Chrysler Corporation's 1946 Facelift of Its 1942 Cars

American automobile production ceased early February 1942 by government order following the USA's World War 2 entry.  Production resumed a few months following Japan's surrender in 1945.  Most carmakers introduced redesigned bodies a year or two before the war, so development costs hadn't been fully amortized.  Besides, the three and a half years without automobiles leaving assembly lines combined with family moneys accumulated in wartime when many goods were hard to get, resulted in a large pent-up demand for new cars of any kind.

Consequently, nearly every firm in the industry simply freshened up prewar models for the 1946 model year.  Moreover, some didn't even bother facelifting for 1947 and 1948.  Such was the case for Chrysler Corporation whose 1947 and '48 models were virtually identical in terms of styling, and minimally changed from 1946.

This post deals with the facelifts Chrysler's brands underwent 1946-48 (taken as a whole) to distinguish themselves from prewar 1942 styling.  The focus is on front ends from the windshield forward, because that's where most of the facelifting action occurred.

All brands received restyled grilles.  Plymouths retained prewar front fenders while the rest of the Chrysler line got new fenders that extended aft onto the front doors.  And there were minor ornamental changes for all brands.

Gallery

1942 Plymouth Special DeLuxe Sedan

1947 Plymouth Special DeLuxe Sedan
Almost all of Plymouth's facelifting effort went into a redesigned grille.

1942 Dodge Custom Club Coupe - RM Sotheby's auctions photo

1948 Dodge Coupe - Mecum auctions photo
Dodges got new grilles and those new front fenders.  Part of that restyling involved moving the headlights closer to the edges of the car.  There are minor changes in chrome trim on the fenders.

1942 DeSoto 4-door sedan - cropped movie still from "The Postman Always Rings Twice" via imcdb

1948 DeSoto Custom 4-door sedan - Mecum photo
Prewar DeSotos had disappearing headlights, a concept that disappeared for 1946.  These two images clearly show how the new front fenders differed from their prewar design.  Like Dodge and Chrysler, whereas the grille is new, the 1942 hood design is retained.

1942 Chrysler Windsor Club Coupe - Hyman Ltd. auctions photo

1947 Chrysler Windsor Coupe - Mecum photo
Again, most changes are for the grille and fenders.  The chrome trim strip below the beltline has been shortened.

Unless otherwise noted, images are of cars for sale.