1934 British Chevrolet Tray Truck

Chevrolet has been building trucks since 1918, the same year the company was sold to General Motors, and the truck line has remained integral to its success ever since. Starting with two basic models, the half-tonne Light Delivery version of the Model 490 car and one-tonne Model T, the introduction of an OHV six-cylinder engine in 1929 gave Chevrolet the edge over the competition in this market for several years, offering extra load-shifting torque and the new model was lifted to become a 1.5-tonner. The dependable cast-iron Stovebolt Six was steadily improved, with power upgrades in 1932 and 1934, while an all-synchromesh gearbox was another big improvement when it arrived in 1932. For 1934, Chevrolet's Series DB Master Commercial truck line was further revised with a stronger chassis frame and different front sheet metal to the car range, horsepower was up again to 60 at 3000 rpm and the GVW rating increased to 4400 pounds. Four body styles were available, including the canopy, panel, pickup and sedan delivery. Chevrolet began exporting trucks built in Canada to Britain as early as 1923, under the Imperial Preference scheme favouring products from the British Empire to reduce costly import duties, and to emphasise the point the trucks were marketed as ?British Chevrolets?. In 1925, General Motors began assembling Chevrolet and GMC trucks alongside passenger vehicles at Hendon, then at Vauxhall's Luton facility from 1929. Ultimately, the Depression saw increasing public resistance to imported vehicles which saw Vauxhall establish a commercial subsidiary called Bedford and all references to Chevrolet were dropped.