Chevrolet 1533X2 30-cwt trucks

[cliff]

the closed cabs were probably the same on the GMC and Chev but a flat faced cowl and the GMC open cab cowl I think you will find are different. Remember the flat faced cowl was an export civilian body.

[cletrac (RIP)]

Likely the only difference in the two cab styles is in the door hinge area. If you took a closed cab and made this area smooth like in Cliff's pix then chopped off the roof and made up some windshield posts nobody could tell the difference. On those old Chev and GM trucks the firewall and hood are the same shape.
If you could find the front and rear axles off a C15 CMP they'd have the bolt pattern you'd want and likely be the right width. Otherwise just drill your hubs to the military bolt pattern and bolt on some CMP wheels. It'd be a great project. Around here I could get dozens of those old 1.5 ton Chevs. In fact I already have a couple that I used for parts.

[cletrac (RIP)]

Here's some factory pix of the 1542 flat cowl model. They've got the holes for the door hinges. The interior pic is a closed cab but it's rh drive so the layout will be the same.

[gordon]

That truck is marked up as Ninth Service Command, headquartered in Fort Douglas, Utah, and responsible for the top left quarter of the US plus Alaska during WW2 .

A surviving WW 2 Ninth Service Command Chev is about as rare as an LRDG one I think. The most likely original bed was the dump bed like the 4 x 4 Chev dump - other body styles were available, but they nearly all had full length running boards that your truck doesn't.

134" wheelbase maybe? or is it longer.

[Tony R]

Thanks all. When talking about a flat face cowl we are looking from the front, so the area behind the hood/bonnet is flat from one side to the other, or are we looking from the side, so that the same area does not curve up to the windshield?

What sort of dash do the export civilian trucks have? Mine has the typical closed cab GMC/Chev style, but photos of the re-built (I hate to call it a replica as it is too good for that!) LRDG Chev show a flat dash very similar to an open cab GMC but in RH drive format.

From what little I know, the LRDG trucks never had full windshields/windscreens. They appear to have had aeroscreens the same as truck from the 'World at War' series.

The front axle needs to be 2WD, and I believe the rear needs to be two-speed???

I am not sure whether the Ninth Service Command markings are original to the truck, it does retain its original hood number though.

Thanks again to all who have posted.

[Alex Blair (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Tony R

The front axle needs to be 2WD, and I believe the rear needs to be two-speed???

Rear axle would be an Eaton two speed ...Maple Leaf ..Chev and GM used lots of them on their two wheel drive trucks..

Single speed could be used but more fun with a two speed..
Better range too.

[Tony R]

Here are shots of the cowl area of my Chev. I cant really tell the difference between mine and the pics of the 1542 flat cowl model. Any pointers as to how different it is to a LRDG Chev????



Here is a close-up of the serial number on the hood.



Thanks again one and all.

[cletrac (RIP)]

Here's the caption off this one with full windshields from IWM.
Members of the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) inspect newly-issued Chevrolet 30cwt trucks in Cairo, May 1942.
The firewall area on these trucks can't be made flat since the old stovebolt has to stick back there somewhere.
The flat cowl bit is where the shape in line with the cowl vent is carried through to the dash with no windshield frame. The type of windshield wouldn't matter since they usually threw them away anyway. A windshield would have got in the way of the field of fire on some of their MG mounts and a reflection from the glass would acquire unwanted attention from many miles away.
I don't know if you checked out the New Zealand WW2 site but they have quite a bit in the LRDG. Here's the link.
http://www.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/name-011342.html