History Who still built cars during WWII?

I know Dodge continued to make trucks during the war, especially 4 wheel drive Power Wagons. Dodge 2 wheel drive 1 ton and 2 ton trucks were also made. In Canada Ford and Chev made a special military spec 2 ton truck in large quantities, they turned out 500,000 of them, more than the total German production of all makes of truck during the war.

Don't know if any were sold to civilian users during the war but plenty became available after the war.

 

What were the production numbers for 1942. I have worked on 2 1942 Fords and one 1942 Chevy.

 

About 160,000 for Ford in 1942, down from 690,000 in '41. Chevrolet took roughly the same hit.

 

My guess is they were all built in 1942, did you know every Model J Duesenberg was built in 1929, but they were still putting custom built bodies on then up tilt 1936 and selling as new cars in the year they were bodied? Bob

 

Can't tell you how many they made but I have a Canadian made 42 Chev in my driveway.

 

According to what I've read, Dodge, then a couple weeks later, all of Chrysler USA holdings, were the first auto company that converted completely to war production.
Dodge stopped all civilian vehicle production on Jan 1, 1942, but keep in mind, the 42 model year started in Sept or Oct 1941, so everything built between the end of Sept and Jan 1 would have been a 42 model. Anything in current production, or in inventory on Jan 1 became government inventory and had to be acquired through the government.
Dodge did build some 1ton, and bigger trucks during the war years for civilian use, but the sale of those also had to be approved by the government.
Dodge began changing back to civilian production late in 1945, but any vehicle produced were listed in the production numbers as 1946 models.
That is from what I've read, who knows how accurate the info is? Gene

 

I remember when I was a kid we had a Farmall tractor that dad had gotten sometime during the war because farmers were part if the war effort. My dad was also lucky enough to get a new 41 Chevy coupe just before the war that he drove until 49 when he got a new Chevy sedan. He also told the story of these 3 brothers that had a filing station at the edge of the local air base selling all kinds of bootleg stuff, and another man that was the go to guy if you needed tires because he also had a black market deal going. With 2 air bases in the area there was apparently lots of black market activity going on.

 

My Grandpa got a truck during the war. He owned a junk yard at the time (like all time) had he had to give up I think 90% of his steal to the war effort. I have a news clipping with a new looking 42 chevy truck, with what looks to be a painted grill. I think the article is from '43. My grandpa was a cheap sumbitch. The story my dad told was he would also get used air plane tires and sold them. They lasted longer and tires where hard to get.

 

Had a buddy who grew up in Cleveland during the war and he told us about new '46 models coming off the line with wood bumpers and promises of replacements as supplies were available, as Rusty said. The only honest "wartime" car I'm acquainted with was a late production '42 Packard convertible that was black, with blackout trim and blackwall tires. It was a much better looking car without all the bling actually.

Somewhere at the shop I have a set of NOS blackout '42 Pontiac bumper guards too. Not a bit of chrome, just black phosphate plating primer. '41-'42 is a neat time period that gets overlooked a lot of the time.

One of my favorite subjects is the ramping up of industrial output during the war. It never ceases to amaze how quickly we turned from refrigerators and radios to tanks, planes, bombs and everything in between.

And the sheer scale of it is mind boggling...The Frigidaire plant in my hometown of Dayton, Ohio, turned out 250,000 50 cal machine guns early in the war. 250,000!? That's just one plant in the space of a year or two! I didn't think that the army ordered that many during the entire war. 10,000 P38s...12,000 B17s...50,000 Sherman tanks...All possible because the public joined in the effort and made their own sacrifices.

 

^^^^^^^ It must have been 15-20 years ago that I was in a basement machine shop in Danbury, Ct., the lady told us her husband had a full time day job making something for the war effort. When he came home after dinner he went to work in the basement making stuff for the war effort, stuff he had a contract to make. The cities must have been turning out stuff 24/7. Bob

 

^^^^I read a war effort article once that stated any able and available private machinery such as lathes and mills in basements and school shops were put to work turning out some sort of small parts for the war effort. The war effort was a miraculous thing where every (non militarized) citizen contributed in some way ( manufacturing, rationing, scrap drives, victory gardens, civil patrol, volunteering, etc.) to win the war. And they had to as it was a matter of life and death. Serious business. No time for BS politics.

