VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1933-1936 Floorboard Color

Were the original floor and toeboards left original wood color or were they painted black?
Thanks Richard

Richard

At one time I have a low mileage 40,000 1935 Std Sedan. I can tell you the wood floor boards, toe boards were natural wood. I did take them out and scrub them then apply Woodlife Wood Preservative to them. You could also use Thompson wood protector to preserve the wood and make it easier to clean.

Good Luck on your restoration.

The wood floor boards in my 1934 are painted black.Looks almost as if it were a black stain.Trucks may be completely different as their bodies were made by Chevrolet and not Fisher Body Division.

Richard & Gene

Could it be that the assembly plant chose the finish on the wood?

Ken

In most cases, I believe that the wood was actually sprayed with diluted paint after assembly. It was more like a perservative stain than a paint. Some of the wood has what appears to be a greenish hue. In many cases the only places you can find any of the coating is in areas that have been continously covered or protected from the elements.

I have a lot of 1934 & 1935 Chevrolet truck Indianoplis Body Plant assembly prints with some of them specifing how & with what the body was finished when it left the plant & shipped to Flint or other assembly plants. They specify the entire outside of the body be painted with p/n 466931 DuPont #7665 primer surfacer( I believe is a darker gray color). The Entire roof inside, inside of all the body(Body was shipped without any metal trim parts or upholstery)& inside of rear doors painted with p/n 466926 DuPont # 93 inside green paint (it is a light apple green color). The rear Wheelhouse outside painted with p/n 466931 DuPont # 7665 primer surfacer. The intire topside of the platform which would include the front plywood floor boards were painted p/n 118500 DuPont #163 Black Wheel Finish Enamel. There is no indication that any wood on the inside that was hidden was finished with anything. None of the three 1935 trucks I have disassembled have shown any kind of finish. I'm still looking through my prints. 1935 trucks are as good as it gets.

Howdy Rich,
John here in Des Plaines,IL.
My 36 has a steel floor. it was built in St Louis, MO. on 5-20-36 and is painted black.
however the 2 access panels are wood and also painted.

the 1936 low cab (2 hinges on door) had the steel floor and should be painted wheel black enamel. The early high cab 1936 trucks were more light the 34 & 35 trucks. Any exposed wood componets that showed after final assembly were painted. 1935 trucks above the floor level were brown painted, 34 & 35 were DuPont green # 93.

Am I reading this correctly? The 36 low cab had steel floorboards and toeboards? I have seen a number of 36 low cabs and none had steel, they all had wood. Some were painted black and some were left natural. I don't know which color was correct.

I guess I had a brain fart; your are right the 36 did have wood. My 35 trucks were painted on the underside where it was exposed to the weather. The top side under the floor mat was just wood. The seat frame wood & steel panels attached to the floor were painted black.