I Bought An Old Navy Truck

[OLDNaVy3600]

so i bought the local old navy truck from the Pacific View Mall in Ventura, CA

im learning alot about it

its a 1952 GMC 3600 1/2 ton

so its a long bed....

made in pontiac, Michigan

me and my buddy were under the hood and noticed everything that WASN'T blasted with cheap blue paint was a military green, especially the fire wall

to its a good chance it might have been an old....well...."NAVY" truck.

it has not visible bondo anywhere.....wherever i knock...it is staight metal
and i can see every little ding and dent, which are few at that

all original dash/gauges, seat, body, frame, wood in bed(now rotted), tail gate, glass and serial #

warrentied and 90 horse power at 3600 rpm ha

its been decorated with repoduction chevy parts

which im shaving off

the grill and bumpers are sweet, brand new

tho the bumper is chevy, im keepin it

its a neat truck

if anybody knows more about these old navy trucks id love to learn more about them.....this is definately gonna be a fun project.

hopefully ill get it runnning by end of summer and you might see me at primer nats' 08







the bed is mounted wrong and the runner boards gotta go....there thrashed

[Norselander]

It sounds as though you found one of the good ones. Cool!

[streetstar]

Originally Posted by Norselander

It sounds as though you found one of the good ones. Cool!

Thats what i was thinking -- you did good with that

Another thread last year detailed stories of wild bodywork on some of those trucks


Oh, and welcome to the boards !

[drummin89]

looks great, I thought they pulled the original motors out of them for use in the stores, or are you talking about having it running by installing a v8?

Also, just so you don't end up ordering the wrong parts as some 1/2 ton and 3/4 ton parts arn't interchangable.

for gmc
- series 100 model 1664 is a 1/2 ton which has a shortbed
- series 100 model 1665 is a 1/2 ton which has a longbed
- series 150 model 1666 is a 3/4 ton which has a longbed

for chevy
- series 3100 model 3104 is a 1/2 ton which had a shortbed and 6 lug rims
- series 3600 model 3604 is a 3/4 ton which had a longbed and 8 lug rims

page 10 and 11 in the lmc truck cataglog explains how to read the serial numbers and chassis id http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/ca/full.asp?page=10

Anyways nice find for sure, sounds like its a pretty solid truck. Ive heard of many that were just slapped together with bondo and painted.

Whats your plans for it. And we love pics.

[OLDNaVy3600]

yah it has nothin.....im just gonna drop a 350 in it with a 700R4

im gonna bag it to make it lay frame with a floating rear end..rough up the paint everywhere and make it a rat until i decide wat im gonna do with the paint, FLATZ has some cool flat pearl paint btw

im doing a mild french to the fenders to come up where the chome pieces are now
...nothin radical

the french will end where the headlight begins

powder coated black steelys with a chrome nip and lug nuts

bias plys white walls



thanks for all the parts links that helps

[drummin89]

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/ca/t.asp
http://www.classicparts.com/default.asp
http://www.brotherstrucks.com/
http://www.chevsofthe40s.com/
http://www.oldchevytrucks.biz/47_55/t1.asp
http://www.golden-state-parts.com/order-parts.htm
http://www.mothertruckers.net/catalog/index.php
www.americanclassic.com
http://www.obschevy.com/

just a few good links for parts

[drummin89]

Sounds cool, what are you going to use for the front suspension?

[OLDNaVy3600]

mustang II front end

[Atomsplitter]

Congrat's Old Navy, welcome to the world of AD Trucks!

Are you sure yours is a GMC? Is that what the ID tag inside the drivers door indicates? If it really is a GMC then they've put on Chevy fenders, hood and grill because the GMC's are different. I understand some of these trucks were thrown together with various parts from various years for display ONLY. Be careful with the doors as the latches changed sometime around 52-53 and they may not be compatable. 52 was a transition year for door handles, vent windows, etc.

There was a real scam up here in Ontario, Canada regarding these trucks. The trucks were supposedly given away for FREE up here and the stores I had called knew nothing about what was happening to their particular truck in their stores. I was told that head office was removing them and some guys came and took them away. I think someone at head office grabbed as many as they could and are selling them as I have seen them on various online classifieds.

Nice find, sounds like you have a good solid base to start building on. There are a few other sites on the net you can use as references as well as this one that you should check out. Alan Horvath has a site with lots of specific information of door and hood alignment, wiring, etc.
Good Luck!

