Where Have All of The Chevrolets Gone?

[dumb person]

Axles, wood framing and bushings have been mentioned but... I'm not sure you remembered they changed a it each year. With many fords having interchangeable parts between years, the new & used used parts supply was larger, so they could be repaired more readily.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Were Fords particularily designed to outlast Chevs? I don't THINK SO! Every maker relied on REPEAT SALES, as Old Cars pooped out.
As my Friend just said, MORE Fords were built & supplies of FORD, Wrecking Yard parts were EASILY available.
I have an extensive history in Wrecking Yard stuff & KNOW whut I'm talking about! MANY times I could even supply a BODY part, in a MATCHING COLOR!
I won't talk about Junk Yard Dogs, BUT, I could tell you many FUNNY stories about them---LOL Wish everyone could have worked in one, GOD, I lurned SO MUCH there! Parts Interchange Manuals were a GODSEND!
Bill Junkyarddog

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Trivia: Some Chevs had 2 rods that couldn't be replaced from BELOW, because of interfearance of a main bearing web. "THEY" made 2 piston skirts SHORTER, to overcome this problem!
Bill Uselesstrivia

[Growley bear]

Too bad more of the old Chevy's didn't survive. They are a vital part of our automotive history. They are partly responsible for Ford improvements. I know that Henry was stuck on the flat engine but ------well the rest is history.

[Growley bear]

Originally Posted by noboD

While you are discussing this ask where all the '57 Fords are. Ford outsold Chevrolet in '57 but I can't remember the last time I saw a '57 ford. "57 Chevies are like belly buttons.

Where did the '57 Fords go? When I was in high school some of us had '57 Fords. One guy came up with a '57 Pontiac and it was in bad need of a front end rebuild. Off to the parts house he went and ordered probably more than he needed. When his parts order arrived and the front end was dismantled and ready for the new parts; they wouldn't fit; too big mostly. Turned out that this '57 Pontiac was of Canadian origin and was a '57 Chevrolet with a Pontiac badge.

[eagle]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

My 29 Fordor is mostly wood structure, all original, and VERY solid. Just wondering if Chev used a softer wood in their bodies?

[Keith True]

The Chevrolets that survived were the ones taken care of and stored properly.Same thing with the Fords.I really don't know of many Fordors in my area that are good.I just looked at a 32 Chevy sedan that was stored properly,is is a sweetheart of a car.Somebody just dumped a 28 Graham-Paige in my garage to get running.Another wood framed car,but it has been stored well all of it's life.The doors open and shut nicely.I don't think too many of those survived the scrap drives of WW2.

[31Abone]

In the mid 50's as a kid in Roseburg Ore. we used to go to the junk/scrap yard to look at cars,just every case the 1930 31 chevy were caved in from rottin wood most of the body was supported by wood..so if you want a answer to orig. question its WOOD ..Ford body "not mechanical" was more sturdy then GM products,my opinion GM had some stupid engineers and or mid management and upper ,I had several GM products 35 Chev ,36 Buick, 38 chev ,39 chev. try working and repairing these cars will take years off your life ..good thing about Ford is popularity and parts and knowledge about repair,GM and Chyrsler not much..sc

[Railcarmover]

Ford used more ball and roller bearings than any other car in its class

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Originally Posted by Railcarmover

Ford used more ball and roller bearings than any other car in its class

Makes me remember words of an Old Song, "Well roll on Buddy, move a load of coal, but how can I go, when the WHEELS won't ROLL"?
My head is just chucked FULL of OLD SONGS!
Bill Hoarse

[Growley bear]

Originally Posted by Keith True

The Chevrolets that survived were the ones taken care of and stored properly.Same thing with the Fords.I really don't know of many Fordors in my area that are good.I just looked at a 32 Chevy sedan that was stored properly,is is a sweetheart of a car.Somebody just dumped a 28 Graham-Paige in my garage to get running.Another wood framed car,but it has been stored well all of it's life.The doors open and shut nicely.I don't think too many of those survived the scrap drives of WW2.

Seems to me that many Model A's not properly stored or taken care of survived to this day to be rebuilt and enjoyed.

[Keith True]

True,but very few Fordors manage to survive under those conditions around here.Tudors and pickups,yes,but very few Fordors,unless they were the later slant windshield.There are some wood framed Fordors around here,but when you look at them you find they were well stored cars.

[Growley bear]

Originally Posted by Keith True

True,but very few Fordors manage to survive under those conditions around here.Tudors and pickups,yes,but very few Fordors,unless they were the later slant windshield.There are some wood framed Fordors around here,but when you look at them you find they were well stored cars.

Agreed.
It really is a shame though that more early Chevrolets didn't make it, for whatever reason. I have only seen three early Chevy's in my life. There are a lot of car people who may never see one.

