The 1941 Chevrolet Master DeLuxe and Special DeLuxe
The 1941 Chevrolet Master DeLuxe and Special DeLuxe were a sensation from the day of their introduction, for a number of good reasons.
First, the 1941 Chevrolet Master DeLuxe and Special DeLuxe lineup was fabulously good looking, substantially bigger and more impressive than before. For the third time in as many years it was fully restyled by Harley Earl’s Art and Colour Section, and more than ever it resembled the costlier Buick.
Wheelbase of the 1941 Chevrolet Master DeLuxe and Special DeLuxe was stretched to 116 inches, which the ads carefully pointed out was the same as the 1929 Buick had been. Overall length was 1953/4 inches, an increase of 31/2 inches, and weight was up by a hundred pounds or so.
Interior space was substantially greater, providing three inches of additional hip room. Running boards were concealed and headlamps were blended into the fenders.
The engine of this Classic Deluxe Car was heavily revised. A redesigned cylinder head with a slightly higher (6.5:1) compression ratio raised horsepower to 90 from 85. (Early in the model year, Ford Motors, which since 1934 had claimed 85 horsepower for its V-8, decided upon further reflection that it really developed 90 horsepower, and revised its advertisements accordingly.)
New pistons were fitted, while valves, rocker arms, and water pump were all reworked. Influenced by the nation’s preoccupation with the war then raging in Europe, the revised 1941 Chevrolet Master DeLuxe and Special DeLuxe engine was called the “Victory Six.”
The United States had become, in President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s words, “the arsenal of democracy,” and Detroit, churning out the materials of war, was busier than at any time since the onset of the Depression a dozen years earlier.
In response to the inflationary pressures that were building as military production kicked in, prices of the Master DeLuxe and Special DeLuxe models were increased by anywhere from $29 to $61. The Master 85, meanwhile, had been phased out at the end of the 1940 season; henceforth all new Chevrolets were to be equipped with independent front suspension.
Times were good. Americans were back to work, and even with the higher prices, the 1941 Chevrolet Master DeLuxe and Special DeLuxe was widely perceived as a bargain, and model year sales posted a substantial gain.
