1947 Chevrolet 'Lend Lease' Tray Truck

Description

Chevrolet began building trucks in 1918, the same year the company joined the General Motors fold, and went on to establish itself as the market leader in the 1930s thanks to a torquey overhead-valve six, along with advances like hydraulic brakes and all steel bodies. A great many of these trucks found their way to Australia in Completely Knocked Down (CKD) form, being assembled locally by Holden and were known as ?Maple Leafs?, having originated from GM's Canadian arm. When war broke out in September 1939, civilian production of automobiles and trucks in Australia virtually ceased, with supplies from Europe drying up and imports from America restricted for fiscal reasons, resulting in severe shortages on the local market. It wasn't until American began tooling up for war in 1941 and the Lend-Lease Act was officially enacted on March 11, that supply of CKD vehicles from America began to flow again, including the so-called Lend-Lease Chevrolet 4000-series trucks. These began arriving in large numbers in 1942 and remained in full-scale production right through the war years, with assembly taking place in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane. Many of these trucks found their way onto farms as military surplus in the immediate post-war period and for decades virtually every property in the country seemed to have one. Civilian production resumed in the early post-war years with the design essentially unchanged, Chevrolet's CKD trucks once again being supplied in right-hand drive configuration from Oshawa, Canada for local assembly, with Holden-built cabs distinguished by front quarter vent windows and side cowls ahead of the doors. The 1946 range of ½-ton to 1 ½ -ton trucks were offered in several different series, with varying engine capacities and either single or two-speed axles. With few survivors left on the road, interest in these early Chevrolet trucks continues to grow, with owners well supported by the many classic commercial clubs around Australia.