From north of the border comes this 1947 Chevrolet 3800 pickup. And it’s a true Canadian resident having been built at a Canadian plant, perhaps Oshawa assembly (there is an image of the manufacturer’s trim tag included but it is difficult to decipher), and then residing in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.  Regardless of its origin, this truck has a real barn find bearing about itself, so let’s investigate further. It has emigrated to the U.S. and now resides in White Bear Lake, Minnesota and is available, here on craigslist for $6,600.

According to the seller, the Saskatoon winter of 1971 took the engine of this first year, Advanced Design (1947-1955) one-tonner out of commission thanks to a cooling system freeze. With a reported 40K miles (or is it kilometers?) it has been parked ever since. This 3800 looks about how one would expect, it shows no sign of modification for a specific purpose though the seller mentions that this truck has been modified with a dumping bed, ostensibly for grain hauling; he adds “nothing butchered here“. And that explains his further comment of, “Includes NEVER USED ORIGINAL TAILGATE“; it was probably removed way-back-when for the dumping bed modification. The original Windsor Blue finish has given way to a light skim of surface rust but the body panels still appear to be sound with no sign of major rust and the seller claims, “Has solid cab corners- no rust, and solid door bottoms- 2 problem areas for these“. There are no included images of the cargo bed but it is suggested that the wood will, not unsurprisingly, require replacement. Based on this Chevy’s exterior appearance, it has not spent the last 50 years totally indoors.

The engine, a 90 HP, 216 CI, in-line six, as previously mentioned, has been dormant for a half-century.  The freeze damage is not specified so it could be major block damage, or perhaps a dislodged freeze-plug. What is visible looks complete but a thorough investigation would need to be conducted. The transmission is listed as manual so it’s probably a four-speed unit with a “granny” gear.

The interior looks like a weasel riot or something happened, the seat is mostly frame and springs. The rubber floor mat has disintegrated but it reveals what looks like solid floors though I’m not certain what the purpose of the odd-shaped hole is in the driver’s footwell. The upholstery panels are trashed and show signs of water incursion and there is a light coating of rust on pretty much every metal surface. The seller mentions that the dash is “uncut” with the radio plate still in place – I wonder how many of these early Advanced Design trucks had factory-installed radios? The interior is a good news-bad news story – the good news is that there isn’t much to it, as in not a lot of real estate to improve; the bad news, of course, is its current condition.

It’s easy to imagine what would be the logical next step if this were an “Action Line” (’67-’72) pickup or a “Rounded Line” (’73-’87) truck but this early Advanced design, with its one-ton rating and modified cargo bed, leaves it open to discussion for next life plans. Knowing that the engine is kaput, what would you recommend going forward with this 1947 Chevrolet 3800?