Stored Fifty Years: 1955 Chevrolet 3100 Pickup
One of the most popular clothing stores in the nineties was Old Navy. Somehow, they managed to position a postwar Chevrolet “Advanced Design” pickup in nearly every store. All of them were painted navy blue with Old Navy emblazoned on the doors. That was no small feat considering that they were a national chain. After several years, their marketing shifted to a more contemporary campaign, and the Chevy trucks were disposed of. These trucks still pop up from time to time, and many have been returned to the road after their stint in the store. This 1955 Chevrolet 3100 pickup for sale on eBay in Pleasant Hill, Oregon appears to be one of those Old Navy refugees but is claimed to be a three-owner truck that was dry-stored for fifty years. With an interesting combination of authentic patina and reliably rebuilt mechanicals, is this truck worth more than the current $7,500 bid?
Some vehicles take on iconic status because of their sheer numbers, such as Volkswagen Beetles and Ford Model Ts. Others take on that status as part of the culture, such as black Pontiac Trans Ams and orange Dodge Chargers. Chevrolet Advanced design pickups earned their place in our culture with a combination of both. Introduced after World War II, these trucks were produced from 1947 until the beginning of 1955. Each year, these trucks took first place in the light truck sales race. Honest good looks and reliability that was in no small part due to Chevrolet’s “Stovebolt” inline-six-cylinder engine were key reasons that these trucks were produced in huge numbers.
While they certainly earned their iconic status in the immediate postwar period, Old Navy’s use of these trucks in their advertising and their stores exposed these attractive pieces of rolling Americana to new generations. Most of us who lived through Old Navy’s rise ended up with a T-shirt or two with one of these trucks on the front. They were good T-shirts too, cheap and long-lasting. All of the Old Navy Chevrolets I saw were of this generation of trucks, and none of them had an engine, transmission, or driveshaft in them. The paint jobs would have brought shame to the most disreputable Maaco franchise.
So, when Old Navy disposed of them instead of junking them en masse, those who ended up with one had to insert the drivetrain of their choice to get the truck back on the road. I am unsure as to how this sale was done and am eager to hear from any readers who have information on this. At any rate, repowering a rear-wheel-drive Chevrolet is not a very difficult or costly task. The only question is if you want the old reliable inline-six or a small block V-8. There are other options, but these are the two easiest routes.
The truck you see here is claimed to have been stored for fifty years in a dry garage before the seller purchased it. The seller is the third owner of the truck and has put a lot of work into restoring it mechanically. The ad states that all of the systems were restored to factory configuration whenever possible. That means that the truck is still powered by an inline six-cylinder engine backed by a four-speed transmission. That transmission’s first gear is the expected “granny low” that many trucks of the era used to get heavy loads started from a dead stop. Regular driving found most users starting in second gear, as the inline six had more than enough torque on tap to not stall.
The seller makes the argument in the article that the 1955 versions of this generation of Chevrolet trucks are the most desirable. These were equipped with an open driveshaft and in many ways were a bridge between the older design and the new one that entered showrooms later in 1955. The argument is also made that the seller tried to keep the truck as authentic as possible to preserve the “feel” that these old trucks had. An unfinished project, this truck comes with some parts that are not yet installed and are being sold because of the owner’s health. It is said to run and drive fine, but there is no mention as to why the cab is tan but much of the rest of the truck is blue.
In all, it is a neat truck that is still in good enough shape to be a daily driver for a patient owner. With the single bid sitting at $7,500, it will be interesting to see what it sells for if bidding surpasses the reserve.
Do you remember the Old Navy trucks? Would you drive this 1955 or finish the restoration? Please share your experiences and thoughts in the comments.
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Comments
Neat old truck. I’d guess this truck wasn’t blue from the factory thus the tan interior paint. This would be a good candidate to repaint in the original Old Navy blue and go have some fun with it.
My dad has a 1950 model. Same blue outside, same tan paint on the interior. It’s been in the family since new. They were all tan on the inside. This one looks like it was blue from the factory judging by the paint on the firewall. Looks exactly like Dad’s.
This is the 1955 “first series” made until the new design ’55 models came out in early 1955. They share most features with the ’54s, that being the year that the ’47 design got a refresh. Most obvious differences are the grille and one piece curved windshield. The ’53 and earlier ones had a two piece flat panel windshield, and the 5 bar grille. Apparently the dashboard has a visor on it that the early ones don’t have (haven’t seen enough stock ones to know!).
The interior metal in these trucks was generally painted a silvery color, kind of pewter…. whatever the exterior color was. Here again, not too many stock ones left to look at.
Good start for a project, looks fairly complete and solid.
Our village’s 1954, a one-ton stake truck, didn’t have that visor.
Good catch.
Door jambs are tan making me thing it wasn’t blue when new.
I’m not an expert on Chevrolet trucks, but I worked with a number of them of this era. The small village I worked for, as a teen fresh out of high school…was almost-all Chevrolet trucks. Everything from a 1949 with a liftgate, to move the odd heavy item around (it got more use than you’d think) to a newish C60 dumper with a snowplow. In between, we had a forest of C-30 stake trucks, and C-20 and Apache 20 3/4-ton pickups.
Between 1949 and 1966, all interiors were painted silver. I have no clue why – it was one of the most-unattractive decorative plans I could imagine. I believe, in the mid-1960s, with the “Custom” premium package, you could get a truck interior to match the upholstery or the exterior paint, but I never saw it, in the 7 trucks of that era we had. You’d have expected it in the Advanced-Design era, where trucks were trucks. Not so much 18 years later.
