Chevrolet MCP 3 Ton Lorries G.S. (Australian)

[Mike K]

I have never seen a 1940 Chevy cab with a hinged windscreen like that ! It is probably a later modification done by somebody ? Or the whole cab may be from a 1941 or 42 truck ? Are the HOLDEN build plates still on the firewall ?

[Lionelgee]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly

I have never seen a 1940 Chevy cab with a hinged windscreen like that ! It is probably a later modification done by somebody ? Or the whole cab may be from a 1941 or 42 truck ? Are the HOLDEN build plates still on the firewall ?

Hello Mike,

No it is an Army modification that also appeared on the 1941 - 42 Australian Holden constructed cabin Chevrolets. The only modification the vehicle has had is the relocation of the petrol tank.

The first photograph of the tray back truck is described as:

ID number : 024625
Collection type Photograph
Object type Black & white
Physical description Black & white
Description WESTERN DESERT, EGYPT. 1942-07-22. AUSTRALIAN ARMY CANTEEN SERVICE MOBILE CANTEEN. THESE 3-TON TRUCKS STACKED WITH GOODS PLY UP AND DOWN THE REAR OF THE BATTLE AREA SUPPLYING THE WANTS OF THOSE WHO HAVE MONEY. NOTE THE NAME "GLORIA" ON THE FRONT OF THE TRUCK. THIS IDEA OF INSCRIBING A GIRL'S NAME ON A 3 TON TRUCK IS, IN A WAY, A DOUBTFUL COMPLIMENT TO HER MEMORY, BUT IS A WIDESPREAD PRACTICE AMONG BRITISH TROOPS IN EGYPT. Accessed April 7th 2016 from, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/024625/

Here is a photograph from the Australian War Memorial. I previously found some more photographs from the same source. This has been discussed previously. The fact has not changed my truck is original!!!

Then there was a second one - well a slightly bent example.

Apparently, it had an argument with a Jeep - damn I would not like to have been in the Jeep!

I would suggest that my vehicle is a late 1940 product on the Holden assembly line when they transitioned to the 1941-42 models with the tilt up windscreen.

ID number - 059816
Collection type Photograph
Object type Black & white
Maker Halmarick, Colin Thomas
Physical description Black & white
Description PORT MORESBY, NEW GUINEA. 1943-11-11. A TRUCK OF HEADQUARTERS, NEW GUINEA FORCE WHICH WAS WRECKED IN A COLLISION WITH A JEEP. Accessed April 7th 2016 from, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/059816.

Yes the Holden black and white Lion standing on a ball is still on the fire wall and the build plate that says 1940 and paint code Khaki.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[Mike K]

re: the opening screen, you may be right .

The wheels on your truck don't look right to me for a 1940 truck , they are strange . They maybe wheels from a 1930's Chev truck ?

[Lionelgee]

Hello Mike,

Slight amendment - my truck does not have the original horn. Here are three photographs of the Holden Build plates - the stamp for 1940 is very clear.

Mike, you were the one that recommended I should check to see if my truck was an Army one when I posted on another forum about my truck before I joined MLU. I was originally going to drop a nice big block Chevrolet into it and paint it red body with black mudguards. At the time I was in Bundaberg and the truck was still sitting in its yard at Dalby in Queensland - waiting to be transported here.

Here is the link to that message - God look at how long ago it was!!! http://www.mapleleafup.net/forums/sh...10&postcount=5

The other truck in the shed in one of my first batch of photographs is a 1934-35 REO Speed Wagon with a wide body - the equivalent of a sleeper cabin back then. It is a long term project and I got the Chevrolet because it would be a mid-term project.

Here is a youtube video of the American version of my truck and close to how I imagined my first thoughts of a rebuild. Except for this one still has the 216 motor and they did not paint the mudguards black. Accessed April 8th 2016 from, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Refn9dMpyBk The restorer does not mention its wheelbase but he does say that it is a One and a half Ton truck.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[Richard Farrant]

Here is a Maple Leaf Chev with Holden cab. Nice original example.

[Lionelgee]

Hello Richard,

Thank you for posting the younger version of my 1940 truck. It is amazing how much the two trucks changed within a year of manufacture. My truck does not have the sprung brush-bar or a hatch in the roof. Plus different rims on the wheels.

That truck looks like one that I think Max owned - the geography looks similar to the Yass area. If it is the same truck it is now in a big shed in Mitchell in the Australian Capital Territory and owned by the Australian War Memorial.

Kind Regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

It has been a while since I did a trawl through the Australian War Memorial section for World War Two Truck photographs. New additions get posted up over a period of time. Here is another 1941-43 Chevrolet with a Holden cabin that was fitted with a tilt windscreen like my 1940 truck of the same breeding.

Described by the Australian War Memorial as:

ID number 085623
Collection type Photograph
Object type Black & white
Physical description Black & white
Description HERBERTON RACECOURSE, WONDECLA, ATHERTON TABLELAND, QLD. 1945-01-19. SPECTATORS AT HQ 9 DIVISION WATCHING ATHLETIC EVENTS DURING THE 9 DIVISION GYMKHANA FROM AN ARMY TRUCK. Accessed April 9th 2016 from, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/085623

Kind Regards
Lionel

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

Here is another Chevrolet Holden that is a cable layer fitted with a tilt windscreen. Described by the Australian War Memorial as:

ID number P03369.002
Collection type Photograph
Object type Black & white - Print silver gelatin
Maker Unknown
Place made North Africa: Western Desert, Western Desert (Egypt), El Alamein Area, El Alamein
Date made c November 1942
Description A line truck S5, one of two used by Signallers, of the 2/7 Australian Field Regiment, primarily used for laying telephone cable. This vehicle was used by E Section and served a broad range of purposes as home to four or five signallers, storeroom, keeper of 'munger' (food) and an an important bag of tea which hung off the right hand side of the truck. Accessed April 9th 2016 from, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P03369.002

Kind Regards
Lionel