Chev truck questions

We have received a very nice old Chev truck. The previous owners declare it to be a 1928 Maple Leaf.
There are some things that don't add up and I wonder if anyone in the know can help.
Engine Number is MR5560340. Can anyone date this?
It's a six cylinder but I believe Chev did not make a six cylinder truck until 1929.
The body style (by Holden) looks more early thirties to me.
I'm not sure Maple Leaf was used as a designation for trucks back then. Anyone know what the earliest model Maple leaf was?
Pedals are late - no central accelerator pedal.
Instrument dials are round not vertical ovals.
It has dual rear wheels.
Any help is most welcome, as I have to write a signboard for this truck.

It is 34 or 35. Nice truck.

Unless you can find "Maple Leaf" on it somewhere it may well be a Chevrolet as these were sold through Chevrolet dealers and Maple Leaf gave GMH a second string to their bow as a "heavy duty" version - mostly identical except for heavier springs, different diff ratios and possibly the bigger GMC motor.

GM of Canada introduced the Walkerville-built Chevrolet Heavy Duty or Extra Fort in French, as of 1st Juy 1930. They were based on the equivalent GMC and used Chevy engines but GMC trans. This continued until 1933 when the Maple Leaf name replaced Chevrolet HD, but again were GMC-based. Basically a Chevrolet equivalent of GMC for Chevy dealers. It then gets complicated from around 1938 with COE being introduced, and GMC adopting Chevy or Chevy-based engines shared with MLs, and MLs using Chev and 224 cu in Chev-based engines. ML was dropped for 1952 in favour of GMCs, and Chevrolet-badged heavier trucks.

Into the ML pot we must add firstly from 1935-39 Oldsmobile trucks for export only including for Holden assembly, and secondly 1937-9 export Chevrolets, GMCs and Olds trucks all being US-built 'clones' [component-sharing and in effect badge engineering], with COE available before Canada in 1938 and in the US in 1939. GMC and Olds trucks used the Olds 224 cu in '224' engine, Chevrolet the 216, and all were available with Hercules diesel engines (a subsidiary of Timken Bearing Company). Unknown if the diesels were available in Australia, unlikely as a general option but there may have been some special orders delivered by GM Australia.

Here is a 1934 Chevrolet 1 1/2 tonner. Only immediately obvious difference to yours is the cruder Australian cab but the Maple Leaf was based on the Chevrolet HD so you should have the heavier springs and maybe the bigger GMC motor but GM Australia may well have stuck with the standard Chevrolet 216, Your engine was built between 8 Oct 34 and 15 Jul 35 and is a standard 6 not the big one.

www.gregwapling.com/hotrod/chev-trucks-47-55/canadian-chev.html





Here is a 1935 Maple Leaf. You will note the bonnet badges and the air vents. I reckon you have a Chevrolet not a Maple Leaf. A lot of people referred to all Canadian built trucks as a Maple Leaf because they saw that leaf symbol on the "Made in Canada" firewall badge, not realising that nearly all GM products in Australia at that time had that badge with the Holden body badge alongside.







Lang[/b]

Lang,
Thank you for all that information. A lot to digest there.
I'm pleased to have that engine date information.
Thanks again.
D.

That is a great looking truck,
Alot of great info Lang!
thanks for sharing
Jim

DeeCee,
You are extremely lucky to have found a truck in such good and original condition. I agree with other replies that it is a 1935 model, either Chevrolet or Maple Leaf. Nearly all non-enthusiast and (also many enthusiasts) believe that their old vehicle is many years older than it really is. Some people believe all sorts of strange things. I know a truck mechanic who claims his Morris Commercial has three-and-a-half litre capacity but if he puts a different carburettor on it, it will be four litres! I also know an owner of a 1908 veteran car who claims that although the front shackle pins are worn half-way through, his car has only done 10,000 miles from new! The car has a five-digit speedo so of course, after 99,999 miles it starts again at zero.

The reason many Chevrolet trucks were badged Maple Leaf was because of Australia's preferential import duty at the time, where it was much cheaper to import from a British Commonwealth Country such as Canada, than it was from just across the border in the USA. As Lang says, Maple Leaf also produced a lot of heavier duty trucks than were available with a Chev. badge.