While looking over my small stash and doing research on a possible project, I started researching the 1941 Chevy Pickup and found a lot of very interesting information and history about this particular year truck. This is why I picked it for my next project. As I continued researching this pickup I expanded my next project to not one, but three models...
| WHAT AM I THINKING???? Three projects at the same time!? |
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The three projects are:
- 1941 Chevy Pickup (Revell)
- 1941 Plymouth Coupe (AMT)
- B-24D Liberator Bomber (Revell)
A Brief History
1941 was a significant year in car and truck production because of World War II (WWII).
The Japanese attached Pearl Harbor on December 07, 1941, "A day that will live in infamy" . Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) addressed congress on December 08, 1941 and congress declared war on Japan that same day.
One month after the attack, FDR established the War Production Board (WPB) that would convert peacetime industries into manufacturing plants for military equipment and weapons along with conservation of metal, rubber, paper, plastic and petroleum. The WPB remained in effect until October 1945.
In February 1942, under WPB, the U.S. Federal Government ordered U.S. auto makers to stop civilian vehicle production. The impact of the WPB on the auto manufacturing industry reduced vehicle production from 3-million vehicles in 1941 to a total of only 139 civilian vehicles during the entire war.
Auto makers would now start building guns, trucks, tanks and aircraft engines. Following are a few examples of manufacturers and what the produced toward the war effort:
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Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth produced tanks,
ambulances, trucks and staff cars. They also
produced SCR584 Radar-Guided Anti-Aircraft
Guns, Bofors Anti-Aircraft Guns, engines for
the B-29 Superfortress Bomber, Ammunition and
Shot, and more
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Ford build a plant at Willow Run, Michigan, also
known as Air Force Plant 31, and started
building the B-24 Liberator
- Chevrolet produced armored cars & and trucks, ambulances, shells, aircraft engines & parts, and gun parts
The 1941 Chevy Pickup
In 1942, there was a very short run of 1942 vehicles. The 1941 models were essentially the last civilian vehicles prior to the U.S. entering WWII. the 1942 models were really the same as the '41's. It has been said that the 1941 Chevy trucks were built stronger, on purpose, because the smell of war was in the air.
In 1941, Chevy produced 65,500 pickup's. The following year production was only 23,700; however, after the war, in 1948 the number of pickup's produced were over 69,000.
While researching body colors and color schemes available in 1941 for the Chevy 1/2-ton pickup, there were a lot of variations depending on the website viewed. Following is a table of color chips found at Auto/Truck/Fleet Paint Cross Reference @ PaintRef.com Chevy Truck Paint Cross-Reference .
| Chevy Pickup Body Colors | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Color | Chip | Dupont or (Nason) Paint Code | Notes |
|
Cream Medium 234, T210 |
246-6596 93-530 |
T-Code for two-tone | |
|
Bordeaux Maroon 251, T240 |
93-1859M |
Tarrytown & Baltimore plants only |
|
|
Swift Red 255, T185 |
93-1863R | ||
|
Apple Green 257, T200 |
93-1650 | ||
|
Brewster Green 267, T260 |
93-2015 | ||
|
Boatswain Blue 269, T195 |
93-2063 | ||
|
Hollywood Tan 301, T230 |
93-2948 | Oakland plant only | |
|
Airedale Brown 307, T235 |
93-2588 | T235 upper body | |
|
Circassian Brown 308, T235 |
93-2536 | T234 lower body | |
|
Amour Yellow 312, T312 |
93-3421 | ||
|
Export Blue 314, T215 |
93-3430 | ||
|
Omaha Orange 626, T220 |
93-082 | ||
|
Sun |
(234) | ||
| Seacrest Green |
(524) (365 Combination) |
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| Marine Blue |
(521) (363 Combination) |
||
| Windsor Blue |
(522) (364 Combination) |
||
| Export Blue |
(314) |
||
| Cape Maroon |
(520) (362 Combination |
||
| Channel Green |
(532) (369 Lower Body) |
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| Fathom Green |
(533) (369 Upper Body) |
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Researching the factory engine color for the 1941 Chevy 1/2-ton Pickup found that there is no information available; however, several websites state that the original engine color was a blue/gray. I will most likely paint the kit engine a color that comes close to the blue/gray shown in the image.
Image borrowed from: Car Revs Daily
1941 Plymouth
Plymouth was in the same situation as Chevy. The '41 Plymouth Coupe was one of the last civilian vehicles produced until after WWII. Although there were a few civilians vehicles produced during the war, they are very rare. Jay Leno's Garage has a good video of his '41 Plymouth .
The following table of body colors was transcribed from: p15-d24 Mopar Cars & Trucks 30's to 60's Flatheads to V8s Stock to Custom
|
Plymouth Body Colors
Chip colors accuracy will change depending upon your monitor settings. Always check a factory chip chart for accurate color selection before painting |
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|---|---|---|---|
| Color | Chip | Modern PPG Paint Code | Notes |
|
Black 101 |
9000 | ||
| Sumac Red 603 | 70004 | Convertible Only | |
| Airwing Gray 501 | 30003 | ||
| Charlotte Ivory | 50003 | Convertible Only | |
| Cruiser Maroon 601 | 50003 | ||
| Marine Blue 201 | 10017 | ||
| Chevron blue 203 | 10319 | ||
| Battalion Beige 401 | 20005 | ||
| Plymouth Gunmetal 503 | 30004 | ||
| Balfour Green 301 | 40004 | ||
| Kenwood Green 303 | 40162 | ||
| Additional Plymouth Paint Information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Silver | Black (Semi Gloss) | Gray | Unpainted |
|
Block Oil Pan Head Water Pump Oil Pump Front Engine Mounts Manifolds Clutch Housing Transmission Oil Filler Tube Dipstick Tube Front Pulley Thermostat Housing Heater Bypass Hose |
Starter Generator Distributor Body Wire Loom Holder Coil Holder Coil Air Breather Air Cleaner Air Cleaner Steady Breather Brace Valve Chamber Vent Valve Chamber Tube Fuel Pump Shield Fan & Pully Oil Filter Filter Brace Steering Box Entire Frame Brake Master Cylinder Brake Lines Inner Front Fender Shields Radiator Side Shields Engine Dust Shields Hood Lock Plate Brace Horns and Bracket Bumper Supports Radiator Support Radiator Cross Bar |
Under Body Inside Floorpan Underside Of Hood Underside Of Trunk Lid Front Stone Guards Rear Stone Guards Front Fender Center Panel Grille Panel All Fenders (Inside) Inside Trunk Area Trunk Hinges Trunk Wheelwells (Trunk Side) Backside Of Wheels |
Fuel Pump B&B Carb Fuel Lines Oil & Vacuum Lines Accelerator Linkage Shift Rods |
B-24D Liberator
Ford Motor Company built an 80-acre manufacturing plant at Willow Run, Michigan. Contractors broke ground in April 1941 and by September the facility was complete. To accommodate employees, dormitories were built on the site and a commuter rail line was extended to the plant.
The plant got off to a slow start while the assembly line manufacturing style was adapted to produce airplanes.
By the summer of 1943 the plant employed 42,000 employees. In the first months of production, the plant built 230 B-24s per month. By the winter of 1944 the plant was producing 650 bombers per month. When production ended, in April 1945, the plant had built over 8,600 B-24 Liberators.