VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 1937 car and truck grill the same??

I was looking through the april G&D,,,,i seen a 37 chev truck and a 37 chev car,,,Did the 37 car and truck share the same grill,or are my eyes playing tricks on me?? :confused: :confused:

53bel-air,

tom brownell suggests in "chevrolet pickup trucks" (1998, 2nd ed, pp 24 & 27) that a '36 grille interchanges, but not '37 (or later)...

hope this helps,

epi

Tom Brownell is full of it.The truck grilles fit '34-'35 trucks,The 1936 truck grille fit that year only and does not even resemble a car grille.Yes, the 1937-38 car grilles look like truck grilles but are taller.

53bel-air & chevgene,

sorry...just reporting what I'd read...didn't know one way or the other, that's why I included the info source...

epi

Chevrolet--No,I know its not you fault. I was just making a point that so many errors are "included" in the various restoration books.Especially in Krause Publications books.Their articles in "Old Cars" paper are also poorly researched.

Man, I will totally agree with that! Also, one of the worst books on the market is the "Standard Catalog of Chevrolet". Many items in that book are totally incorrect. However, other car magazines, like "Cars and Parts" for example, use that book for research material, and then they quote from the book thus spreading even more inaccuracies throughtout the hobby! :( :(

chevgene & dog,

and that's why I try to run everything through this forum before I do or buy or repair or replace anything...

thanks, guys,

epi

The Fisher bodied Passenger cars and "Martin-Parry" bodied trucks used completely different grille and front sheet metal. A stock passenger car has 37 teeth in the grille. A truck has 29. (JC Whitneys has some number in between. ) .
. To see what happens when some idiot trys to install a Fisher Grille in a Martin Parry body, look at the brown Superior bus on web page < http://uf.znet.com/~p1937/Bus.htm >. I tried to de-emphasize this error in these photos but you can see the gap at top of grille. .
. Simply; They don't interchange!

Going by previous postings it is possible my early 38 1/2 ton was originally fitted with left over 37 grille or is it a later replacement due to a close encounter of the damaging type.
I could believe either as the main body appears to be the same except for the windscreen being fixed in the 38 like mine. I have vertical bars but not sure how many.
Mine is a Fishermans Bend (Aus) body and what are the chances of it being different to the US model.

tonyw, if you look close at the grille shell on the US '38, you'll see that it is slightly different than the '37... the '37 has "shark vent" like depressions on each side, and I think the '38 grille shell just blends into the hood. IMHO, the '37 uniquely is the most handsome truck Chevy has ever made, and it's all because of the grille and trim around it!

Please excuse me, I just looked at my '37 grille shell and hood, and realized that the "shark vents" are on the hood, not the grill shell... I realize I don't know the exact difference, but the area where the headlight stands mount to the grille shell appears to be different between '37 and '38.

I leave myself open to one of the many smart alecks that will set me straight now. :o

got a 39 panel in good condition has odd lights on top what is it??????

Is it possible to put 37 front from firewall forward onto 38 cab which is what I think has happened to mine. It has the vertical bars in the grille and all surrounding panels fit neatly to it.
Or do 38 trucks have the vertical grille too. I have not seen a definite 38 to compare.
I also have a 39 but I know they are different.

Hey Tony, I'm pretty sure that the US '38s had the same cab as the '37. I just recently came across information that said the '36 short cab is not the same as the '37 (different windshield heights and three hinges on the door instead of two if I remember correctly)

It seems to me that you could put a '37 front end on a '38 (IMHO, it would look better also). There have been several '38's in G&D for sale over the last few months, so you can go look at them there. They had horizontal grille bars, with alternating sizes. I'm not sure, but I think they use the same headlight stands and buckets also. Can't tell you about hoods or other parts.

Are there any reproduction books on 37 chevy that are accurate?

I have not seen any here in Aus but have been looking at any opportunity that I get. I would like to see the comparison between 37 & 38 1/2 ton. All the claimed 37s I have seen have the hinged windscreen But not sure about the vent on top of the cowl that mine has. I have not seen a claimed 38 1/2 ton for comparison.
Tony

1937 Passenger grilles have 37 vertical "teeth". 37 Truck grilles have 29 "teeth". 38 Grilles have horizontal teeth. JC whitney grilles have a variety of teeth and are straight at bottom where they should curve. I & I makes a beautiful reproduction but looks more like a Whitney.
If you look at the 3rd photo on web page http://uf.znet.com/~p1937/Bus.htm, you'll see what a passenger car grille looks like when brazed into a truck radiator shell. Remember that USA passenger cars were made by Fisher and trucks by Martin-Parry. (Holden adapted these chassis.) (Flxible bodied Chevys used a completely different grille with a lot of Martin-Parry parts. View at http://uf.znet.com/~p1937/Flx.htm ) The Vehicle pictured has a Superior body on Martin-Parry chassis but Superior is not part of GM.