As cabs seem to be identical on '55 & '56 half tonners, I rely on fender side-trim & the hood ornament (on hood nose) to identify & differentiate. To the best of my knowledge:

- cab fender side trim was mounted below the crease on '55 pickups and above the crease on '56 models

- hood ornament was "fatter" on '55 pickups and longer and skinnier on '56 pickups

Is the foregoing correct? As so many have been rodded, those trim pieces are often no longer in place. Any other tricks to identify & differentiate a '55 from a '56?


CDP

You're already ahead of me. I could never tell the difference. Same with '58/'59.

Mike

For '58/59 I also reference hood ornament (on hood nose):

- '58 has horizontal wings fanning out from Chevy bow tie, while

- '59 hood ornament is fatter/more compact

But again, if trim has been nosed & shaved, I can't tell the difference either

Related question: How does one distinguish a 3100 pickup of 1954 from a so-called "first series" of 1955 (other than looking under the vehicle where one can see that the '54 has a torque tube while the first series '55 is open drive shaft)

Any other distinguishing give-aways?

There are such things as some items were painted different colors but after 65+ years these items are not dependable.

As Gene mentioned, if they have not been changed over the years, the hood side emblems are different, the accent color on the grille bars...I am at a loss right now for other items.

Or the most obvious would be the serial number plate on the driver's door post being 55 or 54 depending on which year.

Are gauge clusters on 1955/56/57/58 & 59 pickups identical?

CDP

Please allow me to re-word the question.

If one is at a swap meet and a number of V-shaped Chev dashes (gauge housings) are on a table, is there any reason that one chosen at random would not fit a '58 Chev pickup?

All parts are the same except the 1955 late seconed trucks and all 1956-1959 trucks had pin type connectores on the back of the gas gauge.... Does not say what type of connector was on the back of the early 2nd design models.
There will be an ink stamped date on the back of the speedometer.