1950's Chevy Truck

Did Chevies have the same instruments as the 51-52 F's??

 

Looks like a '54 Chev.
Gauges similar but not the same.

 

Same size i'm pretty sure

 

Yea they copied each other, International in the 40s had an instrument cluster that looked like the 46 ford truck.

 

I think the Chev gauges are larger diameter. i always thought Ford did a pretty good job of copying the general's interior for 51-2.

 

Does anybody know whether the manufacturers actually made their own guages, or just outsourced them to the same group of providers like is common today? The guages might very well have been similar across the industry if that was the case. I know that horns were done that way, and obviously wheels, drums, rear ends, and other drive train components were outsourced items. Stu

 

I've never looked at all the gauges, but I would suspect they were all outsourced but the 40's and 50's. At one time ol' Henry wouldn't outsource anything, and even grew forests for the wood used in his vehicle bodies.

This much I do know, things like gas guages, temp and oil pressure, and their senders were provided by the King-Seeley company, and you can see their logo stamped on those parts, the little KS inside a circle. It wouldn't be much of a strech to think they did the ammeters and speedos, too, since I know that was part of their product line.