VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 1927 PHAETON or just plain touring car

Guys and Gals
I assume they are the same thing, I have read that a 1927 Chevy PHAETON is very rare , is that true? I assumed touring car is same and not so uncommon.

Ken 45145

A PHAETON is so rare that it don't even exist. They did have a touring car and the production was 53,187.

AntiqueMechanic

so what is the difference? Phaeton vs Touring?

Ken

It depends on what the Car Manufacturer and sales and marketing dept. called the particular model. They both generally refer to a large open car capable of carrying 4 or 5 passengers, as distinct from a roadster or runabout generally seating 2 ( plus sometimes the rumble or dickie seat).

Down under the names touring and tourer are more prolific, with north America changing more to Phaeton late 20's early 30's.

GUYS AND GALS

I thought that the 4 door open car is the only one called touring car and that phaeton was same thing. In other words if it aint got 4 doors and it aint open you cannot call it a touring car. Phaeton is just the fancy word for it. How many were made in 1927 Antique Mechanic says 52599 or something.
By the way Dickie seat is great!
Ken

Here is some links Ken, there were some 2 door "phaetons" as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phaeton_body
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touring_car

Hey Ken,

Down under a Chev Tourer is a 4 door soft top.
I am not an expert on hard tops and would only be taking a guess that a Phaeton was a type of 2 door hard top. I am sure wiser heads than mine will know the exact answer.

Regards

Ray

Phaeton, touring and tourer are all 4 door open cars with soft tops. The terminology changes from country to country.
Re Chev 4 cyl down here in Aus:-
A 4 door open car is a tourer
A 4 door closed car is a sedan
A 2 door open car is a roadster, the are two types, a sports roadster has a dickie seat, a businessman's roadster has a boot lid
A 2 door closed car is a 2 door sedan
A coupe is a coupe
A cabriolet is a cabriolet, there are 2 types, a cabriolet has a fixed top, a convertible cabriolet has a top that folds down
It gets more complicated withe the 6's but that's another story
Chris

Ken , also the 1916 490 chevrolet was a 3 door touring body.
We also had large touring bodies built in the early teens and 20's on hudson chassis, and other large truck chassis that would do "tourist" routes such as the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. They would seat about 10 plus "tourists" to see the sites without a roof or top over them.
I forgot this link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourer

Generally a phaeton is a 2 door 2 seat front and rear) touring style open car and a touring is a 4 door 2 seater open car.

Well I know I am confused

Regards

Ray

Bob
so a Phaeton is a 2 door and the Touring is a 4 door

both have 4-5 passenger capacity (front and rear seats)


Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Ken 45145

I think phaeton refers to a 4 door open car that has removable posts and roll up windows. At least it did in the thirties!

Dan

Actually, this is not true for Chevrolet in the early 1930's anyway. If the car had removable posts and roll up windows, like the 1932 Landau Phaeton or the 1932 Cabriolet, it was a closed car, not an open car. The 1932 "Phaeton" did not have roll up windows or removable posts, but it did have a convertible top. Also, the 1932 "Phaeton" had four doors.

It all depends upon the terminology used by the car manufacturer.

DITTO!!!!!!!

hoppy

Interesting posting. I have been asked and didn't have a definative answer. Going forward I will just tell those who ask that I have a rare 1924 Superior Phaeton Touring car. Bet I don't get challenged.

Bill R.

Guys and Gals

it official, the 1927 Chevrolet sales Brochure list the following models. Landau, Coach, Sedan, Touring, Coupe, Roadster and finally the Sport Cabriolet. No Phaeton listed so they did not make one in 1927.

Ken

Bill.R
Would that be SUPERIOR TOURING for $510 f.o.b. Flint Mich., or a SUPERIOR DE LUXE TOURING $640 f.o.b Flint Mich. ?????

