Advance-Design was a truck series by Chevrolet, their first major redesign after WWII. It was billed as a larger, stronger, and sleeker design in comparison to the earlier AK Series. First available on Saturday June 28, 1947, these trucks were sold with various minor changes over the years until March 25, 1955, when the Task Force Series trucks replaced the aging Advance-Design model.
The same basic design family was used for all of its trucks including the Suburban, panel trucks, canopy express and cab overs. The cab overs used the same basic cab configuration and similar grille but used a shorter and taller hood and different fenders. The unique Cab Over fenders and hood required a custom cowl area which makes the Cab Over Engine cabs and normal truck cabs incompatible with one another while all truck cabs of all weights interchange.
From 1947 until 1955, Chevrolet trucks were number one in sales in the United States, with rebranded versions sold at GMC locations.
In 1951 doors now have vent windows, mid-year change from 9-board bed to 8 boards per bed. Last year for 80 MPH speedometer, chrome window handle knobs, and chrome wiper knob. New serial number codes: JP 1/2 ton, JR 3/4 ton,& JS 1 ton.
Before…
This truck came to us in pieces and we will be finishing up the modifications that the client wants us to make.
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During…
Received all the parts back from the media blaster. Next steps will be to clean them up, spray them with epoxy sealer, then inspect them for damage.
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All media blasted parts are now epoxy sealed.
The new truck bed has been assembled.
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We have gotten the new cabs in, we will be combining these into one.
To prepare, we have welded metal supports to stabilize the cabs.
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One of the cabs had the roof and rear removed.
The roll cage has been custom built for the cab.
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This custom truck cab will have a suicide doors.
The brand new frame has arrived at the shop and we are working on opening up the crate.
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The customized frame from Street Rod Garage has been completely unpacked.
The cabs, fender and core support on the new frame.
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Tack welded the front body to the rear body, we will finish the rear-end alignment in order to weld these together. The rear door jamb has been braced to keep the measurements correct.
Fabricating the rear door jamb opening.
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We put the truck bed on to see how the whole truck will look.
Our tech is installing new metal fabrication to the floor to seam them together.
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Our tech has now welded in the metal fabrication that is holding the cabs together.
We’ve got the back of the cab started to weld up to the rest of the cab, all the way down to the cab corner.
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Working on welding patches in to complete the floor.
Cut out some donor pieces from the original body roof to transplant to the new body.
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Aligning up the truck bed to get ready to completely install it.
Working on welding the donor pieces taken from the original cab to complete the roof of the custom cab.
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We are fabricating the running board to fit the extended cab.
Progress is being made on the roof structure.
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We have completed the fabrication on the passenger side running board.
We have the hood and grille mocked up.
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Doing some body work to the custom built running boards.
We now have a rolling truck.
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Working on getting the fender installed.
The rear roll cage is about to be custom built for the cab.
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The roll cage has been completed.
Getting the engine lined up and ready to be installed.
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We have gotten the engine lined up and ready to bolt in.
The passenger side running board has been welded on.
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Working on fabricating the clearance for the transmission tunnel.
The fabricated transmission tunnel has been tack welded in.
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Mocking up the drivers side running board.
Installed the front bumper.
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The gas tank has been installed.
The tailgate has been installed on the bed.
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The new tail lights have been installed.
The new Coy One Piece Smoothie 18X8 rims and tires have been installed.
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The client wanted 14 inch wide tires, so we did a mini tub kit to accommodate.
Working on getting the interior tub welded in.
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We cut out a section of the rear fender for the new fuel filler neck and gas cap.
Here is the template for the new custom fabricated gas door.
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We have completed building the custom fuel hose.
The wiper motor has been installed under the dash.
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We have installed the steering column and steering wheel.
The new master cylinder has been installed on the firewall.
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The first of the brake lines have been fabricated to fit perfectly with the master cylinder.
The front bumper has been completely fabricated.
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Eddie Motor Sports strut operated billet hood hinges have been mocked up.
We used the old seat material to cut the patterns for the new material.
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The first working door latch has been installed on the passenger door.
The patterns have been cut out of the new material.
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We have glued the new cut out material onto the foam pieces.
We have begun sewing the pattern pieces to the foam and trimming the excess foam off.
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Mocking up the front seats in the cab.
We have begun sewing up the pieces into the new seat covers.
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The rear panels have been sewn together and sewn to the front.
The rear seat has been the first to be covered in the new upholstery.
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We have the headliner board and have begun shaping it to make a snug fit.
We have cut out the hole for the overhead console.
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Test fitting the door panel to make sure it fits properly.
We are using the passenger door panel to make duplicates for the other doors.
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Preparing the firewall for primer by doing some minimal body work.
