help trying to decipher what vehicle I have

[Guest taylors139]

I have a Chevy pickup truck was told it's a 43 but can't figure out for sure . Vin number is

9dpg4311 that's all I really have title doesn't actually give a year on it .please help

[Guest AlCapone]

​please provide a photograph. Wayne

[Guest taylors139]

How do I do that I have many pictures

[Guest taylors139]

[Guest taylors139]

[Guest taylors139]

[Guest Xprefix28truck]

It's a GMC not chevy.........Don't know the year.... But it's definitely rough..

[Dave Mellor NJ]

Chevy, like GMC came out with this style in 41 and kept it unchanged till 46(there were a few early 47s). I don't know of any difference between the 41 and 42 but after production stopped around February 42 there weren't any made in 43-45. Your truck may have been used in 43,44,or 45 but all cars and trucks were considered 42s. Some trucks were available for certain civilian uses and it's possible that they were titled as 43-45 but I don't think it can be told. When the war ended they brought it back as a 46 the only difference I know of is a slightly smaller parking light but yours are gone with the headlights.

[Guest Bob Call]

What you have is either a 41, 42 of 46 GMC. From late 42 through 45 GMC division of GM was busy building 2 1/2 ton (deuce and a half) trucks for the war effort, no civilian trucks were made. Sorry that yours is in such rough shape, it's probably only good for parts.

[wayne sheldon]

When the production of civilian vehicles was ended for the war effort, the remaining completed supply was divided up and warehoused. One portion was set aside for military use, and painted as such. Another large group of cars and standard duty trucks were set aside for civilian use, to be rationed out for the duration of the war.

My grandfather was a farmer raising (he never said growing, you "raised" peaches) about a hundred acres of peaches. These were sold for canning and sent overseas for our military as well as rationed into civilian markets. They were about ten miles out of town on rough roads (by today's standards) and in 1944, the '30s Buick he had been nursing along before the war finally gave out. He needed to have reliable transportation to and from town on a regular basis, and the old truck wasn't up to the task and was needed for truck duty besides. So he had to apply to the rations board, but was granted permission to buy a brand new 1942 Oldsmobile. It was licensed as a 1944 automobile. I really wish I could have that car today.

I have never seen real figures on how many vehicles were set aside. My guess would be that right after the Pearl Harbor attack. the factories probably ran near capacity for the two months before they shut the lines down to make the full switch to wartime production. My guess would be that a few tens of thousand cars and trucks were set aside and doled out over the next five years. Remember, only a small number of cars were produced in 1946 after the war ended late in '45. It took almost a year to get everything switched back and moving again.

Another consideration on your truck. Many years ago, I saw a similar Chevrolet or GMC flatbed truck that the owner claimed was a wartime new truck. My dad looked at it and recognized something unusual in the wiring on the engine's firewall. I wish I could remember what it was, but he said it was something to do with wartime production.

Hopefully my little brain-freeze can trigger someone else more familiar with these to post something about it.

[Guest AlCapone]

Unfortunately, I would agree that your truck has deteriorated to the point that it is now a parts truck. Wayne

[Restorer32]

We did restoration work on a '44 Chev Fire truck for a local volunteer fire company. No chrome, everything was painted. We had to rebuild the carb which had specific military numbering that didn't coincide with regular production numbers. The fire co has documentation that it was indeed sold to them new in '44.

[Guest TimothyTello]

It's difficult to identify with the vehicle identification number, it's might be a Chevy trucks, it is good if our provide a photograph of your vehicle.

[R Walling]

Unfortunately, I would agree that your truck has deteriorated to the point that it is now a parts truck. Wayne

I have resurrected trucks that were as bad as this. It's all in wanting to work with metal and winning.

A mind is a terrible thing to waste in a rocking chair!

[Guest taylors139]

I Have The Headlights AND The Grille Actually Says Chevrolet On It AND it Has The Old Chevy Shield On Lower part Of Grille.

[Guest AlCapone]

I have resurrected trucks that were as bad as this. It's all in wanting to work with metal and winning.

A mind is a terrible thing to waste in a rocking chair!

I am guessing a minimum $50-60,000 if the parts are even available. What is your estimate ?

Wayne

[Guest taylors139]

I am not afraid to do sheet metal work . I know the easy way would be to use it as parts but frame is solid And I've just went over it the first time power washing to clean up and see what is good and what is not .I have time to work on it so I'm just going to go slow and steady redoing it .it does have a clear title but the title doesn't say a year .

[Dosmo]

That is definitely a Chevrolet grille. GMC's of this vintage use horizontal bars in the lower section versus Chevrolet's vertical bars.

[Guest taylors139]

I have the top grille as well has Chevrolet on it .

I am having a hard time uploading pictures when I can I will do more.

[28 Chrysler]

Sometime long ago the front clip was changed, it looks like it may need another one.

[greenie]

The major change from 1941 to 1946 was parking light assemblies. For 1941 only, the parking lights were a multi-piece cast assembly with a fairly long glass lense. This was borowed from the 1940 Pontiac car; and would be the same for GMC or Chevy. For 1946, the parking light assembly was a one-piece sheet metal unit with a shorter glass lense. Certainly there were trucks titled in 1942 that were left over 1941's. Another place to look is the rear cab window. For 1941 it had an outer cast bezel around the glass; and by 1946 it was simply a window contained within a rubber gasket. So many years have gone by it is difficult to find an unchanged original truck. Judging by shows and such, you would think most of these trucks came with a chrome grille. In fact, the vast majority had painted grilles, but over the decades the grilles got changed and chrome was more popular. Either way, they are one of the most attractive trucks ever made in Detroit, but I could be biased.

[1912Staver]

What does the Data {serial } tag say? It looks like a Chev. pick up that someone has put the larger G.M.C. {248, 270, 302 } series engine in to. None of the pickups came with this engine as far as I know {2 ton and larger it was standard}. It is a easy swap however and was quite popular for trucks that were used hard.

Looks like a big project but these are easy trucks to find parts for. Good grills are pricy!

Greg in Canada

[DLynskey]

Look at the window glass if it is original. It will be coded with the date the glass was made/certified. That will tell you approximately when the truck was made, not when it was sold. During the war many trucks were stockpiled and sold as needed. They would be titled with the year they were sold in many cases.

There was a Chevy sedan locally which was described as a very rare 1943 staff car. It was obviously a '46 model and I pointed out to the owner that all the windows were coded in March and April 1946, but it didn't convince him.

Don

[Guest taylors139]

Don u just solved it for me 4/ 46 glass .thank you

[carbking]

According to Branham, the DP prefix was used on 1946 Chevrolet 1/2 ton light delivery trucks.

Jon.