Chevrolet's 1946 Specifications Manual for cars is dated January 1946, but May 1946 for trucks.
There might have been "1945" models sold into 1946.
My understanding is that there were not many changed during WWII, but domestic Chevrolet trucks might have become more readily available in late 1945, and officially listed/marketed/sold in 1946?
I don't know all the differences but I think they were still using up pre war parts in 46. My truck has a leather gasket around the gas filler neck but I was told in 46 it was rubber. My truck also had black curved door handles. My truck seemed 100% stock but who knows. My truck has weld beads at the base of the A pillers. It is a delux in that it has two windshield wipers. It is titled as a 46.
I have a 45 1.5T and all the firewall grommets we're horse hair or something resembling. FORD used horse hair grommets on GPW Jeep's during the war so I wasn't surprised. The gas tank filler neck grommet was also leather as said above.
Last edited by Lend-Lease 1.5; 12/12/201812:16 PM.
The new truck model year being six months after the new cars does cause some confusion when there are major truck body changes. However in the case of my son's 1946 2 ton. It is titled as a 1947 yet it still has the 1946 body.
What correctly identifies the year of this truck is it's model code, PW.
The same 2 ton truck model for 1947 is model OW.
When dealing with Chevrolet trucks when there was a body change you are best served going by the model designation for the year or you can sometimes get the wrong part.
Also have been told back then title laws were looser and left over model year trucks would get sold as new next years trucks. I assume because of the May new model year date conflicting with the actual calendar date.
The longest (November 1945 to March 1946) and the most significant strike was the United Automobile Workers (UAW) strike against General Motors. From November 21, 1945, until March 13, 1946 (113 days), CIO's United Automobile Workers (UAW), organized "320,000 hourly workers" to form a nationwide strike against the General Motors Corporation, workers used the tactic of the sit-down strike. It was "the longest strike against a major manufacturer" that the UAW had yet seen, and it was also "the longest national GM strike in its history". As director of the UAW's General Motors Department (coordinator of union relations with GM), Walter Reuther suggested to his colleagues the idea of striking the GM manufacturing plants with a 'one-at-a-time' strategy, which was "intended to maximize pressure on the target company." Reuther also put forth the demands of the strikers: a 30 percent increase in wages and a hold on product prices. However, the strike ended to the dissatisfaction of Walter Reuther and the UAW, and the workers received only a 17.5-percent increase in wages.
'46 pickups were the same throughout the year, other than very minor changes, 47 however had first and second series as were trucks in 1936 and 1955. Have read that passenger cars were a priority over trucks, with no major changes with each new model year. I owned a half ton parts truck that was military (WWII), not sure what year but it had stamped steel interior handles with a plastic coating I believe and a huge steel glove box which I gave to a friend that was restoring a military pickup. Another oddity was a friends 41 half ton that had an original wooden floor which made for a nicer piece over the steel.
Last edited by JiMerit Boltr#43; 12/13/20189:48 PM.
My VIN decodes to a Kansas City build, March of 46 (late). So apparently it was one of the first '46's built? It has the rubber gasket rear widow, painted grille, and the chromed or stainless outside handles. But my truck is not original, so I'm not sure that all the parts are...
