http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lgb/cto/3596360560.html check this out, anyone ever see this before?
Truck bed conversion..... loads about still. As stated above....more for getting extra fuel as its a commercial vehicle....
Chevy actually made these starting around 1938 or so. Depression era option for those that wanted double duty out of their car. The even gave you a trunk lid, in case you wanted to remove the bed and convert back to a standard car. My favorite of these utility coupes is the 37 Hudson Terraplane. The bed would roll out, and then you could slide it back in and close the trunk. Too cool! Pic borrowed from here on the HAMB.
This is a standard Chevy car/truck and they were making them from the mid 30's. The first ones had a bed that could be removed and the truck lid replaced. Guess they we for traveling salesmen. There is a beautiful '37 or so here in the Seattle area.
A little bit of both worlds, so to speak. Useful dual-purpose idea. Studebaker, also offered these, in addition to; Chevy, Hudson, & some others, just prior to, & IIRC, just after the war. Marcus...
Pretty common in that era. My Grandfather used to install those back then. He died before I was born but my Father told me how he used to help him do the install.
Cool, but not seeing $55K there. I wonder how you keep the rain water from running inside the car, especially with a wood bed floor.
Other auto makers used this same idea. I have seen them in Fords and a local guy here had a Hudson Coupe with a removable pickup bed. Not sure if Chevy was the first but they become the most successfull and had actually been doing this for some time. In 1926 they took a Series V Roadster and put a steel box with locking doors on the back. They promoted it as a "salesmen's car". They also offered a removable wooden bed for the Series V which became their Roadster Pickup. This accessory option remained into the early 1940's. From the 1930's to around 1952 Holden produced a Chevy Coupe Utility that was very popular in Australia where they were made. A modern Holden Ute can still be bought today. In 1959 Chevy made their own version and called it the ElCamino. I always liked the American car influenced Holden Ute design. After 1952 they seemed to become more European design. Always wanted one but not easy to come by here so I made my own design with a 56 Chevy.
I remember one of the railroad (maybe Burlington) still had several of these they used around here when I was a kid in the 50's.
Chevrolet started marketing a Special Order Coupe Pickup in 1937. I would see them in use by a Parcel Delivery Service located on 7th Ave in San Diego. They were used to load and handle small packages and even some small appliances like table top sewing machines. I still saw them in the Chevrolet brochures until the start of World War 2. Then I think they just dropped the idea due to materials demands made by the war effort. Normbc9
I like it but the price is, a bit much. There was a Hudson Terraplane with a similar bed that slid into the trunk , Studebaker made them too .
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