Featured here is a nicely restored 1942 Chevy Half Ton Pickup. Due to the start of war in 1942 civilian car and truck production was halted in February that year. As a result, 1942 civilian vehicles in general are rare.
Chevy AK Series Light Trucks
The Chevrolet AK Series truck was produced by Chevrolet from 1941 to mid 1947. The AK Series used the GM A platform. This new series represented totally new styling which was an appearance split from previous Chevrolet vehicles where the passenger cars and light duty trucks shared a common appearance. These same trucks were also sold as GMC’s with the only appearance differences being the grilles. Mechanicals for both cars were similar to the Chevy Suburbans.
1942 Chevy Truck Styling
To describe the 1942 Chevy pickup truck styling we have to look back at 1941.
Ford introduced all new styling for their 1941 models, both passenger cars and trucks. The 1941 Chevy truck models came out with several changes from the previous year. One noted change was that the brand name was not stamped on the tail gate. Wheelbase sizes were also increased. One result was that there was more space in the truck’s cab and for the driver, more leg room. The cab seats themselves were upgraded to provide more comfort to both driver and passenger.
The most notable change from 1940 was new front sheet metal. The grille featured an upper section with horizontal bars while the lower portion had vertical bars. The headlights were now mounted on the fenders.
The 1942 Chevy trucks came out in October 1941 with really no noticeable changes from the all new 1941 models. While all civilian production ended in February 1942, Chevrolet received permission by the government to build trucks for “high priority” civilian use which meant for those individuals and/or businesses considered to be vital to the war effort. As far as GM’s war vehicle production, it’s estimated that General Motors produced 854,000 military trucks during the war. GM was involved in several aspects of war production, munitions being one of them.
1942 Chevy 3100 Pickup Specifications
The engine powering the 1942 Chevy Half Ton is a 216 cubic inch Inline Six.This was an engine that was introduced in 1929 and referred to as the “Stovebolt” Six. The name came about because the bolts that held the engine together resembled the bolts that were commonly used to assemble wood stoves. This overhead valve inline six-cylinder engine remained in active production for 72 years until 2001, This engine obviously was a proven performer.
The transmission is a synchro-mesh three speed manual. The heavy duty 1942 Chevy Trucks came with four speed manual transmissions.
Brakes are four wheel hydraulic drums.
The half ton ruck’s wheelbase is 115.0 inches while the 1942 three-quarter ton Chevy models had a 125.0 inch wheelbase.
Total Chevrolet Pick-Up Truck production for the 1941 model year was 65,500 units, Because of the U.S. entry into World War Two the 1942 Chevy Pick-Up truck production totaled only 23,700. By 1948 Chevy’s Pick-Up truck production climbed to over 69,000 units demonstrating the growing interest in light trucks.
New vehicle base price for the 1942 Chevy Half Ton was about $650.
Related Auto Museum Online articles are on the links below….
1941 Chevrolet Half Ton Pickup
Reference material for this article includes..Chevrolet Trucks: 100 Years of Building the Future by author Larry Edsall. General Motors Chevrolet Archives…Collectible and Classic Trucks by the Editors of Consumer Guide.
The 1942 Chevy Pickup Collector Truck
The 1942 Chevrolet truck for several reasons is popular with collectors. In addition to the new styling which debuted with the 1941 model, the 1942 models are quite rare today because of the much shortened production run due to the war. The 1942 models were only built from October 1941 through January 1942. The 42 Chevy trucks had passenger car platform underpinnings with the exception of the suspension that was modified to improve its payload. The 1942 Chevy Pickup in original form also has the dependable 216 cubic inch Inline Six which Chevrolet utilized for decades.
More recent auction sale results for the 1942 Chevy Half Ton Pickup have been in the range of from about $30,000 to $38,000.
(Article and photos copyright Auto Museum Online)