are not the same as the ones on the truck that will be very close to what you are looking for....Ray...

 

This is true. One ton was also longer wheelbased with longer bed floor. Later 1955 had the 56-57 truck grille and completely different body style.
Those tail lights are the same as on 1939 Chevys and Pontiacs. Used on panel trucks from 1947 thru 1955. Those square lites referred to were on the center of the swing out rear doors. One on most models for brake-tag-and license bracket with a tag light.
Deluxe models had another square light mounted on the right rear door with stainless fender spears also front and rear as seen on many old Chevy cars.
See my album.

Lots of manufacturers carried over left over parts for a number of years. Ford used the 1941 car tail light on the 1947-55+ panels because they were a one time use item on 1941 Fords.

 

Obviously predated the current UPS standard of not showing any mfrs's logos or names on their vehicles. And no bright trim. One exception is the Bulldog on Macks.

 

If I recall,UPS was not even formed in the 50s...and all their trucks are brown,,,it looks like a nice late restoration tho.and someone liked the UPS Logo...,what say everyone else?

 

Wikipedia says UPS was around a lot longer than that. But I agree that it's likely that someone dressed up a non-UPS panel truck.

 

fyi : UPS is over 100 years old.

founded in 1907 as American Messenger Company.


UPS has many old vehicles of different sizes from the different era's of the company.

They use 'em for various advertising/promotional/propaganda purposes.

-W

 

Here's a restored UPS truck from the late '40s, early '50s that drove through my area last summer. My dad bought one just like it in the mid '70s at a UPS auction:

 

UPS trivia from 40+ years ago:

Any UPS trucks going out to be junked were always repainted to a non-UPS color.

Trucks still in service were repainted at predetermined schedules. The vans were different than the semi's. I don't recall which, but one was every 10 months and the other was 14 months.

A UPS rep would come to the outsourced body shop to verify that the truck was stripped to bare metal, and also returned to inspect the finished job.

UPS upgraded older wheels to take new radial tire sizes, using flat plate centers welded to new hoops. Very crude looking.

 

Trivia too. The color is Federal Brown from a rail coach car color.
The delivery vehicles they use are known as package cars, not trucks. They now range from older GM chassis, International, Freightliner, and Workhorse.
Package car designation has to do with the cubic inches of package space. P600, P800, P1000.
UPS has been one of my customers for 20 years. I've built many driveshafts for several locations in AR, TN,, and TX.
That 54/55 panel delivery appears to be a cool package car.

 

My dad bought his truck at one of the last UPS auctions, not long after I was told UPS no longer offered their old trucks to the general public for liability reasons. This is what I was told, I don't know this as fact.

BTW, all of the trucks at the auction my dad bought his truck at were painted white. His truck was registered as a '51 Ford but had a newer engine with Delco generating system. The body was aluminum with the raise areas being steel. There were also Divco truck being sold.

 

I read in a 4x4 mag a while back that scoring a Dana 70 rear for a 1 ton swap, a UPS truck was a truck to look for one. But then again,does UPS sell old vehicles to junkyards or crush em outright?

 

Many years ago, 10-15, there was an country type junk yard a couple of miles from my house and for a the last few years they were in business they were buying up UPS trucks. I know a friend of my dad's, who was some how involved with UPS, told him they no longer sold their old trucks to the general public, only for scrap. I don't know if UPS forced the scrap yards to crush them whole or if they allowed them to sell parts.

 

I've worked in a scrapyard for 32 years and I've seen almost everything come through, from model Ts to motorhomes but we've never scrapped a UPS truck. I seem to recall that they keep rebuilding them instead of buying new. Divco ended production in 1986 but I still see UPS running them.

 

My dad told me this also, that's the reason his truck had a '60s engine and Delco charging system. UPS would piece together trucks to keep them running. The '51 my dad bought was in service right up to the time he bought in the mid '70s. They would use whatever parts they could get at the best price.

 

F&J is right, UPS repainted the hell out of their trucks. Local body shop in my home town, Rhinebeck, had the contract. I asked the proprietor why they were repainted so much and his answer was a clean shiney brown truck was a major advertisement for UPS. I know the body shop made good money off the contract.

 

Nice truck. One of the stupidest moves I ever made was not applying for a job with UPS right after I got out of the Army and got married in Texas in 1969 and they were just moving into Central Texas at that time. Their pay was about triple what I made in A Gulf States Paper plant at the time.

 

What are the wheels on that truck? They don't look like a split rim. I'm trying to find a wheels for a friends panel.

 

I would think it would be cost effective for them to replace drive trains with new ones. Since they have so many of the same vehicles, they could get a manufacturer to supply new drive trains and keep them running and be more fuel efficient. I would convert to diesel or natural gas.

