Author: Ron Eyres

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1954 Chevrolet Bel Aire 4 Door Sedan

SPECIFICATIONS

ENGINE:

Cylinders:                                     6 Cylinders overhead valve

Bore/Stroke:                                                  3 9/16 X 3 15/16

Displacement:                            235 Cubic Inches (3.8 Liter)

Compression Ratio:                                                           7.5:1

Horsepower:                                                 115 @ 3700 RPM

DRIVE LINE:

Transmission:                                    Automatic Power Glide

Rear end gear ratio:                                                       3.54:  1

Tire size:                                                                       6.70 x 15

BRAKES

4-wheel Bendix Hydraulic

GASOLINE TANK CAPACITY

14 Gallons

PRODUCTION:

            Total Chevrolets Produced 1954:                                           1,138,921

            Total 1954 Chevrolet Bel Aire 4 Door Production:                  248,750

PRICE:

            Cost of 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air in 1954 Dollars:                       $  2,154

            Cost of 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air in 2022 Dollars:                       $23,715

A FEW 1954 EVENTS

Dwight D. Eisenhower is President of The United States, 1953 to 1961. 

1 January: NBC makes the first coast-to-coast NTSC Color television known as color broadcast when it telecast the Tournament of Roses Parade, with public demonstrations given across the United States on prototype color receivers. 

14 January: The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation forming the American Motors Corporation.

21 January: he first nuclear marine propulsion nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus SSN-571 6, is Ship naming and launching launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States.

10 February: President of the United States called President Dwight Eisenhower warns against United States intervention in Vietnam.

15 February: Canada and the United States agree to construct the Distant Early Warning Line, a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic regions of Canada and Alaska

23 February: The first mass inoculation of children against Poliomyelitis or polio with the Jonas Salk named Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh.

28 February: The first color television sets using the NTSC standard are offered for sale to the general public.

1 April: President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado.

6 May: Roger Bannister becomes the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.

17 May: The United States Supreme Court hands down a unanimous decision in ‘Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas’.

14 June: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs a bill into law that places the words “under God” into the United States Pledge of Allegiance.

15 July: First flight of the Boeing 367-80, prototype for both the Boeing 707 and Boeing C-135 Stratolifter called C-135 series.

18 October: Texas Instruments announces the first Transistor radio.

2 December: The United States Senate votes 65 to 22 to censure Joseph McCarthy for “conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute”.

4 December: The first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida.

COMMENTS

    The Chevrolet Bel Air is a full-size car produced by Chevrolet for the 1950–1975 model years. Initially, only the two-door hardtops in the Chevrolet model range were designated with the Bel Air name from 1950 to 1952. With the 1953 model year, the Bel Air name was changed from a designation for a unique body shape to a premium level of trim applied across a number of body styles. The Bel Air continued with various other trim level designations, and it went from a mid-level trim car to a budget fleet sedan when U.S. production ceased in 1975. Production continued in Canada, for its home market only, through the 1981 model year.

    The Chevrolet Bel Air, especially its third-generation design, has been considered an icon of the 1950s.  It is named after the wealthy Bel Air neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles. Well-maintained and preserved examples are highly sought after by car collectors and enthusiasts.

    First-year production reached only 76,662 models built. The car cost $1,741 and weighed 3,225 lb (1,463 kg).  Front suspension was independent, named “knee-action.”   The first Bel Airs of this era shared only their front sheet metal ahead of the A pillar with the rest of the range. The windshield, doors, glass, and trunk were common with the Styleline Deluxe Convertible Coupe; however, the roof, rear quarters and rear windows (3) were unique. The chassis and mechanicals were common with the rest of the passenger car range, and the overall appearance was the same as the rest of the range, except that the roofline was lower and the unique three-piece rear window gave it a longer and more balanced look. The first Bel Airs were available with only the “Deluxe” premium trim level and specification.

    Apart from the usual annual grille and trim changes, the 1951–1952 Bel Air differed from the earlier 1950 model with the introduction of the higher and squarer rear guards that were across the whole range.

    In 1953 Chevrolet renamed its series, and the Bel Air name was applied to the premium model range. Two lower series, the 150 and 210, also emerged (as successors to the Special and Deluxe series, respectively). The 1953 Chevrolet was advertised as “Entirely new through and through” due to the restyled body panels, front and rear ends. However, essentially these Chevrolets had similar frames and mechanicals to the 1949–1952 cars.

    The Bel Air was given a facelift in 1953. The pre-war technology, such as torque tube drive, six-cylinder splash feed engines, knee-action suspension, and split windshields of the early models, was phased out, and the foundations for the first post-war modern Chevrolet passenger car were finalized. The Bel Air series featured a wide chrome strip of molding from the rear fender bulge to the rear bumper. The inside of this stripe was painted a coordinating color with the outside body color, and “Bel Air” scripts were added inside the strip. Lesser models had no model designation anywhere on the car, having only a Chevrolet crest on the hood and trunk. 1953 was the first year for a curved, one-piece windshield. 

    In the July 1953 issue of Popular Mechanics, a tested 1953 Bel Air went from 0-60 mph in 19.6 seconds. 

    Bel Air interiors had an optional massive expanse of chrome across the lower part of the dashboard (most were painted), along with a deluxe Bel Air steering wheel with a full chrome horn ring. Carpeting and full wheel covers rounded out Bel Air standard equipment. For 1954, the Bel Air stayed essentially the same, except for a revised grille and taillights and a revised engine that had insert bearings and higher oil pressure, needed for the full-flow oil filtration system that was not available prior to 1954. Prior to 1954, the 235 and 216 cubic inch six-cylinder engines had Babbitt bearings and scoops to create oil pressure at the bottom of each rod, and the oil pressure was standard at 15-30 PSI. During these years, there were three engine choices, depending on the transmission ordered. Both 235 cubic inch engines were “Blue Flame” inline six-cylinder OHV engines, featuring hydraulic valve lifters (in 1953 with automatic transmissions) and aluminum pistons. The 106 hp 235 cubic inch displacement engine was standard on stick shift models, with solid lifters and splash plus pressure lubrication, including Babbitt bearings. Powerglide cars got a 115 hp version which had hydraulic lifters and full pressure lubrication.

    In 1953 and 1954, Bel Airs could be ordered as a convertible, hardtop coupe, two- and four-door variant sedan, and, for 1954, the Beauville station wagon, which featured woodgrain trim around the side windows. Many new options, once only seen in more expensive luxury cars, were offered, starting in 1953. This included power steering and the Guidematic headlight dimmer in 1953, as well as power brakes, power 2-way front seat and power front windows in 1954. All 1954 models equipped with the standard transmission used the 1953 Powerglide engine.

MY HISTORY WITH THE CAR

     We saw the car advertised for sale in one of the 2012 issues of G & D, the Vintage Chevrolet Club of America monthly magazine.  When I called and visited with the owner, I was told the car had only a bit over 16,000 miles from new.  While that sounded to me like it would be more likely to be 116,000 miles, I was assured the car had spent most of its life in a museum in New Hampshire.  After some thought, we decided to drive to Branson, Missouri where the car was located and look it over.  Given the distance of around three-hundred miles and our enjoyment of the Branson shows, we took the truck and trailer figuring if it was not what we wanted, we would spend a few days in Branson and drive home with an empty trailer.  

    It didn’t take very long to understand that the car actually had the advertised 16,000 miles, although having sat with minimal driving for over fifty years, there were some issues.  The car was a Bel Air model, with most all the options available that year, including power steering and power brakes.  While the power steering appeared to work properly, the power brakes required more pressure than manual brakes!  It had the original tires included, although the seller had installed new tires but offered to include the original U S Royal 6.70 X 15 tires with the car.  After some haggling, we settled on a price and loaded the car on the trailer. After a few shows in Branson, we picked up the trailer and bought our new prize home.

    I drove the car a few miles but just as anticipated, it had some issues which had to be addressed before we could begin to think of driving it on a tour.  The engine and power glide transmission leaked oil from nearly every gasket.  I did some checking and found a transmission shop in Smileyberg, Kansas who still worked on Power Glides.  After investigating the process for removing the transmission and discovering the significant weight of same, I thought better of attempting the removal and replacement myself.  After some discussion, we arrived at a satisfactory deal for both of us.  I would take the car to his shop in my enclosed trailer.  He would remove both the engine and transmission, put the car back in the trailer and I would bring the engine home for a re-seal job.

    Ironically, on my way to deliver the car and trailer to his shop, the transmission on my tow vehicle gave out.  I was able to limp it in to the transmission shop, so left both the tow vehicle and trailer as well as the 54 Chevy.  After rebuilding the transmission in my Dodge Diesel truck, he removed the engine and power glide from the 54 and called me.  I picked up the truck and engine and returned home.  

    I dismantled the engine completely and found it to be in great shape, with the exception of the leaking gaskets, further reinforcing the 16,000 miles. However; the rear main seal had rusted to the crankshaft and upon starting after many years, it chewed the rear seal to pieces.  In addition, it became obvious that a valve had stuck solid and broke a rocker arm, which had later been welded.  But the most amazing thing I found was a red shop towel in the oil pan!  There was no way that could have happened after the engine was assembled, and there was significant evidence the engine had never been apart, so it had to have been assembled at the factory with the rag in the oil pan.

    I had the crankshaft polished and since it was apart, I installed new main and rod bearings, as well as piston rings.  Upon disassembling the valves from the cylinder head, it was obvious that several of them had rusted badly, so I had new exhaust valves and all new seats installed.  I found a good rocker arm to replace the welded arm and reassembled the engine.  I delivered it to the transmission shop and a few days later they called me to say it was ready to come home.  He did advise me that while the engine was running, it didn’t run very well.  I suspected the cause and told him not to worry about it.

    Arriving home, I tore the carburetor down and found it had fine rust in the float bowl.  I removed the gas tank and found it had considerable amount of rust inside.  I performed my normal cure for a rusty gas tank, which causes no small amount of teasing by fellow club members, but it does work.  I rinse the tank out with soapy water, then fill it about a quarter full with soapy water and add about five pounds of sheet rock screws.  Then I strap it to the rear wheel of my tractor which is raised off the ground.  I run the tractor as slow as I can idle the engine while the soapy solution and screws tumble inside the tank.  After about five minutes, I put the tractor in reverse and repeat the process.  After another five minutes, I rotate the tank 90 degrees and do it all over again. I then drain the soapy water and refill with fresh water but this time I only turn it over a few times and drain the water again.  Then comes the fun part, getting all those screws out of the tank!  It really isn’t that difficult.

    After the screws are all accounted for, and that is very easy, all you have to do is listen to see if any more are rattling around.  I then put in a gallon of lacquer thinner but this time I only slosh it around by hand.  I pour the thinner out into a container using a paint strainer in the funnel.  At first there will be considerable contaminate.  I put the used thinner back into the tank and repeat the process until the paint strainer shows no more indication of contamination.  From there the tank is set in the sun to thoroughly dry.  I use Caswell Engineering Epoxy gas tank sealer following the manufacturers recommendation to the letter.  To date I have reclaimed over 20 rusty gas tanks with not a single failure.

    After doing a thorough cleaning job on the carburetor and blowing out the gas lines, it was time for a test drive.  While the transmission and engine was being re-done, I had sent the power brake assembly to a rebuilder so I now had good brakes.  It ran perfectly for about three miles then began acting as if it weren’t getting enough gas.  I checked the carburetor and found it had rust plugging things up again.  OK, so I didn’t get the gas line thoroughly cleaned out, but now it should be fine.  Another test drive and same problem.  That is when I found that the fuel pump was full of rust, so I just replaced it and problem solved.

    I had installed new shocks and rebuilt the brake cylinders as well as changing the grease in the differential.  The radiator was cleaned and minor leaks repaired, so we were now ready for a major test run.  I am always reluctant to take any freshly restored or major repair job on a tour, so we drove it around town for a few weeks and did some other minor adjustments until we were confident it would be a reliable vehicle.  It was now ready for the first major tour.  Rather than hauling it to Brookeland, Texas a bit over 600, miles away, we just drove the car and it performed perfectly.  

    Our initial plan was to install air conditioning in the car and when the weather suggested a closed car with windshield wipers and a heater combined with the air conditioning, we would have an all-weather car.  However; since the car had both power brakes and power steering, I would have to make major modifications to fit the compressor, so decided to leave it original.  

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1936 Chevrolet Fire Truck

SPECIFICATIONS

ENGINE:

Cylinders 6:                                    Cylinders overhead valves

Bore/Stroke:                                                           3 5/16” X 4”

Displacement:                        206.5 Cubic Inches (3.4 Liter)

Compression Ratio:                                                             6: 1

Horsepower:                                                   79 @ 3200 RPM

 

DRIVE LINE:

Transmission:                               4 Speed Manual Floor Shift

Rear End Gear Ratio:                                                    5.425:  1

Tire size:                                                                        6.50 x 20

BRAKES: 

4-wheel Hydraulic (First year for Huck Hydraulic Brakes on all models)

BODY:

Luverne Fire Apparatus of Luverne, Minnesota (Now Crimson Fire Apparatus, Sioux Falls, SD)

WATER PUMP:

Power take-off driven by Waterous Pump Company, St. Paul, Minnesota

Capacity:                                                   150 GPM AT 120 PSI

Tank Capacity:                                                          150 Gallons

GASOLINE TANK:

Capacity:                                                                     25 Gallons

     I have no record of the price Lawton, Iowa paid for the fire truck in 1936.  A 1 ½ ton Chevrolet Truck Chassis could have been purchased for less than $1,000.  What Luverne Fire Apparatus charged for the body and pump is unknown.  The invoice number is 10-2-36.  Although it isn’t a certainty, that invoice number likely means the truck was delivered or picked up on October 2, 1936.  

