41 Chevy 4 Door

41 CHEVY 4 DOOR

Two snapshot of a really nicely done 1941 Chevy 4 door restyled in the mid 1940s.



I think it was around 2010 when I bought a few snapshots with some mild early customs restyled California cars at an eBay auction. One of them was a bit fuzzy side view of a nicely done 1941 Chevy four door sedan. This photo was the only one that had a name written on it. Jay Foreman was written in blue on the bottom of the photo border. I assume that Jay is the guy in the photo, and most likely the owner of that nice early/mid 1940’s restyled Chevy. No other info was given with the photos when I bought them, so I do not know where in California this photo was taken, not when. But judging the things I can see in the photo I assume that the photo was taken in the early to mid 1940’s. Black Wall Tires with single bar flippers most likely mean somewhere between 1942 and 46. The position of the Appleton Spotlight with the glass towards the back was something that was done more in Northern California than in the South.






Jay Foreman proudly standing with his cool Chevy.
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A couple of years later I found another photo of the same car at another eBay auction. This time from a different seller, and when the snapshot came in the mail, I knew for sure that it was the same car, taken in the same location. What are the odds. This second photo shows the Chevy from the front 3/4 and Jay was not in the picture this time. This photo shows how nice the car really is. It also shows that the car was fitted with two Appleton Spotlights, and not one as could have very well be the case judging the side view snapshot.

The more I studied the photo the more I liked the car. And even though it is mildly restyled, there still had to be done a substantial amount of work to get it to look this good. The hood and side trim were removed, all four door handles were shaved, holes filled and everything smoothed. The front of the hood was smoothed and the hood ornament was removed. The car was lowered a bit and most likely an early 1940’s Cadillac fender skirt was modified to for the Chevy fenders. The car was dressed up with a set of single bar flipper hubcaps with beauty rings, front and rear, Dual Spotlights and Dual antennas mounted on the cowl and bend to flow better with the windshield of the car. The car was painted in a light color. The first snapshot with the guy in the photo shows that he must have been really proud of the car. And I sure can understand why. It looks really good.



The second photo of the Chevy is actually a really nice photo showing the car from the front 3/4. it really shows how super nice this car is. Smoothed hood and shaved doors really make this car look very cool.
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Close up of the front shows the cowl mounted and bend antenna, the pointed forward Appleton Spotlights, the ripple disk flipper hubcaps and beauty ring and the smoothed hood side, and accessory bumper ends.
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Close up of the rear shows the smooth doors, and the Cadillac fender skirts.
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I think these photos are really interesting, since they show that in the early/mid 1940’s people were customizing four door cars, and they even went as far as removing the door handles for that ultimate smooth look. A technique that was much more common to do in the later parts of the 1940’s and early 1950’s, especially on four doors. I would love to find out more about this car, and the owner. Hopefully somebody will recognize Jay Forman’s name, or perhaps the location

Both photos are 5.25 x 3.5 Inch (130 x 90 mm)



A Stock 1941 Chevy four door from an 1941 advertising print.
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