VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 1927 Truck ...

I have just acquired the last mortal remains of (what I believe to be) a 1927 LM Series 1-ton truck. A data plate on the firewall lists the chassis weight as 2030 lbs. What can you tell me about it?

Are the front fenders, radiator shell and under radiator apron the same as auto?

'tis a shame: apparently the previous owner drove it home 30 years ago... parked it outdoors in his backyard... removed enough pieces to render it inoperable and, of course left the head off the engine. The cab is now nothing more than a wheelbarrow load of rotton wood.

Dear Mr. Chaney,
Congratulations on having salvaged this truck! I have been watching your post for a while now and have been waiting for some expert to tell us all about it but no one is speaking up! I have only a limited knowledge about this model but it is one of my favorites as far as '20-'30's Chev truck go. I guess you already know that this model was the first that Chevrolet offered with their own "steel closed cab". It came out in '27 as the LM Series, then with minor changes was brought into '28 as the LO and then the LP Series. Sorry, but I cannot answer your questions re: the fenders, grill, etc. I have looked in all of the reference books that I have and have come up with a blank. What I can say with a degree of certainty is that the wood frame in the cab is the same '27-'28 with only minor changes in the door hardware area; ie the Door Latch Pillar and the Door Regulator Board are somewhat different '27-'28, and in the configuration of the wood frame in the back of the cab near the Rear End Sill. These are small differences and probably reflect incremental improvments in design/engineering. This truck was a big step forward for Chevrolet in that it was the first model for which they made the sheet metal for the entire cab. Up to this point Chevrolet had only sold these chassis with their own sheet metal as fenders,hood,and cowl. The '27-'28 Chevrolet one-ton trucks are literally the first of their kind and deserve to be respected for this and I commend you for you efforts to preserve this truck! I encourage anyone with more info on this truck to speak up and answer Mr. Chaneys questions. Thanks, Bill Cartwright/KC Wood MFG

Tom,
I don't believe the fenders interchange with any passenger car. If they do, it would be a 1926 or earlier model.
I will hunt for my 4 cyl parts catalog and try to give you some more info.
Mike

Actually the 1926 series X as a 1 ton chassis was Chevrolet first all steel (outside, wood frame work) closed cab and Chevrolet also made a Panel body also for this chassis. It used the V series car sheet metal hood,fenders, lights from previous year. Most of the front sheet metal was from the previous year cars up till the 1934 truck which was the first completely non-car sheet metal. I think the 1927 truck radiator shell was more like the 27 car rather than the 26 car.

The front mudguards(fenders)on Chev trucks from 1926 - 1928,are similar to look at,at first glance.The difference between the car and truck mudguards is the length of the skirt panel,from the inside edge of the guard down to where it sits on top of the front chassis rail.
The truck guards have a longer skirt than the passenger cars,to make up for the larger tyres,
6.00 X 20" versus 4.50 X 21" for passenger cars as well as longer suspension travel.

Thanks for all your answers. Looking at the fenders, they do appear taller than I would expect on car units. The front apron looks larger also... to accomodate the beefier springs. The body has all but disappeared to rot... just a few frail sticks of wood left. From what photos I've found... this could be a very handsome truck, indeed.

The use of previous year passenger car sheet metal has been reported for many years. Though appearing to be from earlier models most sheet metal parts have differences (some minor, some major) differentiating truck from passenger cars. There are a few sheet metal (hoods) and other parts, like steering columns, that are indeed holdovers from previous years. Then there are the radiator shells having similar shapes that are steel in the early trucks versus aluminum or chromed brass. When the passenger cars changed the trucks did not always follow. I believe that this is what has perpetuated the myth that year earlier sheet metal was used in early trucks. Use of the period parts books will help understand which parts are actually identical.

Dear 35 Pickup Man,
You are right as usual re.the steel closed cab being introduced in '26 as the "X" Series 1 ton as opposed to '27 as the LM Series 1 ton.(At least according to Dammann in "75 Years of Chevrolet"). Sloppy research on my part.I have bought every book that I can find regarding early Chevrolet trucks. These include:(of course, the above mentioned ) "75 Years of Chevrolet" by George Dammann which I have found to be the most definitive; "Chevy Pickup Trucks" By Steve Statham which is pure uninformitive fluff; "Illustrated Chevrolet Pickup Buyer's Guide by Tom Brownell" which has some good info but is light on photos; and "Chevrolet Pickup Color History"by Tom Brownell and Mike Mueller which I found to have some good photos of a few select restored trucks but spare on hard info. Can you (or anyone else reading this) advise me of any other source of info/photos regarding early Chevrolet trucks? Especially anything that has info on the wood frames as obviously that is my primary personal interest. Thanks for any input on this. Bill Cartwright/KC Wood MFG

Bill, Early Chevrolet History by Doug Bell has some good information and pictures of Passenger cars 1912 to 1928 and 1918 to 1945 trucks. It's a Clymer publication. I found a copy on ebay when I bought mine.
Cleon

Here is one sent in by Chris from down under. Drool over it.

