In regards to '39-'47 trucks, a lot has been said about the differences between 1/2 tons and 1.5 tons(and larger). The general consensus has been that the cabs are the same, hood/grille may be the same but the fenders are definitely bigger. I admit that I thought this to be true also.
Some have read my other thread regarding the multiple trucks and parts I've recently begun collecting. As a result, I have several fenders/hoods/grilles etc. cluttering up my life. I couldn't be happier!
I took an afternoon and did some comparisons of these parts. Here's what I found.

Cabs are the same.

Hoods are the same Although one of these hoods has nearly 1/2" difference from side-to-side. I'll chalk that up to "production variances" or repairs made over the past 60+ years.

Nose cones are the same. Including the bumper bracket openings. Don't ask me why the one upper portion is painted "chrome". That's the type of treasure you get when you buy a truck in pieces.

Fenders. You tell me which is 1/2 ton and which is 1.5 ton.

255/55-18 Sorry, it's the only wheel/tire I had loose and available besides the 37" off my big truck.

Here's where it started getting interesting. 1.5 ton bumper is 4" wider (73" vs 69"). Maybe it just sticks out farther for more protection? Maybe wider bumpers were an option? One thing's for sure, it weighs about 1.5 times the 1/2 ton bumper!

Now the real puzzler. You looked at the fenders right? Did you see a difference? Could you tell which one came from which truck? I measured the dang things in several areas and found nothing that couldn't be explained away by production variance or 60 years of abuse. Admittedly, I wasn't using a square and straightedge to ensure I measured the exact same spot on each fender. None of the measurements varied more than about 1/2" between the two though. I measured the wheel opening, the distance from inner edge to headlight mounting holes, from the inner edge over the hump to the fender lip and from the inner edge straight to the fender lip from underneath. As I said, negligible differences until...

The yokes.
Due to varying brackets I couldn't get these to line up perfectly but...remember those bumpers? Yup, you guessed it. Approximately a 4" difference. I can't explain it. Maybe the brackets attached to the fenders are different? Maybe there is enough flex in the fenders that they give enough to make up the difference? I only checked full width on these. I'll go back and measure from centerline-to-tip for each side on both. Maybe one of them is tweaked. Dragging all this iron around the yard had my Scoliosis demanding I call it a day. I just wanted to get this info out there and hopefully open up a little discussion on the topic. Any suggestions or hypotheses?

Just for those who dig old iron, here's some more pics of the bits and pieces I've gathered up. Enjoy. Somebody punched in that rear fender to make room for a spare tire mounted to the bed (visible in the first pic on this thread).

According to what I've read, the trim strips indicate this clip is from a '41 or '42.

The free dump truck I still need to go get. Thankfully he's cutting the box off so I can get it in two trips. I don't think my trailer would handle it whole.

Holy Crap where you finding all these trucks

I'm supprised to see both the 1/2 ton and the 1 1/2 ton fenders are the same. I have to wonder if the 1/2 ton you have got the big truck fenders somewhere along the line? I have read multiple places the big truck fenders had larger wheel openings then the 1/2 & 3/4 ton trucks had. Maybe that went away during the war years? Most trucke produced during the war would have been bigger trucks, might be such a thing as all the trucks got the same fenders after 41?

By looking at the mounting brackets, I also wonder if the big trucks angled the bottom of the fenders out a bit more to clear the bigger tires?

I would think that nose with all the chrome would have to be pre war, 39-41. Chrome was a valuable war commodity, anything produced during the war would have had mimumium chrome.

You have quite a collection going there! Do I have to be on guard of those big truck fenders I got from the scrapper guy a couple years ago? Gene

I could do the same with the 48-49 trucks, I have a complete 1/2 ton and a complete 1.5 ton cab and front clip. The fenders on those are definitely different, but the rest is the same including the bumpers.

Interesting comparison, now lets see you get them put back together!

very kool topic,,and glad ur saving all this IRON,,, im really starting to like the 41 ply trucks,,always loved the 57 dodge....