[Karl Wescott]

My 2 cents worth

Fords primary steel body construction vs primary wood construction was a factor, however the survival of the Briggs/Murray bodies suggest more is going on. I have seen in previous threads where Ford used a phosphate wash to prepare the bodies for paint, this would greatly assist survival of the steel skins even on the Briggs/Murray IF they were prepped the same. My SUSPICION (not fact, and do not treat it as such) is that as Ford was noted to use vanadium steel alloys in a lot of stuff in the T days and the metal thickness of surviving Chev's seems to be actually a little thicker than Ford, Ford may have been using an alloy steel for body stampings. Vanadium alloys usually have a bit of copper added. Alloys with copper tend to corrode with a film or partial film of copper oxide which excludes oxygen and prevents further oxidation. This might explain both the thinner metal used and the corrosion resistance.

Another MAJOR factor in Model A (and Model T) survival was Fords replacement parts policy. Ford required a dealer to purchase a large volume of spare parts with the purchase of each new car, often to where the cost to the dealer of the car with spares was more than the dealer was able to sell the car. Ford did not "buy back" extra spares. The plan was the dealer would profit from SERVICE, not sales. GM on the other hand, did not require the dealers investment in spares, "bought back" surplus parts, and most importantly deliberately made modifications to critical mechanical parts so they could not be interchanged. The plan was to profit on SALES. (By the mid 1950's both Ford and GM saw the error of their ways... so they switched. Hence the survival of 1955-60's GM stuff vs Ford!) Fords policy led to an abundance of NOS parts which we still enjoy to a limited extent 80 years after the Model As were built. You could get parts in WW2 to keep a Ford running, you donated the Chevy to the scrap drive.

[George Miller]

Well I had a 29 chev pickup a 31 coupe, a 1932 coupe with free wheeling. In my opinion The 6 cy chev engine was a very good engine for the time. And stronger than the Model A. They were good cars, but they did have some problems with axle shafts. Now I have restored about 25 A,s so I know them also. Plus many more A engines.

[J Franklin]

Originally Posted by J Franklin

Chevrolet (the company) had a policy along with a few others to take in trades but not resell most of them but rather sell them for scrap to generate more new car sales. Hupmobile was another that tried this.

I know of what I speak! This was the biggest reason you don't find that many old Chevrolets.

[Growley bear]

Originally Posted by Karl Wescott

My 2 cents worth

Fords primary steel body construction vs primary wood construction was a factor, however the survival of the Briggs/Murray bodies suggest more is going on. I have seen in previous threads where Ford used a phosphate wash to prepare the bodies for paint, this would greatly assist survival of the steel skins even on the Briggs/Murray IF they were prepped the same. My SUSPICION (not fact, and do not treat it as such) is that as Ford was noted to use vanadium steel alloys in a lot of stuff in the T days and the metal thickness of surviving Chev's seems to be actually a little thicker than Ford, Ford may have been using an alloy steel for body stampings. Vanadium alloys usually have a bit of copper added. Alloys with copper tend to corrode with a film or partial film of copper oxide which excludes oxygen and prevents further oxidation. This might explain both the thinner metal used and the corrosion resistance.

Another MAJOR factor in Model A (and Model T) survival was Fords replacement parts policy. Ford required a dealer to purchase a large volume of spare parts with the purchase of each new car, often to where the cost to the dealer of the car with spares was more than the dealer was able to sell the car. Ford did not "buy back" extra spares. The plan was the dealer would profit from SERVICE, not sales. GM on the other hand, did not require the dealers investment in spares, "bought back" surplus parts, and most importantly deliberately made modifications to critical mechanical parts so they could not be interchanged. The plan was to profit on SALES. (By the mid 1950's both Ford and GM saw the error of their ways... so they switched. Hence the survival of 1955-60's GM stuff vs Ford!) Fords policy led to an abundance of NOS parts which we still enjoy to a limited extent 80 years after the Model As were built. You could get parts in WW2 to keep a Ford running, you donated the Chevy to the scrap drive.

There was an old hardware store in downtown Bend, OR. When the building was remodeled for use as a hardware store, some of the interior dimensions didn't compute. A large compartment had been blocked off and inside was a huge stash of very neatly stored Model A Ford parts, all new. Research showed that at one time the building had been an early Ford dealership and when the '32 models came out, Henry recalled all the Model A parts. This dealership hid theirs behind the wall.

[George Miller]

I wonder if more farmers bough Fords, they would probably been driven less and maybe kept in a shed.

[hardtimes]

Originally Posted by Growley bear

Agreed.
It really is a shame though that more early Chevrolets didn't make it, for whatever reason. I have only seen three early Chevy's in my life. There are a lot of car people who may never see one.

When I moved into the SFV portion of Los A., several of us 'chev' guys who had a variety of 30' and newer chev vehicles , started a chev club. Before long, we had a pretty good sized group. We made up club jackets, emblems and Chev club monthly book. Fun group and lots of picnics, mechanical assistance meetings, etc. !
I still have chev parts all over the place today, and still have a couple of large boxes of 'as new' Chev club monthly publications.


Chev was ahead of Ford Model As in a number of ways, including the engines ! I guess wood was cheaper than steel back when !!

[updraught]

Fords are better looking, simpler, lighter and have more character.

You feel like it could take you to the end of the earth with a bit of tinkering now and then.