By Greg McKinney Mineola Texas

Ever imagined a corolla pickup truck? The first Chevy trucks were what a modern Corolla chassis cab would look like. The first Chevrolet trucks were more chassis cabs than trucks. The Chevrolet Pickup truck program was launched as a response to Ford launching the model TT pickup truck. When Chevrolet owner Billy Durant merged with GM in 1918, he wanted a truck to compete with the Ford Model TT.

The 1918 Chevrolet One-Ton.

In 1918, Chevrolet introduced the Model 490 Light Delivery Chassis, and this was the foundation for their first “pickup truck”. It was called the 1918 one-ton. The second truck was a one-ton 1918 Chevrolet Model T “Ton Truck” shared with GMC. It had a payload capacity rating of one ton and sold for $1245 retail. They gave consumers a cheap and modular platform to build on. Its steering wheel, gear shift lever, instrument panel, and gauge cluster were also lifted from the passenger car. They were sold as a chassis cowl or with an express body with or without an eight-post curtain top. A chassis cowl included a chassis with an engine, 3-speed transmission, hood, front fenders, headlights, and grille. Both 1918 trucks were offered with the Overhead Valve 171-cubic-inch (2.8 L) four-cylinder, known as the OHV, producing twenty-four hp (18 kW) up to 26 hp. By 1921 it had a speedometer, an ammeter, dome lights, and headlight dimmers.

The Chevrolet Superior

The third truck was the Chevrolet Superior truck version. Launched in 1923, The Chevrolet Superior had the same engine as the series 490. The commercial chassis was priced at 425$, while the Express truck was priced at 525$. They also came with Duco lacquer paint which was the first quick-drying multi-color line of nitrocellulose lacquers.

The Chevrolet Series AA

 The fourth truck in the series was the series AA trucks, launched in 1927. The AA series was intended to supplement the model 490 series. The truck had the same engine. This was the first time an accelerator pedal was used in a Chevrolet. It also had a gas gauge installed in the dashboard and a centrally installed rearview mirror.

The Chevrolet Series AB

The fifth truck was a Series AB truck, introduced in 1928. It also had an OHV engine, but this time the output was increased up to thirty-five hp (26 KW). Four-wheel braking was now also introduced.

The Chevrolet Series AC

The sixth truck was the Chevrolet Series AC International Light Delivery, introduced in 1929. This had a new forty-six hp inline six 3.2 L overhead valve engine, nicknamed the Stove bolt six. This had steel disc wheels instead of wooden disc wheels. Standard items included a banjo-style rear axle and a single plate dry disc clutch. Options offered were bumpers, a cigar lighter, and a hood ornament. By then, the trucks had gained the pickup truck-like look, unlike the chassis cab look of before, all these trucks had come with the same 3-speed manual gearbox mated to the rear wheels and the engine.

Typical Applications of Pickup Trucks in the Early Days

 Typical applications of these trucks varied from farming to even use as water tankers, or for freight carrying jobs.

Greg McKinney Mineola TX