A friend down the street has a 1944 Chevy 1 1/2- ton truck that was his father's water well drilling truck. He told me that during WWII, trucks were rationed out within the United States depending on the need for the truck. This truck was sitting in Western Motors in Leoti, KS. His father and another buyer had to prove the "need" for the truck in order to purchase it. His father received approval to purchase the truck, due to the future use of the truck as a water well drilling truck. My question, is there a record of the number of trucks built for use other than for war production? Surely war production trucks were built with different specs. Thanks in advance! JR Patton Tribune, KS.
Last edited by Peggy M; 08/31/20234:31 PM. Reason: changed the title
That is an interesting question and not sure there may be too many members that may have any info on the topic.
It may be a bit before you get some feedback, but pretty sure someone will have something of interest to provide.
Nice to see you back in the forums!
Dan
~ Dan 1951 Chevy 3 window 3100 Follow this story in the DITY Gallery "My Grandpa Carl's Truck and How it Became Mine" 1966 Chevelle (Wife's Hot Rod) | 2013 Chevy Silverado (Current daily driver) US Army MSG Retired (1977-1998) | Com Fac Maint Lead Tech Retired (1998-2021)
We have a History section in the Tech Tips area. Looking in there, I wondered if the GM Heritage Center could provide you with the info you are looking for.
Many Stovebolt folks have contacted them about stuff and the report we get is that the employees there are very nice and helpful.
~ Peggy M 1949 Chevrolet 3804 "Charlie" - The Stovebolt Flagship In the Gallery || In the Gallery Forum "I didn't see this one coming. I don't see much of anything coming. :-O"
Seeing the Engine and Chassis/Body serial number would help to confirm it really is a 1944 truck. The 1941 through 1946 civilian trucks for the most part all look the same.
I called the owner of the truck tonight. He actually lives in Connecticut , but he is here in Kansas for the summer. The title is in Connecticut, but he had an old license tag off of the truck. I'll go to the County Treasurer with the tag number to see if they can find a number in their records. The metal tag on the firewall is unreadable. Is there a number stamped into the truck frame (and where)? And where is the number on the engine? Thanks JP
There isn't a Chassis/Body serial number on the frame (that didn't start until 1955 for Chevrolet), it's only on the data plate.
The engine serial number is stamped into the flat machined surface next to the distributor...you might need to wire brush the surface to see the number.
I was able to get a copy of the title faxed to me. The Vehicle ID Number is 9M5285731. Title shows that it is a 1944 1 1/2 ton. I found the flat surface that you referred to next to the distributor, but could not find any numbers stamped into it. I talked to the owner and he said that truck had a remanufactured engine in it. The GM Heritage Center sent an e mail back saying that they had a backlog of requests, and it may take some time for an answer. Thanks JP
I can remember the whole town turning out to look at the local veterinarians new 1944 Chevy pickup. Meat production was considered essential so vets could get a brand new replacement for a worn out truck. With no paved roads and much off road use these trucks lived a hard life.
Measured the wheelbase today. It was 160 inches. The owner is heading back to Connecticut on Tuesday. He has a copy of the original title he thinks, and will check it. JP
Well, the owner didn't have a copy of the truck's original title after all. I took some acid prep that I use to remove rust off of signs and sprayed it on the data plate. I let it sit a while, reapplied more and gently scrubbed the rust on the plate with an SOS pad. Washed it off and marked it with a tire crayon. Third character in the VIN is an "S". It's not as easy to read as other letters, but it's there. Now to deal with the County Treasurer to get it corrected. On another note, I got a reply from the GM Heritage Center and they did not have a total for non WWII production vehicles. They only could give me a number for total production for 1944. Thanks for the help! JP
Yep, that's what I found. I went to the County Treasurer (tag office) and explained the problem to her. She had me show County Sheriff the truck data plate, and $20 later the Treasurer had the information entered into the computer and a corrected title is on it's way. But I never did find out how many non-war trucks were built. Thanks again to all that helped with info! JP
The first WWII civilian MS truck was produced on January 3, 1944 as serial number 9MS25-2127 not 1001. The last tag I have is 9MS42 29235 (June 45). On September 1, 1945 the interim trucks came out they were a continuation of the regular 1942 lines but the model prefix change and their production numbers started at 1001 (9OS09 1001 1 1/2 ton). So, I would say a rough guess is 31000 MS trucks were built during WWII
