I recently acquired a '41 Chevy Master Deluxe coupe from the Regina plant. I know that we've lost a great historian of this plant a few years ago, but all the information I can find on Regina seems to point back to this forum in one way or another.
Has anyone picked up the torch from where David left off with his research?
The car itself is interesting, based on the starting and ending serial numbers from David, and based on some general assumptions around start of production and end of production in the 1941 model year, I've managed to build a production schedule that suggests this car was built in late February 1941 and it ran at around 35 cars/day. That seems to hold up, as later I received a set of historical documents that shows it was first registered as a new car a week after my suggested date, and that it was ordered and delivered (not bought off a a car lot). It has a different paint code than I have seen on even Oshawa cars, and the original blue paint is different than anything produced in the U.S. Also, I noticed that American '41 chevy's have crank-controlled no-draft window, but this one has no provisions for a crank...never did. You just use your fingers to push them out with a lock slider to lock them.
Using the body number which is 112 (different number series for each body style of each model), I was able to extrapolate that if after building 2,720 cars (serial number) 112 were master deluxe 5 passenger coupes (1227 searies), then if you extended the same build rate out the remaining cars (David confirmed there were 5,150 total), then it means a possible 213 (rounded up) were built.
It would be interesting to confirm some assumptions and the best way to do that is to add more data points to this to see where it pans out. If there are any other Regina nuts out there, please let me know!
Nice to see someone else looking at Regina Plant "8" cars.. I believe I found the most of the "8" cars posted to the registry... That being said, to my recollection, the vins started with an 8-vin...? But, it has been years since I found another I will look for some tag pics...
Thanks - yes those were the posts that caused me to post in here and see if there's anything new.
The serials do start with 8, you'll see that on the cowl tag I posted.
In order to validate my build estimates, i need more data points from other master deluxe coupes. I can't share them here as I do not have permission from the owners to do so. I have a couple but that's it. It would be nice to say with greater certainty that this old girl is 1 of ??? and it could be around 213 but that's a statistical projection not a fact. The other cars can help validate the scheduling info but won't help validate how many of any specific model and body style were made there.
This car has a pretty wild story and started it's life after production, in BC.
Second two are in my shop. The guy who owned it between the 1988 photos and a year ago added bondo over an inch thick straight over the rust, and carved up the firewall for a 350 and 700R4 out of a suburban. I'm slowly removing the bondo and evaluating what's left. I have a '41 chev business coupe that is solid in the floor and firewall but has some damage/bad body work higher up. It was professionally stripped to bare metal and epoxy prime/sealed inside and out. These photos show the Regina shell on stands and the Regina front clip and rear fenders and bumpers mounted on my business coupe. (which has a 5 passenger coupe trunk floor in it as I was starting to convert it) The business coupe is a Wisconsin-built car, it's original blue is much darker than this Canadian version and no US colours advertised match.
At the moment, the plan is to donate the firewall, floor, rear wheel houses and bottom 8" of the body from the business coupe (less inner structure) to the Regina car that has the inner structure intact but floor is gone along with wheel houses and lower body. I will essentially drill out the spot welds of the business coupe inner structure from the floor, wheel houses to body and firewall to cowl, and cut the body/lower cowl exterior 8 inches up, and lower the Regina car onto this and re-weld. Separating them at factory connection points except for the outer body panels...if you bought replacements you would be grating them in at the same place anyway. The plan is to rebuild this close to as original, with the exception of ditching the 216 for a '57 235 and I will add triple carbs and fenton split headers for nostalgia. Hey, it's all bolt on and could be put back if someone cared. Keeping the original wheels, suspension, huck brakes, etc.
Yes its a lot of work. Yes it would be easier to keep the business coupe. But that car isn't Canadian, and isn't a Regina car. At least this way most of the Regina car will still be Regina-built albeit with a Wisconsin floor and lower body sections.
-- Edited by 69chevyguy on Monday 12th of November 2018 05:10:33 PM
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
Welcome from Edmonton. I was told that my '41 Pontiac coupe may be one of the last ones off the line there in Regina. It's in the registry. Too bad it's one of those "One of these days I'll fix it up" cars.
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'68 Parisienne 2+2 Convertible Matador Red (Resale Red but not for sale).
Welcome and thanks for sharing your project details with us! Looks like you will be going to great efforts to save one of the rare Regina-built cars, due to its heritage and importance to the history of GM Canada. I want to say "thanks" from somebody who cares about such things.
Regarding the Regina plant, I only found out about it from reading this forum - previously I had no idea that anybody built cars in Regina. I have since been somewhat fascinated by it and would like to learn more.
There are a couple of other threads that I know of which involve the Regina plant:
JC2+2 ..."Someday" is better than never. In the 1988 pictures, that Chev had been sitting in that spot for 21 years. It remained there for another year before kids smashed the windows in, and then it vanished. I was 13 when I took those pics and hoped to buy it one day so I was pretty upset. It resurfaced 26 years after that, found out it went from where it was in that picture to inside a garage for 20 more years, and then someone bought it and messed it up with super craptastic tack-welded metal work and inch thick bondo. The chassis was cut up, supension, seats, wheels, engine/driveline all tossed, what was left of the chassis was hacked up pretty bad with a camaro clip welded on. But it had all its trim and interior panels for templates. By rights it was scrap by this point, but while I had thought this car was gone for good I bought another one (because it reminded me of this one) and stockpiled parts for 9 years. When this one re-surfaced, I happened to have everything it was in need of already, including a spare original chassis, two spare motors, 3 full sets of wheels, 3 front suspensions and 3 rear axle/torque tube/suspensions and 2 sets of original seats, and even a complete, rust free 5 passenger rear trunk floor (with the trunk floor extension!) from an Arizona donor. The body of the "other" '41 coupe is a business coupe, and has damage where this one doesn't except for a dent in the passenger side rocker panel which is an easy fix.