 

I worked at a truck shop in Lexington in the late 70s-early 80s, We did all body and paint for the Lexington hub. We used enamel on the package cars and Imron on the road tractors. Saw a lot of their trucks with over a million miles on them!

 

My friend has an awesome UPS VW split window panel bus. He had the UPS labels still on it and one day a UPS rep showed up and demanded they be removed. He went through a whole bunch of shit with them about it. He changed the logo to say SPS (speedy parcel service).


Sent from a pay phone

 

I've been trying to get FedEx to build something like those or the flamed out UPS show truck...but nnnooooo...they'd rather buy scoreboards and NASCAR than reach out to the people that actually benefit from them. I deliver a ton of Summit and Jegs boxes weekly.

I do love that early 50's package car, but I'll take my W700 with air conditioning!

 

From:

http://www.truckstopusa.com/forums/showthread.php?13359-Wanna-buy-a-used-UPS-package-car


Wanna buy a used UPS package car???

Probably not after you read this:


UPS trucks face rough retirement, By Jeff Elder, Atlanta Constitution


Q. What happens to old UPS delivery trucks? You never see a used one on the road. -- Lynn Nash, Hickory

"They're crushed beyond recognition."

When United Parcel Service spokeswoman Ronna Branch told me that, I thought, "That seems a little extreme."

And it turns out "The Big Brown Machine," as UPS is nicknamed, can be a little, well, obsessive.

The trucks are washed every day. Drivers must button their shirts up to, but not including, the collar button. There is a proper way to buckle the seat belt and start the truck.

"This is a very well-engineered company," Branch said.

(At one point during our phone interview, I couldn't resist asking if she was wearing brown. "Yes," she replied.)

"It takes a long time for a truck to wear out," said Branch. "The engine is often replaced two or three times. A truck could easily be on the road for more than 20 years."

Why not sell the old trucks to college kids, or garage bands needing to haul around equipment? (Sign here for your delivery of rock!)

"It's for image and branding reasons," Branch said.

You see a beat-up UPS truck careening around at midnight, it doesn't reflect well on the company handling your Christmas packages.

"And there's a fair amount of technology in the trucks," Branch said. "We don't necessarily want our competition to see that."

Then there's safety. Not everybody can just hop up into the driver seat of a "package car" and safely cruise it around town.

For these reasons, "You will never see a used UPS truck on the road," Branch said.

Then why are they for sale on eBay?

Oh yes, dozens of them.

OK, they're toy models of many styles of the famous UPS trucks, from the first Model T (UPS was founded in 1907) to the big-body styles made by Grumman Olson.

How many UPS trucks are there? 108,000.

Why are they brown? Because company forefathers admired the elegant, professional brown sleeper cars made by Pullman. (UPS historians point out that Pullman also made sleepers in red and green, but it was the brown ones that caught the eye of UPS.)

What's that brown called? UPS Brown, and it's trademarked. Branch told me it cannot be duplicated without top-secret UPS know-how.

What's the weirdest stuff UPS has delivered? Whale sharks, pandas and killer whales to aquariums and zoos.

Would UPS deliver me to my mom? "We don't do people," Branch said.

What do UPS employees think of "The King of Queens," the sitcom about a delivery truck driver played by Kevin James?

"He's not actually in a UPS uniform. It's kind of a green uniform. So, he's not approved by UPS." Branch said.

He will be crushed beyond recognition. ​

 

History of the UPS truck

http://youtu.be/6Sbxy9ey9zw

 

well, well, well. UPS brown is trade marked. All trucks are recycled in house or destroyed. My tractor that I drive over 300 miles a night has 1,388,543 miles on it and I am not scheduled to get a replacement until the repair cost for any broken or worn out part is over $5000 dollars, so, with their maintenance program, I will probably be driving the Mack I have now until I retire in 5 or so years. The UPS logo is also trademarked and is not to be shown on any non UPS owned equipment unless authorized. My avatar was officially removed from Air Ride's site but they could not chase down all the copies so I eventually found one.

Also, Mack told UPS that the Bull dog on the hood of their tractors will remain on the tractor or the could purchase their equipment elsewhere.. UPS caved, but limited the orders for new tractors and are currently buying other brands, like International and Sterlings. They do don't have any restrictions and will allow their brand to be stricken...Amazing what that kind of money can make people do.

Not that I am partial to brown, but they have done a lot for me, by paying for my car habit...
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The solid windshield makes this the last year of this model. Early 1954, I believe.
Beautiful Truck.

 

UPS said this body was used 1949-1954. I have one sitting here waiting for a new owner

 

Some good reading there..Thanks for the info HJ