The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1941 to 1947 1st Differences

For all of us Art Deco Bolters we have added something on the Tech Tip page that describes some of the subtle differences through the years from '41 to early '47. These may be obvious to some, but I'm still learning and it maybe of some help to newer bolters. Currently listed in the Tech Tip are those that I think I know and hopefully others will add and correct. Peg and her crew have already put this up as a Tech Tip in progress. If we can collect photos of each of the differences these can be added to the Tech Tip. Please post your comments here or sent them and any photos to me.

Kip, One thing I might add is that the 41s have a metal rim around the rear window that is scerwed together, whereas the 46s use a rubber gasket like the more modern trucks have.

George

Wow, this is outstanding. Watching a Tech Tip development in progress. Thanks for start this Kip (and Grigg's overview!). And thanks ahead of time for all who contribute to this.

This can be an AWESOME TT on the Advance Design trucks.

Now THIS is what it's all about! I could work all day at this kind of stuff.


Peg

Hi George:

Good tip !! Can you send a photo of the inside and outside of your window, I would like to have photos for each difference that we can find.

P.S. I believe that I also have a good one of your inner fender to firewall connections. You had sent it to me several months back when I was trying to figure out why the inner fenders I had bought did not directly fit my ’41.

41's had cast parklight housings and diffent parklight then the 46's did .thanks

Kip, here's a little more info. well first off the 1941 has some specific things only for that year, parklight housings are 3 part, the headliner is a one piece unit, the door lock for the passenger door is in the outer door handle.Also the rear of the truck, (not panel) has a pot metal ring arround the outer part of the back window.
Will send you some pictures of these.

Kip, I'll take some pictures this weekned of everything I can think of where a 46 is different form a 41. That way you can pick and choose what you want to use.

George

Probably a given, but many of the rubber parts were leather during the war years.

Kip if you need a picture of the 41 rear window frame with screw attachment I can provide that. It may not be the best picture since its disassembled in the shed right now... I thought it was a 1940 thing, as my other 41 has the normal rubber seal????

Theres also a lot of differences between GMCs and Chevrolets of the same year and size.

Jeff

Kip,
I believe the 41 3/4 ton has the same front spindles as the 1/2 ton but a diffrent axle. At least the bearing i.d.'s are the same. I miked mine but not sure where I recorded them. Not sure if the change to larger spindles was made in 42 or 46.

Here's my Art Deco ID guide with links to various photos
www.46chevytruck.com Art deco ID guide

Feel free to use what ever you want from it or just put a link to it.

Tim

Thanks to all for the information so far.

I’m thinking of concentrating on each “difference” one at a time. Trying to be sure to get it correct and get the years correct. Right now the parking lights seem to be a good place to start.

Hear is what I have so far:

I believe the ’41 units were not ready for production in time so parking lights from a ’38 or ’39 Pontiac were used. The ones that were on my ’41, when I got it, were made up of a zinc (pot metal) cast base and a stamped sheet metal cover. The light bulb was on a bracket that held the bulb in a horizontal orientation. Also the lens is 4 inches long.

I can provide photos of all of this stuff, but will need photos of the individual components of the parking light assembly for the later years. We should also get some conformation that my assumptions above are correct.I suspect that if a number of bolters agree that would do as conformation.

I’ll keep filing all the other stuff as it comes and post the progress here so please keep sending what you have.

It's interesting to look at the so called 'original' 41 trucks on ebay.

One has just gone, but there is still one left - both have 7 planks in the rear. Think they would investigate a bit more when spending $$$$ on rebuilding.

What was the original ignition key/lock like? My 41 3/4 ton has most of the original parts noted above but the ignition doesn't look right.

Hi Dalbuie:

I’m sorry; I can’t answer that as mine had a replacement switch when I got it. I did find one from Chevs of the 40’s that looks good and fits well. (part #1458180)

When I bought my '46 pickup now some 25 years ago it was rode hard and put away wet like most old trucks. One of my local buddies from the Chevy club said he had owned this truck and AFTER THE WRECK, they couldnt find a 46 so all the fenders on one side came from a 41. I knew the parking light on that side was wrong but turns out lots of stuff was goofy like, the fender braces and inner fender panels were different on that side and the rear fender was narrower. Not sure what year that rear fender came from may have been a 40. Also the cab itself on the 41 is different because of the rear window rim, at least the inner shell is.

I had scrounged parts from many war years trucks and one thing I found were stamped steel outside door handles on some of those trucks. Another friend had a restorded US Army pickup, had a glove box made of steel that was HUGE.

Thanks for starting this thread.

