VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 1942 Chevrolet Cabriolet production #'s

Curious if anyone has more info/sources on production numbers for '42 cabriolet? Just picked one up.
Have seen a couple sites say 1,182 and a couple that say 1,782...i figure one of them is a typo error.
Also wondering about any information on colors offered for them? Only ones I've seen are either maroon or cream. Wonder if you could order them in any of the colors offered in 42?

I come up with the same two numbers. An educated guess would be the 1700 number.
I can not find the exclusive convertible paint colors but there was no cream in 1942.
In reviewing the paint colors I CAN RECALL SEEING A CONVERTIBLE IN ANY OF THE SOLID CAR COLORS.
There was four interior colors.
I will keep searching.

Talked to a guy, he says itnis the 1,782 as well. Thanks
Meant to say Sport Beige instead of cream...similar looking.

Yes, you are correct. Sport Biege.

friend of mine has a 42 convertible with body number just over #1,700
my 42 convert. body is #290 so an early version.
be careful buying a 42 convertible a few fake ones running around

The early ones had a belt moulding and the lates did not if I remember correctly.

here are the colors for a 42 convertible

Thats almost every regular car color.

I read that too about the belt mouldings...mine doesnt have em and its serial number is a later one

36ragtop...thanks for the picture! Very nice! I've been talking to Jacob from OC Dukes too...been super helpful!

On my 1942 Cabriolet...fisher body tag also shows L for Lansing plant, the body number is 1802...from what I have read/heard from various sources, there were only 1782 Cabriolets produced that year.
So I have two questions on that...
1) Did they make other bodies(coupes, etc) at Lansing, MI plant, or ONLY cabriolets?
2) On the Fisher body tag, is the body number specific to that body type(cabriolets for example) or is the body number general to sequence of all bodies? For example: Say a fisher body plant's first car was a Fleetline(style 42-1007) and it was body #1, then say the second car they made was a Cabriolet(style 42-1067), would it be body #2(meaning 2nd body made out of that plant), or would it also be body #1(meaning the first cabriolet out of that plant)? Thanks in advance for any/all info!

Uh-oh... We've got another one of those "rumoured production numbers" mysteries on our hands! I hope nobody starts quoting "Sixty Years of Chevrolet" on this issue! Looking forward to see where this topic goes. Also, post some pictures of those beautiful '42 'verts for us to see!

Here is the body tag

Here are the few sources I've seen...

And here is the car itself...just got it about 6 weeks ago

Lol Brewster, guess I don't know the story/joke about "Sixty Years of Chevrolet", what is it?
Just am curious to know of any other books/sources people might have, as some books say 1782, some 1182. And am curious for more info on the fisher body number since mine says 1802. Basically just wanting to know if the body numbers are for that body style or just general sequence numbers for that plant.

Lansing made only convertible bodies for Chevrolet in 1942.
The number sequence began with 0001 for each body style at any Fisher Body plant.
I saw that car at Indiapolis in 1971. Is was in great codition at that time.
What are the first few numbers/letters of the serial number?
Can't always depend on published production numbers to be correct.
Notr te fog lights are missing now.

Neat that you mention that, I have a few pictures of the car(from previous owner) of it at Indianaplois track from '71. So if Lansing made ONLY convertibles, my body shows that there were more made since it is #1802.
First few numbers/letters are 2BH01....so it is a '42 Fleetmaster, assembled in Tarrytown, NY in January '42.

It does still have the foglights, I just took them off for the trip home.

It would be a rather late car to be assembled in Jan. of 1942 and not be a black-out model.
Standard Chevrolet books says chrome was eleminate on Jan 1st 1942 but the are not always correct. Yours must have just snuck under the wire either way,

Just found mt 1942 black-out info. It says after Jan. 1st the government will allow just enough copper, nickel and chrome for plating bumpers and a few other small parts.
Perhaps the body was made in Dec. with chrome and assembled to chassis in N>Y> in Jan. so they scratched enough chrome to gether to complete the car.

