I am "restoring" a '45 Chevy Commercial 1/2 Ton, Model BK. It turns out, during this WWII year, Chevy departed from its usual interior color selection process. The most noticable indication of this is actually on the exterior. Chevy allocated its chromium to the War Machine, so no chrome was used on the grill or front bumper in '45 and part of '46. They substituted Turret Gray paint. As I'm doing my research, on the interior, it appears Chevy made color decisions based a lot on War Time availability.
Here is a list of the original colors showing in my truck cab;
Screwed on sheetmetal...Turret Gray, smooth Dash Board......................Turret Gray, smooth, not hammered texture Gauge Cluster.................Tan w brown trim Steering Wheel................Olive Green Cardboard Panels...........Missing, don't know Upholstery.......................Brown, as in Gauge Cluster
On the primary interior sheetmetal color, I held the back side of the grill next to a door panel and they matched. Jim Carter sells the Turret Gray paint for the grill, so that is where I got the name from. I find absolutly no indication of "Hammered" paint anywhere on the truck.
It seems Chevy had a good supply of Gauge Clusters from 1942 Model BKs (in '43 and '44, Chevy didn't make any commercial trucks), so that part of the original color scheme carried through to '45. Also, the brown uphostery goes with the brown of the gauge cluster.
I'm speculating the olive green steering wheel came from either the Chevy Military Truck Division or the GMC Truck Division.
On top of all this, there are rumors that different assembly plants did different things. Also with The War, there is a probability that availability caused more color changes throughout the year.
I have titled this "Phase 1". The reason is, I have been researching this subject for about 2 months and have yet to actually paint anything. As the interior paint aspect of my project progresses, I intend add coresponding Phases. Also, I am very hopeful that others will add depth to the conversation. I am by no means a know-it-all.
I believe the above interior colors were for "army trucks" and not the 1945 civilian 1/2 yon pick-up. I have a 1945 pick-up sales folder I remember when the 1945 pick-ups came out,They came with leather hood side corners rather than rubber abd no rubber fron floor mat among other things.
Jake shared the serial number with me of a parts truck he has, and it was built in Van Nuys in October of 1945 as a first design 1946 truck (CK). It has the same grey paint characteristics as his 1945 truck.
So I guess the question we have is:
Knowing that nearly all truck production was going to the war effort yet in 1945, and his 1945 and that very early first design 1946 civilian truck cab probably came down the same production line/lines as the ones destined for the war effort, was Chevrolet applying the same non-hammered grey interior paint to all of them?
Also, what about the olive green steering wheels? Did the army trucks have green steering wheels? I have pictures of a war time (1942-45) but civilian 1-1/2 ton produced in Norwood Ohio that appear to also show an olive green steering wheel.
When exactly were the first design 1946 trucks introduced? And did all plants make the switch at the same time?
The reason I ask is this...
I have seen a 1/2 ton serial number that begins with 20CK10. That implies production at Van Nuys in October 1945. It shouldn't mean October of 1946 as the second design '46s were out in May of 1946 weren't they?
But I have also seen a 1-1/2 ton serial number that begins with 9MS47. That would imply Norwood Ohio production in November of 1945 wouldn't it? This truck appears to have a hammered beige interior with a steering wheel that still has olive green on the hub.
Both trucks appear to have never had the interiors repainted. So how do we explain this?
So glad to see this thread pick up some steam! Ole is taking a very legitimate academic aproach to these questions, which I very much appreciate. Gene seems to have "been there"! Can't beat that! I'm more seat of the pants, along for the ride, hoping to paint my truck the correct colors.
I can give some background as to why I have all along thought she was a commercial truck. 1st, she's Brewster Green, not Olive Drab. Upon Gene's comments, this may very well be out to lunch. On the other hand, the little dab of Olive Green on the steering wheel hints that the interior of millitary vehicles was primaritly painted that color. Next, I have reason to believe this truck was sent new to Stibnite, Idaho, to be used in the tungston mining business there. I thought she would have been an "Essential Industries" purchase by the mine. However, because of the extreme importance of tungston for the War Machine, the Fed subsidized the heck out of the opperation. They spent millions building a road into that wilderness, literally on the edge of a U.S. Wilderness Area today! So, maybe my truck was a subsidized gift to the mine, in which case, it might have been a millitary vehicle. It does seem however, millitary vehicles would have had a designation in the serial number though. Her serial number is 9BK41 4181.
The first design 1946 trucks began in Oct 1945, about the same time as passenger cars. The seconed design came in May 0f 1946. GM had a long strike between those dates so first design were not to common.
I haven't looked at the interior of my 1943 Chevrolet 1 1/2 ton truck built in Norwood, OH September 1943. It is 8 wheel drive. Yes, dual rear and front wheels. It is pictured on my avatar without the dual front tires installed. Very rare in the USA as most were sent to Europe or Russia. It is 120 miles away in storage building so will take some time to check it out.
