The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk 1946 Chevrolet CAMPER US Forestry truck? What year is this truck?

I just bought this 1946 Chevy truck and the guy that I bought it from said it was an old US Forestry Service truck. The camper is made of riveted together steel. I plan on removing the camper, but I would like to know if there is any truth to this truck being an old forestry truck. I see NO signs of old lettering anywhere on it.

pic 1

pic 2

pic 3

pic 4

I would say probably, but even at that, it is as or almost old as the truck, and not restoring it or mildly keeping in shape as it is would be a shame. I would sell it to someone who cares about it and find another truck that did not have as interesting history instead of taking it off, or keep it ready to go when you want to travel or camp.

Piece of history! Agreed, would not cut it up. Find another.

But just think how good that '46 is gonna look in the drive once
you dump that butt ugly box on the back and, restore it with a
Mustang front end, 350 auto trans, tilt wheel, rolled and
pleated bucket seats, varnished black walnut bed wood and
a nice deep bc/cc paint job.
Did I say restore????

dg

You might send pictures to the US Forest Service History Museum here in Missoula, MT. They might be able to give you info.

http://www.forestservicemuseum.org/
-

Denny, you forgot the covered trailer to haul it to the shows.

So, far this is what has been unearthed in the mini archeological dig in the piles of rat crap in the camper. I have found several rotten magazines written in Spanish from the 1950's. I've noticed that all of the Goodrich tires have Spanish writing on them, and I have found several 1950's- 1960's Mexican coins in the camper. I suspect this truck might not have been a US Forestry truck, but some very well done homemade job from down in Mexico.

Have you checked the speedometer?
Is it showing MPH or KPH (Kilometers Per Hour)?

I can't see that is is marked in MPH or KPH, but it does register up to 150, so I am assuming that it is marked in KPH. All of the gauges appear to be marked in English. The truck does have 18" artillery wheels instead of the usual 16" wheels. Also the spare tire mount under the bed still has an 18" wheel mounted in it. I was told this truck was a 1946, but I've noticed the fuel filler neck has a leather gasket with a bolted on steel ringlike would have been seen on a 1942 model. The truck has 7 boards in the bed. The ID plate reads model 3DP-1. This truck really has me puzzled.

Here are some photos of the things odd with this truck. 18" wheels. Very thick radiator core. Leather gas tank grommet. Engine number is DBA459498. How can I tell if this is a 1946 or 1942 model? [IMG]http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l523/cjasonbarnett/CIMG3799_zpsniyazbg5.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l523/cjasonbarnett/CIMG3801_zpsolyvuogc.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l523/cjasonbarnett/CIMG3802_zpsyc6jz6d4.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l523/cjasonbarnett/CIMG3803_zpsp1kke4kx.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l523/cjasonbarnett/CIMG3804_zpsthccfgvg.jpg[/IMG]

On a USA truck, DBA is a 1946 216 engine on a 3100 truck

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/chevyresto/4649.htm

The leather gas tank grommet was used for some of the early post War produced '46 models. I recall seeing somewhere these were used because rubber was in short supply.

Thank you guys for the info on the year model. At least now I know what to have it titled as.

The pre war trucks have 1 piece head liners and the interior door handles go down to open when pointing forward,post war go up. Whats with that 150 MPH speedo? I had a 42 many years ago.

I suspect the speedometer is in kilometers and not miles per hour. This truck does have a two piece headliner.

The asbestos covered fuel line was a nice touch for hot climate operation.

What is with the fan shroud in the last photo. Didn't know they were available on older trucks, especially 1/2 ton.

The radiator is a 4 core radiator instead of the much thinner one usually seen. It could be out of a 1-1/2 ton maybe? Or maybe it was an option down in Mexico. I discovered two Coahuila Mexico license plates from the 1950's under the seat yesterday! With the speedometer being in kilometers and the license plates, I think that proves this truck isn't from the US.

Here is what it looks like now. The camper is gone. New powder coated wheels and 6.00X16" radial tires were installed. PIC 1

PIC 2

PIC 3

PIC 4

Looks good.

Jason--

This is a very fascinating "time machine" that you now own. Best wishes as you move forward with your restoration. Please keep us all posted on your progress. With the history that this truck has, it could be really neat to see it brought back to its original state, with the camper included. It would be truly "one of kind" out on the road. Check out what I did with my old "Road Department" truck. Best wishes!

LUKE

I just had a look at your truck. VERY nice!

The chances of this truck ever having been a US Forestry Service truck is just about 0. Once I started removing the camper, it was very obvious that is was a homemade job by the way it was pieced together. Anywhere rivets were found in the roof, were large rust holes. I could tell the rivets were hand made and put in with a hammer instead of rivet gun. The camper probably weighed in excess of 600lbs. When they added the camper, the flare boards of the bed sides were cut and beat down flat with a hammer. I have since been able to bend them back in place. One day I was standing behind the truck and noticed that the right top rounded corner of the cab was on a completely different radius than the left side of the cab. I opened the passenger side door and pulled down the old dry rotted headliner. I found that the truck had been wrecked hard on the right side and that someone had made a mess braze welding the side of the truck back together. Most of the passenger side is lead! Now I know why that passenger door had such bad gaps around it and is super hard to close. The passenger side sticks out about 2" farther than it should!

I was using a torch to heat the stuck screws that hold the floor boards down one day. I had found several .25 caliber pistol bullets under the seat a few days before, so I was being careful not to find any more with the torch. I was doing good, until there was a big BANG. I found a nest of .25 bullets that were under the tow board of the truck. One of them "cooked off" due to the heat from the torch. No injuries.

[IMG]http://i1122.photobucket.com/albums/l523/cjasonbarnett/CIMG3923_zpsnszwlvlp.jpg[/IMG]

It sounds like it's time to check some casting numbers to see if the block or head might be from the early 40's. I agree it looks a bit older than a 46. The box does look a little home-brewed!
Jerry

Looks like an MRAP predecessor prior to removing the "shell/camper." The .25 cal makes me think of bootleggers- cool truck.

Keep us posted on your findings.

Brad