Let me know if you need a picture of the rear window, my 41 has the original one, didn't know it until I read this thread. Dave

Hi Homer:

My truck is a '41 and I have a good photo of the assembled rear window. If you happen to have a shot of the disassembled frames and or gasket it would sure bee helpful.

i have 2 1942 trucks and thay are both diffrent one has the ring the other one does not one cab is 1/2 ton the other a 2 ton the 1946 i just bought to day does not have the ring but the 1941 i traded for does a 1942 is a mixed year has some 1941 parts and some 1946 parts and then it depents is it pre war or war time and on the 1946 trucks is it pre strike or post strike and eaven some 1947 1st has the 1941 lights what ever gm had left over

Some things to watch on 42's. Early 42 has a one piece headliner, was changed in June to a two piece. Early 42 uses the lock in the passanger side door handle, switched to the door late in 42. The gas filler gasket is rubber in early 42 and changed to leather later in the year. The rear window uses the metal ring in the early part and changed to a rubber ring with insert later in the year. The 3/4 ton tapers under the cab while the half ton tapers earlier. Early 42 uses 6 bolt rims. The pickups had 15 or 16 inch rims and 11" drums, the heavy 3/4 used 14" drums and 16 or 17" rims. Most of this I found out the hard way when ordering parts. According to Chevrolet, they used whatever parts were on hand during the war. The other thing to remember is war years trucks had no chrome, turret grey paint on what was bright work on other years.

Hi workinonit:

Thanks for the info. Looks like that based on your experience most of the changes were made during 1942. Do you have 8 bolt wheels on your ¾ ton?? If so I’m looking for photos of the rear hubs and brake drums also some showing the differential and back end of the drive shaft.

Looking through the photos on your site I noticed that the metal retaining ring on your rear window appears to be rusted through. Is/was this so? My metal retainer was a zinc diecast piece which would not rust, was yours steel??

By the way that is a great looking truck you have there

Great tech tips, that is one of the reasons that I acquired so many. I was curious about the differences between the art deco years.

Now I have a question. On the 1 1/2 tons, there is a difference in the shape of the front fenders. My '41 parts truck, and my red '42 have a somewhat squared off shape as viewed from the front. My other '42 has a rounded shape to the fenders. Does anyone have any information on when that changed?

John

Thanks Kip, no the ring is the same as yours, the rust was on the inside of the cab where the ring bolts through the sheet metal. The rims are 6 bolt 16" with 11" drums. It was the "commercial" 3/4 variant that has the 14" drums, as far as I know they use the same open drive shaft and rear end (dif) as the standard 3/4 ton. John, I know the larger trucks had bigger opening for the tires, the Canadian Maple Leaf version may be slightly different. There is a picture of Paul Kallens Maple leaf on my site under for sale section. Hope that may help you some.

To help with the Tech Tip I would like to get some photos of the rear hubs / break drums and the differential including the rear “U” joint from a ’42 through ’47 first ¾ ton. I believe these trucks will have 8 bolt wheels and a different differential than the ’41. Please send to kbonds45@twmi.rr.com

BTT

Kip,
Some pictures of 3/4T rear end and brakes here. Use whatever you need from my Webshot in your tech tip and thanks for taking the time to do so.
Dan

Hi Chev4t6:

Thanks for the photos, They will do very well for the Tech Tip.

This tail of the ¾ ton Deco rear axels keeps getting more involved so I have another question. Does your truck have 11” or 14” brake drums??

I’m aware that at least in ’41 the ¾ tons were offered with either. So now I’m not sure if the other years offered the same option or not. And if full floating hub shown in your link is only used with 14” drums.

Second question. Is it possible to get a photo of the front or side view of your differential?

Kip,
Side view. If you need more pics will take when I get home. Just say so. Will verify drums and brake size if needed
Dan

Dan:

Saw that one in your file. It would be better if the photo showed more of the front (snout) of the differential. And yes I would like to know the drum size

Kip,
Brake drums are 14". Pics requested start here. Thanks again for starting thread and if I can be of assistance let me know
Dan

Thanks Dan these photos will do just fine. Now I need to find out if the '41 with 14" drums had an axel like yours and if any later model 3/4 ton's were made with 11" drums and if so what kind of axel they had.

Just so you all know ... I have moved this Tech Tip so that it will be in its own directory: art deco.

Here's the link.

This will allow me to keep piling in the pictures and information. Kip sent me some more that I hope to get in during the week! The parking lights.

Thanks to all who are helping with this. It's great information.

Wish I could have a "window" guy to orchestrate images for some of those recent tech tips!

