new guy here again
i wonder if there is away to find out >say in my case< how many 1935 EB light duty trucks still exist.
i was talking to a ford guy the other day which most car nuts around here can only see fords.
he said he's never seen a 35 0r 36 chevy truck in the flesh.
i think i read that they only made around 6000 EB in 1935.
this was the woerst deppression year and they literaly wore the the bearings out of these trucks working them after they were bought because no one could afford to buy new ones for years.
you think there might be 10% left which woild be 600.

anybody
jeff

Lots still left in the Southwest

Jeff,

My records show the 1935 EB series trucks were built from 12-17-34 thru 8-30-35 and there was a total of 51,893 units built in the 10 assembly plants. The 1935 model year was only 9 months long, 1934 ran for all of 1934 and the 1936's were introduced in October of 1935.

Mike B :)

Jeff,
It may be hard to say. One factor against these was the body assembly method for the DB, EB, FB high cabs. It was formed sheet metal nailed to the wood frame without a lead joint. This meant that they probably came loose over time and with leaks, neglect, etc they fell apart. This is not a robust body design. Many times you see these with spot welds to hold the sheet metal together. It makes them somewhat easier to restore but my guess is most were having major body problems by the mid fifties. Unless you wanted to restore one in those days the saging doors and loose sheetmetal probably did not help the longevity of these trucks.

howdy half ton
yeah basicly the wood frame cars and trucks were horse buggies covered with metal.it never accured to me that back in that time regular folks did'nt buy pickup trucks they bought cars i read where 9 out of 10 pickups were bought comercially and worked hard from what i understand which was hard on the truck and also with neglect didn't hold up well with the wooden frame.what is strange is that the passenger door on my 1935 truck is loose and saggs but the driver door is perfect yet.i noticed that most of the wood in my truck looks like red or black oak which is a very tuff and sound hardwood,it could be white oak all i know is it's oak.
the wood kit makers now brag of useing ash which is not nearly as sound a wood in my opinon,so the newly repaired trucks probably w0n't last as long as the origanals.
i also want to thank our tec adviser mike boteler for correcting my error on saying there were only 6000 EB trucks built.i reread the article and they were speaking of one plant that built about 6000 EB trucks mine was built in flint michigan.
anyway thanks for the reply

jeff korner
southeast indiana

Jeff,
I think ash was the wood of choice for much of the auto body framing in the 20s and 30s. Yours might be oak but oak would be hard to nail into.
Given current roads and vehicle usage, a properly restored car or truck should last forever with any hardwood framing.
I will try and take a look for your stuff this weekend.

Mike