[OLDNaVy3600]

i got way lucky....the fenders are chevy on a gmc....but im shaving the truck anyways so it doesnt matter....so the hood, doors w/ (door poppers), fenders are all gonna be smoothed out....and on top of that the doors open, close, and lock great as is.

if i was restoring it back to original stock id have a big problem ha

the tag on the inner driver side door reads General Motors as well as the dash and tailgate...

all the original rivets are still holding everything together from the beginning of the cab all the way back to the tailgate

there was another old navy truck in the town next to us and it was a frankintruck/bondo beast

thanks for the welcome and the tips...i would have never known about 1952 being a transition year for some parts

[Atomsplitter]

This is what I would like mine to look like .... maybe in about 5 years when my budget $$$ catches up with what I want to do to it!

[ofnaman]

This is a dumb question, but, is old navy getting rid of all of their truck's? All of the stores here in reno no longer have them. I asked a sales person, but she did not know.

[OLDNaVy3600]

yah
if you see their new comercials....they are going for a modern funky hip look or something

.....there were all over ebay for around $800-$2000

alot of people bought and resold for a profit


most are long gone now tho

[72armyswbtruck]

I saw some of those on Evilbay thought that they were cool. There was another thread on here about the old navy trucks also. Have fun with your new truck

[My72ChevyC10]

All of the trucks that were displayed in the Old Navy stores have been removed. Old Navy, which is owned by the Gap corporation, is trying to revamp their image to improve their slumping sales. From the information I've gathered off of various websites, the cost of buying a truck from Old Navy was sometimes what it cost you to remove the truck from their store. I just looked at one site that had purchased a lot of Old Navy trucks for resell. The site indicated that all of their trucks had been sold. Some of the trucks are in the hands of private buyers, so I expect you'll see a few pop up on e-bay from time to time. I bought my truck off of e-bay from a private seller. I'm planning on dropping a V8 with an automatic in my truck. Since I think the trucks represent a neat slice of Americana, the exterior will probably retain the Old Navy theme.

[Atomsplitter]

He My72ChevyC10,

I used to work at GM Oshawa, the same autoplant that my truck was made at! It is kind of cool to own a little bit of history, even if it is hot rodded.

[OLDNaVy3600]

1956cameo,

their just renewing there image i guess...dunno y tho

thats the only reason i would go in that store without my girlfriend latching on to my arm and dragging me in till her nails popped off

Originally Posted by My72ChevyC10

All of the trucks that were displayed in the Old Navy stores have been removed. Old Navy, which is owned by the Gap corporation, is trying to revamp their image to improve their slumping sales. From the information I've gathered off of various websites, the cost of buying a truck from Old Navy was sometimes what it cost you to remove the truck from their store. I just looked at one site that had purchased a lot of Old Navy trucks for resell. The site indicated that all of their trucks had been sold. Some of the trucks are in the hands of private buyers, so I expect you'll see a few pop up on e-bay from time to time. I bought my truck off of e-bay from a private seller. I'm planning on dropping a V8 with an automatic in my truck. Since I think the trucks represent a neat slice of Americana, the exterior will probably retain the Old Navy theme.

[1956cameo]

Thanks for the info. Now I have NO reason to ever go back to Old Navy. On a different note they just finished a Bass Pro Shop 10 minutes from my house and they have a sweet 1953 chevy truck in there as a display. I think this one actually could run and drive out the front door.

[SixFour]

dang, the dude sittin' in that truck is ugly!

[My72ChevyC10]

Atomsplitter,
You are right about the history part. Whenever I go to car shows or cruise-ins, I really enjoy reading about the history of a vehicle. That's really cool that you own a truck that was made at the same plant you worked at.

[Atomsplitter]

SixFour,

I never noticed there was a driver, I usually only notice if they have blond hair and big head lights....sorry I'm just a man (I can't be changed).

Here's a couple of other nice ones (trucks).

[Atomsplitter]

forgot one

[OLDNaVy3600]

anybody know the differences between a.....

1947-53 CHEVY HOOD vs. 1947-1953 GMC HOOD?

im switching grills... dont know if i need to switch anything else.....

keep in mind...my front fenders will be shaved and my hood will become a one piece shaved

i need a gmc grill like this one!


i better start hitting the swap meets

[biglou55]

If it was a real navy military truck wouldntthe paint underneath be blue and not green ?????

[OLDNaVy3600]

after vietnam my grandpa became a drill sargent for the army and drove alot of these trucks...and according to him almost all military trucks (navy,army,airforce etc.) were all the same green color...

but if anyone else has some insight on 1950s military i would love to know if Navy trucks and Army trucks were different colors