MILEAGE:

At time of purchase:                                                        2,264

September 2022:                                                              8,896

Miles Driven since restoration:                                      6,632

COMMENTS

     In 1936, the Lawton, Iowa fire department ordered their first motorized firefighting equipment from Luverne Fire Apparatus of Luverne, Minnesota.  Luverne then purchased a 1 ½ ton Chevrolet Chassis, which consisted of the frame and entire driveline.  However; that did not include a cab or windshield.  Luverne installed the Waterous Fire Pump and manifold assembly on the chassis just behind the power take-off equipped transmission.  From there, they custom built a body to Lawton’s specifications, which included ladders, a pike pole, fire extinguishers, an axe, and rounded bottom fire buckets.  The reason the buckets were rounded on the bottom was to prevent persons from stealing them as they couldn’t be set on a flat surface. Their entire purpose was to pass buckets of water from person to person.  Records indicate the truck was delivered to Lawton in October of 1936. 

     In 1936, Lawton was a very small town about eight miles east of Sioux City, Iowa.  Up until the time they purchased the ’36 Chevy Fire Truck, they had only a hand pulled hose cart to attend to any fire in the town.  This fire truck enabled them to serve the surrounding farms, as well as anything in the town.  The truck carried only 150 gallons of water but it did have three ten-foot sections of suction hose with a huge strainer on the end.  In addition, it carried several hundred feet of pressure fire hose and nozzles.  In town they simply hooked up to a fire hydrant, but in the surrounding farms, they would stop beside a farm pond, stock watering tank or any other water source, drop the suction line into the source and use the 150 gallons of on-board water to prime the pump then use whatever water was available to fight the fire.   

     The 1936 Chevrolet powered fire truck served as their only motorized equipment until 1951 when another fire truck, a 1951 International, was added to their equipment.  Thus, for fifteen years the 1936 Chevrolet served as their only equipment.  Over the subsequent years, as the town grew and prospered, more and more equipment was added and the old Chevrolet was relegated to parades and nostalgia.  Finally, in 1998, the Lawton Volunteer Fire Department could no longer justify the space needed to keep the old truck around so it was offered for sale.  

     Copying from the purchase order developed by Luverne Fire Apparatus dated 1936:

  • CHASSIS:  Chevrolet purchased from Conner Chev Co
  • PUMP: Waterous Rotary PTO driven capacity 150 GPM at 120 PSI pressure.  Includes pressure relief valve, pressure and vacuum gauges, auxiliary cooling line and two 2 ½ inch discharge gates.  
  • SUCTION HOSE: 2 ten-foot length at 2 ½ inch non-collapsible suction hose with long handled couplings carrying troughs, clamps, strainer and hydrant coupler.  
  • BOOSTER TANK: 150-gals capacity made of No. 14 gauge copper bearing steel with welded joints and splash plates large filler opening and cap.  Line of 1 ½ inch piping and valves connects to pump.  The tank is mounted in the front end of the hose body.  
  • HOSE BODY: Capacity for 1,000 feet of 2 ½ inch fire hose.  Made of No. 14 auto body steel with angle reinforcement, hard wood base with slatted bottom.  Substantial rear step covered with aluminum matting with polished bindings.  Tool box under rear end of body.  Ladder standards integral with body.
  • REAR FENDERS AND RUNNING BOARDS:  Heavy rolled steel rear fenders joining to rear step and to hardwood side running boards which are covered with aluminum matting with polished bindings.  Single Tires.
  • GASOLINE TANK: Made of terne plate, 24-gallon capacity, mounted in front end of body.
  • SEAT: Made of auto body steel, and upholstered with heavy black pantasote.  Grab Handles on seat ends.  Mounted on hinges.  
  • WINDSHIELD:  Angle mounted shatterproof plate glass, carried in rigid chrome finished metal frame.  Grab handles on each side.
  • FINISH: Lustrous red enamel with gold leaf striping, decorations and letterings.  All fittings are polished chrome plated.  
  • MISCELLANEOUS: 
    • Pair rear spotlights
    • Standard type electric siren
    • Electric search light
    • Pair electric hand lanterns (standard type)
    • Pike Pole
    • Pick head axe
    • Crow bar
    • Pair nozzle standards
    • Set body railings
    • Division in hose body for 500 feet 1 ½ inch hose
    • Ladder holders for ladder set 7 ½ X 16 ½
    • 2 ½ SO nozzles
    • 4 extinguisher holders
    • Needs 2 ½ N.S.

A FEW 1936 EVENTS 

  • Franklin Delano Roosevelt 32nd President, of the United States of America 1933 to 1945
  • 1 March: The Hoover Dam is completed
  • 7 March: Prelude to World War II: In violation of the Locarno Pact and the Treaty of Versailles, Germany Remilitarization of the Rhineland known as reoccupies the Rhineland.
  • 8 March: Daytona Beach Road Course holds its first oval stock car racing called stock car race.
  • 14 March: Show Boat (1936 film) or the first all-sound film version of ‘Show Boat’ opens at Radio City Music Hall. (There had been a part-talkie, part-silent version of ‘Show Boat’ in 1929.)
  • 16 March: Warmer-than-normal temperatures rapidly melt snow and ice on the upper Allegheny River Allegheny and Monongahela River Monongahela rivers and lead to Pittsburgh Flood of 1936 a major flood in Pittsburgh.
  • 3 April:  Bruno Richard Hauptmann is executed for the kidnapping and death of Lindbergh kidnapping or Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., the baby son of pilot Charles Lindbergh.
  • 28 May: Alan Turing submits ‘On Computable Numbers’ for publication.
  • 26 June: Initial flight of the Focke-Wulf Fw 61, the first practical helicopter.
  • 26 July: King Edward VIII, in one of his few official duties before he Edward VIII abdication crisis or abdicates the throne, officially unveils the Canadian National Vimy Memorial.
  • 3 August: Jesse Owens wins the 100-meter dash, defeating Ralph Metcalfe, at the 1936 Summer Olympics Berlin Olympics. 
  • 9 August: Summer Olympic Games: 1936 Summer Olympics known as Games of the XI Olympiad Jesse Owens wins his fourth gold medal at the games.
  • 24 August: The Australian Antarctic Territory is created.
  • 26 October: The first electric generator at Hoover Dam goes into full operation
  • 27 October: Wallis, The Duchess of Windsor or Mrs Wallis Simpson files for divorce which would eventually allow her to marry King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, thus forcing his Edward VIII abdication crisis known as abdication from the throne.
  • 2 November: Italian dictator Benito Mussolini proclaims the Rome-Berlin Axis, establishing the alliance of the Axis powers.
  • 7 December: Australian cricketer Jack Fingleton becomes the first player to score century (cricket) called centuries in four consecutive Test cricket named Test innings.

MY HISTORY WITH THE TRUCK

     I first encountered this magnificent fire truck about 1947 when it was housed in an automobile repair shop in the center of town.  My Grandfather, Rev. Walter E. Smith was the Presbyterian pastor in Lawton, and my sister, Lola and her Husband, Dwight Haskins, also lived in Lawton.  Dwight was employed as a mechanic in the shop where the fire truck was stored.  On one of my visits to Lawton, my elder brother and I walked to Dwight’s shop and spied the fire truck.  Naturally, to boys of seven (me) and twelve years of age, the lure of the shiny red fire truck demanded our attention.  Before long we had set off the siren, which rather upset the local volunteer firemen.  Thus, we were banned from the fire department FOREVER!  We were forbidden to ever enter the building again.  

     In 1998, while living and working in Boston, Massachusetts, my younger brother, Ken, called asking if I may be interested in purchasing an old fire truck as they needed the space for a new truck being delivered a few months later.  At first, I wasn’t very enthusiastic about it, but asked Ken to give me more details.  He said it was a 1936 Chevrolet chassis.  That perked my interest as my father had a 1936 Chevrolet 1 ½ ton truck on the farm that I had learned to drive as a very young person.  It would be nice to have the same type of truck as I learned to drive all those years ago.  He then said it was the first motorized fire truck Lawton had owned.  It was then I realized it had to be the very truck I had played on fifty years prior, so there was no more consideration, I had to have the truck.  Ken explained it was being offered for sale via sealed one-time bid.  He said the last truck they sold went for only $35 and was hauled to the salvage yard. 

     That settled it, I was going to own the truck, so I put in a bid of $750.49 with the stipulation it had to have a clear title.  The reason for the odd number was that if someone else bid $750, I would outbid them.  In due course, I was notified that I had won the auction, with the next closest bid being   —–$35!  When the then Chief of the department, Harold Robinson who had been the chief for forty-two years, couldn’t locate the title to the truck, he went to the courthouse and applied for a duplicate title.  He discovered that the truck had never been titled, it had been driven all these years without a license plate or title!  The clerk commented that it was lucky the truck hadn’t been stopped.  The old Chief growled, “you ever seen a fire truck pulled over!”  After all these years, Ron Eyres is the first and only titled owner of the 1936 Fire Truck.

     At the time, we were living in Boston and it wasn’t practical to move the truck there, so my brother, who lived in Lawton and was a member of the fire department, organized a place to store the truck until we moved back to the mid-west.  I had him ship the hood and seat to me in Boston, where I began the restoration of those two parts.  At the time, I was restoring a Model T Ford and had an upholsterer doing some work or me, so I had him re-upholster the seat.  In the mean-time, I did the body work required on the sheet metal part of the seat as well as the hood.  At some point something had fallen across the hood and put a huge dent that took considerable effort to restore to original condition. 

     In addition to the upholstery work, the major reason for having the seat and hood in Boston had to do with the striping and decorations on the body.  I had my brother take numerous photos of the entire truck, including the number and position of the stripes and corner art work.  I located a professional fire truck decorator who agreed to work with me.  Using the hood decorations as a pattern, he created all the decorative decals in 24 caret gold leaf.  After I had the seat and hood restored and painted, he came to my place and applied the decals and striping to one side of the hood while I watched and asked questions.  Then, I applied the decals and decorations to the other side of the hood while he watched and gave tips.  By then I felt confident enough that I did the striping and decoration of the seat frame.  When the upholstery was completed, I carefully wrapped the hood and seat and stored them until our planned return to the mid-west. 

     Late in 2004, we retired and moved back to Kansas where we built our retirement house and the adjoining work shop where I stored the old cars I had acquired.  In addition, I built a restoration area that was heated and air-conditioned so I could work in comfort.   The fire truck was the first project I took on after retirement.  A friend and I drove to Lawton, Iowa in December of 2004 and loaded the truck on the trailer for the ride to its new home.  Immediately upon arrival, I began the restoration job 

     I had decided to make the fire truck as nearly like it was when delivered to Lawton, so did a complete tear down to the bare frame.  All the chassis parts, along with the fire pump and manifold were sand blasted, primed and painted.  As I examined the fire pump assembly, I was unable to locate any model or serial number, the only hint was the letters cast in to the manifold reading, “WATEROUS COMPANY SAINT PAUL MINNESOTA.”  I searched on the internet and discovered that Waterous was still in business, so on a chance I called asking if they could assist me in identifying the pump.  The gentleman I talked to said there should be a plate with the model and serial number, but I couldn’t find it.  He then asked me to take a photo and e-mail it to him.  He called back saying that while I was taking the photo, he did some research in the company archives and discovered a purchase order from Luverne Fire Apparatus for a fire truck being built for Lawton, Iowa, dated July 24, 1936. 

     As we visited about the pump and my plans for the truck, I asked about the model and serial number.  Following his directions, I was able to find where the plate was supposed to be, but the only sign was two holes where the original plate had been riveted to the casting.  He supplied me with the model number, HA-456 and Serial Number U-319-3.  Hoping to make the assembly as original as possible I asked if it would be possible to buy a new Model and Serial Plate.  He said that wouldn’t be possible, there was no way I could buy a plate that old.  I was disappointed but had no choice but to accept his statement.  A few days later I went to the mail box to get the mail and there was an envelope from The Waterous Company, St. Paul, Minnesota.  I was a bit puzzled but then thought perhaps he was sending me a copy of the purchase order.  And indeed, he had sent a copy of the purchase order, along with a Model and Serial Plate with a brief handwritten note, “I said you couldn’t BUY one!”  It even had the proper rivets for attaching it to the original position.  

     Over the course of six months, I was able to restore the truck to very much like it came from the factory in 1936.   During the restoration, I kept Lawton Fire Department up to date with the progress, including photos, which they in-turn posted on their web-page.  Once it was ready to be shown, we did a couple of local tours just to verify it would be reliable enough to take on longer trips.  Then, we made a date to take it back to Lawton for the town to see.  A couple of rewarding experiences happened while there.  My brother, Ken Eyres, is currently a member of the volunteer fire department, so we took the 1936 truck to the fire department and placed it alongside the modern truck for photos.  While there, he helped me pump water for the first time after restoration.  I was aware that an inexperienced person can be injured by improperly handling high pressure hoses, so I had him coach me.  We got the pump working and shot water several hundred feet up and down the street.  I saw an elderly gentleman watching, so I waved him over.  He said he had been a member of the fire department when the truck was new.  I asked if he would like to sit in the driver’s seat.  It was rewarding to see his huge smile and quick acceptance.  He complimented me on the truck so I commented that I tried to make it look as good as it did when new.  He replied, “It didn’t look this good when it was new!”

     Another rewarding experience will require a bit of explanation.  I have mentioned that my brother, Ken Eyres, is a member of the Volunteer Fire Department, and at one time served as Chief.  Later his son, Kory Eyres also served as Chief.  Kory has a son named Trevor Eyres.  At the time I was showing the truck off in Lawton, Trevor was about six years old.  He was absolutely fascinated with the truck and wanted to ride in it, so I happily obliged.  The next day I had an idea, so I took the fire truck to the day care center where Trevor attended.  As I parked the truck and walked into the center, I was met with a woman who demanded to know who I was and what I was doing in the facility.  About that time, Trevor saw me and came running exclaiming, “Uncle Ron did you bring the fire truck?”  With Trevor’s comment, the lady backed off as I introduced myself as Ken’s brother.  I told her I had bought the old fire truck for the kids to see and if it was permissible, I could give them a ride around the large parking lot.  She agreed, so I had Trevor be my assistant driver and blow the siren as we circled the lot with the kids laughing and jumping up and down.

