Chevrolet 1542 MCP

[Dave Ashby]

Evening all,

I have been trawling for info on the Chevrolet MCP of which there is a great wealth of knowledge on this forum.
I have recently purchased what I believe to be a 1542 but in all honesty I'm a bit confused as to its exact identity due to the vast array of differences between the designations.

Is there a check list one could go through or would it be possible to produce one, to ascertain model designation or is it not that simple due to the amount of variations and seeming overlaps?

I have been around and owned CMP's for most of my life and there are fairly definitive design changes which aid model identification, is it the same with MCP's and as such am I missing something?

Also, I'm struggling to find the chassis number. I have looked by the spring hangers but found nothing, could the number be higher up the side rail and be obscured by the inner wings?
If anyone has a photo of where their number is located that would be a great help.

Cheers,
Dave

[Charlie Down]

Hi Dave,
Welcome to the forum.
I believe the 1542 and 1543 were very similar, long wheel base trucks. One of the differences was the 1543 had a 2-speed rear axle, activated by a second gear lever in the floor of the cab. There are better informed members who can help out with further details. I'm sure they contribute soon.

[Dave Ashby]

Hi Charlie,

This one does indeed have a single speed rear axle.

Dave

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Hello Dave, good the hear you've added an MCP truck to The Ashby Stable Of Canadian Military Vehicles. Could you share some pictures? I'd be interested to see it.

From the thread Modified Conventional Pattern Trucks I learned:

1542x3 3-ton 160" w.b.
1533x2 3-ton 134 1/2" w.b. with 9.00 x 16 wheels
1543x2 3-ton 160" w.b. with dual performance axle and 20x6 wheels and single rears

There may well be more info here on this forum. The spare parts list for the 1542X3 seems to come up for sale every now and then.

I also find the GM Heritage's center's website very useful, see https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/gm-...tion-kits.html

And here is a "1941 Chevrolet 1543 GS (General Service) Truck" which was auctioned recently: https://worldwideauctioneers.com/lis...service-truck/. Its chassis number 4154278208 is on the data plate on the firewall, which incidentally lists it as a Model 1542. So the Chevrolet Model numbers are causing confusion.

[Dave Ashby]

Hanno,
Thanks for the info, that one pictured is identical to mine.
I too have a plate on the firewall which is remarkably close in numbers - I was hoping to find the chassis number stamped on the rail to verify the info on the plate.
To add to the confusion - doesn't the wooden steering wheel and military gauges make it later than 1941? Also engine number with first number being 4 denotes 1944?
Dave

[Dave Ashby]

Info on my plate on the firewall has chassis number 4154278361 and engine number TR4045370.
I'll get some photos uploaded shortly.
Dave

[Dave Ashby]

Here is a photo of the MCP in question.

[Paul Singleton]

On Canadian built GM trucks the first number of the serial number is the model year. That would make your truck a 1944 model. The year of the auction vehicle is also 1944 by the serial number, I don’t know why it would be listed as 1941.
GM Canada vehicles used this number system until about 1966. The later years used a system similar to the US format.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

This scan was submitted by John Valenti.

It explains the 1500 series are 1941-1942 model 2-ton trucks.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Dave Ashby

Here is a photo of the MCP in question.

Nice one!

[Alex van de Wetering]

Awesome truck, Dave.....and in very nice condition so it seems.

I would love to see more MCP trucks here on MLU!

[Dave Ashby]

Many thanks, it is in very good condition. It has undergone a cosmetic restoration at some point in its post war life and also has had a gas or lpg conversion which the previous owner thought was done in the late 40’s but I’m not sure. You can see the ends of the gas bottles under the body although it no longer runs on these.
The petrol tank is under the seat and it has the brackets and wiring for the supplementary tank on the chassis rail but unfortunately it is missing.

Dave

[Keith Orpin]

Hi David,
What a cracking looking truck. I imagine it's a bit of a rarity here in the UK.When all of this virus madness surrounding us has been bought under control, I may just have to wander over and have a good look
Stay safe
Keith

[Dave Ashby]

Hi Keith,

Kettle is always on, you’re welcome anytime.

Dave

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

And here is a "1941 Chevrolet 1543 GS (General Service) Truck" which was auctioned recently: https://worldwideauctioneers.com/lis...service-truck/. Its chassis number 4154278208 is on the data plate on the firewall, which incidentally lists it as a Model 1542. So the Chevrolet Model numbers are causing confusion.

