Conrad & Mike are starting their Tap Truck journey with a 1940 Chevrolet Pickup Truck. They decided to name it “The Albert” in memory of Conrad’s father Denis Albert who passed away at the early age of 44 before Conrad’s teenage years.
The name “The Albert” also has some significance to Mike as he has spent over fifteen years in Alberta prior to deciding to come back home to Ontario and pursue this journey with Tap Truck.
History of the 1940 Chevrolet Pickup Truck:
This 1940 Chevrolet Pickup was among the first modern pickups produced by Chevy beginning in 1937. The automobile historian will note that these new Chevy’s in 1937 ushered in the more modern streamlined design. This was at the time that the country was starting to emerge from the Great Depression and the market for small trucks was picking up.
Chevrolet sent a 1937 Half Ton Pickup on a trip for about 10,000 miles around the U.S. carrying a 1,000 lb load in its cargo bed as a promotional endeavor. Amazingly, the 1937 Chevy truck averaged about 21 MPG which is pretty good by any standard.
The 1940 Chevy Pickup along with the 1939 model sported a newly redesigned cab and a more driver friendly instrument panel. For the 1940 model, further enhancements were made to the dashboard where rectangular gauge clusters were added from the passengers’ cars that year. Some Chevy truck enthusiasts will tell you that the 1940 had the best cab design.
Also, in 1940 the Chevy Pickup’s grill had a top bar with the name “Chevrolet” printed on it. The cargo area became three inches wider.
Link to the original 1940 Chevrolet Brochure: