VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION VCCA Judging Questions Sedan delivery judging

How is a sedan delivery classed for judging & why?
Thanks, Joe

All vehicles are supposed to be VCCA judged according to where they are listed in the sales literature. Some years the Sedan Delivery is with the trucks and others with cars. Most judges don't have knowledge of the sales literature and where the Sedan Deliveries are listed for a given year. I think most people consider them to be commercial vehicles that should be judged with other commercial vehicles.

It appears to be a touchy subject with most sedan delivery owners I've spoke to. Their feeling are that yes it is a commercial vehicle but don't feel that it should be judged with trucks as the SD is a car with a different body. There is nothing about them that are truck except the lack of chrome on some years. Others are exactly like car of the same year. As you know some sedan deliveris have their own sales literature. I've seen some clubs that actually have their own class just for sedan delivery. Just sharing some thoughts of others including my own...Joe

We had the same issues with Station Wagons back in the early 60s. By the Fourth Central Meet it was decided if they are not in the automobile sales literature they are not an automobile.

How is an El Camino Judged? A car or a truck?

I see your point...Joe

Joe, your post brings up an interesting topic. Recently, the VCCA has had to deal with conflicts in placing the following, sedan deliveries, [b]coupe pick-ups [/b](1936-1942,) wood-bodied station wagons (1939-1949,)Australian Utes (1946-1952?) and El Caminos. Past practices, going back to the earlies Anniversary Meet results, placed sedan deliveries in the commercial class, coupe pickups have been tossed around between passenger and commerical, woody wagons have been placed in passenger and Utes and El Caminos have been placed in commercial class. There is a motion that has been presented to the National Board of Directors to take a consistent and permanent position on where these vehicle should be placed in the VCCA Judging System. What are your opinions to these vehicles? Where do they belong? Wherever they are put we should be consistent and continuous with where they are placed. Otherwise members can go to various events and shuffle back and forth in classes which is a nightmare for records keepers and awards. Just my thoughts.

I guess in my thoughts it was a car first for the sedan delivery. It has a car chassis & car sheet metal & the panel truck is a truck with truck chassis & sheet metal. Yes they are both commercial.
El Caminos & station wagons should be classed as the car they started from. For example, 64 up El Caminos should be in the Chevelle class. 59/60 Impala. Station wagons from the Chevelle line should be there & those of the Impala line should be represented as such. 55/57 wagons & Nomads & sedan deliveries with their year or group.
Coupe pick-up...It was a coupe first on a car chassis.
A Ute should be with the car or truck it started from.
I guess in some cases, I'm thinking of the chassis it left the factory with.
Wood bodied wagons. Unless your going to class them as their own vehicle then if it has car sheet metal, it's a car. If it has truck sheet metal, it's a truck.

This will probably open a can of worms but it is my opinion.
Thanks, Joe

It has been my experience over the years that most owners want the commercial vehicles, no matter the size, to be with commercial vehicles. They do not want to compete with cars for the awards.

I do not understand why Fire Trucks are in a stand alone class. We are only supposed to judge the part of the vehicle built by Chevrolet.

I guess I can see that. In my years of going to car shows, there were not very many commercial vehicles. In that case, less compitition. There's no reason a proberly restored El Camino or sedan delivery couldn't compete with it's car cousin. I've seen a few El Caminos that could've put there cousin on the trailer....Joe

Yes, Back Roads, the avoidance of competition is one of my concerns about this topic. I believe there is some of that going on. The fire truck thing is an old "tradition" that seemed to have been established early in VCCA history. The Judging Manual does state that we should evaluate the condition of the entire truck and its accessories however, when judging authenticity, only the Chevrolet parts can be determined. Perhaps we need to take a "re-evaluation" of the judging classes as well as, perhaps, condensing them?

I believe the far trucks got their own class because so much of the vehicle was "non-Chevrolet"....Perhaps that is what Steve said also.

Early years of sedan delivery's had a truck drive train and a wooden floor cargo area but is on a car frame. my opinion is that there are very few in commercial class now you take the sedan deliveries out and then it will even be a smaller class. If the vehicle was intended for work purposes it needs to be commercial. A two door wagon with no rear windows and only two seats was built for work.

In Ohio a Sedan Delivery is registered as a truck. Ths same with a van with no rear seats.

Automobile Quarterly once had an article on sedan delivery, panel delivery, woodies and similar vehicles. It said that commercial vehicles were prohibited on some sreets, mostly in larger cities. A sedan delivery was allowed on those streets because it could be licensed as a passenger car. But in the 1935 parts book, sedan delivery body parts are listed in the commercial section.