[David_Hayward (RIP)]

Is the original engine there still? On the side of the block near the casting number wil be found a date code: Letter-digits-digit, say "5" for 1945 Calendar Year. That code will tell us when the engine block was cast. I am always reticent about advising whether these 1945 Model Canadian Chevrolets were military orders or early civvy ones. We know that 1945 Model MCP trucks were delivered to the Canadian forces, so I would leave it to you to decide whether it was a military truck or an early civvy one. Post-war we know that GM-H bought back a large quantity of military trucks and then refurbished them for onward sale, just as General Motors Ltd did for civilian sale here in England. However that date code if it is the original engine would prove whether the engine block was cast prior to August 1945.

PS My official CKD chart shows that 1946 Model CKD production started June 1945, so any 1945 Models should thus have been assembled from say September 1944 to May 1945 and thus in wartime.