 

I did some research on my 46 Olds production and established that on orders from the Federal government, Oldsmobile ceased automobile production on February 3,1942 and resumed it on October 15, 1945 in order to manufacture material during World War II. I'd say other manufacturers would be similar. My Olds speedo is dated August 1945 with the frame dated October 45.
My Olds is one of only 3,498 units (Serial #733) produced between October, 15th 1945 and November, 21st 1945 due to a United Auto Worker's (UAW) strike that prevented production from November 21st, 1945 to April 1st, 1946. That's only a small production window from October, 15th 1945 to November 21st, 1945

 

I knew a guy here in Phoenix who owned a 1945 Ford 1/2 ton pick up. It was identical to a 1942 Ford with a 1945 title. It was originally sold to a local cemetery in early 1945, I reckon cemetery operation was considered essential to the war effort.

During the war and until he retired, my Grandpa worked for the Continental Can Co. He was the main trouble shooter for all of their canning equipment on the east coast. He was not allowed to enlist in the military during the war because the federal government considered his job and his personal skills to be absolutley vital to the war effort.

 

Don't know if it was one of those, but Dad talked about picking up a new crate motor at the end of the War and dropping it in his '39 Ford.

 

On the 46-8s Mopar didn't keep track of what was produced or when. An article from some years ago said researchers were digging through the States DMV records to try to establish dates according to when registrations were issued to the VINs.

 

could you imagine car companies shutting down to build guns and tanks today? we are only 1/4 the nation were were in the 40's

 

They didn't just do it out of goodness. They really dragged thier feet getting started and the government gave them really good incentives in terms of paying for new plant and guaranteed profit contracts. Still once it ramped up the amount of production was overwhelming in terms of ability to supply the war effort.

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In his autobiography My Years With General Motors, Alfred Sloan describes how GM came to produce Browning 50 cal machine guns. Browning could not keep up with the orders and GM was asked to help. Browning's experts proclaimed that no auto company could produce their machine guns to the precise tolerances necessary by mass production methods, GM started turning them out 2 months after they got the contract, to the same specs. Browning charged $600 apiece, GM charged $450 for the first batch, and steadily dropped the price as they improved their mass production methods. The last ones went out the door for $150 and Sloan was confident they could have got the price under $100 if the war went on for another year.

 

Very interesting thread.

 

Some very detailed reading about wartime vehicle production https://forums.aaca.org/topic/155577-wwii-1943-1944-production-figures-question/, with quite a few comments from our own @Rusty O'Toole

I think this post below, taken from that thread, answers a few questions that were asked.

 

The bases in this area were open into the mid 50's and I don't know if they came from there but I scored 2 new 59 L blocks in their wooden crates with military markings and covered with what I assume was cosmoline in this area in the late 90's from an old machine shop that had them stored away and was disposing of them.

 

All of it.

 

There is a (titled) '46 Chevy sedan delivery with a '42 front end for sale on the board right now.

 

My brother bought 1 OWNER 44 DODGE 3/4 TON LWB TRUCK. IN GLOVE BOX WAS PAPER WORK WHERE IT WAS SOLD NEW TO A DR. Man that was an ugly truck.

 

One thing about being an ancient old fart is WW2 is not history---it's memory. The answer for post 1942 car production is ZERO. All the production lines had been converted over to tank building, aircraft building, military trucks etc. The early 42's had chrome/stainless grills and interior trim while the last ones built had plastic grills and trim. The vet in out town got a new Chevy pickup which was titled as a 44 but of course was a 42. Vets wore out trucks quickly as there were no paved roads and they all used to go to the animals; not have the animals brought to them. Pork and beef production was essential to the war effort so ones in an essential industry could sometimes get a new vehicle. I remember blackouts, ration stamps, tokens, steel pennies, and red rubber inner tubes with a dozen patches on them. Hopefully it will stay a memory and never be repeated.

 

I know that GM built a few sedans. My granddad was CO of the gun battery on the North side of the Golden Gate and Capt of the mine sweeper in the Bay during that war. His transportation was a Chevy Sedan. I have seen pics of him and his driver, his car resembled a '42 Chevy.