     Later that day, while visiting with Ken, Kory came by with Trevor.  There Trevor explained to me that since his grandfather had been the Chief of the Lawton Volunteer Fire Department, and his father was the current chief, ONE DAY I WILL BE THE CHIEF!  I am now aware that Trevor is currently a member of the fire department and I have little doubt that one day, perhaps not very long into the future, the third Eyres generation will be Chief of The Lawton Volunteer Fire Department!

TOURS AND SHOWS

     Shortly after the restoration was finished and I was able to determine the reliability of the drive-line, we trailered the truck to its original home in Lawton, Iowa.  We were rewarded by a sign as we turned off highway 20 into Lawton’s main road reading: LAWTON’S FIRST FIRE TRUCK ARRIVES TODAY.  My brother, Ken, a member of the fire department knew we were coming so we arrived at his home and immediately unloaded the truck.  Immediately townspeople stopped to look and admire the old truck.  We then began driving it around the town, stopping when people waved.  I left it at the volunteer fire department parked beside the new modern truck they had just taken delivery.  The old truck carried 150 gallons of water and could pump 150 Gallons per minute.  The new fire truck carried 1,500 gallons of water and could pump 1,500 Gallons per minute, ten times as great as the old truck.  We left the truck where the towns people could see it and take photos beside the truck.

     Back home in Kansas, we drove the fire truck to a few local events proving the mechanical abilities of the nearly seventy-year-old truck.  The first event was the Kechi Fair Parade in June of 2005.  After the parade, I entered it in a car show where kids of all ages admired the truck.  Several kids asked if they could sit in the seat and I willingly allowed it and even let them blow the siren!  After the awards were handed out and I didn’t get a single mention, I was getting ready to leave.  Just then a lady came up and said I should wait before leaving.  I said I really needed to get going but she was rather insistent, so I stayed.  A few minutes later the MC took the microphone and said there were two more awards to be given, including Best of Show and Participants Choice.  However; they had a problem as two vehicles had tied in the voting for the award.  They decided to flip a coin and the fire truck was awarded Participants Choice while the other vehicle got Best of Show.       I was very pleased to have the old truck recognized at it’s very first trip after restoration!

     The next show was just a few weeks later at lake Afton, about thirty miles southwest of Wichita for the 2005 “All Wheels Day” show.  The truck ran perfectly for the sixty-mile round trip and got many compliments for that show.

     I drove the truck to several local events and small shows, then in May 2007 it went on its first major multi-day tour.  The tenth annual VCCA (Vintage Chevrolet Club of America) Southern Spring Tour was held in Paradise Hill, Oklahoma from May 1 to May 6.  We drove a total of just over 400 miles (645 Kilometers) without a single incident.  Several times during the evening visiting times, fellow club members asked for rides so the truck was kept busy running around the parking lots of the resort taking all who wanted to ride in a fire truck.

     In the summer of 2011, we were invited to bring the fire truck to Lawton, Iowa and participate in the 100th anniversary of the Lawton Volunteer Fire Department.  The truck was on display during the daylight hours and was the showcase for the Volunteer Fire Department annual fundraising pancake and sausage dinner.  Later, it was the lead fire truck in the parade, followed immediately by the newest acquisition which dwarfed the old truck that had once proudly served as the only motorized firefighting equipment Lawton owned.  

     Over Labor Day, 2008, our Horseless Carriage Club of America local chapter held the annual “Air Capital Tour.”  Along with another couple in the club, we organized the three-day event staying in a hotel in southern Wichita, touring a total of about 350 miles (565 Kilometers).  Again, the truck performed perfectly, although an interesting incident happened.  We were driving just north of Belle Plaine, Kansas barely keeping ahead of a rain storm.  Since we were organizers of the tour, I drove toward the back of the line of vehicles in case someone had a problem.  As luck would have it, one of the old cars suffered a major problem and couldn’t continue.  It had to be loaded on the “Trouble Trailer” we always used on these tours in case someone broke down.  With the imminent rain storm fast approaching, I suggested Orpha ride in a closed car while I hurriedly helped load the disabled vehicle.  Just as we got the car loaded and secured, the rain hit.  Everyone else was in a closed vehicle, but the old truck has an open cab so I was totally exposed!  I headed north driving faster than I had ever driven the truck, at speeds approaching 55 MPH (89 KPH).  The wind was so strong from the south that the water was sheeting on the INSIDE of the windshield!  I was so totally soaked to the skin that even my wallet had water inside!

     The next major tour was in Carthage, Missouri from May 4 to May 8, 2009 for the 12th annual VCCA Southern Spring Tour.  Once again, we drove about 210 miles (339 Kilometers) without a hint of a problem.  At one point when someone was stalled, I used a tow rope and pulled the stalled vehicle to safety then helped get it running again. 

     The next VCCA Fall Tour was held from October 10 to 15, 2011.  Although we trailered the truck to the tours, it wasn’t as if I couldn’t have simply driven the truck as it was just over 60 miles.  However; because it was a multi-day tour, I didn’t want to leave the truck sitting outside overnight due to not only weather but the risk of getting shiny fire extinguishers and very expensive brass nozzles stolen.  The interesting thing about this tour is that we drove to Wichita one of the days and was within a few miles of home!  On the way back from Wichita, one of the cars on the tour suffered a fuel pump problem and was stopped by the side of the road.  I stopped and between us utilizing parts of three different fuel pumps, we got the car running.  However; by then the rest of the cars were miles ahead.  Since Bill didn’t know the way, I suggested he follow me as I was on my own turf.  I asked him how fast he wanted to drive and he replied, “No worries, I can keep up with whatever speed you want to go.”  So, I took off running about 50 MPH (80 KPH) as we were well behind schedule and needed to be back at the hotel for the next event.  After a few miles we came to a stop sign where Bill ran up beside the truck asking me to drive a bit slower!

     June 11 to 14, 2012 the 36th MIDDLE WEST MEET of the VCCA was held in Emporia, Kansas.  Another couple from our club were the major organizer while still another couple and we were co-chairpersons.  This was a sanctioned VCCA event where cars were judged.  The Fire Truck won JUNIOR FIRST PLACE award in its class.  (Junior Category was for vehicles being judged for the first time).  On one of the days, the fire truck was the tour leader.  Total mileage for that tour was about 245 miles (395 Kilometers).  

From August 31 to September 2, 2012 the Horseless Carriage Air Capital Tour was held in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.  We drove a total of 230 miles (371 Kilometers) around the Bartlesville area.  Again, the truck performed without an issue.  

     The 37th ANNUAL MIDDLE WEST MEET was held in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.  We took the truck to the meet where it was entered in the Senior Judging for its class and won a “Senior First Place” award, attaining 975 points out of a possible 1000.  I am quite pleased to see the truck and my restoration efforts recognized by an international club!  Since this was mostly a judging meet, the tours were quite short, we drove the truck less than 100 miles (160 Kilometers).  

     October 21 to 26, 2013 saw the truck in Rolla, Missouri for the 10th annual VCCA Southern Fall Tour.  Although the truck ran fine, I had some issues with loosing radiator coolant so I had to add water to the radiator from time to time, but once home the problem was corrected.  It was a bit chilly during that time in the fall, and Orpha won the “HONORARY ESKIMO AWARD” for being brave enough to do the entire tour riding in the open truck!  We drove about 316 miles (510 Kilometers) on this tour.  

     In 2014, I got the 1931 Phaeton restoration complete so it became the touring car of choice.  But the fire truck still remains a frequent visitor at local shows and events.  One thing I have done with the fire truck from 2007 to the present time is to meet Santa Claus at the Kechi Post Office on the first Saturday of December.  There, regardless of weather or temperature, we drive around Kechi with a police escort, red lights and siren announcing our route.  Kids of all ages come running to see the truck and wave to Santa.  He usually has a bag of candy ready for each child and urges them to come see him at City Hall.  After driving a few miles around town, we arrive at City Hall with the Siren sounding loud and LONG!  Kids are gathered in front waving to Santa and jumping up and down in excitement.  The current Santa is an especially nice Santa, and welcomes me with enthusiasm as he does the kids as well.  However; the first Santa I transported said to me, “This is my show, you drop me off and leave, I don’t want the kids looking at the fire truck when they are supposed to be looking at me!”  The organizer overheard him and said to me that I should stay, have a cup of hot chocolate and leave whenever I felt like it.  The next year they had a new Santa and he isn’t jealous of the fire truck!

     There are too many local events to recall and report, so I will summarize my normal actions.  I keep a supply of plastic “FIRE CHIEF” helmets in the baggage compartment of the truck.  Any time a child expresses interest in the truck, I invite them to sit in the driver’s seat and have a photo taken with the hat.  Depending on my supply and the relative interest, I often let them keep the helmet.  In a few instances I have received “Favorite Vehicle” award, and I suspect it is because the kids demand Mom and Dad vote for the fire truck they sat in.  While my actual motivation for treating the kids in this manner is the nostalgia of being banned from the fire department forever, receiving the recognition is a nice side benefit! 

Categories
Uncategorized

1952 Chevrolet Deluxe 2 Door Sedan

SPECIFICATIONS

ENGINE:

Cylinders:                                     6 Cylinders overhead valves

Bore/Stroke:                                                    3 9/16 X 3 15/16

Displacement:                              235 Cubic Inches (3.8 Liter)

Compression Ratio:                                                            7.5: 1

Horsepower:                                                   115 @ 3700 RPM

DRIVE LINE:

Transmission:                               3 Speed Manual Floor Shift

Rear End Gear Ratio:                                                       3.54:  1

Tire size:                                                                         6.70 x 15

BRAKES:

4-wheel Bendix Hydraulic 

GASOLINE TANK CAPACITY:

14 Gallons

PRODUCTION:

Total Chevrolet Cars Built in 1952:                                818,100

Chevrolet Style Line Deluxe 2 Door Sedans:                 143,573

PRICE:

Sale Price in 1952 Dollars:                                                 $1,749

Sale Price in 2022 Pollars:                                               $19,554

MILEAGE:

At Time of Purchase:                                                           26,203

September 2022:                                                                  28,422

Miles Driven:                                                                             2,219

A FEW 1952 EVENTS

  • Harry S. Truman is President of The United States, 1945 to 1953, having taken office after Franklin D. Roosevelts death in 1945.
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower is elected President of The United States in November, 1952 to take office in 1953.
  • 6 February: Elizabeth II becomes queen regnant of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms upon the death of her father, George VI. At the exact moment of Order of succession or succession, she was in a tree house at the Treetops Hotel in Kenya.
  • 10 March: Fulgencio Batista leads a successful coup in Cuba and appoints himself as the “provisional president”.
  • 20 March: he United States Senate ratifies a peace treaty with Japan.
  • 8 April:  U.S. President Harry Truman calls for the seizure of all domestic steel mills to prevent a nationwide Strike action.
  • 15 April: The maiden flight of the B-52 Stratofortress
  • 28 April: Dwight D. Eisenhower resigns as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO.
  • 3 May: The Kentucky Derby is televised nationally for the first time, o3 May: The Kentucky Derby isn the CBS network.
  • 7 May: The concept of the integrated circuit, the basis for all modern computers, is first published by Geoffrey W.A. Dummer.
  • 14 June: The keel is laid for the nuclear submarine USS Nautilus SSN-571 6.
  • 14 October: Korean War: United Nations and South Korean forces launch Operation Showdown against Chinese strongholds at the Iron Triangle (Korea) or Iron Triangle. The resulting Battle of Triangle Hill is the biggest and bloodiest battle of 1952.
  • 1 November: Operation Ivy: The United States successfully detonates the first large hydrogen bomb, codenamed “Mike” “M” for megaton, in the Eniwetok atoll, located in the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean. The explosion had a yield of 10 megatons.
  • 4 November: The United States Federal government of the United States or government establishes the National Security Agency, or NSA.
  • 29 November:  Korean War: President of the United States known as U.S. President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower fulfills a campaign promise by traveling to Korea to find out what can be done to end the conflict.

COMMENTS

     Production of the Chevrolet Styleline began in 1949. It was considered to be among the best-looking GM products produced. Built with precision, the ’49 Chevy’s also received updated power with the arrival of Powerglide two-speed automatic. This gave the Chevy Six increased displacement along with 15 percent more horsepower.

    Though Advertisements at the time indicated that the new Chevrolet Styleline and Fleetline models were ‘more beautiful than ever’, very few major changes were found between the 1951 and 1952 models. Previously a once smooth bar, a row of ‘teeth’ were found on a newly touched-up grille, along with wider parking lights.

     The same as before, the vehicles continued with a 105-horsepower, 235.5-cubic-inch engine for those that came with Powerglide. For manual-shift models, a 92-horsepower, 216.5-cubic-inch rendition of the Stovebolt Six was utilized. Stick-shift drivers had to endure solid tappets, while the bigger engine models had hydraulic lifters.

    For the last time, a Fleetline two-door fastback was on sale, only in Deluxe trim. The lineup was basically a duplicate of 1951, four Styleline Special body styles along with 6 Styleline Deluxe. Deluxe models were the only units to offer Powerglide, along with updated interiors that were harmonized with body colors.