Gee Jack, I don't have a clue, my MSRP sticker is missing. Seriously, that is a big difference in price (for the day). What differences were there for the Deluxe model? Maybe I'll just upgrade the car's pedigree to Deluxe and wait for someone to point out where I am wrong (if I am). Regardless, it is a nice old Chevy and the restoration has been a lot of fun. I really don't care if it is a touring, phaeton or a deluxe, it's just a nice piece of automotive history saved from extinction.
Bill R. 1924 Chevrolet Deluxe Phaeton Touring car

Bill , the sales brochure i have is date 4-24(form ADV 6925 1000M 4-24) shows the De luxe Touring Superior with nickel plated radiator shell, front and rear bumpers nickel plated, disc wheels and cowl lamps, none of which are on the "Superior touring".
"The body is hand finished in grey-blue with cardinal striping. It has special grey top lining that harmonises with the finish,and ornamental door handles. The upholstery is in grey-blue whale-grain Fabrikoid."

The full list :
Steel disc wheels, gray-blue with triple cardinal stripes.
Nickeled bumpers front and rear.
Plate glass windshield wings.
Motormeter with nickeled cap with bars.
Cord tires.
Cowl lamps.
Aluminium guard plates on running boards.
Rubber covered running boards.
Steering wheel with lock.

No Phaetons to be seen in this brochure !!

The early Touring bodies had tops with bows between front and rear seats, while the later Phaetons, as to the top only had connection on top of front window and at the very rear of the body. Both touring and phaeton bodies were always 4 doors, except for the 1916 (IMHO).

Here is an outstanding Norwegian example (Bluezone's), where you easily can see the top arrangement of a Phaeton:
http://www.chevroletnorge.com/index.php?page=chev29

Due to the cost of buying "any" car the Norwegian market for closed bodies rose very slowly until around 1930, and quite a lot of the open cars were also converted into trucks etc. by cutting off the rear part of the passenger body.

It looks like the manufacturers have changed the type Touring
to Phaeton around 1928, and ended it around 1933-34.

The Phaeton bodies are very popular here and highest priced Chevrolet would be from 1932, as in many other countries, I think.

Thanks for the DELUXE info. Jack. What a bunch of nice upgrades for $130 but that is 24%. Being a frugel person, I would no doubt have opted for the basic Touring which is what I have. I live by the credo "be satisfied with what you have" so I'm happy.

Bill R 1924 Chevrolet Superior Touring Phaeton (non-deluxe)

Ultimately it's all to do with marketing. Long before there were cars there were horse drawn carriages. They had names like Coach,Landau,Saloon,Sedan,Station Wagon,Cabriolet,Phaeton and others. When cars came along they were called "automobiles". Gradually they picked up the old carriage words and some new words were introduced like Roadster,Speedster,and Tourer.
Tourer seemed to be a popular word but it lacks the dignity of "Phaeton". Now a Phaeton was an open four wheeled carriage with two rows of seats facing forward. There were four doorways but not necessarily doors. Certainly GM marketing liked the words Phaeton, Sedan and Coach and used those terms extensively.
Some carriages never made it. Sulkies were very popular but there has never been a two seater automobile made with only two wheels side by side so that was the end of that one.
Of course there are differences between Australia, England and America.An American friend once pointed out that we the English drive saloons, Australians do too but also call them sedans and Americans, well they drink in them.

I would say that the above explanation just about covers it....especially the part about Americans and "Saloon's". That works for me!

So much for a 3 seater with two wheels side by side never being made. I saw one at Newport Hill Climb 3 or 4 years ago. Also got to see it run and drive. Kind of an anti gravity car someone engineered back in the 60s. Guy got it going forward and hit the brakes and the front end acually went up a little and not one end, front or back hit the ground. It was totally surreal. Not sure but I think popular mechanics did something on those back in the late 50s through the mid 60s. Almost the size of a Crosley but a bit bigger and the 2 wheels were where the doors would have been right dab in the middle on each side. Such a huge crowd was around it I never got to ask the guy how it stayed up.