Since we’re doing odd-ball trucks today, this is a new one for me: a step van built on a conventional Chevy Advance Design light truck chassis. It’s obviously been converted into a camper of sorts, but its origins are unmistakable. My nephew Aidan shot it in the Bay Area, and needless to say, I love it, as I do all of these vintage Chevy trucks. I could see my 23 year-old self behind the wheel (or in the bed) of this truck.
Chevrolet and GMC had been selling their “Dubl-Duti” step vans since the thirties; this one is from 1948.
But then I remembered a Ford Railway Express Agency delivery truck from the late 40s that a friend of mine in Iowa City overwintered in out on some folks’ land; it was just like the one above, but a fair amount worse for wear. So clearly conventional trucks with step-in cabs and sliding doors were also in use back then.
Who knows what this truck spent its days delivering. But it’s survived, and is still at it.
The back doors and bumper have given way to a windowed wall, as has the side wall. Re-purposed, if not very advanced any more.
Sweet looking truck. I’ve always liked survivors. I’d buy this and make it my own little camper, to travel between Tacoma, Washington and Grayland, Washington. 🙂
Until the late 60’s or early 70’s depending on the mfg you could order a pickup based Cowl and Chassis for custom building a walk in truck or what ever you fancied like for example the old Good Humor trucks. The cowl was a little unique obviously lacking the windshield but with a ~2″ flat strip around the dash and down to the floor area for attaching the body. Of course they still make such things for making buses but they are all now medium duty trucks.
International with their tie up with the Metropolitan Body company offered a pickup based walk-in that you could order directly through the dealer off of the regular order sheets in the 50’s, they called it the Metroette.
Being IH and specializing in work ready vehicles they could be ordered with a specific vocation in mind. Just add your signage and go to work.
And the milk version which arrived insulated and refrigerated, ready to work the next day, after plugging it i overnight. The appeal was easier service thanks to the regular hood vs the Metro and other walk-in trucks built on a stripped chassis.
According to Crismon’s book, they kept the Metroette and milk truck versions in production through at least ’65, with the same ’55-56 S Series front clip. My guess being that Borden – a big customer – and the other dairies weren’t all that into stocking every fender and hood change. I remember seeing these as a kid, although our local dairy was a loyal Divco customer.
Another variation offered over the years was known as the windshield and chassis which was the cowl and chassis with a windshield added. Here is a rare Metro version but they were also available based on the pickup front end in some years. At one point or another all of the US mfgs got into the act even Jeep offered a cowl and chassis version of the FC series trucks.
I would guess that the factory frame doghouse would have been fairly popular into the 50s. Here is a 51 Studebaker 2R6.
Ford kept the cowl and chassis as well as the windshield and chassis versions in production at least until the 70’s.
That’s a hoot – Des Moines Register signage and a Maryland sample license plate.
I like it, but something like this would be might cozy inside. No wonder step vans and even old school buses have been so much more popular for camper conversions. There is an awful lot of real estate devoted to the engine and front suspension.
Just saw that exact same van near 4th Street in Berkeley last week!
It is the same truck.
I know the Berkeley truck very well and have admired it for years. I checked a photo I took of it years ago, and the license plate is the same.
So it would be right to assume Paul was in Berkeley when these photos were taken? Wonder how far from home this Chevy wanders?
Cool truck, but there should be taillights. I imagine the survival rate is not terribly high.
Medium duty chassis with dual rear wheels and sliding door bodies were pretty common in New York City for newspaper distribution when I lived there in the 70s and 80s. Since newspapers are a high density load these were short wheelbase trucks and the overall effect was similar to an armored bank truck. My best guess is that they hit max weight well before max volume so the easier servicing of a long nose outweighed the shorter OAL of a forward control layout.
*VERY* nice Paul ! .
I love these and had to run away a few years back when a Buddy found one in amazingly good shape in Long Beach (maybe Wilmington) , Ca. for sale , it has been sitting since the 1970’s and had nary a dent nor speck of rust anywhere .
-Nate
Most US sourced trucks arrived here complete to the windscreen allowing what became known as a colonial cab to be built onto the chassis or a van body if required.
Presumably they did that to avoid the import duty or at least pay a lower rate as an incomplete vehicle.
Cowl and chassis are still available from Freightshaker for school bus use. Maybe IH also. We have several IH 3800 series with Blue Bird bodies at work from the mid to late 90’s year models. As a kid, some friends had an old Ford milk truck with the top of the body cut off and a slide in truck camper installed. A very slow ride up the mountains with the 300 in 6.
IH still makes a cowl and chassis but they mainly sell them to their IC bus subsidiary. Freightliner bought Thomas Built so they too sell their cowl and chassis mainly to themselves.
Ford got squeezed out during the bus maker/chassis maker consolidation. Bluebird started making their own chassis shutting out Ford there. Navistar bought AmTran and downplayed the option of the Ford B-series chassis and eventually stopped offering that as an option.
Fiatsler also sells a cab and chassis version of their Ducato van. I imagine we’ll see plenty of motorhomes built on it.
Very cool van, these were coach built vans, the body could be from a number of small firms that built these types of vans: Boyertown, Montpelier, Dekalb or Schnable to name a few. This Chevy is a Schnable