January/February 2024 Vintage Truck
/The January/February 2024 issue of the magazine is available in our gift shop now and will be available on newsstands soon. Our cover feature is David Bosley’s 1951 Chevrolet Model 3104 De Luxe half-ton. Story by Robert Gabrick • Photos by Al Rogers
Cover Story | 1951 Chevrolet Model 3104 De Luxe half-ton
POPPOP’s PICKUP
David Bosley’s 1951 Chevrolet Model 3104 De Luxe half-ton is a Forester Green heirloom!
“Yes, they’re ADVANCE-DESIGN trucks, new from roof to road—from headlight to taillight, with performance that will give you better and more profitable results on any delivery or hauling job.” This 1947 Chevrolet advertisement was a siren song to those eager for something new after years of wartime rationing, a limited supply of civilian consumer goods, and the curtailment of civilian truck production.
Chevrolet’s Advance-Design succeeded the 1941–46 AK series, which had been extremely popular. Getting to market ahead of Chevrolet’s restyled postwar passenger cars, the Advance-Design trucks and GMC counterparts represented the first redesign of any General Motors vehicle following World War II. Introduced June 28, 1947, Advance-Design trucks were offered with minor model year variations until March 25, 1955, when Chevrolet’s Task Force truck debuted. Dodge offered its restyled postwar trucks in December 1947, while Ford did so in January 1948.
Sales literature characterized the Advance-Design pickup as an “all-around utility truck [that] meets the requirements of nearly every business.” A postwar suburban housing boom was much in evidence as millions of returning service personnel bought homes through the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act of 1944 (aka the GI Bill), and truck sales literature focused on work-related tasks. Business was the market for the Advance-Design truck, and nothing suggested it would be at home in a suburban driveway. A Chevrolet sales brochure declared its pickup was strictly utilitarian: “One of the most versatile trucks in the entire Chevrolet line is the pickup, an all-purpose vehicle of use to almost any business. Features include large load space, hardwood flooring, two stake pockets to permit installation of extended sides for extra load height.”
To read more about the 1947 Studebaker, pick up a copy of the November/December 2023 issue of Vintage Truck magazine!
Articles in this issue include:
FEATURES
A Brush with Greatness
Lee and Pam Doud’s 1910 Brush Model D Delivery Car was a perfect city truck!
Story by Brad Bowling, Photos by Al RogersPoppop’s Pickup
David Bosley’s 1951 Chevrolet Model 3104 De Luxe half-ton is a Forester Green heirloom!
Story by Robert Gabrick, Photos by Al RogersRestoration 2.0
The Stauffer family’s 1954 Ford F-100 benefited from a booster shot of TLC!
Story by Daniel Perkins, Photos by Brad BowlingSnowed Under?
The 1978 Dodge with Sno-Commander package is “Ready to go when you receive it!”
Story by Bob Tomaine, Photos by Joshua ElzeyCrack’d
Or “How to drive a truck for 34 years with a hole in the engine block.”
Story by Ted Kalvitis, Photos by Dacy Berry
DEPARTMENTS
Letter from the Editor
Letters to the Editor
The Road Less Traveled: Stutz Pak-age-car
The Workhorse: 1962 Ford F-250
Books in the Bed: Reviews by Robert Gabrick
Aid for the Anxious Amateur: A Rusty Revival
Classifieds
Granny Gear: Kids Today
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