MY HISTORY WITH THE CAR

    Orpha and I had been talking about getting a more modern antique car that would be warm in cold weather and cool in hot weather.  We had attempted that when we bought the 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air, but the accessories on the car precluded the installation of an add on air-conditioner.  One afternoon in 2018 a friend sent me an ad for a 1952 Chevrolet Deluxe.  It was showing a bit over 26,000 miles on the odometer and looked quite nice.  I rather shrugged it off as it was likely to be a California or New York car making even looking at it out of the question.  However; as long as David had gone to the bother to send it to me, I opened the ad and began studying the contents.  The more I read the more interested I became, but the likely distance still bothered me. 

    Finally, at the end of the ad there was a single telephone number listed and to my interest, it was a Kansas area code.  I decided to call the number and inquire about the location.  To my utter amazement, the car was located less than ten miles from where we live!  I made an appointment to look at the car and the next day Orpha and I went to take a look at this possibility.  The car looked very good, no body work needed, although I could see that there would be some work needed but at that point it didn’t look to be excessive, so after some negotiating, we purchased the car.  The owner said he would deliver it after he got the duplicate title as he had misplaced the original.  In due course the car was sitting in my work shop.

    As is my usual practice, I checked the fluid levels, brakes and shock absorbers.  As a result, I replaced all the brakes, wheel cylinders and master cylinder as well as the shock absorbers.  The engine was leaking oil rather badly, so I decided to pull it out of the car and do a complete gasket and seal replacement.  To my dismay, there were signs of water in a couple of the cylinders, so I took the head to a machine shop to have it checked.  Alas, all six cylinders had cracks.  As I attempted to source a good cylinder head, I found that “Good” and “1952 Chevrolet Cylinder Heads” were mutually exclusive terms.  If that weren’t enough bad news, the connecting rod Babbitt was worn past limits.  Thus, I made the decision to purchase a rebuilt 235 engine, which is a direct fit into the ’52.

    With the larger engine, I found a good deal on a power glide ring gear and pinion set, which would allow me to cruise at higher speeds than with the original 216 engine with the low-pressure oiling system.  I also purchased a “Vintage Air” add on air conditioning system.  That in turn required me to upgrade the electrical system to 12 volts instead of the original 6-volt system.   After about a year of working on the car when time permitted between tours and shows, as well as other commitments, it was ready for some local driving prior to going on its first major tour.  Minor adjustments proved to be all that was required to have a good smooth-running car that was very comfortable, regardless of the weather

 

TOURS AND SHOWS

    Initially, we drove the car to church and other local events while building confidence after all the work had been completed. 

    October 1 to 5, 2018, we took the car on its first major tour in Dubuque, Iowa.  We drove the car a bit over 252 miles (405 Kilometers) and it ran perfectly while keeping us warm and comfortable.  I took some abuse for equipping it with an air conditioner, but I simply suggested they talk to me when the temperature was above 100 degrees and see how they felt about it then!  One highlight of the VCCA tours is the good-natured ribbing we take AND GIVE during the tours. 

    April 1 to April 5, 2019, we trailered the car to the 22nd VCCA Southern Spring Tour in San Angelo, Texas.  This was one of the shorter tours we have been on with a total of about 180 miles (290 Kilometers) but we had great weather and good roads for the entire tour.  While I worked on a few other cars that had mechanical problems, we didn’t have to do any mechanical work on the ’52, it performed like a new car.

    In October 2019, we drove the car to the VCCA Southern Fall tour in Camdenton, Missouri for the VCCA Southern Fall tour.  We drove 330 miles on the tour as well as 552 miles to and from the tour, for a total of 882 miles (1410 Kilometers).  Again, all trouble-free miles and a comfortable ride all the way.

Categories
Cars

1937 Chevrolet Master 2 Door Sedan

SPECIFICATIONS

ENGINE:

Cylinders:                    6 Cylinders overhead valves

Bore/Stroke:                                      3 1/2” X 3 3/4”

Displacement:         216.5 Cubic Inches (3.4 Liter)

Compression Ratio:                                        6.25: 1

DRIVE LINE:

Transmission:             3 Speed Manual Floor Shift

Rear End Gear Ratio:                                        4.22:  1

Tire Size:                                                        6.00 x 16

BRAKES:

4-wheel Huck Hydraulic 

GASOLINE TANK CAPACITY:

14 Gallons

PURCHASE PRICE:

Cost in 1937 Dollars:                                               $695

Cost in 2022 Dollars:                                         $7,714

MILEAGE:

At Restoration in 1976:                                        0,000

September 2022:                                                  8,215

Miles Driven:                                                           8,215

COMMENTS

 

     Calvin Eyres purchased the car in 1937 from Harner Chevrolet in LeMars, Iowa. In 1941 he purchased a new Buick and sold the 1937 Chevrolet to Janette Boehlke, a school teacher.  Ms. Boehlke drove the car until 1955 when she purchased a new 1955 Chevrolet.  By then the car had 82,000 miles (132,000 Kilometers) and was considered not worth anything on trade, so she parked it in a grove of trees behind her father’s home in Rural LeMars, Plymouth County, Iowa.  There it sat until I purchased it in March of 1956.  

     The car is a Master two door sedan with bucket seats in the front and a bench seat in the rear.  There is significant space between the rear and front seats.  The Master Deluxe model had independent front suspension, with little clearance between the suspension and the front wheels which was not a desirable car for muddy Iowa farm roads.  Persons like Calvin Eyres refused the Deluxe model and opted for the Master, which had an I-Beam front axle which was much more substantial and trouble free on muddy roads. 

A FEW 1937 EVENTS

 

  • Franklin Delano Roosevelt 32nd President, of the United States of America 1933 to 1945
  • 1 January: Safety glass in vehicle windshield or windscreens becomes mandatory in the United Kingdom.
  • 19 January: Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles, California to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.
  • 5 February: President of the United States, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proposes a plan to enlarge the Supreme Court of the United States.
  • 3 May: Gone with the Wind’, a novel by Margaret Mitchell, wins the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.
  • 6 May: Hindenburg disaster: The Nazi Germany named German zeppelin ‘Hindenburg’ catches fire and is destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people are killed. 
  • 12 May: The Duke and Duchess of York are crowned as George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Westminster Abbey.
  • 28 May: The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in Washington, D.C., who pushes a button signaling the start of vehicle traffic over the span.
  • 28 May: Volkswagen (VW), the Germany named German automobile manufacturer is founded
  • 2 July: Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight.
  • 5 July: Spam, the luncheon meat, is introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation.
  • 28 August: Toyota Motors becomes an independent company
  • 5 November: Adolf Hitler holds a secret meeting and states his plans for acquiring living space for the German people
  • 29 December: The Irish Free State is replaced by a new state called Republic of Ireland known as Ireland with the adoption of a new Constitution of Ireland named constitution.

MY HISTORY WITH THE CAR

     In January of 1956, my uncle, Calvin Eyres and his wife were involved in a severe car accident.  He and his younger brother, Rodrick (Roddy) ran a dairy farm together and it required the combined work of both to manage the chores and work involved in caring for the cattle.  As Calvin was spending considerable time with his own recuperation as well of his wife who was more seriously injured, Roddy was left alone.  He asked if I would live with them for several weeks while Calvin was away and help with chores before and after school.  They lived in the same school district as we did, so I was able to continue attending the same school. 

     Roddy paid me for the work, so by March when Calvin was able to return to the farm, I had accumulated enough money that I wanted to buy a car.  I mentioned it to Calvin who said he knew of a car for sale, in fact he had purchased the car new.  Upon arriving home, my father and I drove the three miles to Joe Boehlke’s farm to look at the car.  It looked fairly good but the battery had run down, so it wouldn’t start but Joe assured me that it was running fine when he parked it, Jeanette simply wanted a new car so they parked it in the grove.  We towed the car home and pushed it into the garage.  I put a battery charger on the car and a few hours later hit the starter and was rewarded with the old engine coming to life and running fine.  A short drive proved to be successful, so I paid Joe the $82.00 and took possession of my first car. 

     After driving it a few miles, Dad suggested I change the oil and check the transmission and differential to be sure they were properly filled.  I drained and refilled the radiator with anti-freeze and began driving the car to school to avoid the ninety-minute school bus ride morning and evening when we lived only five miles from school.  

     At the time I bought the car, it had been painted black and even though the paint was in good condition, I really didn’t like the solid black color and decided to repaint the car to a more appealing color to me.  A neighbor had a 1953 Chevrolet which was painted light green.  After an accident, he had the top painted a light pink and I thought it made such a striking color combination I decided to paint my car the same color.  Having no experience of any kind with painting a car, I went to a local body shop and by memory attempted to choose the colors Richard had on his ’53.  Alas, I missed it by a huge margin and ended up with a dark metallic green and a very loud pink for the roof and hood above the belt line.  While I was working for Roddy, I learned that he had a spray gun and compressor so asked if I could borrow it to paint my car.

     I recruited a high school friend, Edward, to assist.  We sanded the car using the sand paper the body shop recommended.  We then masked the windows and chrome and made my first attempt at spray painting.  Unfortunately, I had no idea how much to thin the paint and it came out in blobs.  With no experience to guide us, and seeing the paint begin to dry, we grabbed a couple of paint brushes and began spreading the paint.  From a distance, it looked fairly good, but as you got closer the brush strokes were visible.  By then I had spent my savings on the car and paint, so hiring someone to do a proper job wasn’t possible.  A week later, we painted the lower part of the body with the green paint with the same result.  To say that everyone in the county knew Ron Eyres’ car was a gross understatement!

     I drove the car from the time I purchased it in 1956 until I bought a 1954 Chevrolet Bel Air Hardtop in February of 1959.  The dealer where I purchased the ’54 said he would give me $25 for the old Chevy, so I told him I would just keep it and let my younger brother have it as he now wanted a car of his own.  Mike drove the car for some time, then like me decided he needed a nicer car so once again it was parked in a grove of trees.

     The summer of 1960, I was back in Iowa working for an implement dealer doing service calls on New Holland farm equipment.  Rather than use the ’54 Chevy to carry the tools and repair parts, I once again put the ’37 back in active duty and used it as my service vehicle, loaded with the appropriate tools.  Due to the color, it was well known in the area.  Customers commented that they always knew when help was on the way when they saw the pink top appear over the horizon.  When I returned to college early in 1961, the car once again was parked in the grove.

     A few years later, my youngest brother called me saying he and some friends were planning to visit our older brother in northern Kansas, would I like to have the old car back?  I immediately agreed, so he drove it to Hiawatha, Kansas, probably during the summer of 1964.  From there, my older brother then drove it to Wichita, however; on the way the engine began knocking loudly and he was afraid it may not make it all the way in.  By driving slowly, it did survive the trip and once again it was back in my possession.  There it sat in our back yard for a couple of years until we moved to a larger house.  Although the house was larger, there was no room to move the old Chevy into the back yard, so I drove it to a friend’s farm near Rose Hill, Kansas, where it sat for several years.  Unfortunately, water accumulated in the years of dirt resting in the bottom of the doors and quarter panels and it began rusting through.  

     In 1974, I saw an ad in the newspaper announcing the formation of a local chapter of the Vintage Chevrolet Club of America (VCCA).  I attended the organizational meeting held at a restaurant in Wichita and became a charter member of the Air Capital Region of VCCA.  That prompted me to begin the long-desired goal of restoring the 1937 Chevy to its original splendor.  I dragged the old car home, and placed it in the corner of a friend’s construction business storage lot.  There I began the disassembly of the car down to the bare frame.  I took the engine home and tore it down, expecting to see a missing rod dipper causing the bearing to be burned up from lack of oil.  Although I didn’t find a missing dipper, I did remove the crankshaft in two pieces!  It had broken just in front of the second main bearing; thus, the very loud knocking was explained.

     In the mean-time, I made a deal with another friend who owned a body shop.  He wanted Central Heating and Air Conditioning installed in his home, so in trade for installing the equipment, he would do the body work on the ’37.  I removed the body from the frame and took it to a company who had vats large enough to dip the entire body in a paint stripping solution, then in to a vat of Phosphoric Acid, which would remove all the rust.  From there it went to the body shop.  The owner of the body shop was so pleased with his air-conditioned house that he asked if I could install air conditioning in his shop.  He offered to do the entire restoration of the body at no cost to me in trade for the work on his shop.  Having no experience with body work, that was the solution to my greatest fear of body work and painting, for which I had no tools or knowledge.

     While that was being accomplished, I rebuilt the engine, complete with a replacement crankshaft, rebored, new pistons and rods, along with a valve job.  I got the engine back together and was able to run it on a test stand for an hour or so to be sure it was ready to return to service.  My dad was visiting with his big Dodge Ram pickup, so we loaded the frame, front and rear axles, as well as most of the other heavy steel parts and took them to a sand blasting company.  By then, I had acquired a small air compressor and a cup type spray gun.  Utilizing some knowledge gained by watching the painter at the company where I worked, I attempted my first somewhat successful spray-painting job.  I figured that the frame wouldn’t be seen after the car was restored so the main goal was protection from rust as well as learning how to regulate the spray gun and apply paint.  As expected, there were a few runs, but by the time the frame was finished, I began to get the hang of it, so the front and rear axles, which would be visible, turned out much better.  

     The reassembly of the chassis began, and went pretty well.  All the parts were there, so with a lot of cleaning, painting and careful attention to detail, I soon had the chassis rolling around.  I installed the engine and connected the drive line, then hung the radiator by the hoses and some wire and was able to run the engine with the rear wheels off the ground and prove out the transmission and rear end.  All went well, so I lowered it to the ground and drove it to the end of the block and back.  That too went well, so with some additional assembly and adjustment of the brakes, determined it was ready for the body.

     While I was doing all that work, the body shop completed the restoration and painting of the body, so I borrowed a trailer from a fellow club member and hauled the chassis to the body shop where for the first time in many years, the new looking body was married up to the chassis.  Using the same trailer, I hauled the car back home and put it in the car port where the work continued.  I had made a deal with a fellow church member to trade his upholstery work for a new furnace and central air conditioning in his home. A week later I completed my end of the bargain.  Unfortunately, he failed to live up to his end of the bargain, so about nine months later I gave up on him and took it to an upholstery shop where they completed the job.