Peg

I believe I have found another difference in the 41/46/47. I recently bought a 47 project and found that the brake light switch is not on the master cylinder like the 41 but it is on the toe board. It is a switch activated by the upper brake pedal. Dave

People have no clue. There's a guy here in Alberta that has a very expensive customized art deco Chevy truck. He displays it as a 44 at all the shows, but the serial number plate is clearly visible, riveted to the truck as original, and it's a 46. I don't have the heart to correct him.

You may not have the heart, but at least you have the sense not to whack that hornets nest.
Carl

hello,, could you please tell me how to decode the vin. from a 1946 Chevy truck 1 1/2 ton s44808w thank you very much grate site,,,,,,,,,,,,,Charlie 516.221.6469

How many have found wide front fenders(for full width axle) on these trucks?

Ed

I found the information noting the differences between early and post war trucks to be consistent with what I have known over the 52 years of my ownership of my 1946 Chevy 1/2 t which was built in Janesville, WI,February of 1946. BUT one must remember that early models, such as mine, could have had some exceptions due to limited parts availability and residual steel shortages. Mine has 3 fender bolts above the bed and the brace is at the top of the fender, both traits of a 1941.
When I purchased my '46 in 1973 I asked the second owner, Dave Bailey, why there were no metal strips between the boards in the bed. He showed me the original dealer paperwork from the North Dakota dealership with the original owner's name. That owner had asked the dealership about the absence of the metal strips. The response was there was still a shortage of steel and Janesville plant was saving the steel from those strips to make other body parts. My truck still has the original bed, 15 boards of hard yellow pine, 3-1/4" wide, tongue and grove construction, and is the only truck that I have seen with the original wood bed in recent years of a career of attending cars shows for over 50 years.
I used to live just north of Janesville and my neighbor's father worked at the assembly plant in the 1940's and he confirmed that practice from early 1946. He was the union shop steward at the time, so there is my validation, straight from the horse's mouth.

Archie, this is a good "tech tip" to bring back up (started in 2008 if anyone missed that ). Many knowledgeable Bolters* collaborated to provide THIS great Tech Tip, "Spot Art Deco trucks like an expert!" The link for "More discussion about this topic in the General Truck Forum" leads right back to this spot.

Hope some Art Deco Bolters can get some good use of the Tip and this thread still.

The intro to the Tip is also fun:

Those Art Deco trucks (1941 to 1947 1st Series) all look alike, don't they? Well big surprise -- they're not! With just a little bit of knowledge, you too can impress your boy/girlfriend, entertain party guests or deal with a cagey seller by being able to tell those elusive '41's from their more numerous '46 brethren! It's so easy once you've let Kip teach you how to ...


* Folks like George "46forme" Wells, Tim "Sheridan" Sheridan, Kirk "41Chevy" Culver, Kip "kip's 41" Bonds, Dan "Chev4t6," "1946chevypickup," "rustednuts," Harold "Harold41" Wilson, "Dalbuie," Jim "JiMerit" Merit, Dave "Homer52," "apart hillbilly," and Kieth "Workinonit" Bevan

My 1946 was manufactured in February 1946 just a couple months after the end of WWII and it is important to remember that steel and rubber were still in short supply. I have owned my $250 truck since 1973 and have many experiences, some of which took place in Edgerton, WI just 13 miles from the GM Assembly Plant in Janesville, where my truck came from.

It is important to remember that trucks were trucks! Purchase for their function first with aesthetics and comfort as secondary conditions, hence the saying "it rode like a truck!" While civilian manufacturing ceased in early 1942, products were provided to the military, mostly trucks along with some staff cars for some officers, usually equipped with black-out lighting and absolutely no chrome.

Then when it came back to manufacturing for the masses that had gone 4 years with no new vehicles let alone being expected to make their original 5 tires last the duration everyone was eager to jump on the waiting list. My truck was delivered to a farmer in North Dakota without a heater. The aftermarket came into play and to this day, the Firestone branded heater is still in my truck. There was just one owner between myself and the original farmer. I made the same inquiry that the farmer had asked, "where were the customary metal strips between the boards in the bed?"

The dealer's answer was that steel was still in short supply and the decision was made to make the boards tongue-in-grove until the supply could catch. While living in WI, I became friends with my neighbor who was second generation at the Janesville plant where his father had retired as the Union Shop Stewart. I inquired of the father if he had worked there in 1946 which he verified and was also able to recall the brief period of the lack of steel for bed runners.

I will attempt to include a photo that shows my original 15-board tongue-in-groove southern yellow pine bed and another exception to the "rules". Tech Tips note that after 1942 there were 5 fender bolts exposed above the bed when my '46 has 3, this reinforces the idea that many trucks were made with left-over 1941 parts that had been stamped and waiting for assembly 4 years later.

pretty cool.