Yes hard to say about it being built in January and not a blackout. I will add that it is missing the beltline trim that goes on the upper door edge and around the back window edge...was told this was omitted due to supplies becoming scarce during that time.
My serial number is 25,979(assembled in January). I have seen another 42' cabriolet online that was assembled in November of '41 and is serial number 17,918....both assembled in Tarrytown, NY, so the months/serial number both seem to parallel each other in that regard.
I assume mine was completed right in that small window.

Great info you have uncovered!

Gene here is the picture of it from '71


Also another at Indianapolis a few years prior

The top black and white picture may have been taken in 1971 as the cars were allowed to make a few laps of the track.
The lower picture may have been taken in 1975 as the Central Meet was held there that year.
75 Years of Chevrolet picture of your car shows the square fogs, the colored picture some "little ones".
There may be more pictures in the 1971 G&G that featered the 10th Anniversary Meet in 1971....but Kate Sullivan, the editor has my copy right now.

Wow... That's the John Mansell '42??!! I can't believe how bad it looks now! I always wondered what happened to it. I assumed it was one of the ones in California.

The Sixty Years of Chevrolet reference I made was to the fact that this car is the "only one known to exist". Obviously false all these years later. That hasn't stopped others from selling them over the years as "one of two known to exist"... since theirs was obviously not this one! It's another one of those situations like the '29 Imperial Landau that is quoted in that book as having a production run of 300... yet our own JYD has a documented list of close to that number that survive today. People that sell them still quote the 300 number even though it's being proved false today.

Betob, Congratulations on becoming this car's new caretaker. It's great to see older restorations come back for a new generation to enjoy.

Another 42 is advertised in the November issue of Hemmings, beautiful car but expensive. See it here; https://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/cars-for-sale/chevrolet/fleetmaster/1865286.html

Enjoy your purchase and keep us posted.

Jay

Gene, thanks for the info! I met one of John Mansell's sons when I bought the car and he told me that as well, how they used to let some cars do a few laps on the track. He added that they made the old cars tie/hang something below to catch any oil that might drip from the cars and his dad cringed that "my car doesnt leak oil" haha. I'll have to flip thru the pictures i have and try to sort them in order. As with the different foglights like you stated, I have seen a few variations of the accessories in them that he changed during his ownership.
Brewster, now I know what you mean. Is definitely difficult to determine what is/isnt correct flipping thru car books.
Jay, thanks! I am very excited to start digging in. I did see that one on Hemmings, pricey but definitely a beautiful car. It looked familiar to me, I think I saw it online posted at the AACA museum on display for some event.

I wonder if any Black-out 1942 cabroilets were assembled.
A note in the "Chevrolet Appearance Changes For National Defense" states a Note, 12-9-41, "All references to the Cabroilet window and ventilator frames being painted black are now out of date. The new color is nown as Chrome gray."
On 12-4 it mentions the crease line mouldings eleminated from all cars (for black-out models). This was Chevrolets plans before Jan. 1st. Looks like the moulding was eleminated on convertibles before the black-out models came out.
I still say your convertible was some how made after Jan. 1st 1942 with left-over convertible parts made before that date.

I also have a '42 assembled in Tarrytown. Your read of the first part of your serial number is correct. Dick Oldenburg help me to decipher mine just after I bought the car in 2011. Dick had books of production data by plant that he used. Don't know if he still has them or not! As to your serial number, you have to deduct 1000 from the number to get the actual production number. So your number of 25,979 makes it the 24,979 car produced. The factory started at 1001 not 0001. Dick indicated that there were 26,530 Special Deluxe models assembled in Tarrytown. Over 5 months this equates to 5,306 cars per month. At the end of December there would have been approximately 21,224 cars had been made. The last car made in Tarrytown at the end of January had a S/N of 27,530. So your production number would have been in the last week of Janaury, as you say. Hope this helps!