     Back home once again, I went about doing the finishing touches.  The running board metal had rusted completely through, but by using the VCCA club magazine and with the help of fellow club members, I was able to find other running boards.  Unfortunately, they too were not usable, but by cutting and welding we were able to use the good parts of the two sets of running boards to come up with a usable pair.  I then applied the new rubber covering and the job was finished, or at least as finished as my abilities allowed.  

     By now, it was 1977 and the Middle West Meeting of the VCCA was scheduled to be held in Wichita, Kansas, just a few miles from where we lived at the time.  I entered the car in the judging and took third place in my class, which included cars in the same year time-frame.  I was graded off for not having the correct wood-graining on the interior metal fittings of the car, and I had seal-beam head lights instead of the original bulb type lights.  There were some issues with proper color of the under-hood components and the engine was not the proper gray color.  Still, I was quite pleased with the third-place win in my first restoration attempt.

     We drove the car around the local area and had it in a few shows, then moved to New Braunfels, Texas.  From there, it went into storage in a museum until I was able to retrieve it in 2005 as noted elsewhere.  I had taken steps in 1974 to prevent water from getting into the door panels, but alas, my attempts actually made matters worse instead of correcting the problem.  I had used the urethane foam that Coleman used to make coolers and jugs, thinking that it would permanently seal the crevices and prevent moisture from attacking the metal, but instead of preventing the rust, it actually prevented the water from evaporating and made it worse.  Thus, in about 2015 I began to see signs of rust emerging once again along the bottom of the doors and quarter panels.

     In 2016, I once again began another restoration.  By now I had quite a bit of experience with body work and painting, so I was able to remove the doors, cut out the rusted metal and install patches.  After the appropriate body work, I painted the car using base-coat, clear-coat and ended up with a really nice paint job.  I hired a man to do the proper wood graining on the interior parts, had the original windshield wiper motor repaired and installed, and once again the car looked almost like it did when it came from the factory.  I haven’t entered it in any judging competitions, I just like having the car that I have owned for over 65 years running and dependable as it ever was!

 

TOURS AND SHOWS

     After the first restoration in the mid 1970’s, I took the car to the MIDDLE WEST VCCA MEET held here in Wichita.  I entered it in the judging and came out with a third-place win in the Junior category for my class.  Following the judging, I led my very first VCCA tour from the hotel to the Coleman Factory in Wichita where we were given a tour of the new factory.  Of special interest to me was that I had actually designed the first building in Coleman’s new manufacturing facility.  

     From then until we moved to Texas, we drove the car to church a few times and displayed it at various times when requested.  One of my most memorable displays was at the Quality Chevrolet Dealership in the fall of 1976.  The sales manager asked if I would bring the car to be put on display with the newly introduced 1977 Chevrolet cars.  Thus, they would have a 1937 Chevrolet and a forty year later model, the 1977, on display in the same showroom.  It was a real attention getter for the new car!

     After moving to New Braunfels, Texas in 1979, we took the car with us and drove it in several parades held in the city.  We also joined an antique car club and it was shown at various shows and displays.  The longest display it was ever involved with was after we were transferred to Australia.  I was looking for a place to store the car when our Rotary Club had Dick Burdick of Rosanke, Texas to speak about his antique cars, his involvement in the “Great American Antique Car Race,” and his museum.  After showing him my car, he invited me to put it on display in his museum.  Our agreement was that he wouldn’t charge me to store the car and I wouldn’t charge him to display the car!  This was a classic “Win-Win Situation.”    Although I had expected to be in Australia for only three years, that stretched to five years, then life was in such a turmoil that the car actually stayed in his museum from January of 1985 until March of 2005, or a total of twenty-five years!  In that time, likely thousands of persons passed through the museum and had the opportunity to observe the 1937 Chevrolet.

     After getting settled in our present location, I was able to retrieve the car in March, 2005 and within a week had it ready for our first VCCA SOUTHERN SPRING TOUR.  The tour was held in Pittsburgh, Kansas from April 27 to 30.  Since it was close and I didn’t yet own a trailer, we drove the car the one-hundred-sixty-miles to the tour hotel.  We drove about 245 miles (395 Kilometers) on the tour and the car ran perfectly both to and from the tour as well as during the tour.  In total this trip put 570 miles (915 kilometers) on the car.  During the closing banquet, we were awarded a prize for having the car continuously owned 49 years of the cars driven to and from the tour.  

     The HCCA (Horseless Carriage Club of America) Spring Overnighter was held May 12 to 13, 2007.  We drove from Wichita to Arkansas City, Kansas and toured around that general area driving about 250 miles (405 kilometers) visiting various museum, flea markets and the O’Henry Candy factory in Oxford, Kansas.  

     August 31 to September 2, 2007 saw the car in Emporia, Kansas for the 48th HCCA Air Capital tour.  Again, since it was close, we drove the car to and from the tour hotel as well as on the tour.  In total we drove the car 390 miles (630 kilometers) and again it ran perfectly with no problem.  

     September 20 and 21, 2008 saw us on and HCCA Fall Overnight tour.  On this tour, we took Orpha’s brother and his wife along with us as we drove into southeast Kansas including Independence, Caney, Burden and Sedan, Kansas.  We drove just over 220 miles (355 kilometers) with no problems until we were almost home.  In the last twenty miles, I noticed the car beginning to heat up a bit and had to stop and add water to the radiator.  I didn’t think too much about it as the car didn’t have a pressurized cooling system and it wasn’t uncommon for them to require coolant added from time to time.  

     With several other cars having been added to the stable, we didn’t drive the ’37 on another tour until September 15 to 18 in Pittsburg, Kansas.  Again, we drove the ’37 to and from the tour and all together we drove 640 miles (1,032 kilometers), and as usual for the old car it ran perfectly with no hint of a problem.  Since we were part of the organization committee, we were tour leaders one of the days.  

     2019 saw the car in Dubuque, Iowa for the VCCA SOUTHERN FALL TOUR.  On the way to Dubuque with the ’37 on a trailer, we stopped by Pleasant Plain, Iowa and attended church where my ancestors had lived and attended in the mid 1800’s.  Having the 1937 Chevrolet in the parking lot bought several favorable comments from the church goers!  During the tour, we had major rain storms a couple of the days, but we were able to remain dry and comfortable having used the closed ’37 instead of one of the open cars.  

     Wichita, Kansas is the home of one of only two Boeing B-29 Bombers still flying.  At a fund-raising event held at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita, the organizers contacted the HCCA asking for 1930’s vintage cars to form a pathway from the parking lot into the warehouse where “DOC” was parked.  Our 1937 Chevrolet was one of the cars utilized in this display.

Categories
Cars

1931 Chevrolet Phaeton

SPECIFICATIONS

ENGINE:

Cylinders             6 Cylinders overhead valves

Bore                                                 3 1/8 Inches

Stroke                                              3 3/4 Inches

Displacement       194 Cubic Inches (3.2 Liter)

Compression Ratio                                     6.0: 1

DRIVE LINE:

Transmission      3 Speed Manual Floor Shift

Differential Gear Ration                         4.11: 1

Tire Size                                                5.25 X 19

BRAKES:

4-wheel internal expanding, mechanically actuated via levers and rods

WEIGHT:

2,370 Pounds (1075 Kilograms)

COST:

Cost in 1928 Dollars:                                        $ 510

Cost in 2022 Dollars:                                      $9,940

MILEAGE:

At Restoration:                                                  0,000

September 2022:                                              6,107

Miles Driven:                                                     6,107

PRODUCTION:

Phaetons Built in 1931:                                     852 

Right Hand Phaetons Built in 1931:                   10

Total Chevrolet Production in 1931:         623,901

 

     The car has the original engine with the serial number starting with “R” meaning it was built for a car with Right Hand Drive.  Upon rebuilding I discovered the pistons were stamped: Made in the country of Argentina” written in Spanish.

COMMENTS

     The Independence Phaeton was an entry level car in 1931.  It was an open car with a convertible type top and side curtains for inclement weather driving.  There were 852 Phaetons built in 1931, and of these only 10 were Right Hand Drive, making this car a very rare model.  Research indicates it was manufactured in the United States but sold and assembled in Uruguay.  How it was returned to the United States is not known.  The engine is Chevrolet’s in-line 6 cylinder in its third year of production.  It produced 50 horsepower and cruises nicely at 50 Miles per hour.

      The most common question I am asked while at a show or if someone looks at the car is, “What is it worth?” and “How fast will it go?”  Depending on who is asking the question and why, my standard answer is “To me it is priceless. As for how fast will it go, a more important question is: how long will it take for me to get it stopped!”  To explain that comment, Chevrolets prior to 1936 and Fords prior to 1939 didn’t have hydraulic brakes, but rather what is called “Mechanical Brakes.”  What that means is there are a series of rods and levers connected to the brake pedal.  Adjustments are critical and not constant.  While modern hydraulic brakes utilize fluid that exerts exactly the same pressure to each wheel no matter how hard the pedal is depressed, each wheel is afforded the same stopping pressure.

     Mechanical brakes, on the other hand, are totally dependent on the initial adjustment   That is a matter of drive, adjust, drive, adjust until the car will stop fairly straight when the brakes are applied.  However, due to friction and binding of all the mechanical components it is very difficult to maintain the same braking on all four wheels.  Thus, it is incumbent on the driver to learn the particular car and know that when the brake is applied the car will most certainly pull to the left or right.  To make matters even worse, depending on how hard and how quickly you apply the brake it can change without notice.  One time we were driving on a street in south Texas when a jacked up pickup truck backed out in front of me with only feet to spare.  I hit the brakes as hard as I could and the car skidded sideways on the brick street sliding up to within a few feet of the truck.  The tires screeched and finally got the attention of the driver who blasted his horn and gave me the one-finger salute as he burned rubber and sped away.

A FEW 1931 EVENTS 

  • The United States of America was in the early years of “The Great Depression,” thus car sales were off considerably from their peak in 1929.
  • Herbert Hoover 31st President, 1929 to 1933, and is the only Engineer to be President of the United States
  • 21 January: Sir Isaac Isaacs is sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia.
  • 20 February: The Congress of the United States approves the construction of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge by the state of California.
  • 3 March: The United States adopts ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ as its national anthem
  • 19 March: Gambling is legalized in Nevada.
  • 31 March: TWA Flight 599 crashes near Bazaar, Kansas, killing eight, including University of Notre Dame head football coach Knute Rockne.
  • 1 May: The Empire State Building is dedicated in New York City.
  • 23 June: Wiley Post and Harold Gatty take off from Roosevelt Field, Long Island in an attempt to circumnavigate the world in a single-engine plane.
  • 31 July: New York City, New York experimental television station W2XAB (now known as WCBS-TV known as WCBS) begins broadcasts.
  • 1 October:  The George Washington Bridge linking New Jersey and New York opens.
  • 17 October: Al Capone convicted of income tax evasion

MY HISTORY WITH THE CAR

 

     A friend purchased the car at an estate sale in Madison, Kansas thinking he could make a quick buck at an upcoming swap meet as it is a very rare car.  Unfortunately, the car had been in a fire and was badly burned.  The tires, all the internal body wood, upholstery, wiring and instruments were burned beyond salvage.  He was not able to get a single bid on the car, so bought it back home.  The engine appeared to be mostly undamaged, so he bought it to me thinking if the engine was running, he may get a sale.  It didn’t take me very long to have it running reasonably well by utilizing a temporary gas tank and jumper wiring for the ignition system.  When he came to get the car, he commented that he believed it was a bigger job than he wanted to take on, so offered it to me for what he had in it.  

     Initially, I was not too enthused about the prospect, but then as I began to do some research, I found that there were only ten of this particular model made.  While there were 852 Phaetons built in 1931, only ten of them were Right Hand Drive cars, and all of them were destined for export to countries where they drove on the left-hand side of the road.  My friend told me that when fully restored, the car would be worth $75,000.  I asked where he got that information and he replied, “There has been one advertised in Hemmings for the past two years for that amount.”  I replied, if it has been advertised for two years for $75,000, it isn’t worth $75,000.  Further research suggested between $50,000 and $60,000 would be closer to the real value.  The more I looked at the car and considered its very rare nature, the more interested I became.

     Research did not reveal how the car came to be in Madison, Kansas after having spent the majority of its life in Uruguay.  I was able to learn that the elderly gentleman who owned the car drove it around town and was well known by the local residents.  He kept it parked in a barn behind the house, but alas one windy day a fire began in an adjacent field and quickly spread to the barn.  When the fire department arrived, the elderly gentleman said, “Forget the barn, pull the car out!”  In spite of their best efforts, the car was severely burned, all the wood components, upholstery and tires, anything that could burn had burned.  In addition, the sheet metal had gotten so hot it was warped and buckled such that every panel in the entire car had to be reworked and straightened.  Nevertheless, the car intrigued me to the point I decided to buy it and begin the restoration process.

     As I began to evaluate the car, and fellow car club members looked it over, most agreed that the car wasn’t restorable.  Nevertheless, I began a total frame-off restoration project.  In reality, the chassis, engine, transmission, and drive line weren’t badly damaged in the fire.  I dismantled the chassis down to the bare frame and had it sand blasted.  I then primed the frame, front and rear axles as well as the transmission and differential, then painted with a suitable chassis paint.  

