Maple Leaf When it is not

[Lionelgee]

Hello All,

While visiting friend I took a detour to a place an hour away which was advertising the sale of a Maple Leaf Chevrolet 1940 truck. When I got there the bonnet said “Maple Leaf” and had the symbol. However, when I lifted the bonnet up and looked at the firewall identification plates, the words “Holden made in Australia.” No “General Motors Canada” appeared anywhere.

Thanks to this forum I was able to detect a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Someone must have swapped the bonnet from a Maple Leaf and replaced an older Holden Australian bonnet. The good thing is this truck had the spare tire holder and a tow bar which my truck was missing. I also learnt that Australian Army trucks had the back of the differential centre painted white for safety. Something I did not know.

I also re-visited where I got my truck from and found an authentic key for my truck’s ignition and a piece of the hood ornament that was broken off from my truck. Another truck had the exact piece of the ornament that I could replace my smashed part with. There was nothing left of the “new” part and it was definitely not from mine. Also found replacements for my missing windscreen wiper motors and wiper arms. On another truck I found the covers that go on top of the wiper motor units. It turns out my horn was not original and must have been replaced by a totally different shaped one years ago. Finally a missing exterior door handle was on a donor truck too.

So despite the Maple Leaf being a Holden it was a Happy day scrounging. The Maple Leaf bonnet still had the Army numbers visible so I might buy the bonnet and for the labels and the number and transfer it onto my truck as at least it is an authentic Army number. Something to ponder anyway and thanks for the information so I can distinguish between genuine and the misleading.

Kind Regards
Lionel