I have returned from being out of town and have been studying all the shop manuals I could get my digital hands on in an effort to identify more of what parts make up the project I have.
I made a list of the major specs of the 1/2 ton Chevrolet trucks from 1940 to 1948 and believe I have come to a (relatively) logical conclusion as to what frame I have.
It seems at this point that what I have is a 1947, ½ ton frame.
The measurement I saw of 46 1/16” across the frame at the rear is close enough to ’47 and ’48 for ½ ton
The 52 3/8” length between the spring attachment points on the frame was a loose measurement by one person with a tape measure and is very close to the spec of 52 11/32” for the ½ ton trucks 1940-’48.
The wheelbase measures 116” indicating it to be a 1946-‘48
It seems to me that the convincing measurement is the 46 1/16” measurement across the rear of the frame, If it was a 1946 or earlier it would be 44 ¼” (per the shop manuals I saw)
If it were a 1948 there would be more cross members to the frame than appear on the frame I have.
So, with the information Gdads51 presented a few posts above indicating that it is not impossible for a 1941 differential to have been installed in a '46 or '47 truck when new, it is possible that the rear is original to the chassis. The date of manufacture for the rear was just 1 week before Pearl Harbor!
So, armed with that, I guess what I need to do next is just go ahead, set the bed on the frame where it seems to make the most sense for function and appearance and get it mounted. The biggest issues I think I will be facing are:
1) the gap between the rear of the running boards and the rear fenders
2) the sheet metal above the running boards and the front sides of the bed.
As always, any suggestions or corrections are very welcome!
