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Originally Posted by fritz
I am now looking again at GMC Trucks and have a few questions on where production figures can be found. I am looking for information on short bed fleet side custom trucks. Is there a publication out there that would contain data related to production figures through out the years? Finding one in untouched original condition that has not succumbed to time has been a challenge. Thanks to all, Fritz
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Welcome to the forum, Fritz!
Regarding GMC production figures, one story is like Funky said -- that the records were lost to a fire. The other story I've heard (I think from Don Meyer, GMC historian) is that the records are in a box among thousands of boxes in GM archives, and nobody's taken the time to try and find them.
To get a rough idea of how many short bed widesides (GMC's term) were produced though, you can take the Chevrolet production figures and divide by 4 or 5. In other words, Chevy made about 4 or 5 times as many trucks per year as GMC did during the '60s. You can find Chevy figures in the Chevrolet Pickup Red Book by Peter C. Sessler, available from Motorbooks International. It only lists a breakdown by model starting in 1965 however -- only total production for prior years.
As an example, Chevy produced 55,300 short bed fleetsides (Chevy's term) in 1965. So GMC probably made about 11,060 to 13,825 short bed widesides that same year. Production figures for 1966 were a little higher.
On the other hand, Chevy made about 3 times as many 1/2 ton long bed fleetsides in 1965. So you can always do like what I did -- buy a long bed, shorten the frame, and put a short bed on it. You can start with a 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, fenderside, or wideside if you're going to go that route, greatly expanding your chances of finding a good truck to start with.
Finding a short bed can be a challenge though. I found a Chevy project truck with no engine or transmission that had a short bed for $400. So I took the bed off and sold the rest. Shortening a long bed can be done, but with the double wall in the lower section, it's a lot of work.
Searchtempest.com is one way to find vehicles. It used to be easier to use, but now they have something called Direct Results that's a little more tedious. Good luck in your search! With enough patience you'll find what you're looking for.