1952 Chevrolet Truck Specifications
by Phil Whitmer
The 1952 Chevrolet short-bed light pickup truck is sought-after by customizers, hot rodders and old truck collectors. With their big chrome grilles and large rounded hoods, they take many styling cues from 1952 Chevy passenger cars.
Models
In 1952, Chevrolet manufactured many truck models, sub-models and body styles. The most popular were the light-duty conventional Series 1500 and 3100 vehicles. The Series 3600 to 3900 were medium-duty conventional trucks. The heavy-duty conventional models were the Series 4100 to 4500. Chevy also made seven models of heavy-duty cab-over-engine and extra-large conventional trucks.
Engines
The 1952 Chevy trucks featured a Thriftmaster 216.5-cubic inch or a Loadmaster 235.5-cubic inch, in-line, six-cylinder, valve-in-head engine. The 216.5-cubic inch motor had a bore and stroke of 3.5 by 3.75 inches with a compression ratio of 6.5:1. It generated 90 horsepower at 3,400 rpm. The 235.5-cubic inch engine developed 105 hp at 3,600 rpm with a 6.7:1 compression ratio. It had 193 foot-pounds of torque at 2,000 rpm.
Chassis
The 1952 Chevys had front and rear semi-elliptic leaf-springs. The four- or three-speed synchromesh manual transmission had a column-mounted gearshift and used a dry single-plate clutch. The brakes were mechanical expanding-drum types. Steering was by a recirculating worm and ball-nut gear.