     In the mean-time, I began searching for a wood kit to replace the burned structural wood in the body and top.  I was about to give up hope when someone referred me to a man in western Ohio who specialized in making wood kits for this specific model.  My initial contact went well and he advised that he had a kit almost ready to go and would sell it to me for $4,500.  That appeared to be in line with other models so I told him I would take the kit.  The next day he called me back saying that he was largely disabled due to emphysema and especially enjoyed doing wood work as painting was out of the question with his breathing problems.  He then offered to sell me an identical body with the wood already installed and take my burned body in trade for $5,500.  After very little consideration, I accepted his offer and loaded my burned body in our truck and made a week-long vacation by driving across Missouri, Illinois and Indiana to his place in Ohio.

     As it worked out, this was an amazing stroke of luck, as the man loved working on this specific model of Chevrolet and had all kinds of parts that I would need.  In addition to the body and wood kit, I was able to purchase a complete set of top bows and numerous other reproduction parts that had been destroyed in the fire.  After loading the body into our truck, we spent two days driving back to Kansas where the restoration work began.  

     Initially, I left the body in a storage area in the shop while the chassis, including the entire drive-line occupied the restoration area of my shop.  I had made the decision to make the car as nearly like the day it left the assembly line as possible.  While I didn’t insist on every bolt and screw being an original Chevrolet product, I did make every effort to make the car look original.  As it turned out, the chassis and drive line were the easy parts.  I sent the engine block to a company in Kansas City who poured new Babbitt in the main bearings as well as the rod bearings.  The cylinder head went to a machine shop where I had hard valve seats installed to accommodate modern gasoline, all new valves and springs.  I purchased new rocker arm shafts and upgraded the oiling line from the pump to the valve train.  

     At that point, utilizing a Coleman cooler for a seat, I drove the chassis a few hundred meters around our five-acre lot to see that everything ran smoothly.  After that successful voyage, I took it out on our local road where there is almost no traffic and drove it a few miles to determine proper operation of all the components.  Returning to my shop, I readjusted the valves, made further adjustments on the brakes and generally looked everything over to assure myself it was ready for the body.  Now the real work on the body began.

     I moved the chassis to the storage area and placed the body in my restoration shop.  Getting the warped sheet metal flat and smooth was a real challenge.  In a few instances I had to resort to professional help but after months of painstaking work I finally had the body metal looking good enough to begin priming the individual parts.  There seems to be a general belief by those not involved in body work that slight flaws in the metal will be hidden by paint.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  In reality, after the first coat of primer is applied, every tiny flaw in the previous work is magnified ten-fold.  Thus, I began the process of applying a coat of primer. Going over every square inch of the body panel looking at the surface from every angle and using body putty, filling the defects.  Once I had achieved a reasonably smooth finish by using increasingly fine sand paper and “wet sanding” the surfaces until they were perfectly smooth, it was time to apply “fill and sand primer.”  

     The purpose of fill and sand primer is to fill microscopic little scratches caused by the metal working process as well as the previous sanding work.  The process involves applying a heavy coat of primer, and after it is dried, I would use 400 grit wet/dry sand paper.  The concept of wet/dry sand paper involves keeping the surface wet with water while sanding to avoid introducing more scratches caused by sanding dust or other contaminants. When it appeared to be perfect, I switched from 400 grit paper to 600 and repeated the process.  From there I moved to 1000 grit paper.  Some even go as far as 1500 or even 2000 grit paper.  For me, I stop at 1000.  The 1500 and 2000 paper actually seems almost as smooth as plain typing paper.  However; for those who want an absolutely perfect mirror finish they keep going until they attain the perfection sought.  

     I would interject a concept here known in the old car restoration hobby of “over restoration.”  Simply stated, average priced cars in the 1920 and 1930 era were not works of perfection with highly polished perfectly applied paint jobs.  They were production models, certainly well done but not highly polished to perfection.  High end cars including Rolls Royce, Packard and Cadillac were done to perfection but the Chevrolet, Ford, and similar cars were manufactured for sale to the average buyer.  For me being a novice and home hobby kind of restorer, my best work is about good enough to fit the workmanship of the lower priced cars for sale to the working family.

     Once I got the body looking as good as I could do in my home workshop, it was time to choose a color.  Having been in a fire, all traces of the original color of the car had been burned away.  I wanted the car to have an original 1931 Chevrolet color scheme, but I have always had difficulty visualizing what the finished product would look like.  I was able to locate on line the color combinations for 1931 Chevrolets, along with color chips.  I made a list of every combination used on my particular model and took photos of the car to an artist friend in our church.  She then used water colors to show what the car would look like in each of the combinations.  Orpha and I looked at the color combinations and chose a body color of Coffee Cream.  The accent color around the windshield and the two-inch-wide band around the car was Fawn Brown, while the wheels and pin stripe were Swamp Holly Orange.  In those days, the fenders and running board apron between the body and running boards were always black.

     I did all the painting, although I did rent a paint booth and sought the help of a professional painter.  The main reason for this action was essentially a matter of clean filtered air.  Prior to this car, I had done all the painting of my projects on the slab in front of the work shop.  The main drawback was dust carried by the ever-constant Kansas wind, and the propensity of flying insects to commit suicide by flying into fresh paint.  Something about the gloss of the wet paint attracts all manner of insects and they can quickly spoil an otherwise good paint job.  Renting the paint booth allowed me to have filtered air as well as the proper lighting to determine good coverage.  In addition to those advantages, having a professional painter watching and coaching was a huge asset and boost to my limited painting skills.  I often joke that everything I know about body work and painting I taught myself.  BUT I didn’t have a very good teacher!

     By now I was about eighteen months into the project but the end was in sight.  The body was quite striking in appearance, so it was time to marry the body to the chassis.  With the help of four fellow hobbyists, along with various hoists we managed to set the body on the frame without scratching the new paint job.  Now it was time to do the final wiring.  I chose to make my own wiring harness, as I had added a few items to make the car safer to drive on modern roads.  Originally the car had only one tail light, so I added a second one on the left rear fender to match the original on the right rear fender.  In addition, I installed turn signals.  Originally the car was equipped with one fuse for everything in the car.  I hid a modern fuse block high on the firewall behind the dash where it couldn’t be seen in normal driving circumstances.  In addition, I equipped the car with halogen head lights and relays to avoid over-loading the primitive switches, thus giving me bright lights and a fuse for every individual circuit.  Therefore, if I were to blow any individual fuse, I wouldn’t lose the entire electrical system as would have been the case when the car was delivered from the factory.

     Now it was time for another shake-down run.  The upholstery work was yet to be done, so again using a Coleman cooler as a seat, I drove the car several miles to the pin-striping shop where the woman who did commercial lettering work for major truck lines also did accent painting on antique cars.  The car performed perfectly on the fifteen-mile round trip and addition of the Swamp Holly Orange accent stripe added a striking emphasis to the already great looking car.

     The last remaining major job was the upholstery.  By now, it was obvious to us that we had a rare and outstandingly nice-looking car, so we decided to have the upholstery work done professionally.  I contracted with Rick Fisher Upholstery outside of Augusta, Kansas.  He kept the car for three months, but when I picked it up the job was perfection!  All new seat upholstery, carpet and convertible top as well as side curtains that could be installed in the event of rain.  At last, after two full years of work I was ready to show the car off to the world!  

     The car ran perfectly during the first two tours, so I decided to change oil and adjust the valves as is common on the old Chevrolet engines.  Due to a significant error on my part, I left the flexible spout funnel in the oil filler tube and started the engine.  I didn’t realize the filler tube had no baffles and the tube of the funnel slid into the engine and hit the rotating crankshaft.  Fearing it may have damaged a rod dipper, I removed the oil pan.  Sure enough, a rod dipper had been torn off the end of the rod cap.  That was an easy repair, but I was astonished to see the inlet to the oil screen was solidly clogged with some kind of fiber type of material.  I had no idea where it could have come from.  Fearing it had starved the bearings for oil, I checked the bearing clearance and it immediately became obvious significant damage had been done.  By removing shims, I was able to improve the situation but not to my complete satisfaction.

     When I removed the valve cover to adjust the valves I realized where the fibers had come from.  At the time I ordered the valve cover gasket, the supplier of the parts boldly offered a silencing pad to help improve the oiling of the valve train and muffle the sound of the rockers, a common issue with the Chevrolet overhead valve engines.  I accepted his recommendation and installed the pad.  HUGE MISTAKE!  The pad had shed a significant number of fibers and that is what had clogged the oil pump inlet screen.  After cleaning the engine and adjusting the valves, I took it for a drive and it seemed to be okay.  However; on the next tour in Arkansas, the rod bearings failed and the car had to be loaded on the trailer.  

     During that fall and winter, I removed the engine and sent it back to have the mains and rod bearings re-Babbitted.  Since then, it has run perfectly with no hint of bearing noises.  Aside from periodic valve adjustment and a failed water pump, which was replaced under warranty, I have had no mechanical issues with the car, having driven it over 6,000 miles (9,700 Kilometers).

REPRINT OF ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN SEPTEMBER 2017 G&D, THE OFFICIAL VCCA INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE

IT’S FUNNY HOW THINGS TEND TO WORK

     Out in life.  A first automotive love leads to another and then another; a chance discovery leads to uncovering a rare treasure; and an accident leads to a chance to start over. 

     My Chevy story starts in March of 1956.  At the age of 17, I was walking through a grove of trees looking for a 1937 Chevrolet that had been purchased new by my Uncle Calvin from Harner Chevrolet in LeMars, Iowa for $670.  It had been parked for about nine months by the school teacher who had purchased it from my uncle in 1941.  She had driven the ’37 for 14 years, then bought a 1955 Chevrolet and simply parked the old car in the grove thinking it wasn’t worth very much.

     My dad and I pulled it out of the trees and after a short tug, it started and ran quite well.  So, I paid her the asking price of $80 and bought my first car.  I drove the car for three years, then bought a 1954 Chevrolet.  The dealer only offered me $25 for the ’37 so I kept it —I still own it to this day, although it has been fully restored to showroom condition.

     Thus, in 2012 I found myself the owner of that 1937 Town Sedan, a 1936 Chevrolet Fire Truck and a 1954 Bel Air, which gave us three different vehicles to drive on Chevrolet tours.  We decided that would be all we needed.

A NEW PROJECT

     But as often happens in the antique car hobby, fate had other plans.  Early in 2012 I got a call from a fellow VCCA club member who had been bringing his cars to me for maintenance and major repair work for several years.  He told me he had purchased a 1931 Chevrolet Phaeton right-hand-drive model, planning to take it to an area swap meet for a quick profit.  Alas, he didn’t get a single bid and thought perhaps if the engine were running, it would improve his chances of a sale.  I agreed to take a look and we set a time for him to bring it to my shop.

     Upon his arrival, he told me how he had come to acquire the car.  Although there were 832 Phaetons made in 1931, only 10 of them were right-hand-drive (RHD).  He had heard of the car being offered for sale near Emporia, Kansas, about 90 miles from where we lived.  The car had originally been manufactured for sale in Uruguay, but how it came to be in Kansas is unknown.  

     In Kansas, it had been owned by an elderly man who kept it hidden from his adult children — he was no longer supposed to be driving, so he kept it parked in a barn behind this house.  Unfortunately, the barn caught fire and the fire department was summoned.  Upon their arrival, the elderly gentlemen instructed the firefighters to forget the barn, just pull the car out!  

     Alas, it was badly burned, the tires, upholstery, and fabric top completely consumed by fire.  The Sheetmetal was buckled and warped, the top of the radiator was melted, and the entire set of instruments was lying on the transmission in a melted pool of pot metal.  The floorboards, along with all the wood had been consumed in the fire, leaving only chunks of charcoal.  Subsequently, the gentleman passed away and the family held an estate sale, which included the ‘31 Phaeton.  That’s how my acquaintance came to own it.

    I purchased a new battery, ignition wires, and distributor cap.  After hooking jumper wires to the spare coil and employing a gravity-feed gas tank, the engine did fire up and ran reasonably well for a couple of minutes, but without a functioning radiator, I had to shut it down.  Calling my customer, I told him I had it running.  He then told me he had been thinking about it and decided it was a bigger project than he wanted to take on; he offered to sell it to me.  After some research and haggling, I agreed to take it off his hands.  

     The Restoration Although I had done a number of frame-off restorations over the years, this was the most challenging, yet potentially rewarding projects I would undertake.  I stripped the car down to the bare frame and began cleaning and inspecting the various parts.

     One of the first jobs would be to find a wood kit and get it on order.  That was one of the most daunting tasks. I called every advertiser in Hemmings and the G&D but they all advised they didn’t do Phaeton wood kits.  Finally, one of the suppliers referred me to a retired man in Ohio who specialized in Phaetons and actually made his own kits.

     Contacting him proved to be a tremendous bonus in the project.  He was quite willing to share his knowledge and expertise, which was considerable.  He told me he could make a kit, but he had another suggestion: he had a ’31 Phaeton body with new wood and was willing to take my body as a trade for the body with the wood already installed.  The only difference between the right-hand-drive and the left-hand drive body was the instrument panel, so I would keep mine.  After discussing the logistics of getting my body to his place and the refurbished body back home, we struck a deal.  My wife and I made a vacation trip out of it, so the plan worked out well.  

     After completely dismantling the car down to the bare frame, I found the chassis was in relatively good shape, so I loaded everything up for a trip to the sandblasting company.  After blasting, the frame and components were immediately primed with etching primer and painted.  As each component was refurbished, it too was primed and painted, then added to the frame until I had a rolling chassis, making it much easier to move around.

     Tearing the engine down in preparation for a complete rebuild, I discovered the serial number began with “R” which proved it had, in fact been manufactured for a right-hand-drive-vehicle and was likely the original engine.  It had been sleeved back to original bore and the pistons fit within tolerance. I did notice they were stamped (in Spanish) with “Made in the country of Argentina.” Thus, providing further evidence the car had been in South America for part of its life.  The rods and mains were re-babbitted and line bored to fit the freshly turned crankshaft.  New rings, along with valves, guides, and hard seats completed the rebuild of the engine.   

