ww2

Cameo Leads the Pack on the Alcan Highway A Cameo leads the Chevy Truck “six pack” on the Alcan Highway in 1957.  For this one time General Motors used this 1,520 miles between Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada to Fairbanks, Alaska (two years before Alaska was made a U.S. state). Their engines were never shut off during the 45 hour...

It's the height of World War II. The Japanese have control of the rubber plantations in Indonesia. The few tires available are reserved for military use.  And, the rationing of gasoline stops most U.S. vehicle operation.  But, there were still trucks needed on farms, keeping telephone lines operational, and supplying store commodities for their city.  For these selected truck uses, new tires could...

Our 1942 1 1/2 ton Chevrolet Fire Truck Was delivered to the DeLand Naval Air Station, February, 1942.

The term artillery wheel is a nickname adapted from a scalloped type wheel often seen on US military vehicles in World War I. The similar appearance at a distance to GM's scalloped steel wheels quickly gave them the name artillery. On GM trucks, this style was first used during 1934-36 as a stock six bolt 1/2 ton 17 inch wheel...

Shortages during this major war led to many modifications to Chevrolet and GMC door handles. War demands for die-cast material changed handle designs on military trucks as well as on a few commercial vehicles purchased by civilians. The attached photos show these wartime designs. The exterior handles have a stamped steel outer cover. Their inner liner is thinner metal and...

The two series of exterior door handles on GM trucks between the years 1934-46 are certainly different yet they share a few similar features of interest. One characteristic which seems strange today is that the handles lock the right doors only, not on the left. This occurs on GM trucks from the early 1920's to about 1959. At this time...

With the introduction of GM's new truck body design in mid 1947, a delivered package became available on both Chevrolet and GMC. World War II was in the past, employment was high, and many American truck buyers were willing to pay a little extra for more options on their new vehicle purchase.

With the US entry into World War II, trucks were quickly modified to be successful for military use. Pre-existing cabs, frames, and mechanical components were altered to be more usable when in everyday work duties or in battle.

During the war years, the US was plagued with a shortage of rubber. The Japanese occupied most of the islands that grew rubber producing plants. The majority of the rubber the U.S. could obtain was sent to the war effort.