VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 Photo identification request

Hi all,

As a classic car enthousiast, we (my father and I) have seen a lot of cars (and ofcourse Chevrolets) over the last ten years or so during rallies, concours' and other events here in Europe. All the photos in my archives are sorted by make, model year and production period. I try to make these descriptions as precise as possible, but that can be very hard. Especially because I am visually impaired (a rare form of autosomal dominant optic atrophy inherited from my mother) and as a result detail differences are hard to spot for me.
Therefore all photos are taken by my father and the archive is owned by me. I like to learn about cars and their history.
I am also a perfectionist which can be very frustrating in relation to a visual impairment. And that's why I would like to ask for some help now and then.

I have made scans of the earliest Chevy's in my archives. The oldest one we ever saw was from 1917 or '18 (two different 490's). I wonder if the models before 1925 are more rare.

I would be pleased if someone could tell me if my description with respect to body style, type and model year is correct.

Otherwise, just enjoy the pictures!


1:
Model year: 1918?
Type: 490.
Body style: Touring.





2:
Model year: 1925, 1926???
Type: Superior K or V, depending on model year?
Body style: Coach/two-door sedan.



3:
Model year: 1925, 1926???
Type: Superior K or V, depending on model year?
Body style: Touring.



4:
Model year: 1925, 1926???
Type: Superior K or V, depending on model year.
Body style: Touring.


5:
Model year: 1928???
Type: National AB?
Body style: Four-door sedan.



6:
Model year: 1928???
Type: National AB?
Body style: Touring.



Any confirmation, correction or addition is more than
welcome!

Thanks in advance,
Job

Nobody a clue...?

My sympathies for your vision problems. My eyes are poor although I can function well enough with glasses.

I agree that your # 1 is a 1918. The fender line from the top of the crown above the front wheel in a straight line to the running board ended after the 1918 model year. And the windshield was perfectly upright - vetical - in 1916 and 1917, and appeared with the slight slant as in your photo beginning with the 1918's. Therefore, the existence of both of those features makes it exclusively a 1918 Model 490 Touring.

There is difficulty with numbers 2, 3 and 4. Yes, they are all 3 either 1925 or 1926. The tie bar, or brace bar, between the front fenders that supports the headlights appeared mid-year in 1925 and continued through 1926. So we can say that they are all 3 either LATE 1925, or 1926.

The other differences between 1925 and '26 are more subtle and would require us to be able to see the dash area inside or else under the hood to be able to tell them apart, unfortunately.

The final 2 cars are both 1928, clearly identified by the radiator type which is exclusive to 1928. And all 1928 models are National Series AB, yes.

In all cases, your Body Type is correct per the names used in the States.

I can also tell you that when it was built (at least if it was built in the States) car # 1 was only available in Black, not red. And car # 5 is certainly not in authentic colors, all fenders would have been black, and white would not have been an available color. The other cars colors are reasonable. Also, the wood spoke wheels in cars # 1 through # 4 would have been black when built. The 1928 was available with the natural finish wood spoke wheels.

Hope this helps a little bit to confirm what you have, sorry we can't distinguish the 25-26's.

ChevyGuru did a very good job with his identifications. His explanations were also spot on.

So my comments supplements his information.

#2 Just not enough information to make a correct identification.

#3 That is a 1926 Touring. Note that it has door handles.

#4 That is a 1925 Touring as it does not have door handles.

#5 & 6 Are obviously 1928s.

Interesting to note, the '26 appears to have the model K tie bar and the '25 appears to have the model V tie bar.

Roger

Thank you very much.

ChevyGuru, what a great posting with a lot of interesting facts!


You may still drive cars? Good to hear glasses work for you. In my case, the problem lies in my optic nerve (atrophy) and is quite severe to be honoust (my mother and I are the only two persons with this exact genetic mutation ever published). I have to use a screen magnifier for pictures and I have to read braille with a braille display. For some people, it is hard to believe I am still so passionate about cars and collect pictures. I can tell you, there are a lot of people completely blind loving art or other visual stuff. Other factors can compensate for the lack of visual detail. Still I am very happy to have some sight!


Interesting to note, number #3 has the steering wheel on the "wrong side". I believe they drive on the other side in Australia as well, so it may have been built in Australia (or the UK?). I don't think somebody has done a conversion...

By the way, does anybody know if, and if so in what respect, the Holden bodies differ from the US-built examples?

Job
Living in Australia and being a 28 Chev owner for 40 years, and have a passion for all Chev 4 cylinder cars, owning a 1915 Amesbury Special and an Australian delivered 1928 Convertible Sport Cabriolet.