Hi Ray,
That's a picture of Rusell Crombie-Brown's 1928 Capitol "LO" seies truck.

I think he has a very nice ride.

Thanks Cleon,
I will look for this title next trip to Barnes & Nobles. I am not up-to-speed yet with ordering things over the internet.

Hey Ray,
That is one good looking truck! It is interesting to note the differences between the down-under version and the '28 Chev. 1-ton American version. Look at the door configuration especially: Rounded corner in the window, lower door window line, etc. I am currently e-mailing back and forth with a guy in Australia who has what he says is a factory Australian made Chevrolet '33 truck with Suicide Doors!He has sent photos and I can only say it is new to me! I guess the overseas factories had a certain amount of lee-way in the overall design of the vehicles. Thanks, Bill/KC Wood

Hey Cleon,
Thanks,again, for the input on book titles re. early Chev trucks. I am always on the lookout for new info on my favorite subject. I have just been to ebay trying to find the title you suggested. I got lost. Is this a book that is still in print? Do you think that I can order it through B & N or do I have to look on a bone-pile to find it? Thank you Mr. Eck, Bill/ KC wood MFG.

Hi Bill,
I did a google search using the title of the book. It is listed on Amazon.com. Also thanks for the notes and pictures regarding my truck. Everything has come to a stand still, I have got a lot of work in the shop right now.

Thanks
John

Bill, 2 copies are listed on Amazon.com. They are sure proud of them. $79.00 to $84.00. I doubt that the book would be any real help to you regarding wood patterns, but it does describe the changes made from year to year mechanically and in the sheet metal. I think if you check ebay now and then and the swap meets you can find one much more reasonable.
Cleon

For the book "Early Chevrolet History" by Doug Bell that is currently on eBay, go here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Earl...QQitemZ8026796806QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

Early Chevrolet History is also available through Abebooks.com. This is a world wide used book seller network. Used book stores post their used books on it from all over the world.
Under title enter ; Photo Album
Key word; Chevrolet
They're there for $30.00 and up. I picked mine up for $12 two years ago. It's a great site to visit from time to time. There are over a thousand books about old cars under the publishers name.(Floyd Clymer)Hope this helps.

Hey John/Woodbutcher,
Good to hear from you! I'm glad you are busy making a living, that's a good thing. What a treat it was getting to work on your truck! When you get back to your restoration project give me a call, I may be able to help 'splain things re. the wood parts we made for you. The drawings/photos should help but I would like to get to talk to you again about your truck. Thanks, Bill

Cleon, thanks for your reply! I will check out the Amazon site, but the swap-meets sound like they will fit my budget a little closer so I will look there too. Thanks Cleon, Bill

Junkyard Dog,
I'm checking e-bay out too, but doggone, Dog, I'm not comfortable yet doing biz over the internet. OK, I'm a dinosaur, but that's just me. Thanks, Bill

SSG26K,
OK, I'm looking at ABEBOOKS.COM. Besides being a major fan of old chevs, I'm also a committed bookworm with a wide range of maybe slightly weird
interests. So I will definitely go to ABEBOOKS.COM. I'm not trying to get too personal here but what's up with SSG26K? Just curious, Bill.

Hi Bill.... SSG are my initials and 26K is my car. I have one of those late '25 sedans which is a '26 body with a '25 drivetrain. Built around October of '25 and sold and titled as a '26. It's in very good shape for a driver.

you sure had me fooled i thought the ssg26k was a submarine no. i was on the 385 and 571 in new london ct.

One final question on the '27 truck: Is the radiator shell the same as the car?

Sorry Bill I'm not a very good swimmer, so I served my 5 1/2 years in the Army on dry land. Let's hope the sub-base stays around. Everytime you turn around someone is trying to close it. There's a lot of naval history down there in the southeast corner of the state.

Hi Tom,
According to my "Master Parts Price List",the radiator shell for the 1927 1 Ton truck is the same part no. as the "Capitol" AA series car,the 1/2 ton commercial chassis and truck models "Capitol" LM , LO and LP.
The part no. is: 360950 Price:$6.00

Hey SSG26K,
Thanks for the explanation on SSG26K and the recap on your car. The submarine reply was from PUSHROD. Although my younger brother was a nuclear engineer on a submarine in the bad-old-days of the Cold War, I have always been a civilian. Let me express my gratitude to you and Pushrod and all other former and current military personnel for your service to our Country. I salute you.

Hello Wizardsmith 278
Do you find in general that Chevy's in Australia are the same as in the USA? We have shipped parts to New Zealand twice, and as far as I know they worked OK. However, I have seen photos of vehicles from your part of the world where there appears to be a greater of lesser degree of difference. Thanks, Bill/KC Wood