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Milk Run Truck: 1941 Chevrolet Pickup

Supposedly, this 1941 Chevrolet pickup has been in an Iowa barn since 1966. Used for many years by one owner, it was passed on to his son who used the Chevy sparingly. The truck spent time making milk deliveries while on the father’s dairy farm, and the bed was even swapped out for a longer model to cram a few more milk cans in. Find it here on eBay with bidding over $8K and no reserve.

Once cleaned up, this Chevy still looks quite handsome despite its heavily patina’d exterior. The gigantic chrome grill has clearly seen better days, but I wouldn’t touch a thing if this were mine. I love the vintage “swamp cooler” mounted on the side window glass, and the seller notes it rides on rare artillery wheels.

The interior appears to be holding up well, and the seller notes the swing-out front windows and side glass all motor up and down as designed. The seller notes his crew has gone through the brakes, performed a tune-up, and converted it to 12 volt for easier starting. The three-speed manual is said to shift well with no issues, and the seller has been using the truck daily.

The seller hasn’t touched the body, choosing to instead apply clear coat to preserve its scruffy looks. One thing to note: you’ll have to find a gas tank if you want steady fuel supply. The original is corroded and it sounds like the seller doesn’t want to bother finding a replacement. Still, it’s not keeping bidders on the sideline for this well-patina’d 1941 Chevy pickup.

Comments

  1. Avatar Nevadahalfrack Member

    Personally, I’d do to this like Adam suggested for that sweet 1960 New Yorker-drive it until winter then fix it and paint it, gas tank notwithstanding (replace that upon its arrival at its new home). What a great looking truck! Kind of curious about the big slab of wood on the cab floor with the cutouts for the shifter and handbrake; as well, what is taped to the steering wheel column near the turn signal switch?
    Little niggles, not enough to deter me were we to have the fiscally free wherewithal to bid and win..

    Like 2
    • HoA Rube Goldberg Member

      Kind of a half-reared attempt at a “floor board”, and I don’t see any turn signals, I believe that’s a horn button they added.

      Like 1
      • Avatar Nevadahalfrack Member

        That’d make more sense..
        Thanks, Rube.

        Like 1
  2. Avatar geomechs Member

    Definitely a driver for a spell. It reminds me of my ’47 Ford pickup when I got it 52 years ago. I often think I should’ve kept it together instead of embarking on an endless resto that has gone on for 40 years. Fix what’s broken and enjoy it as much as you can. Run the babbitt-pounder and still have fun. I really have a problem with people converting these to 12V. I’ve never had troubles starting my 216 in cold or hot weather. If your starter is in good shape and the wiring and switches are in order, it should start and run just as well as it did back in its prime…

    Like 7
    • HoA Rube Goldberg Member

      Hi geomechs, I know, we’ve been over this and over this. 6 volt worked fine for me too, I found thicker cables helped. I think today, it’s just more user friendly to have 12 volt. Positive ground throws people for a loop too.

      Like 3
  3. Avatar Johnmloghry

    I owned a 41 Chevy 1/2 ton back in the early 70’s. After a Judge ordered me to sell my 58 Impala or spend a few months in jail, I traded for the pickup. It wasn’t stock, it was powered by a 392 Hemi and 3 speed manual transmission. I liked the truck but couldn’t keep rear u-joints in it. It would snap them as easily as snapping a pretzel stick.
    God bless America

    Like 4
    • Avatar geomechs Member

      Hi John. How could you get a Hemi in there? Must have required some mega-sized shoe horns. A 392 snapping off U-joints? I sure hope so.

      Like 3
      • Avatar Johnmloghry

        Yeah, it was already in the truck when I got it. I did have to do some rewiring though as it had no headlights or taillights, but that was fairly easy since it had a 12 volt battery in it to start the engine and alternator. Headlights were easy to do just had to make sure they were properly grounded. Tail lights were sourced from wrecking yard off 36 Chevy car. Unfortunately there was no place on the transmission for a speedometer drive so I never really knew how fast I was going.
        God bless America

        Like 3
      • Avatar Nevadahalfrack Member

        John, you apparently had enough understanding of the sensation of speed gleaned by your experiences with your ‘58 Impala to relate to that sleeper truck without a speedo..😁

        Like 1
  4. Avatar Ken Carney

    Used to see trucks like this one all through the Midwest when I was young.
    In fact, my Uncle Claude had one parked
    in his machine shed similar to this one.
    I asked him once what he was going to do with it. And to my teen age question,
    he gave me the typical farmer’s response
    about getting it running after he got the
    crops in that Fall, and no, he wouldn’t sell
    it to me because he didn’t want me cuttin’
    it up and turning it into a hot rod. I’m willing to wager that even after he died and the farm was sold, that damned truck
    was still there!

    Like 4
    • Avatar geomechs Member

      Hi Ken. There are a lot of similar stories going around about “that truck that’s going to be fixed up someday.” I’ve definitely seen my share. But having trucks of my own that have fallen into disrepair, I know where those guys are coming from. You genuinely think that you’ll get back at the project but then life gets in the way again and before long you’ve lost another year or two. For me it was career, college, moving around, wayward kids, bad marriage (or vice versa), getting resettled, good marriage. I’ve got a good friend who went through the same thing only without the bad marriage. He held onto his relics for over 50 years then, at the age of 72, went all out. By the time he turned 80 he had restored 6 out of the 8 he owned and was working on the others. So there’s still hope. I’m now retired, with all the time in the world but the downside is no money. But I’ve still got my cynical sense of humor…

      Like 7
      • Avatar 427Turbojet Member

        As a young kid l would ride my bike pretty much daily to my brother in law’s family farm. His family was definitely Ford oriented, with one older brother working as an engineer for Ford in Detroit. They did however have a fleet of 47-53 Chevy 3/4 ton pickups. Don’t think any were licensed, know none had insurance. Routinely loaded until they squatted low in the rear-hard to do with the spring packs they had, but could always be relied on to deliver the load. I learned a lot about driving those trucks. Scared the crap out of myself a couple of times- they don’t stop as easily with a couple tons of grain in the bed. Also kind of “tippy” coming up out of ditches. Those trucks got minimum maintenance but very seldom let us down. Not surprised so many have survived.

        Like 0
  5. Avatar Johnmloghry

    Nevadahakftrack
    Yes I just drove at the speed of traffic—most of the time. But I was young and stupid that’s how I ended up losing my Impala, just kept street racing. It was a high output 348 with 3 speed manual with overdrive, beautiful candy apple red inside and out. Man I miss that car.
    God bless America

    Like 2

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