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Howdy folks,

I just joined after picking up two 1934 Chevy dump trucks from a neighbor and I hope that this forum is as helpful as the others I am associated with for other vehicles I own. Not sure how to attach photos on this forum, but hopefully they show below.

[img][img]https://i.postimg.cc/W4mzLxVK/IMG-3483.jpg[/img][/img]

[img][img]https://i.postimg.cc/TLb8cZGm/IMG-3484.jpg[/img][/img]

[img][img]https://i.postimg.cc/56sxjWtN/IMG-3506.jpg[/img][/img]


Warm regards!

Welcome aboard. There are a few of us truck addicts that hang out here. I have a '36 1-1/2 ton Chevy. A friend is coming in a week or so to haul home all my spare '34 and '35 truck stuff. You will find that '34 and '35 trucks share sheet metal. There are some mechanical differences, such as engine and brakes. All your sheet metal except running boards is the same as pickup parts.
Let me know if I can help.

Mike Russell
Missouri

Thanks for the info Mike. I only wanted the green one to get her running, but the previous owner said I had to take the other truck if I bought the green one which I will be using as a parts truck. He said the reason he bought the one was only for the headlamp which was original. He even threw in another engine with the deal, so I now have 3 engines. Do you know where I can find a "build out" sheet for such trucks? I would like to know where they were built and whether the engines in them are original off the line.

Roman
Commiefornia

rustydawg Welcome to Chatter
Getting a truck of spare parts wont go astray though it could be the same parts are worn on both trucks. 35 Mike is a good scource of info on that model.
Post all the numbers cast and stamped into the engine and cylinder head, on the tags rivetted engine side of the firewall as well the tag on the floor just in front of the seat. Someone will be able to decipher the codes and put a more accurate date on the truck.
Tony

Thanks Tony. This is all I could find since there is really no floors on either truck.



VIN 6RB012028
Engine 837531-8...I think




VIN 6PD087428
Engine 836010-8

Sorry for the crappy photos.

I could not read the plates but the top engine casting appears to be March 12 35. The 2nd casting "conv 3" means nothing to me but there are undoubtedly others that can decipher that. The tags are US which are not used down here in Aus, Holden made their own but I havent deciphered all of them either.
The numbers you have listed are casting numbers not engine number which is stamped on a machined surface near the distributor or fuel pump.
Tony

CAR NO 6RB012028 Identifies the 2028th 1936 1 1/2 ton 131" wheelbase truck with dual rear wheels produced in Oakland CA plant in January (01). Note: despite nearly everyone identifying the vehicle serial number as "VIN" number that is NOT a correct term in pre 1980 vehicles. The engine casting number 837591 is one listed as 1935. As Tonyw wrote the C 12 5 identifies the block casting date as March 12 (193)5.

CAR NO 5PD087428 identifies the 7428th 1934 1 1/2 ton 157" wheelbase truck with dual rear wheels produced in Kansas City MO plant in August (08). The engine casting number 836010 was used 1935 and 1936. There should be a casting date code on the block. The conv 3 is a quality control identification in the casting process.

Hi Chipper,

Thanks for reinforcing that the standardized 17 character VIN is relatively new in the history of over-the-road vehicles.

I remember reading in other Chat posts that with some models Chevy started the build sequence numbers such that the first production vehicle at a given factory was number 1001. Maybe that was later in the 30’s or only certain models.

Thanks for the info Chipper. I will now need to look for the actual engine numbers for both vehicles.

There is a way of finding out whether the engines in the trucks are original, correct?

Hi Chipper,

I just noticed that you noted the second vehicle's serial number as 5PD087428 and not "6PD..." as I thought I read on the plate. I need to look a little closer at the markings, but would that make any difference?

Also, the pink slip for the first truck shows it to be a 1934 as well and not a 1936, but I am going to assume that the DMV has no clear way of identifying these vehicles due to their age and simply go by the info they are given.

Chip identified casting number 836010 as being used in both 1935, and 1936. While both had a nominal displacement of 207 ci the big distinction between those 2 years is that in 1935 the block did not have a full water jacket. In 1936 it had a full water jacket cast into the block clear to the crankshaft apron. 1937 was a totally different engine with 4 main bearings instead of 3. That design would basically carry through until the 235 era.

I think that you will find that the number on your dump truck has PB as a prefix, making it a 1934. Interestingly, it has a front bumper from a 1936 1-1/2 ton truck. Everything else visible in your photo, makes it a 34/35. '34 and '35 are very difficult to tell apart. There are some differences in the brakes and engines.
If the truck is 100% original (OK, I can hear you all laughing, so stop it) the door and ignition locks will require a key that is double cut. A look at the lock cylinders will reveal a center dimple to guide the key as opposed to the top dimple for the key used on '35 and later Chevys. '34 SHOULD have the coil mounted to the firewall. '35 will have the coil mounted to the engine. The front bumpers for both '34 and '35 is a simple channel and not the chrome face bar and painted reinforcement like the one on your green truck.
Not all, but most '36 1-1/2 ton trucks had hydraulic brakes.
By this time you should be getting more confused than ever. Don't give up. You can call me if you like, then I can deny that I told you stuff that turned out o be wrong. If you stick to the forum, you will have proof that I gave you bad information.

