1940 Chevrolet 12-cwt Ute

[Tony Smith]

Lang, there is no official headings as such in the register, just columns ruled by the clerk who tried to organise the information on hand.

For the pages that Mike has shown (in the AIF series register, which also shows shipping information for vehicles sent overseas), the columns are arranged as this:

1st column: Ship that vehicle was loaded on (ie Largs Bay, etc)
2nd Column: Port of Loading (ie "M" means Melbourne)
3rd Column: Destination Command ("M/E" means Middle East Command)
4th column: Date of shipping (probably date of loading or handing over for shipping, as the Clerk would not be privvy to dates of shipping movements)
5th Column: Vehicle registration class ("V" = Van)
6th Column: Sequential registration number (Complete number shown on vehicle would be :AIF V225. Vehicle class in red)
7th column: Vehicle make (CVT = Chevrolet)
8th Column: Vehicle nomenclature. Not much space in this column, so it was often abbreviated or just shortened to one word. In this case "12cwt".
9th Column: Engine number.

Other column were also used to list other types of information when available or necessary to define vehicle types. Examples include date of Manufacture or Delivery, Chassis Numbers, Tyre sizes, specialist vehicle body types, etc.

[Mike Cecil]

I think you will find that the red 'V' was used on the AIF registration plate, but when stencilled onto the bonnet sides & rear, the whole registration was in white.

The shipping date appears to vary from the date of loading to the date of assignment for overseas service. I have records of some staff cars where the date in AWM126 is several days before the date of the ships departure, and turns out to be the date the cars were assigned and departed Melbourne by road to join the ship in Sydney. Seems almost like 'any date will do'.

Mike: the red ink in the AIF register was the disposal or write off information, hence entries like 'Ceylon' for vehicles left in Ceylon during the return of 6 Div to Australia (via some months in Ceylon).

Lang: do you found a chassis number as yet?

Mike

[Lang]

Mike

From what I can see there was no number stamped on 1940 Chevrolet ute chassis it all - depended on the plates.

Some talk of plates on the floor but nothing to be seen.

I have tracked the engine casting number down from a USA Chevrolet web site. Manufactured 1940 so probably the original engine.

The seller gave me the paint code oval GMH tag but the second tag and the rectangular data plate are "somewhere in his shed" so I am visiting him next week.

When I picked it up last week he showed me the marks on his trouser leg where a King Brown hit him just before I arrived. Naturally he was not keen on up-ending the parts pile with this resident.

[Mike K]

You can enlarge the GM-H factory pics to reveal great detail. Somebody left a loose bolt in the back of the 1940 ute.

Maybe Norm Darwin could help you out with a chassis nr. location ?

The date code on the second (missing) tag will be something like: A0 = Jan. 1940 B0 = Feb. 1940 and so on

I have two 1940 Chevy utes (wrecks), the light commercial model with a truck cab on the 113" w.b. Both have A0 date codes and the colour tag reads: PRT RD or Port Red

At the local car show, a chap turned up with a 1939 model in mint condition, he said he found it in a farm shed at Glenrowan. Some people have all the luck !

About 25 years ago I was offered a very original 1938 model light commercial chevy ute , a local farm vehicle but it was just too early to depict a typical wartime army vehicle so I passed on it

[Mike K]

Here we have the ute collection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnIJWw4Xi60

[Mike Cecil]

Lang,

Your engine number: R118522, a 1940 Chev utility.

AIF and AMF 'Vans, 12 Cwt, GS (Aust)', Chevrolets are almost invariably listed with 7 digits viz: 'R199xxxx' or 'R278xxxx' or 'R298xxxx' engine numbers.

Where a chassis number is listed, it is in the form of an assembly plant prefix followed by what appears to be the year, then the number: eg, M39-2815 or M40-1332, where M is Melbourne.

Hope you locate the plate from your ute: might be the key to its military identity.

Mike

[Lang]

Thanks to the two M's for your help.

Mike K I know Michael Ferguson in that video well. That is where I got my new floor shift 3 speed yesterday - I have a rebuilt? 3 speed column shift for sale.

This is a wonderful site to put in your index. http://home.znet.com/c1937/RPM.htm

As you know I am not too precious about the number of rivets and more than happy to have a "may be, may be not, tribute" vehicle - it only becomes 'fake' if claims are made against opposing evidence.

Missing evidence either way has no value in law and the "likely" optimism of the owner holds equal status with the "unlikely" claims of others.

I would hazard a guess that the great majority of restored military vehicles (particularly jeeps) would fail miserably in an academic provenance investigation. All the many gratuitously marked Military Police vehicles tell us is their owners have never been in the army (unless they were actually Military Policemen).

The best most of us can do is save a vehicle of a type clearly used by the military and use words like "presume" or "possibly" while ignoring the cries of experts who require proof while offering no opposing proof themselves.

Marking an unknown vehicle with definite originality claims is falsifying history but marked to "represent XYZ" is just fine to my mind.

The main thing is the keep them rolling.

Lang

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Mike Cecil

Lang,

Your engine number: R118522, a 1940 Chev utility.

AIF and AMF 'Vans, 12 Cwt, GS (Aust)', Chevrolets are almost invariably listed with 7 digits viz: 'R199xxxx' or 'R278xxxx' or 'R298xxxx' engine numbers.

Where a chassis number is listed, it is in the form of an assembly plant prefix followed by what appears to be the year, then the number: eg, M39-2815 or M40-1332, where M is Melbourne.

Hope you locate the plate from your ute: might be the key to its military identity.

Mike

I noticed the six digit engine number as well.

The utube video claims that 6000 of the 1940 model coupe utes were assembled which seems to be a rather high number to me: the Woodville production records don't indicate that such a high number of these ute bodies were manufactured for 1940 but these bodies may also have been pressed in the Fishermen's Bend plant.