I have written this partially as a reference post and partially that someone may be interested. It is a long read but if you have the time it may be interesting to someone. I will start the story in the middle of my 1942 (edit for the last 40 odd years I was under the impression this was a 42, I just found out it is a 41. The build date C1 apparently means March 41) Chev trucks life. Some of the details are a bit sketchy but they are as I remember them. It was a pleasant sunny day sometime around 1974 on the Darling Downs in SE QLD Australia. There was a farm clearing sale that a young family attended. I was there as a three year old boy and it is one of my earliest memories. Dad was the winning bidder on a 1942 Chev truck in running condition, minus the driver’s side door. These were often removed to save time on the farm. The trucks first owner was the Australian Army and it was driven by a Private Shepherd, he scratched his name and number into the dash. I remember where the farm was but not the second owner. I remember asking mum if I was allowed to ride home in the truck with dad. It was about 15 miles of gravel back roads. Mum must have said yes because I was allowed to make the journey. Dad had a word to the local cop and got the all clear, that was how it was in the 70’s in rural Australia. At some point when I was about 6 I started to drive the Chev. When I saw drive it was in an open paddock with not much to hit. These old trucks had a hand throttle that could set the revs and first gear would see a maximum of about 6 mile an hour not that I used full revs. Dad and I would feed cattle by throwing slabs of hay of the back of the truck. Dad would set the hand throttle and get on the back. I would use both feet with my backside pushing against the seat and select first gear. Gently let the pressure of the clutch, not to fast or it would lurch and Dad would yell out some witty comment about kangaroo juice in the fuel tank. Once the clutch was out I would steer in a wide arc until I got the yell to stop. This involved pushing the clutch in, selecting neutral, letting out the clutch and pushing in the brake and pushing the hand throttle back in. The truth be told, when I was not there dad probably just set the throttle and got the truck moving before climbing on the back to throw hay, jumping down to change direction and stop as required. A skill I acquired a little later in life. Dad tells a story that I have little recollection of. I was about 7 and we had an unfenced public road running through the property. Dad had set of with the Tractor and planter and it was my job to follow in the truck loaded with seed and fertilizer. I was most likely using second by then and with a low revs setting a blistering 7 or 8 miles an hour. Dad had left before me and had pulled a head. The local policeman was on the road and stopped for a chat, as was the done thing back then. As dad tells the story, the policeman looked up to see a truck trailing behind by about half a mile. As he was talking to dad he kept looking at the approaching truck. As I could just see over the dash I was not obvious. Dad carried on the conversation and sure enough I pulled up behind, much to the confusion of the man in blue. As I headed for my teens I have many memories of picking up rocks and taking them to the creek crossing to stop washouts, long nights driving in circles with a hay loader on the side and dad stacking hay on the back. I even got to the point of sitting on the seat, using the clutch with one foot and exploring top gear. There were nights when rain was coming and dad stacked such a big load on the back that when we got it back to the shed he would put a jack under the back to take some of the weight of the springs. This continued on until 1987 where at the old age of 15 I left home to join the Australian Air Force as an apprentice Instrument Fitter. It was something to do for a few years until I decided what I would do when I grew up. Over the next few years I would drive the truck when I was home on leave up until the mid 90’s. Something broke on it and it was parked. Jumping forward to 2009 it became time for Dad to sell the farm. He knew I had a soft spot for the truck and asked if I wanted it. The obvious was yes, I just didn’t have anywhere to store it. You see I was still in the Australian Air Force, deciding what I would do when I grew up. As it turned out the new owner of the property was happy for me to keep it in the shed. In 2014 I finally took possession of my truck. I left the Air Force and now worked for a contractor to the Air Force. My wife is into family history and looked up the service records of the driver. His name was Harold Wallace Shepherd WX11793 from Perth (attachment 1). She also found a newspaper article on Trove (attachment 2). It would appear that Harold was driving his truck under the influence in Brisbane and hit the King George statue. This may explain the repaired crease in the front bumper. So were to from here. My plan is to use the body and timber out of the tray. I am intending to put the truck on a 1942 Chev 115” wheel base chassis. Whilst some may ask why I don’t want to keep the truck original. I know it will be impractical to drive. I want to have this truck in a new format as a runabout and swap meet parts pickup. The last photo is the truck on the Farm.
