Maybe Not All 1942 Chevrolets Had GM's A-Bodies

During the 1940s and 1950s General Motors used three body platforms.  In those days before the American auto industry began the proliferation into compact, subcompact, SUV and other body types, those cars were all what can be termed "standard-size" though they did vary in wheelbase, numbers and shapes of windows, and other distinguishing details.  GM labeled these bodies A, B and C, and they roughly corresponded to the corporation's brand hierarchy progression of Chevrolet, Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac.

(I presented a Special-Interest Autos magazine article dealing with B and C body variations here that's well worth reading for background on what GM was doing body-wise.)

The A Body was the entry-level one, never found on Buicks or Cadillacs. According to this Wikipedia entry, "Starting in 1936 through 1958, GM used four different designations for various bodyshells/platforms with the A-body for Chevrolet, most Pontiacs, and the Oldsmobile Series F and Series 60."  That is, Chevrolets were expected to sport A bodies.

However, that was not entirely the case for the 1942 model year, when General Motors plunged heavily into fastback designs.  For 1942, only B-Bodies and C-Bodies included fastbacks.  So the '42 Chevrolet two-door fastback was based on the B-Body version.  (I don't know whether or not GM considered that an A-Body -- but the images below show its B-Body heritage.

Also seen below ares some 1942 (and 1941!) Chevy four-door sedans based on C-Bodies.  Images are either factory-sourced or are of cars listed for sale.


Gallery

1942 Chevrolet brochure images of A-Body sedans

1942 Chevrolet brochure images of a C-Body 4-door sedan and a B-Body fastback

1942 Chevrolet Fleetline DeLuxe Aero Sedan
Compare windows and fastback curve to the B-Body Cadillac Series 61 Sedanet a few images below.

1942 Chevrolet Fleetline Sportmaster sedan
Compare to the C-Body Buick in the bottom image.

1941 Chevrolet Special DeLuxe Fleetline 4-door sedan
Here is the 1941 version: production was low compared to other '41 Chevy four-door sedans.

1942 Cadillac Series 61 Deluxe Fastback Sedanet
B-Body fastback two-door.

1942 Buick Super 4-door sedan
C-Body four-Door sedan.