Robert Carney's

1941 Chevrolet 3/4-Ton


[an error occurred while processing this directive]

22 December 2005
# 1335

From Robert:

           My passion for the Art Deco series goes back to my early childhood. My father had bought a 1941 ½-ton from a relative for a dollar. He was fond of the truck because it was the same year he was born. The truck was dismantled and sat for a few years. When I was about 10 years old, my Father and I started to work on a frame-up restoration. At that time, I didn't know how valuable that short time working on the truck with him was. In 1980, at the age of 40, my father had passed away suddenly. A year later, my Mom sold the truck.

           I wondered if I would ever get to see that truck again.

           Fast forward then 25 years. It was time to make memories with my own son and daughters. I had the itch to buy an old Stovebolt -- maybe a 1969, the year I was born. My boss had convinced me to find a '41.

           Do you ever think things happen for a reason? Well I do!

           I was bidding on a '41 on eBay and got outbid. I did my usual search on the web and came across this truck located in St. Francis Kansas (a 1941 ¾-ton ). I immediately phoned the seller and told my story, promising them that it was going to a good home. We struck a deal after a few phone calls, a few emails and more pictures. We all thought it was a half ton until we saw pictures of the passenger side. The truck was too good to pass on, I thought.

           The pickup was titled September 13,1941. It was purchased from Johnston Chevrolet, Bird City Kansas. The last highway tag was purchased in 1976 and was under the antique tag. (I have both tags.) The truck was passed down to the son who had no interest and it sat in the barn all this time. The farm was to be sold and the truck had to go. There was talk of taking it to the salvage yard but the daughter said there must be somebody who wants it.

           The truck has been on the farm since day one. When the son and his brother were very young (in 1946 or so), they were jumping on the seat and the brother smacked his head on the rear glass and it cracked. I think I'm going to leave it as it is. It has history behind it.

           When the truck finally arrived, all doubts were put aside. (Pictures are not the same as actually seeing it first hand.)

           Since I have had the truck, I changed the oil, new battery, new gas in. I checked all the fluids, turned the key and it runs like if it was yesterday. My goal was to drive it out of my garage and over to my boss's farm were it will be stored in the hay mow for the winter. Once the clutch was freed up and I tidied things up on the truck, the kids jumped in and there was nothing more exciting then that first ride. I am glad the kids got to share that excitement because I'm sure 20 years from now they will be saying “Do you remember when we all climbed into Dad's truck for that first ride and he said hang on!"

 

Robert Carney
"Ezhaulin41"
Bolter # 6300
Gorrie,Ontario


[an error occurred while processing this directive]