Cars We Remember: Panel trucks bring back memories

Panel wagons and delivery trucks are now popular, high dollar, attractions

Greg, I love reading your columns in the Westerly Sun newspaper here in Rhode Island. I have a great love for panel trucks and the 1957 to 1960 Fords are my favorites, but I like them all.

As you know, trying to find one today is a major task so I’m hoping you can do a column on these great old workhorses of yesteryear. Thanks for all the great nostalgic reading and keep up the good work.

Sincerely,

Mike Wood, Charlestown, Rhode Island.

A: Thanks Mike for your kind words and a handwritten letter. Not surprisingly, your letter brings back tremendous memories of both my love of vehicles and my late father, Michael T. Zyla, who would go on to become a noted artist and publish five art prints centered on trains and his hometown of Shamokin, Pennsylvania.

Back in 1955, at the age of 7, I sat in my dad’s garage mesmerized at the new 1955 Chevy sedan delivery sitting in front of me. My dad was hand-lettered this brand new truck for a local business, namely Ned Stank Electric in Ranshaw, Pennsylvania. The sedan delivery was black with shiny hubcaps and my dad used high gloss yellow paint to letter the name, address and phone number on the side and doors.

My dad explained the panel sedan delivery was built on a normal ’55 Chevy car/station wagon frame but did not have side windows or any seats other than in the front. That was my first experience of any type of panel sedan delivery that I can remember although I did recall other, more formal delivery trucks of the era. Even at my young age, that ’55 Chevy looked like the car I loved but was actually a delivery vehicle.

With this vivid memory still playing in my mind, I’m sure we both agree that here in 2020, the popularity of all types of panel sedan trucks, and pickup trucks, too, are growing tremendously and proven by the money they generate at Mecum and Barrett Jackson auctions. These 1950 to 1960 low on amenity, farm truck style pickups and panel wagons are now commanding well over $30,000 and up in great condition.

As for your love of the panel trucks from 1957 to 1960, most popular back then were the Chevy/GMC and Ford varieties, with Dodge, International and Studebaker also notable. These panel and smaller delivery trucks were very popular because back then the smaller vans that would eventually replace the car like delivery panels were just starting to arrive on the scene.

And, just as the full-size delivery vans that were then the number one choice of many companies (like the 1960 F-100 Series Ford pictured), they would also share some lighter duty hauling with the smaller, car-like station wagon sedan delivery units that popped up quickly. In 1960, even the new compact Ford Falcon delivery panel joined the fray.

Not surprisingly, all of these panel delivery trucks, from full size to compact, were similar in that they were built with no seating other than the driver and in most instances a passenger seat. Likewise, the station wagons were quickly turned into delivery wagons by removing the side windows and rear seating. By the early 1970s, even the Chevy Vega and Ford Pinto offered panel wagons that to this day are popular, lower-cost entries into the world of collectible trucks.

More current are the modern-day Chevrolet HHR (high heritage roof) and Chrysler PT Cruiser conversions, which were both created by noted car designer Bryan Nesbitt. These little car/wagons became instant hits when retrofitted in sedan delivery livery and were utilized by countless companies for light-duty deliveries.

Additionally, the original delivery panel trucks I recently wrote about (IH Metro) did have competition as Chevy, Ford and Willys come quickly to mind. However, unlike the light-duty Metro, I remember the heavy-duty Ford Delivery vans that came in P350 to P600 series builds with dual rear wheels and heavier load capability. (See photo attached).

The attached 1956 Chevrolet Task Force Truck advertisement best exemplifies how the major manufacturers promoted their truck line. Everything from light-duty panels to the bigger delivery trucks is clearly explained in detail including haul capacities and cargo information.

In summary, sedan deliveries and delivery panel trucks came in all shapes and sizes, from the converted station wagons (even the Studebaker Lark had one in 1960) to the real big bruisers from Chevy, Dodge and Ford that were common sights on our nation’s highways.

I agree that trying to find a nice panel/delivery truck these days is tough and surmise that this category of delivery truck usually ended up at the auto crusher junkyard way before any real collectors started gobbling them up. Thus, with fewer available it takes top dollar these days to own a nice or restored example and for this reason panel trucks from 1948 through 1965 are now enjoying major attraction status at car shows and auctions everywhere.

Thanks much for your letter Mike and good luck if you’re looking to buy a delivery truck.

Greg Zyla writes weekly for More Content Now and Gannett Co. Inc. Contact him at greg@gregzyla.com or at 303 Roosevelt St., Sayre, PA 18840.