What a difference 20 years made back then

A post on another chat site got me to thinking about the time dad traded the 49 KB1 International he bought new for a new 69 GMC 3/4 ton. What a difference! The Internationals cruising speed was 40 MPH and dad warned me to never go above 40. Well me being young I bumped it up to 60 one time. Bumping is really not the word for it. In reality it was a long crawl up to 60 with the Green Diamond screaming for mercy and the loose king pins taking me all over the road. It was then that I realized dad knew what he was talking about.

The GMC did 60 easily. It was not air conditioned but it was not hotter than haities in the summer like the 49 was and it was warm in the winter for the first time ever.

There was a worlds worth of difference between the 1949 pickups and the 1969 models, like going from the stone age to the modern era. When did this huge difference in design over a 20 year span end? When did the change from the old slow small cab design make the big jump to more speed better driveability and more room in the cab for most common brands? And a better heater?

My guess is 1956. It seems like Chevy and Ford made the big design change from the stone age to modern in that year. I remember driving a neighbors 58 chevy pickup and even the 58 was a huge jump from the 49 model we had at the time. I was only 5 years old in 1956, far below the age where I could drive on the road but I do remember the body style change.

There was still quite a difference between a 1956 model and a 1976 model but basically both could cruise at 60 and were more passenger friendly. The stone age pickup design was over for good.

In high school I had a 1967 gmc 1/2 ton. 250 6 cyl. 4 speed trans. I had no
problem going 80 mph with it. Drove it 65-70 mph on the hyway. Trucks
were greatly improved in the early 60’s. 1964 Chevy was a nice truck.
And back then our speed limit was 65 in daytime and 55 at night. The
once this metric came out it was actually slower because 100 km. Per hr.
Is like 62 mph. Then it was 100 km /hr. Day or night

Think was a International thing. Dad had a
56 V8 F100. It would cruise at 75 if you
wanted. Warm in winter. Then got a 58
International 110 4x4 6 cyl. Big old slow
mover. Would go 60 but you could tell it
didnt like it. 50 was its fast cruise.
First nice truck we had was a 76 f150 4x4.
Rode good auto power steering air
conditioning power disk brakes. It said it
was a Explorer. Dad took the 360 motor out
and put a 390 in it that the local speed
shop built. Got better mileage and really
woke it up.

If you pulled the skin off of a 53 Chev truck, it was
the same basic truck in 65-72. Maybe different
engine and power brakes, auto transmission, but
same basic truck.

One of the reasons is that the International was basically a pre war design as far
as the chassis is concerned. So, the design span would be greater than 20 years.

Ben

Worlds of difference between a 53 Chevy and the 60's 2wd Chevy trucks. 53 were narrow cab, narrow frame, all leaf spring suspension, solid front axle, wagon like steering, etc. The 60's Chevy trucks had all coil spring suspension up to light 3/4 ton (exc 60-61 which had torsion front suspension that GM was sued by Chrysler), independent front suspension, modern steering, 67 up had dual circuit brakes. GM truck front suspension was about the same from 67-87, then changed slightly on 2wd and ran to 98. Rear suspension went to leaf springs in 73 and was basically unchanged to current.

In 67 Chevy made the big jump.

The 67-72 Chevys were the prettiest and best trucks made. Yes there have been technological improvements, but as far as a basic design and durability, they haven't been beat yet.

They went from farm truck to luxury very quickly!

I can relate as i drove '56 Ford pickups to high school in the mid '70s then bought a new '76 F100 4x4 with the 360 and a single speed ytransfer case and a 4 speed trans and also was a Explorer version blue with the white stripes front to back

Things changed for the better when Ford dropped the twin I beam front suspension.

Sounds like if the king pins had some new bushings and pins with some grease it would have driven pretty good. Maybe new tierod ends while there and toe set. Ground speed is only limited to the rearend gears and the power to pull it. I always had to laugh at those guys complaining about their trucks not having the 13 spd so were limited in top end. They didn't know some of them had the same OD whether it was a 9,10 or 13 spd. The biggest difference was in the 15 spd. The 15 spd has a lower low gear only in the 15direct trans set up. The 15 over has a higher low gear then the 13spd even in deep reduction. The 13spd has a .73or.74 over drive. Been a long time since I looked at the actual figures on these so might be off a bit.
Dodge was a better riding truck than either ford or chevy from what I saw riding in them. Though they all rode plenty good for me. I liked the dodge for trucks though. The others made good wagons though. I've turned several chevy trucksinto wagons as well as a few fords. Never a spindle or bearing problem with them .

My dad would never have sprung the money to replace king pin bushings and tie rod ends. He just drove slower as the front end wore out. Of course me being a young buck didn't like the word slow. I have a hunch the old 49 was geared way low but it probably didn't have the power to have faster gears. The 69 GMC had the 305 V6. It didn't accelerate as fast as a young guy would like to see but it could grunt. LOL I drove a 15 speed for a couple of years hauling grain. It's been awhile but if I remember right when I pulled out of the field I would work my way up three gears in the low side then flip up to the middle range and shift back into low gear. Then work my way up. What threw me off was 4th was over and down and fifth was over and up. Then I would get in a truck with a 13 and accidentally skip a gear when I was going for the next to top hole.

Anything after the fuel tank was moved out of the passenger cabin . Preferred after port injection was introduced and mostly interested in direct injection gas .

20 years almost moves us into the next generation in families. Most buyers of new machines want/need something different the what their fathers used. Those that are happy with their father's machines tend to buy used equipment at much lower cost than brand new.

I have a 1965 Ford 1 ton that before my dad blew the rear end in it you where lucky if it would go 55mph. Then after he blew the rear end I replaced it with parts that where higher geared and it will not go 65 plus but it no longer has brakes so it is not driven much

Your memory of the Chevy pickup design change is pretty darned good. The change actually took place in mid-1955 when the "Second Series" or simply "1955.2" appeared. It dropped the rounded styling of the '49-55.1 pickups in favor of automotive styling. The only obvious design differences between the '55.2 and the '56 were cosmetic, with a slightly different hood ornament in '56 and placement of the 3100/3600 model designation a little higher on the front fenders. The '57 got different hood and grill treatment, and the '58 and '59 went to dual headlights. I bought my '55.2 around 1970 for $25 from a guy who planned to haul it to the junkyard the next week. It was crap. I went through it thoroughly, including adding a rebuilt '60 four-barrel 283, rust repair, new bed floor, new interior, fresh paint, dula exhausts, wide Mickey Thompsons on a '56 car rearend, etc. , and it was pretty nice at the time. Today, I still have it sitting in one of my sheds, sadly needing another thorough going-through to be road-worthy. So many projects, so little time!