Its a '45 with my own twist, but hope you guys still like it

[monstergarage87]

Well, i dont have anything new enough to post on the board so i thought i could post pics of my '45 chevy roadster that ive been working on for a while with one of my friends. So heres where the story begins...

2 years ago we bought a '39/'40 1.5 ton truck from a kid we went to school with and we needed a frame. So this past summer when we were strolling through a wrecking yard, we spotted this beauty. The frame was solid so we couldnt pass it up. Sold the 283, saginaw 3 speed and '56 car rear out of it and recouped the money we put down on the truck. And while we were stripping the truck down to the bare frame, we didnt feel good about just scrapping the cab, thought we could do something with it. So we ended up cutting the roof off, channeling the floor and a whole slew of other things. Hope you guys like what we did to save another piece of iron from becoming cheap chinese steel.

[monstergarage87]

Now this is from when we got it cleaned up and started work

[monstergarage87]

And this is what we did the past two days.

[63 & 64 Bowties]

Great idea. Very cool. I gotta tell ya' I never would have come up with that idea. You gonna fab a little T-bucket style bed for it?

[entourageguy]

I like the curtains in the garage nice touch

neat project keep the pics comings.

[63 & 64 Bowties]

Originally Posted by entourageguy

I like the curtains in the garage nice touch

[monstergarage87]

Haha.. those curtains arent mine, theyre my friends. Im suprised that after 4 years of welding, grinding, and torching those things havent caught fire yet.

And i would probly end up putting a little bit of a longer bed on it, maybe like 4' or 5'

Ill keep you guys updated as i go. THings will be a little slow for a while since im still waiting for power in my barn.

John

[chevy3100]

Thats a pretty cool idea, good use of an otherwise junk cab..... Would look pretty cool fenderless with some tall whitewalls...

[GMC Jim]

My memory may be a little fuzzy but..... as I recall the last year of full production of cars and trucks of that era was 1941. There was a limited number produced in 1942 (the Ford sedans had black painted grills and very little chrome.) All this, because the auto factories geared up for WW II production of airplanes, tanks, military vehicles etc. Ford ( not Willys ) was the largest producer of the famed WW II Jeep! GM produced aircraft and engines.. (Pratt & Whitney comes to mind). The 1946 autos/trucks were almost identical to the 1941 production. Full production and subtle body design changes resumed in 1948)... I Had a 1946 Mercury sedan, which was almost identical to the 1941 model.
My point is, if this Chevy roadster is actually a 1945 model; this would be a very rare vehicle. Also, I don't think Chevrolet produced the 283 V8 engine untill about 1955.....??
I don't believe the Saginaw 3 speed was used in the 1 1/2 ton trucks.... 4 speed was the standard that I recall!....

[tiggerstoy]

looks sweet!.....are you gona leave it as a "rat"......great save on the cab, keep up the good work, and pics

[monstergarage87]

Thanks guys. The truck gonna be nicer than a rat. Not too fond of them. Its just a plain ol' hot rod.

And i knew about civilian vehicles not being built during the war. Only reason im calling it a '45 is because thats what year title i have for it. But i think the truck is actually a '42 because of the door handles.

Keep everyone updated as soon as i get back to work on it. And im also looking for parts for my '40. so if anyone has leads on parts, let me know.

[Boomerswany]

Sweet...

I went out about three weeks back to get a similar toy to start on - a 46... and the fella had literally cut it into pieces the night before I showed up... all because his "lovely" bride didn't pass the messege, I'd been planning to come and get it for over a week prior...

I was SICK! So back to another 68 - projo! $700 driver...! I'm sort of a purist... so I cleaned the interior and plan on letting the exterior keep it's rust and moss...!