With the unnamed 1967 reworking, the painted metal, and the new standard crash padding, were the color of the exterior. It was an improvement…years later, I worked (twenty-plus years) on the railroad, and GM-EMD used that same soulless silver paint on the interior of their locomotives. Only in the 1990s did they change to light green or cream color, depending on the year of the order.
I expect, if this was an Old Navy display-glider, it was painted to match the body. A floor decoration was to give a nice vibe, not to show how inhuman the trucks of the time actually were.
The old navy ones ive seen unfortunately had the engines and transmissions removed from them, guess they didnt want oild leaks on the floor. This is just a great truck. As much as id love to restore it to its former glory, part of me would leave it look at is and drive it and enjoy it.
Sorry, Driveinstile, for inadvertently selecting the “Report Comment” feature. I actually endorsed your comment and intended to select the thumbs-up icon, but I missed, somehow. I gotta slow down!
It’s it’s it’s just so beautiful
No.1 it has not been 50 years since navy stores had them in their locations. No.2 I’m always skeptical how it’s always someone’s helth.. no it’s their wallets that’s getting thin an the wife complaining. No 3 this cab was not a navy cab it has been switched. Etc never seen that rear bumper either on any of them in their stores.. just tell the truth an put it up for sale. Honesty is the best policy..
This particular truck was never on display at an Old Navy store according to the seller.
It definitely should be restored to stock configuration since it’s already so close to original now.
Amazing what these bring these days…
It’s an Old Navy truck just because it’s dark blue? Did I miss something?
Only that Old Navy was the only known source of large numbers of them, in “storage” and once taken out, likely to be fitted with non-original drivelines.
Nobody else has a fleet of them that later needed to be sold, quickly.
Jeff never said THIS truck was an Old Navy truck: it was a lead-in for the article about THESE type of Chevy trucks…
Jeesh!!
As with government and politics, “for every action there is an equal and opposite OVERREACTION” -or lack of reaction which is obviously not the case with this article!
I never understand why whenever any is doing something to an old Chevy the only choices mentioned are a small block V 8 of any vintage although now it has to be a new crate motor. Nobody goes to a junkyard to find something now. Why doesn’t anyone ever mention a 63 or newer Chev Six? Lots of performance parts around and it should bolt in with no problem.
Those bumpers were aftermarket dealer installed. Similar bumpers were used up until the 70’s or 80’s unless the optional factory bumpers were installed, and a lot of folks had the dealers replace the thin factory bumper. Most of these trucks were worked, so a strong bumper with a flat step and provision for a trailer ball were required.
Seems every one of these I ever drove was a dark color, black or dark green. The dash always matched the outside. Maybe they had been repainted, I don’t know.
I’d love it more if it was a five-window.
I like this truck for what it is and really don’t care about its relationship with OLD NAVY, fact or fiction. There’s a chain of steak and rib Barbecue pits in Canada called Montana’s (Yeah, I thought so too; they also have Boston Pizza, which is not located in Boston) that had a vintage truck (red) up in the rafters. They were also minus their engines and transmissions. So much better if they were actually driven…
Boss right here! Strong on the truck game
These were Advance Design Trucks, no ed. Came out in mid 1947, newer looking than the passenger cars. Restyled post war cars came out in late 1948. I’m 81 years old and was there.
I bought a 1954 5 window Chevy pickup from the 2nd owner the color was original turquoise blue with a tan interior and it had the same step bumper
I have been a gearhead since birth. My Grandpa had me on his lap driving the 3000 Ford tractor going to cut hay fields/plow/brush hog at three years old. He would work the brakes and throttle and i would steer. My Dad had me on his lap on I77 in WVa in his 66 GTO around the same age. My first vehicle (12 yrs old) was a 49 Deluxe cab my Granpa and Dad bought me. It had four new tires on four new five spoke mag wheels.Baby blue, very nice looking truck for $400.00. I learned alot working on her for 4 years before i got my license. I wanted to install a 392 Chrysler Hemi I found, in all places, powering a 66 Ford Econoline/Falcon van, surely a scary ride. I sold it and bought a 68 Charger R/T in 1980. I sure wish I had her and my Grandpa back.
The difference between the 54 and 55.1 was, The 54 had a Torque tube where as the 55.1 had a regular driveshaft
Nice sell at 16.7k
I’ve been building and restoring these trucks for about 35 years. So yes that truck is a true 55 first series. Just a bit of history on it. Sales were so bad in 54 that they didn’t sell all the trucks they had built in that year. Ford had already come out with a V8 and the new square body truck. Chevy’s new design of the dash, bull nose, 12volt system and a one piece windshield. Was not enough. So the redrilled the id plates and issues them as a 55 first series. The motor was a new 235 Inline 6. Before was a 216 babbet bearing. Trans would have been a 3 speed on the colom in half tons and a new open drive shaft with 4.10 All others 3/4 and 1 tons got 4 speeds with the granny gear. Interiors were champagne color. This was also the first year to the flat need rails on top and A very distinct designs in side the bed side. If you look at the pic it has a rainbow design in side the bed. The gauges and glove box for are a one year only. I’ve owned 15 on them and have 2 I drive every day.
I bought the truck. Doing nore restoration work on it. Paid 20M for it. I love it. I want to leave it with the original patina appearance for now. Leon