That's quite a history for both you and the truck, Great story! It's only right that you get to keep it, Enjoy the build.
AWESOME story.......Growing up on a small acreage and also helping at several uncle's farms as a young boy, I think I've done almost every task you have mentioned !! Great truck and even greater history and story telling. Just my opinion......please try to keep the truck as original as possible to pay tribute to the past and maybe the next generation.
Great story on your family's truck! Wonderful history Sent from my SM-G975U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
It wasn't a long read, but it was an interesting read. I'm happy for you to have a truck that was your father's. Enjoy your truck, and remember your father and the good times and lessons that he taught you.
To keep this all in one place I am going to outline the plan for the next chapter. This can also serve as a reference of what I want to do with the truck. For this to make sense I should outline what I would like to achieve. I am after a truck that will fit in a standard garage that is reliable and functional. Its main use will be swap meets and hardware/parts pickup. Likely maximum distance away from home will be 120 miles with this truck not expected to exceed 65 miles an hour due to our heavy road policing. I am keeping it low thrills bench seat, basic paint and such. Something to be proud of but if it gets a knock I will be disappointed but not devastated. I will aim for a max load carring of around ¾ ton. To achieve this I have sourced a 1942 ¾ ton Chev chassis. I will put the tinware on this chassis. The truck will have a timber flatbead tray made out of Australian narrow leaf Ironbark. The running gear will consist of a full pressure Chev 261 (already purchased and hopefully a good block. Manual gearbox, most likely T5 and rear end will be parallel springs with diff to suit. At this point it will be Mazda BT50 as they are the right width and have a Chev 6 bolt stud pattern. The front I beam is yet to be finalised. My truck has wide fenders, about 76” across. The original I beam has large stub axles and is very heavy duty. I am looking at either a Chev, Dodge or International beam that will be easiest to adapt. I have a few in mind. All of these are available at around 54” king pin center to center. Tires will be a 265-70/16 SUV style to fill up the fender openings. To get this back to a ride height of about 8’” under the running boards I need about a four inch drop. Steve from down under
https://www.classychevusa.com/ Hello, Nice story and truck. Hope you are able to complete this truck as it is an unusual one. The flatbed older trucks are rare in So Cal and this one little shop in South Orange County has several that are in various stages of completion. If they cannot help you find parts, there is a slim to none chance that anyone else can in So Cal. https://www.oldtruckheaven.com/ They are located in what is known as the “surf ghetto” of So Cal. It is in the middle of industrial companies and shops about two blocks from the beach. The trucks were/are used for parts chasing and delivery. Sometimes they have been seen cruising around the So Cal area and the local cars/coffee events. Sorry for the bad black streak in this photo. It was a different day and I took it with my phone for an emergency quick photo. Something got in the way or it was a reflection. Usually I use my 20x digital camera for photos when driving, but this quick photo was a “drive by,” showing all of the trucks being worked on or completed. Phone photos are not always reliable, whereas the digital cameras never fails to come up with a great photo shot, moving or not. You work with what is available. Jnaki If you need some literature or catalogs, here is a link to the massive list. https://www.classychevusa.com/index.cfm/page/ptype=results/category_id=67/mode=cat/cat67.htm Here are a couple of previous posts here on the HAMB: https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/termites-and-bowties-early-chevy-group.323303/page-74#post-12595854 https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1941-46-chevrolet-truck-chassis-specs.1154810/#post-13135866 https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/trucks-only-pic-thread-show-me-your-cool-trucks.407080/page-162#post-12623383 https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/1941-1946-chevy-truck-picture-thread.514965/page-25#post-13135809 Hope to see your truck to completion. I know it is a long way off from your location, but it is the closest types of trucks and parts that are similar to your truck build.
So for the last 40 plus years I always thought this was a 42. I cleaned up a tag and beside date it had C1. Apparently this means it is a March 1941 build. This works well for me as my user name is Reidy41 and the 41 was for another reason, now it lines up with the truck. Some days you just get lucky I guess. Steve from down under
The Jalopy Journal
