HI Shop Shark and all..
Hrm... Well my guess is one of two things, and I'm a novice to this.
One: They only made civilian vehicles for 2-3 months in '42 and this is one. Jan 2st may not have seen the 100% conversion of every vehicle to the new door handle. I don't know the truck building assembly line either, but guess it could it be one that was started in late December and then tagged 1942 or they were using up the last of the handles. As there are only a couple months for evidence I suspect that "rule" has got to have a little play in it built in.
Two: Perhaps the door was at some point ruined and a more rare 1941 door was installed after the accident. The truck is titled and tagged with GMC ID but does have a Chevy grill and hood... so it could have easily gotten parts from a 41 Chevy donor.
And Yes !! The part I need is the long shiny shaft towards the middle of the photo that extends through the handle and is secured to the handle itself with the pin.