Mike

One more thing.
Unless I miss my guess, VIN stands for "Vehicle Identification Number". That is exactly what the factory assigned number is on any vehicle of any age. They were referred to, as such, for decades before the government decided what information should be contained in them, and required 17 digits to display said information. I refuse to participate in these laughable semantics.

Mike

I'm with Mike!

And he says it with the same words I would have used!

My 1976 short box 1/2 ton for example has a "VIN" number.

Not confused one bit, just soaking it all in. I will look for the some of the details that you mention Mike to try and decipher the year of the green truck. The "PB" that you mention as a prefix would be where on the truck?

Good to know that the bumper is not original, so I will swap it out with the bumper on the parts truck(which from your description is original) to bring it closer to original.

The "PB" Mike refers to will be the second and third characters of the numbers on the plates you posted pictures of.
Look closely at the picture you posted of VIN 6RB012028.
Are you sure the "R" isn't actually a "P" with a black mark making it look like and R?
Is that the plate on the green truck?

As to the first character in VIN 6PD087428 being a 6 instead of a 5, the first number tells you where the truck was made... 5 means Kansas City... 6 means Oakland.

By the way, I really REALLY like your trucks!

Mike,
As a contributor to "Chatter" can attest there is a very important difference to a "VIN" and a Vehicle Identification Number. For one it is a Federal felony to alter that number or identification plate. The other numbers whether called "CAR NO', serial number, vehicle identification number or ? are state infractions. Some states are much more lenient than the Feds. It isn't laughable when the FBI gets involved.

I am with Chipper regarding a "VIN"number. A "VIN" number is a unique set of 17 alpha and numeric characters required by the U.S.Dept. of Transportation to be stamped on every vehicle since the early 1980's. Before that the manufactures determined the identification numbers by their own determination whether it be a car number ,serial number.chassis number or other nomenclature.

So you are saying the vehicle identification number on my 76' Chev is a Vin number then?
Or maybe a vin number?

Just as a semantic aside, we do all know that saying VIN number is redundant right?

Well.my math skills are limited but I don't think 76 was after the 80's. Your 1976 vehicle identification number is not a VIN but rather a number that identifies your vehicle as according to the method used by the manufacturer for THEIR purposes while a vin is assigned according to the requirements of The Dept.of Transportation for universal identification. Not sure how to answer your last question as when i worked in a truck parts dept. if a customer said his last 6 numbers of his VIN were ****** then i would assume he had a truck built after 1980 but always asked as the last six of various years could be duplicated. Not a problem if it was a stock item but if not and had to be flown in then I would have a very upset customer when the part came in and was wrong.With technical issues nomenclature etc. needs to be correct . If it's horseshoes or hand grenades then close enough counts.

Just because the feds prescribed the information to be contained in a VIN, starting with 198?, doesn't mean it was not a VIN prior to that date. Did the law state that from that day forward, it was illegal to refer to any previously issued manufacturers number as a VIN? Am I going to get a call from there FBI for referring to the number on my '35 Chevy as a VIN? Doubt it.
It has always been illegal to alter the identification number on a vehicle.

Mike

Again, I'm with Mike here.
And my 1976 owners manual CLEARLY calls the number a "vehicle identification number".
In fact, here is a Pontiac manual from back in 1969 that calls it a "vehicle identification number".
How about the math on that one?

PS
It is in fact even illegal to alter the identification number on a tractor, no matter how old it is.

Thanks Stovblt for the clarification. It took me 4 years after I saw them to finally nail down the owner who at 81 years old told me he would never do anything with them. I am grateful he let me buy them from him and I hope to have the green one going by spring 2023 or sooner to take the farmer I bought them from for a ride. I will need to look closer at the plates to see in fact which letter is correct...it's just so weathered that it's had to see with my old eyes. Might there be a place on the frame where they stamped this number? I have a few other vintage trucks where the number is stamped on the frame as well.

And yes, the id number that ends in 2028 is for the green truck which is the one I plan to get road worthy. Not sure what I will do with the grain truck, but I will be taking a few parts off of her first. The owner even threw in another engine he had picked up, so one of these has to be good....I hope!!

Here is the casting number from the extra engine and from I've learned it was produce on May 28, 1935


Here is a shot of the engine in the green truck id number ending in 2028


Here is a shot of the coil location on the white grain truck id number ending in 7428


Here is shot under the floor board of the white grain truck which I believe shows a master brake cylinder, correct? The green dump truck does not have one that I've been able to locate and thus it would have mechanical brakes, correct?


Kind regards,
Roman

Hi Roman

To my knowledge Chevrolet didn't stamp the truck ID number anywhere on the frame during that era.
But I could be wrong!
35Mike will be the one who will know the definitive answer to that.

The location of the coil on the green truck, along with Chippers info on the year of the engine block numbers, and Mikes info on the differences between the 34's and 35's suggests a 1935 engine.

The white truck has the coil on the firewall, but has a master cylinder which I believe would suggest an early "high cab" 1936.
So I find that a bit confusing.

The one to ask here is Mike, and I'm sure he can get to the bottom of all this.
I look forward to what he has to say, as I'm finding this quite interesting!