Chevrolet 1533X2 30-cwt trucks

[Stuart Kirkham]

Originally Posted by Andrew Honeyfield

G'Day Tommy, I should make it clear that I am not an expert in LRDG matters and sincerely hope someone with much more knowledge will be able to give a more definitive answer on your truck.

However, the truck in the photo does not have the Godtfreidson rear ammo body (could have been removed)

These features should be visible in your truck if it was intended for LRDG use.

I think it also has the petrol tank and filler cap in the "wrong" place for a LRDG truck.

Andrew

I too am not an expert on LRDG vehicles although I do take an interest in them. I can only go on the photographs I took of the truck, information I have from the owner and information I find through research.

I believe this truck may have been a 'Headquarters/Survey Section' vehicle as these had the same timber rear bodies and timber cab sides. http://lrdg.hegewisch.net/lrdgvehicles.html

Although this Chev in the photo below is an earlier model, it does display very similar modifications including the cab side fuel filler and chassis mounted side fuel tank. It also has the timber rear body. The other photo shows an officer inside a timer bodied LRDG vehicle. Photo taken from here - http://lrdg.hegewisch.net/lrdg-hq-trucks.html

Screenshot_2020-04-29 Photobucket albums q121 tommykm ef55e913c2d9ca17_large_zpsefae9bdf jpg.jpg
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...psefae9bdf.jpg

Screenshot_2020-04-29 Photobucket albums q121 tommykm lrdgmedic_zpsbea81a42 jpg.jpg
http://i135.photobucket.com/albums/q...psbea81a42.jpg

To help you out with your questions about the truck, I post the following photos.

The truck still retains a few parts of it's original timber general service body including the 'headboard' and original shaped chassis 'joists' (as they still retain remains of the original kharki green paint). You can see the underbody 'joist' in the side petrol tank photo.

You will notice that the 'headboard' on this vehicle is identical in height to the one shown in the wartime photo showing the officer at his desk.

The following photo show:

The front of the 'headboard' with it's fittings still in situ.



The rear view shows that the original timber side boards have simply been sawn off at the corner junction. The farmer undertook this work as he wanted a 'sideless' tray setup to cart hay around his property. He would have also found the raised timber floor wheel arches an obstruction so they would have been removed as well. I would not be surprised if he still had the remains of the timberwork tucked away in one of his sheds as he threw nothing away. Actually, come to think about it, the floor boards on the tray look very similar in width.



As pointed out earlier in this post, the cab side fuel filler look correct and the chassis mounted fuel tank also looks correct as it has a top and bottom section to it's construction.





I hope this helps