VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 1940 options

Does anybody have a list of options that were available for a 1940 Master Deluxe, and the prices? What did the Fog Lights cost? or the heater? Were White Walls an option? I know I have both a heater, and a defroster, and an under dash radio, but what would the dealer have charged? (both the heater (under seat) and defroster were factory installed.)

Thanks,

First what you want are the accessories. The accessories were dealer installed. The options are items or changes odered from the factory by the dealer and when the dealer ordered the car.
There were very few optons in 1940. One that comes to mind is the car could have been ordered with the )optional) oil bath air cleaner.
In the later years common options would have been an automatic transmission or two tone paint as an example. The first year a heater was a factory option was 1955..

There is a long list of 1940 accessories.
The first is the 1940 accessory brochure available from www.fillingstation.com Their # ACC-40 $12.00. Pictures most of the accessories but not all.
Then there is the 1940 car and truck accessory list. Shows no pctures but list all accessories and prices. Their number D-541 for $5.00.

When you get the list of accessories & their list pricing, be sure to multiply the 1940 cost by 1576% to get a real idea of what it cost back then.

And, the average household income back then would have been roughly $23,000 in today's economics.

If my salary was $23K today, I would need to give up a lot of food or fuel to afford the $101 for a set of fog lights.....

Kind of puts things into perspective.....

I have a booklet called "Genuine Chevrolet Accessories for 1940".

For example: Fog light single $ 4,95, dual $ 9,50
Heaters:
Direct heat dual defroster (only to get the windshield window clear): $ 9,75
Front and rear compartment heater (that one under front seat): $ 16,50
Safety heater defroster (combined windshield defroster and heater) $ 7,25

Did not find white-walls in that catalogue.
Regards
Stefan germany

Chevrolet has never handled tires in its parts or accessories system. They relied on the large tire manufacturers distribution/sales system to provide tires, tubes, etc. Of course they did provide tires on the vehicles. In some cases that included whitewall tires as an option (not considered an accessory). Even provided a spare tire for many years.

I have never seen the option list for 1940. 1940 was the first year factory photos can be found with cars with white walls. I would assume they were optionnal by then And they were an option in 1941.

FYI

In 1940, there was a 128 Page 8.5" x 11" Spiral Bound Booklet entitled: "The How School of Parts and Accessories Mechandising" On Page 102, it shows a dealer showroom display with 14 different 1940 accessories. The accessory Shark Tooth Trim Rings are mounted on a WhiteWall Tire.

dtm