I came across this picture from back in the day when it was part of the Kruse WW2 Victory Museum - Auburn, IN (defunct since 2012).

[Dave Ashby]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

I came across this picture from back in the day when it was part of the Kruse WW2 Victory Museum - Auburn, IN (defunct since 2012).

Attachment 118431

Interesting they had it displayed as a 1543 and not 1542.

The confusion between model designations clearly comes from the different models being produced in parallel and not linear as say the CMP production (cab 11 followed by cab 12 followed by cab 13).

I am putting a list together of all changeable items on my 1542 and will post on here, maybe it will be of some use to someone else trying to narrow down an MCP model designation which is missing the cowl plate.

Dave

[Dave Ashby]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

This scan was submitted by John Valenti.

It explains the 1500 series are 1941-1942 model 2-ton trucks.

Attachment 118223

Do we know the date of this document and wether it was superseded post 42?
Meaning if this document was produced in 42 the 1500 series would be 41 and 42, production of the 1500 series could have continued after but the info wouldn’t be on this particular document.

Dave

[David Dunlop]

Good point, Dave.

There are factory photos out there of wartime CMP production lines and they were definitely not linear. You can see Cab 13 and earlier models all rolling down the line at the same time, so a lot of Cab 12’s will be out there dated younger than some Cab 13’s.

Documentation can be quite grey at times.

David

[Paul Singleton]

Originally Posted by Dave Ashby

Do we know the date of this document and wether it was superseded post 42?
Meaning if this document was produced in 42 the 1500 series would be 41 and 42, production of the 1500 series could have continued after but the info wouldn’t be on this particular document.

Dave

As I mentioned in my earlier post your truck is a 1944 model by the serial number and model 1542.

[Mike Kelly]

Dave

These RHD 41 to 47 Chev trucks were pretty much ubiquitous across Australia . There were so many of them around, in the various models, including the Lend-Lease version with the Jeep type black out lamps on the main headlamps.

Found one for sale at Neerim ... close to me

[Mike Kelly]

Chev trucks everywhere ! Even the local greengrocer was selling Chevs ! "I will take a box of apples and a chevy ute thanks"

[Mike Cecil]

The image of the build plate in Hanno's Post 4 (above) shows the weight - gross weight? - as 6125 kilograms, which seems unusual for a lorry destined for Britain or the British Commonwealth, which countries were all still using Imperial measure during the war.

Mike

[David Herbert]

Well spotted Mike, You get the prize for seeing what had not been noticed by anyone else in the subsequent 18 posts ! You are quite right, that is very odd given that the whole UK, Canadian, US war machine was fervently non metric.

David (Recovering from an excellent Christmas dinner)

[Mike Cecil]

French contract, perhaps? Or some other part of the world that could only count in multiples of 10 ....?

Mike

[David Dunlop]

Could that truck have been a European GM build, as opposed to North American?

There does not area to be any text on that plate, just alphanumerics.

David

[Mike Kelly]

Originally Posted by David Dunlop

Could that truck have been a European GM build, as opposed to North American?

There does not area to be any text on that plate, just alphanumerics.

David

If it was French or European , why is it is RHD. Has the truck been converted to RHD later on ? Any clues inside the cab , look at the floor pedal area. The 'R' in the engine nr. prefix indicates a RHD build I think. We need David Hayward

[Paul Singleton]

The auction truck may have been fabricated by the museum for display purposes as a representation of a Canadian or British military vehicle. I read somewhere that some of the vehicles up for sale in this auction were misrepresented by the museum, and were not necessarily actual military vehicles.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

In a parallel thread on FB Dave posted a picture of the data plate on his truck.

It could well be the plate was fitted when it was rebuilt in France. Or more likely: when it was first assembled at an overseas GM facility from CKD kits.

David Hayward would have been able to explain it to us...

[Grant Bowker]

Thank you for the photo of a data plate without the overpainting. It explains the line between engine number and gross weight that I hadn't understood - number of cylenders, bore, stroke (dimensions in mm).

[Mike Cecil]

Interesting the two build plates shown have engines beginning with TR and only 24 apart: TR4045370 and TR4045394.

If Mike K is correct that the 'R' means a RHD build, then it is indeed strange that it would be built/assembled in France, which country uses LHD.