The First Drive   

     Then came the exciting day I first drove the chassis a mile or two to check out the mechanicals prior to installing the body. Having lived in Australia for five years, I knew how to drive on the left side of the road with a right-hand car, which proved to be a significant advantage when it came to driving the RHD Phaeton.  As it turned out, it was not difficult to handle the car and the check-out drive was fairly uneventful.  There were a few adjustments to be made, as is normal for a total restoration project, but the initial test drive went rather smoothly.

     I turned my attention to the body, and in due course it was made ready for paint.  That presented a dilemma for me.  I wanted it to be an original color but having been burned and lacking an ID tag, there was no way to know what color it was originally.  In addition, I couldn’t picture what the car would look like after painting.  So I made a few drawings of the car and gave them to an artist friend, who using original paint chips, water colored the drawings.

     I decided on Coffee Cream body and Fawn Brown accent with Swamp Holly Orange wheels and matching striping on the body.  When I finished the paint job, using acrylic urethane, we were pleased with how nice it looked.

     While I had done some limited upholstery work in the past, by now I had gained an appreciation for just how rare the car is and what a great potential it had.  Thus, I made the decision to have it professionally upholstered.  The person I chose had an excellent reputation for good work, although I was advised to double the time estimate he gave me.  That proved to be true, but since I was expecting it and planned for the time, it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience.

Driving Adjustments

We had an interesting experience when I went to pick up the car.  We had lived in Australia for five years in the past and had been back for a visit while the car was at the upholstery shop.  When transitioning between driving on the left side of the road and the right side of the road, depending on which country we were in, one thing always helped me stay on the correct side of the road.  I had been coached, “Remember no matter which country you are in, the driver is toward the center of the road.”

     That works fine when you are driving a right-hand drive in a country where they drive on the left side of the road, but when you are driving a right-hand drive car in the USA, where we drive on the right side of the road, that rule doesn’t apply.  For the previous four weeks we had been driving in Australia on the left side of the road in a right-hand drive, so when I got the car to the street, it took me several moments to figure out just where I was supposed to be on the road!  But it worked out and in due course we arrived home.  

     After driving a few miles around the local neighborhood and making several adjustments to the brakes, checking the valve lash, and fixing a leak or two, the car seemed to be performing rather well, so I made an appointment with a local professional striping company.  The owner does artwork and lettering on over-the-road trucks, but also is very well known in the antique car hobby here in Wichita. 

     Driving the seven miles to her shop proved to be uneventful.  I had researched online to develop a good understanding of how the striping should be done and relayed the information to her.  She matched the Swamp Holly Orange wheels and had the car finished the next day.  When I went to get the car, there were other customers admiring it and exclaiming how great the car looked, but the most comments were about the steering wheel being on the “wrong” side of the car!

     As I drove home, I was startled a couple of times when I would meet a car and they began honking and waving.  At first, I thought they saw something wrong and scanned the gauges and checked the mirrors, but everything seemed to be okay.  The second time, the driver yelled, “Nice car!” and I realized others were appreciating the uniqueness of the Phaeton.  

     On the way, I stopped at the shop that had built and installed the exhaust system in the bare chassis.  Again, the admiring comments were a reward for the hundreds of hours of labor invested in bringing the car back from the brink of being hauled to the scrap yard!

Adventures on the Road

     My wife, Orpha, came up with an idea that has proven to be a great deal of fun.  My sister-in-law had given me a huge stuffed dalmatian dog to sit in our 1936 Chevrolet fire truck when it was being shown.  Orpha suggested we put it in the left front seat of the Phaeton and have it appear as if the dog was driving the car.  

     Then we took it on a longer “shakedown drive.”  It was hilarious to be driving down the street and meet a car.  The driver would, of course, notice the phaeton from a distance but as we would come near, we could see the driver do a double-take with an astonished expression, as it appeared as if the dog was in the driver’s seat.  

     Later, we did a 200-mile round trip to make sure the car was reliable and take care of any issues that might pop up in a fresh restoration job.  All went well, so we gained enough confidence to take it on the VCCA Southern Spring Tour in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in May of 2014.  The car performed perfectly and of course received lots of “oohs and ahhs,” which was quite gratifying.  Later, at the traditional photo shoot, the Phaeton was placed front and center along with a couple other convertibles.

     The last day of the five-day tour found us at a museum.  We were told to park in the bus parking lanes, so I followed the crowd and parked as directed.  It happened that our car was on the front row, next to the exit driveway.  While we were taking in the museum exhibits, my cell phone rang.  Glancing at the caller ID, I saw it was a fellow tour participant, so I took the call.  Upon hearing his urgent message, at first, I thought, “Okay, you are joking” and responded appropriately. 

      But no, Dan insisted it was no joke and repeated, “Ron, you better come out, a school bus just hit your car!”  

     I was stunned!  My heart sank and I felt sick as I envisioned the Phaeton smashed into the ground.  Hurrying out and rounding the end of the row where we were parked, I saw that the car looked okay. It must have been a joke after all I hopefully thought.

     Sadly, that wasn’t the case.  I was waved to where a bus was parked beside the car and its distraught diver was nearly in tears.  Indeed, her bus had hit the car, but it was only a dent about a quarter inch deep and perhaps two inches long, easily repairable.  However; the police had been summoned and an officer was busy taking the driver’s information.  He asked me for license, registration, and insurance card, all of which I had at hand.

     As the shock started to wear off and I realized the car wasn’t mortally damaged, I turned my attention to the accident report and responding to the police officer.  The driver could barely function she was so distraught and upset with herself.  At one point she commented, “I have been driving a bus for over fifteen years and have never put a mark on it and now this happens!”

     I wryly commented, “Well your record is still intact, there isn’t a mark on your bus.”  And indeed, there wasn’t.  She had been working her way out of the parking lot, having been forced to drive in the car lanes since we had the bus lanes occupied.  Thinking she was clear; she began her turn and the huge steel rear bumper swung out just brushing my fender.  The poor lady was so distraught I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.  But alas, my pride and joy had been damaged on its very first official VCCA outing!

     At the closing banquet that evening there were numerous comments and condolences.  Later as awards and presentations were being made, our 1931 Phaeton was voted the favorite six-cylinder car of the tour.  As we made our way up to receive the trophy, I asked for the microphone.  Taking the mic I observed, “Fellow VCCA tour members, all week-long people have been telling us that our steering wheel is on the wrong side.  I just want to point out that our car is the only car here with the steering wheel on the right side!”  That bought a round of whistles, applause and good-natured ribbing.

     Arriving home after a ten-hour trailer ride, the car was put back in the working side of the shop.  On the drive back Orpha and I had time to think and talk about what had happened and why.  We had taken up the entire bus parking area, leaving the bus driver only the car driveway to maneuver within.  The driver hadn’t been reckless, in fact witnesses said she was exercising extreme caution.  She also admitted fault without trying to place blame on anyone or anything else. 

      So, after considering those facts, and knowing I still had the paint on hand, I simply repaired the dent and repainted the fender, finishing it the next day.  Receiving a form from the school district in Kentucky requesting estimates for repair costs, I responded.  We listed the facts as mentioned above then suggested that if they accept my terms there would be no claim for damages.  I insisted they not discipline the driver, and if they had already disciplined her, it must be rescinded and stricken from her record.  If they agreed, I would make no claim.

     A few days later I received a call from the school district’s attorney.  He was calling to be sure I was serious.  I assured him I was and asked if the driver had been reprimanded.  He affirmed she had not and would not be.  I then acknowledged that he would likely need some kind of release of liability statement, so I asked that he send it out and I would sign and return it.  He replied that the school board felt it would be an insult to us if they demanded a release of liability, given the circumstances and that was the end of that drama!

     Now, some three years after the restoration had been completed, we have driven the car nearly 4,000 miles. It has been in numerous shows and tours and been shown to countless numbers of persons.  All express amazement at how nice the car looks and how unusual it is to have a Right-Hand Drive.  Most ask if it was a mail carrier’s car.  

     Of course, nearly everyone wants to know what it is worth and how fast it will go.  I respond that to me it is priceless, and perhaps a more pertinent question is: “how long will it take to stop it?” Actually, it has excellent brakes and on the two occasions I have had someone pull out in front of me, I slid all four tires.  Of course, it takes a great deal of pedal pressure, but that tends to be automatic when someone pulls out in front of you!

     This past week I received a call asking us to put the Phaeton in the “Black Top National” display for the third straight year.  Of course, I agreed and it will be on display to the public in the Century II Civic Auditorium for three days in June, 2017, just as it has for the past three years since the restoration was completed.

     While we enjoy driving all four Chevrolets I have restored and still own, the 1931 Chevrolet Phaeton undoubtedly commands the most attention and is my favorite car to drive – that is when it isn’t raining!  I do have the proper side curtains, but at best they only slow down a driving rain storm.  Still, it is worth the risk unless the forecast is a certainty for rain.  Then we drive the 1937 Town Sedan or the 1928 Coupe.  That still leaves the Fire Truck on a 1 ½ ton Chevrolet truck chassis.  That vehicle has an interesting history all its own, but that is another story.

     For now, I’ll be content to simply drive with my steering wheel on the right side.

TOURS AND SHOWS

     It has always been my practice to drive a newly restored car on a few local events to wring out the little issues that inevitably arise after major work and the ’31 was no exception.  The car drove fine with only minor adjustments to the valves, brakes and other incidentals.  Then came time for the first major showing and touring.

     April 28 to May 2, 2014, saw the car in Bowling Green, Kentucky for the 17th VCCA Southern Spring Tour.  There we visited a number of local and area historic sites as well as visiting the General Motors Corvette Assembly Plant then on to the Corvette Museum.  This was just after a major collapse of the showroom floor in the museum that resulted in several vintage Corvettes falling into the sink hole several meters deep.  Some of the cars remained at the bottom of the pit while some had already been recovered.  The most notable memory of that tour was having a school bus hit the newly restored Phaeton!  I am including an article which details that event, so won’t address it further here.  On this outing, we drove the Phaeton 209 miles (335 Kilometers) with no mechanical problems.  We won favorite car of the show and was asked to put the car front and center for the group photo.  

     August 28 to 31, 2014 we trailered the car to Missouri Valley, Iowa for the 55th Horseless Carriage Air Cap tour.  While there, my brother drove down from Lawton, Iowa to see the cars and experience a bit of a family reunion.  While driving on the tour, I began to get a sense that a rod was making a knocking sound.  Since the old cars tend to make all kinds of sounds, I didn’t think to much about it and it performed well for the total of the 246 miles (396 Kilometers).  The ’31 won favorite car award for the tour and we were presented with a large United States Flag.  

     October 20 to 24, 2014 was spent in Conway, Arkansas where we planned to drive 265 miles (425 Kilometers), however; on the next to last day of the tour what I had suspected to be a loose rod made itself known in a substantial way!  It began knocking so loudly that it was obvious further driving would result in a catastrophic failure, likely a hole in the side of the engine so it went into the trailer to await the ride back to Kansas.  I have written about the cause and fix in the History Section so won’t detail it here, other than to say it is the only time in driving the old cars over 25,000 miles (40,000 Kilometers) that one of my cars had to be left without completing the tour.  

     That winter it was repaired and we joined the 18th VCCA Southern Spring Tour to Galveston, Texas on April 20 to 24, 2015.  We drove 248 completely trouble-free miles (400 Kilometers) around southern Texas.  Once again, the car won the favorite car award and left us feeling very happy to have the car back in pristine condition.

     September 4, 2015 was the date of the Horseless Carriage Club Air Capital tour, held in Newton, Kansas.  From there we toured about 210 miles (340 Kilometers) visiting various historical sites as well as museums and car collections.  

     Perhaps one of the most memorable tours was one that Orpha and I, along with two other couples sponsored.  October 12 to 16, 2015 saw us driving only 20 miles (32 Kilometers) to Newton, Kansas where we joined with 49 other cars and 115 persons for the 12th annual VCCA Southern Fall Tour.  While the tour was scheduled to be 384 miles (620 Kilometers) because we were tour directors, we drove many more miles due to locating lost persons, going after gasoline for those who ran out and rescuing broken down vehicles.  We likely drove more like 500 miles (805 Kilometers) during this trip.  Once again, the faithful 1931 Chevrolet Phaeton performed like a new car.  

     The 19th VCCA Southern Spring Tour was held in Northwest Tennessee on April 11 to 15, 2016 near Paris, Tennessee.  On this tour we drove the ’31 377 miles (610 Kilometers), again completely trouble free.  

     That fall, October 17 to 21, 2016, found us in Jefferson City, Missouri for the 13th VCCA Southern Fall Tour.  This was to be one of the longest tours, covering a distance of 481 miles (776 Kilometers) over the five days.  Again, no problem with the car, it ran perfectly the entire time. 

     The fall of 2017 was a first for us.  We met in Hastings, Nebraska for the 72nd Revival AAA Glidden Tour, billed as the “Meet In The Middle tour.  It was billed as such because we visited the geographical center of the lower United States in Red Cloud, Kansas.  The Glidden Tour is sponsored by the AACA Antique Automobile Club of America.  The car performed perfectly again as expected, however; the tow truck, our 2007 Dodge 2500 suffered the loss of the turbo charger so we had to leave it in Hastings at the repair shop and ride home with friends, returning two weeks later to collect the truck and trailer with the ’31 inside.  The ’31 made 491 miles without a hitch (792 Kilometers), but it cost over $3,500 to get the truck fixed!  

     The truck was repaired just in time to make it to Stephenville, Texas for the VCCA Southern Fall Tour October 7 to 14.  On this tour we drove across mid Texas for a total of 477 miles (770 Kilometers) and again without a single issue.  The ’31 seemed to enjoy being stretched and rewarded us with a trouble-free tour. 