Meant to be? Maybe. The guy who owned it from 1964 through 2009 had "someday" plans for it, and couldn't ever get to it. He was moved and excited to know that I'm now giving it it's "someday" that it waited for, for so long. I even heard from the granddaughter of the original owner who has fond memories of it in BC, after I had done some research into original dealers in the small town it started in. It's still a small town and I guess word got around and I received a surprise email.
Many, many interesting stories associated with it...its all history that I want to honour.
Never say never :)
MC, Pontiacanada, thanks for the warm welcome! I know its not a Pontiac but...its a part of Canada's automotive history.
Here's a really cool shot of travel decals that were on the one window that wasn't smashed, paying tribute to it's BC Origins. How it ended up in Peterborough Ontario I have no idea, but a Regina car out here is unheard of.
-- Edited by 69chevyguy on Tuesday 13th of November 2018 06:16:43 PM
-- Edited by 69chevyguy on Tuesday 13th of November 2018 06:18:12 PM
MC, Pontiacanada, thanks for the warm welcome! I know its not a Pontiac but...its a part of Canada's automotive history.
Here's a really cool shot of travel decals that were on the one window that wasn't smashed, paying tribute to it's BC Origins. How it ended up in Peterborough Ontario I have no idea, but a Regina car out here is unheard of.
It doesn't matter that it is not a Pontiac ... it is cool and a (Canadian) GM product (not a Ford).
Love those travel decals!
-- Edited by Pontiacanada on Wednesday 14th of November 2018 06:42:51 AM
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Prince Edward Island
'64 Parisienne CS "barn find" - last on the road in '86 ... Owner Protection Plan booklet, original paint, original near-mint aqua interior, original aqua GM floor mats, original 283, factory posi, and original rust.
MC, Pontiacanada, thanks for the warm welcome! I know its not a Pontiac but...its a part of Canada's automotive history.
Here's a really cool shot of travel decals that were on the one window that wasn't smashed, paying tribute to it's BC Origins. How it ended up in Peterborough Ontario I have no idea, but a Regina car out here is unheard of.
It doesn't matter that it is not a Pontiac ... it is cool and a (Canadian) GM product (not a Ford).
Love those travel decals!
-- Edited by Pontiacanada on Wednesday 14th of November 2018 06:42:51 AM
I agree with Darryl (mostly). Cool part of Canadian history, and part of your personal history as well. I imagine pretty much all of us have a version of "that car" that inspired us in our younger years - the difference is that you are in a position to bring it back to life, where for most of us those cars are gone forever.
The travel decals are awesome! Have you seen the thread about the reproduction Parks Canada decals that a member had made?
...and where I disagree with Darryl is that I think Fords are OK too.
Congratulations, 69chevyguy. Your story and project are worthy of recognition and support. Contrary to some people's beliefs or opinions, I firmly believe that it does not matter what the make is or is not. I have and always will be a Ford man. Since I just happen to own an old '64 Pontiac, I joined this site for the heck of it and, for the most part, do enjoy many of the topics. Some comments are clearly meant to tease; others, not so much. I put up with a fair bit of Ford bashing on this site but also acknowledge that there is no shortage of GM bashing on the Ford sites to which I also belong. One just has to consider the source and all the negativity goes away.
Thanks guys. Well, never let it be said that this forum isn't welcoming and friendly.
So...If anyone out there has any specific stats on how many of each model was built there, it would sure help on the 1 of ??? question. I know that some folks had this information for other years for Regina, don't know about this year. Looks like we lost a huge resource when "oracle" passed away as I think he had more info than anyone. I had hoped that info would have found it's way forward somehow but maybe not.
In the meantime, here's what my own research was able to pick out
The plant closed on July 1 1941, but it looks like production (at least for Chevrolet's) ended on June 2 1941 by the ending serial numbers that are out there. Kind of odd to end on a Monday, we don't know if overtime shifts were done leading up to that time which could have ended it the Friday before.
It looks like they were producing around 35 Chevrolet's /day. At one point Regina was said to be producing 150 cars/day but that would have been a mix of Chevrolet's Pontiacs, and trucks.
My '41 is the 112th Master Deluxe 5-passenger coupe body produced, and its serial is 2720. So if 2,720 bodies had only 112 of my body, assuming they continued at the same build rate (big assumption, we don't know that), it would mean out of the 5,150 total Chevrolet's built there in 1941, only 213 were like mine. This does not include Master Deluxe business coupes, or Special Deluxe 5P or business coupes.
We can't be certain that the build rate was constant. Demand will ebb and flow. I think it is reasonable however to conclude that with variation, 250-300 is likely. That's still a pretty low number.
If anyone has the beginning and ending serial numbers for Pontiacs, I can overlay that on my production schedule and provide a rough guess (+/- a week) of when any particular serial number was built. Because of things like overtime and parts shortages it's not absolute. But in my case finding out when it was shipped and arrived validated my own build date to be reasonably accurate.
Running a pressure lubrication 235 makes a lot of sense as the 216s were splash lube and must be driven sedately. Triple carbs on the 235, nice! Your '41 sounds like it is in good hands.
Back in the early 70s in a Hot Rod classified ad there was a '47 Chevrolet Fleetline coupe, stock except for Thunderbird wire wheels, a '56 Chevy six with '54 Corvette triple sidedrafts. 2-tone green. Super sharp.
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67 Chevelle Malibu Sport Coupe, Oshawa-built 250 PG never disturbed.
In garage, 296 cid inline six & TH350...
Cam, Toronto.
I don't judge a man by how far he's fallen, but by how far back he bounces - Patton