Another aspect of maybe dating these trucks is the two-tone exterior paint jobs where for instance, a Brewster Green truck has black fenders and running boards. My '45 fenders are definitly Brewster. The running boards apear to have been black, but at this stage of patina, it's hard to tell. So, are all the black fendered paint jobs custom, or did Chevy actually offer this for some stretch of time? Was it a special order, or can a truck be dated by original black fenders? And on some black fendered trucks, the black is "flat" like primer. I'd kinda like to spruce up my girl with shiny black fenders, but if there is no way it was stock coming out of Norwood in May of '45, I won't do it.
I believe the literature I have says the truck came standard with black fenders and running boards. And the body in Brewster Green. Other colors were an option at no extra cost. Body color on the fenders was a special order. I think it was at no extra cost also. If I'm wrong on this, someone please correct me. I don't know if the running boards were still black with body color fenders or not. This is based on 1941, '42, and '46 literature. Things certainly could have been different during the war.
Interestingly, I've been told the opposite was true in Canada and that the fenders came standard in the body color. Certainly, most of the faded old original trucks up here seem to be that way.
All trucks up to 1947 had black running boards and fenders. Colored fenders were an option except for the 1944- early 1946 trucks. I believe those trucks came in Brewster Green only (from memory)
Thanks Gene. Since I'm going to so much trouble getting the interior paint colors correct, I should probably just go with what I know from actual factory paint, and that is Brewster Green fenders. In Jim Carter's paper cataloge, he has 2 what apear to be vintage advertisement illustrations of '45 pickups. They have Brewster fenders.
So, how does all this apply to millitary pickup exterior colors? Weren't some or all of them Olive Drab? And didn't that green follow into the interiors as well, ie. my Olive steering wheel?
DO NOT BELIEVE THE PICTURES, I DUG OUT MY 1945 FOLDER AND THE TRUCK IS ALL DARK GREEN INCLUDING THE RUNNING BOARDS AND WHEELS. you can tell the picture including the cab interior and the driver is recolored and not correct.
The exterior of the army trucks were all olive drab flat green - no chrome exposed.
I would adivse to continue at this time and get more information.
I agree with you 100% about not believing the colors on old Chevrolet literature. All of the images look to have been heavily retouched. Only sharp actual pictures might be trusted, and they are essentially non-existent in the advertising.
That said, I've seen a picture of the bare body of Jake's truck, and it appears that it has not been repainted. The paint at the front lower corner of the cab where it is normally hidden by the fenders looks identical to the exposed areas (just a little less weathered). It is of course possible the fenders WERE repainted to match without painting the cab.
A lot of strangeness here.
One thing of note... I see no mention of the Van Nuys plant (prefix 20) on truck serial numbers before 1946. So it looks like it was new to truck production for the first design 1946's. This is where Jake's truck was made. Is it possible things were done differently there?
I just flipped through a 1942 Chevrolet Truck Gold Book, and there isn't a single color illustration showing black fenders, only body color. This of course underscores the unreliability of the old advertising literature for color information.
Almost the same for 1941 and 1942 Truck Data Books.
another sorce I have for early 1946 trucks lists the avaliable colors followed by '' BLACK was the regular color for all fenders, but fenders were done in basic body color on request'
Much good stuff has come out here, a fair amout of it contradictory. I conclude, during the War Years, Chevy had numerous inconsistencys due to the conditions of the time and a new assembly location. That makes replicating interior colors for instance, difficult.
The one interior element in my truck that has the so-called "Hammered" finish is the original Chevy Deluxe heater (see photo). However, "Hammered" is a poor label. "Mottled" and smooth might be a better description.
The one element not hashed out in this interior color thread is the cardboard Headliner and Kick Board colors. My truck is totally missing these components. It's plausible they were the same as the screwed on sheetmetal... except for the Chevy inventory inconsistencies. In my '45 case, the sheetmetal is Turret Gray. Does anybody have any conclusive evidence on this?
As a little bit of trivia, the interior of the cardboard glove box body that I just got from Jim Carter is gray.
I tend to agree with your thoughts. Possible that they used left over Army trucks parts at some plants.
The heaters were made by the Harrson Division of GM and not painted exactly the same color and type of paint used by Chevrolet. Also from what I can see in your picture it looks like a later model heater - better photo needed.
Thanks for your agreements about Chevy War Time inconcistencies, Gene.
I guess you have no particular knowledge about '45 cardboard panel colors.
Turning to heater identification, below are my 2 Harrison heaters. The nicer one is from my '45 1/2 Ton Gem, the other from my '46 1/2 Ton parts truck. I've been asuming they are both original eqipment, possibly dealer installed accessories. Does that seem correct?
You're right, Gene. Cleaner one says H-01-47, parts one says 01-47. I guess this means both heaters were installed a year or 2 after each truck was put into service. Do you have any idea how a show judge would react to this? I will need a heater here in Idaho.