      The 21st Southern Spring Tour was held in Natchez, Mississippi on April 23 to 27, 2018.  We experienced one of the more memorable events on this tour, we were driving on a major highway and pulled into a rest stop for a bathroom and snack break.  As I pulled in, a Mississippi State Trooper pulled in behind me and got out.  I wondered what it was all about, I surely wasn’t speeding and had properly signaled.  The trooper smiled as he walked up and said, “You didn’t do anything wrong; I just want to look at your car!”  This was one of the shorter tours as there was so much to see in close proximity to the hotel.  We drove only 226 miles (365 Kilometers).  As usual, it was all trouble free.  

     We had purchased another car, the 1952 Chevrolet Deluxe for the next tour, and given the Covid outbreak in 2020, this is the last major tour the car was involved in.  

     In addition to all these tours, the Phaeton has been to so many local shows I can’t recall all of them.  I will mention a few highlights: at a show put on by Wichita Bible Church, we won $50 for favorite car of the show.  

     Perhaps the most memorable prize was awarded at the Larksfield retirement village.  I showed the car at the request of friends living there and thought nothing much about it until I heard my name called out to come receive my award.  I hadn’t known there were prizes awarded, so went up to the podium and collected the prize for: “BEST DATE NIGHT CAR.”  I was puzzled as to why I had received that award so as I was leaving the podium, I happened to walk by the judging stand where the elderly ladies who made the awards were seated.  I asked one of the ladies why I was given the award. She chuckled and nudged the lady seated next to her and said, “BIG BACK SEAT.”  I must have had a startled expression on my face when one of the other ladies said, “Mabel, stop it, you are embarrassing the poor man.”  Mabel replied, “That’s just what I intended to do!”

Categories
Cars

1928 Chevrolet Coupe

SPECIFICATIONS

ENGINE:

Cylinders:         4 Cylinders overhead valves

Bore:                                              3.69 Inches

Stroke:                                           4.00 Inches

Compression Ratio:                               4.5: 1

Horsepower:                       35 @ 2200 RPM

DRIVE LINE:

Transmission:                           3 Speed Manual Floor Shift

Differential Gear Ration:                                              4.18: 1

Tire size:                                                                    4.50 X 21

BRAKES:

4-wheel internal expanding, mechanically actuated via levers and rods

PRODUCTION:

Coupes like ours Built in 1928:                                       150,356

Total Chevrolet Production in 1928:                           1,193,212

COST:

Purchase Price New in 1928:                                          $ 495

In 2022 Dollars:                                                               $5,495

COMMENTS

     The National Coupe is a rear-wheel-drive road car with a front mounted engine.  It is part of Chevrolet’s AB family of cars.  The 171 Cubic Inch (2.8 Liter) engine is naturally aspirated via an updraft carburetor, four cylinders with overhead valves.  It develops 35 horse power at 2,200 RPM.  Power is transmitted to the rear wheels via a 3-speed manual transmission of the floor shift type.  The approximate weight is 2,310 Pounds (1,048 KG).   The car holds two persons in the single seat and cruises nicely at about 45 MPH (70 KPH).  Although some models of the coupe had a “Rumble Seat,” our car is not so equipped.  A rumble seat was developed in the early years of small cars.  The traditional trunk (boot) lid was hinged at the bottom instead of the top and when opened there was a seat bottom near the floor and the seat back cushion was part of the lid.  By a series of steps from the rear bumper and a step on top of the rear fender, one could step up and sit in the rumble seat, thus making room for two additional passengers.  The rumble seat passengers were sitting in the open, with no protection from the elements.

     As mentioned above, there were 150,356 units of the 1928 Chevrolet Coupes built that model year.  In total, Chevrolet built 1,193,212 cars, making it the first year Chevrolet built more cars than Ford.  In 1928, Ford sold only 713, 528 cars.  The reason for this change in leadership came about when Ford discontinued the Model T Ford which had dominated United States car sales since its introduction in 1908.    Henry Ford believed in a low-priced reliable car that the average worker could afford.  He also was adamant that you made no significant changes in a car that was dominating the consumer market.  Thus, he continued to sell the Model T Ford in the same basic concept for nineteen years.  Even after competitors made more reliable and easier to drive cars, he stayed with the Model T.  Finally, it was inevitable that Chevrolet was going to take over the number one spot so he consented to a re-design and introduced the Model A Ford in 1928.  Unfortunately for Ford, he had to do a major re-tooling of all the production facilities and simply couldn’t supply the demand so people switched to Chevrolet.  Chevrolet maintained this lead in sales for a number of years thereafter.

     The most common question I am asked while at a show or if someone looks at the car is, “What is it worth?” and “How fast will it go?”  Depending on who is asking the question and why, my standard answer is “To me it is priceless. As for how fast will it go, a more important question is: how long will it take for me to get it stopped!”  To explain that comment, Chevrolets prior to 1936 and Fords prior to 1939 didn’t have hydraulic brakes, but rather what is called “Mechanical Brakes.”  In basic terms, there are a series of rods and levers connected to the brake pedal.  Adjustments are critical and not constant.  While modern hydraulic brakes utilize fluid that exerts exactly the same pressure to each wheel no matter how hard the pedal is depressed, each wheel is afforded the same stopping pressure.

     Mechanical brakes, on the other hand, are totally dependent on the initial adjustment   That is a matter of drive, adjust, drive, adjust until the car will stop fairly straight when the brakes are applied.  However, due to friction and binding of all the mechanical components it is very difficult to maintain the same braking on all four wheels.  Thus, it is incumbent on the driver to learn the particular car and know that when the brake is applied the car will most certainly pull to the left or right.  To make matters even worse, depending on how hard and how quickly you apply the brake it can change without notice.  One time we were driving on a street in south Texas when a jacked up pickup truck backed out in front of me with only feet to spare.  I hit the brakes as hard as I could and the car skidded sideways on the brick street sliding up to within a few feet of the truck.  The tires screeched and finally got the attention of the driver who blasted his horn and gave me the one-finger salute as he burned rubber and sped away.   

            A FEW 1928 EVENTS

  • Calvin Coolidge was the 30th President of the United States of America (1923 to 1929) following Warren G. Harding’s death in 1923 and was serving his second term.
  • 25 February:  Charles Jenkins Laboratories of Washington, D.C. becomes the first holder of a television license from the Federal Radio Commission.
  • 21 March:  Charles Lindbergh is presented with the Medal of Honor for the first solo trans-Atlantic Ocean called Atlantic flight.
  • 15 May:   Walt Disney character Mickey Mouse premieres in his first cartoon, Plane Crazy
  • 9 June:  Charles Kingsford Smith completes the first trans-Pacific flight in a Fokker Trimotor monoplane, the ‘Southern Cross (aircraft) or Southern Cross’.
  • 27 September:  The Republic of China is recognized by the United States.
  • 28 September:  Sir Alexander Fleming notices a bacterium named bacteria-killing mold growing in his laboratory, discovering what later became known as penicillin.
  • 15 October:  The airship, ‘LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin known as Graf Zeppelin’ completes its first trans-Atlantic flight, landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, United States.

MY HISTORY WITH THE CAR

     I purchased the car in 2015 at a Chickasha, Oklahoma swap meet.  I paid $9,000 with the stipulation the seller furnish five new tires and tubes as the tires were badly weather checked and cracking.  Our main reason in purchasing this car is it is a four-cylinder car.   Prior to this time, we were not allowed to participate in some tours as all of our Chevrolets up to that time were six-cylinder models.  This car gave us the opportunity to participate in additional tours.

     According to the seller, the car had been gone through and was ready for touring.  Upon delivery, I decided to check the brakes and adjust as needed.  That is when I realized it most assuredly had not been gone through completely!  But for the price I paid it was still a good deal.  As I began the process of checking everything out, I came to realize that the 9,000 miles indicated on the odometer was ACTUAL MILES!  The car was outstanding mechanically, although I did go through all the mechanical components to assure miles of trouble-free cruising.

     The previous owner had painted the car but had not installed some of the trim pieces, although he had painted them.  Alas, the trim pieces were to be nailed onto the body, so I had to do some body work to get things properly configured.  In the process I was to discover that the entire body had been removed at some point and had been set on the frame with only one bolt fastening the body to the frame.  I was astonished that it made the two-hundred-mile trip on a trailer to my place without the body falling off!

     One interesting situation arose, the car had the original honey-comb radiator installed.  I removed it and had it cleaned, noting that pack rats had chewed upholstery as well as the radiator hoses and filled the radiator with their nests.  After adjustments and re-wiring, I started the engine, it ran perfectly, but soon overheated.  We were scheduled to go on a car tour in Arkansas so I called the organizer telling him we couldn’t make the tour as the engine was overheating and I didn’t have time to get a new radiator core installed.  He told me to come on down as he had a spare radiator he would loan it to me for the tour.  However; after installing that radiator, the cooling was marginal, bordering on overheating much of the time and it was a fairly cool tour time.  As with all car tours, I had an abundance of suggestions so upon returning home, I removed the water pump to check it for proper configuration but couldn’t find anything wrong.

     As I was pondering the problem, I set the water pump down on the bench and heard a rattling sound then saw something rolling across the garage floor.  When I picked the item up to examine it, I saw it was an acorn.  I couldn’t imagine where it came from as we had no oak trees, thus no source for an acorn.  Then it hit me, I slipped the acorn into the inlet of the water pump and sure enough, it fit perfectly in the opening to the impellor, thus effectively shutting off most of the water circulation.  The removal of the pack rat’s stored lunch resolved the heating issue and we have never had an overheating problem since that time!

     Other than routine maintenance and adjusting the valves from time to time as is typical for those old cars, I haven’t had any significant issues mechanically.  The car is reliable, runs well and has never let us down.

TOURS AND SHOWS

     The first tour for the newly commissioned 1928 Chevrolet was to the Mid-America four-cylinder tour in Mountain View, Arkansas in May of 2015.  This is the tour that I mentioned above where we had trouble with its over-heating but that was resolved.  Even with those problems, we drove the car about 285 miles (460 Kilometers).  Upon returning home, I resolved a few mechanical issues and made a few adjustments which made the car run even better.

     The next tour was a Vintage Chevrolet Mid-America 4 Cylinder Tour in Council Bluffs, Iowa in May of 2016.  While on that tour, I celebrated my 78th birthday, while the Chevy celebrated its 88th year anniversary!  While visiting various historical sites, we drove the car a bit over 150 miles (200 plus Kilometers).

     The longest tour was to Riverton, Wyoming in June of 2016.  We had an interesting experience, not only on the tour, but on the way to the tour.  We hauled the 1928 Chevy in a closed trailer towed behind a 2007 Dodge Ram pickup.  When we arrived at one of our overnight stops in Douglas, Wyoming on the way to Riverton, the truck developed a problem that I couldn’t repair on the road.  We were staying in a motel and the small-town didn’t have a car rental agency.  Initially we thought we would have to walk everywhere until we could get the truck repaired on Monday morning.  Then it dawned on me, we did have a car to drive!  I unloaded the 28 and Saturday evening and all-day Sunday we used the old car as our primary means of transportation.  Before long we were known all over the town of 6,000 persons!  Even the Police Chief welcomed us at dinner one evening.  We drove the car to attend church on Sunday morning and soon a crowd of people gathered around to look at the old car.  As we were driving back to the motel, another older car motioned for us to pull over and we were invited to an old car show in town where we spent the afternoon with fellow old car enthusiasts.

     After getting the tow truck back in service, we made it to Riverton in time for the start of the car tour.  During the week we were there, we drove just over 400 miles (650 Kilometers) and drove the 28 Chevrolet over the top of a 9,000-foot mountain pass.  I was amazed that the car handled the mountain driving with ease!  On one of the day-trips, we were able to have lunch with a young man who was the Pastor’s son from our church in Wichita, Kansas.  He is a teacher in Lander, Wyoming.

     We let the ’28 have a bit of a rest while we drove other cars, then in June of 2018, we attended the National 4 Cylinder Tour in Altoona, Iowa.  Driving about 275 Trouble free miles (445 Kilometers) we toured a number of historical and antique car sites.  Again, the old Chevy ran perfectly, although we did stop and render aid to a few other old cars that weren’t quite so well prepared for the trip.

     The last major car tour we have taken with the ’28 was to Harrison, Arkansas from April 29 to May 3, where I celebrated my 81st birthday and the Chevy completed 91 years of faithful service.  We toured many historical sites as well at driving to Branson, Missouri to take in a show.  Driving in rain some of the time, we again completed 295 miles of trouble-free performance (470 Kilometers).  Due to the Covid pandemic of 2020, 2021 and lingering into 2022 we haven’t gone to any major tours as most of the sites we could have visited were either closed or severely restricted so other than local driving from time to time, the old car has lived in quiet repose in the garage, along with the other cars we own.

     In addition to the formal tours the ’28 has participated in; we have taken it to a few special events or shows.  There is a Frank Lloyd Wright house here in Wichita.  At one time they held a fund-raising event and asked our car club to bring 1920’s era cars to have on display during the event. As a part of that event, we were given a free personally guided tour of the house and grounds.  The car was on display for about five to six hours after which I drove it back home.  Orpha followed me in the modern car as it was after dark when the event was over and those old cars really don’t have very good lighting.  As slow as we drive, I am always concerned about higher speed traffic not being able to see the car in time to avoid a rear-end collision.  It is our practice when driving the cars at night to follow in a modern well lighted car.

     A few times we have had family gathering and Church Picnics at our home.  Even though I give out our address, persons will often ask how they will know when they arrive at our home.  I always reply, “I promise you; you will know when you are here!”  I then park all the cars in a row along the driveway and no one has ever missed our driveway!

     Often when we have guests or visitors, I will get the old cars out and either give them a ride or, depending on the circumstances, allow them to drive the car themselves.  All our grandchildren have driven at least one of the antique cars, and most of them have driven all of them at one time or another.