Vehicles like this 1946 Chevrolet AK Pickup are proof that history does have the ability to repeat itself. Following the end of World War II, the buying public suddenly had access to new vehicles again, and people were snapping up vehicles like this one so rapidly that supply had trouble meeting demand. Today, the same is true for these post-war pickups, with people once again slapping down their money as soon as they hit the market. Located in Lake Park, Minnesota, the Chevrolet is listed for sale here on eBay. It demonstrates this market desire, with 13 people having submitted a total of 42 bids on the vehicle. This has pushed the bidding to $4,750, although the reserve hasn’t been met.

The Pickup certainly has plenty of character. It sports a healthy collection of dents, dings, and ripples, which are all signs that it has spent a large slice of the last 73-years earning its keep. However, it has been sitting parked indoors since 1970, and this has certainly helped to minimize rust issues. There are a few minor spots in the floor, plus some visible in the bottoms of the door frames. It does look like the really rust-prone areas such as the cab corners are relatively clean, which is a bit of a bonus. All of the glass is present as well, although some of it is cracked, and will require replacement.

The interior of the AK Pickup is not a place of luxury but is typical of a functional workhorse of the era. The seat will need a new cover and some padding replaced, while the steering wheel is also cracked. That’s something that could be restored without a lot of trouble. There is also some wiring hanging down under the dash that will need to be checked and hidden, but with a cover on the seat, the interior could be quite serviceable. It is good to see the crank still attached to the dash for the crank-open windshield.

The AK Series was available at this point in time with two engines. I think that this one is the 216.5ci straight-six, which produced 90hp. A 235.5 version was also available. It only produced 3hp more than the standard engine, but noticeably more torque. However, these were not a common option fitted to the ½ ton Pickups such as this but were more commonly fitted to the ¾ ton examples. This engine doesn’t run, and the owner has tried to turn it by hand with no success. It does appear as though it is stuck, but the new owner may be able to free it if they are looking at a complete restoration. The Pickup is also fitted with a manual transmission, although it is unclear what state this is in.

For regular Barn Finds readers, I don’t really need to tell you how popular these old pickups are, and the bidding on this one speaks for itself. It looks like it is a solid project vehicle, and it would be interesting to know what our readers would do with it if they were the winning bidder.