Out of over 12,000 28 Chevs sent to Australia only 14 of these came out and they were all Fisher bodied, ie. fully imported RHD. Interestingly we don't know how many (if any) of those listed as Cabriolets were convertible, or fixed top, or even if some were coupes.

Now to your question, comparing Aus cars to US cars is a can of worms, but with 26 models it seamed that Holden Motor Body Works which became GMA (General Motors Holden) in 1926 were one step ahead of the US as the 1926 Superior tourer (Aus version of touring) as they all have a swage line through the bonnet and body. I can send you photos if you wish, I tried attaching them but I did not work.

Also I have over 100 photos of Aus. Chev 4's

Hope this helps somewhat.
Chris

Hi Chris,

Thanks for this info. You come up with some interesting facts.
May I conclude there is no easy way to tell the Australian built and American built cars apart? There does not seem to be something like a coachbuilder's plague attached to the bodywork.
Another question is, did Holden, aside from the body styles offered as standard by the US headquarters, built some individual, Australia-only styles? Those would be of particular interest.

Best

Job
Prior to 1926 most Chevs were imported, when GM engaged Holdens to build their bodies 90% or Aus. Chevs had Holden bodies, some of the very low production body styles like my cabriolet were imported Fisher bodies.

Aus. Chevs from 1926 all carried the Holden Body Badge.
If you send me your email address I can send you photos of all the Holden body badges

There were about 100 Aus body builders in the 1920's and I've seen lots of Chevs with different (non Holden) body styles, most were commercial bodies and Sydney's Miller Bodies were the most common. I have over 30 archive photos of Miller's light commercial bodies and cars, including, F series Chev's and 490's
They also bodied most of the trucks. I have a photo taken in 1927 of a Miller truck holding yard with about 30 trucks awaiting delivery, including one roadster ute.
GM in Australia show a photo of a Miller bodied roadster ute and date it as 1926 claiming it was Australia's 1st ute. Funnily the ute shown (from the back) shows a split diff which makes it a 24 or 23.
Chris

Chris,
I'm very interested in the body plagues! Where are they usually attached to the body? Fisher's body plates are usually found on the side of the bonnet, on the lower part. You can send photos to reclamemand(at)hotmail.com (replace (at) with @).
I don't know very much about the Australian coachbuilders. I'm more familiar with the European ones, but I like to learn some new names.

I have a photo of what should be a 1930 Holden-bodied roadster, but it is virtually indistinguishable from the American versions. So did Holden use the same basic moulds for the standard bodies? Otherwise, I would expect a more obvious deviation from the US-bodies.

Best

Hello!

We spotted a new Chevrolet and I was wondering if someone could help me by identifying the model year and body style. I suppose this is simply called a 4-door sedan.



Who knows the model year?

Best and thanks,
Job

1926 Four Door Sedan

Not a 1926, unless the owner went to a lot of trouble to install the 1925 wheels, which should be black and not body color.

Look closely and the weels have 4 hub nuts. 1926 had 6 hub nuts.

Roger

OK. I was looking at the Headlight tie bar.

Part of the problem with identification of '25-'26 Chevys is that they made running changes during production that did not adhere to the traditional model year change over timing. Then there was the Serial K car number plate that was used into the Series V production. They used a V in the car number on the K Series plate. It is all very confusing to the occasional observer.

If it has not already been done it would be a great idea to have someone write an article for the G&D or ChatII on what exactly is a '25 and a '26 Chevy and how to tell them apart. I am sure the VCCA Judges would like to know too.

Many, many thanks!

I suppose this is another 1928 Touring?



Thanks again!

The original car appears to me to be a 1926 selling season Superior K Series K,,,i.e. post Aug 1 1925 with light bar. The 1926 MODEL was as has been said the Superior K Series V, and the post-Aug 1 1926 the Superior V Series V.

These are specs from my notes taken from British publications:

1925 CHEVROLET [Superior Series K] Early Model
21.7 H.P. 4-cylinders, 94 x 102 m.m., 2,830 c.c., R.A.C. rating 21.7 h.p.; power output 32 b.h.p. @ 2,800 r.p.m.
General specification: overhead-valve engine, valves operated by push-rods; cooling by pump circulation; forced feed and splash lubrication; Remy coil ignition and 6 to 8-volt lighting and starting equipment; Zenith carburettor; petrol consumption 28 m.p.g.; capacity of fuel tank 8 gallons, vacuum feed. Unit construction of engine, single-plate clutch and three-speed gearbox, ratios 3.818:1, 6.75:1 and 12.6:1; central control; enclosed propeller-shaft; spiral-bevel final drive; semi-elliptic suspension; brakes on rear wheels; splash and pressure chassis lubrication; wood artillery wheels; semi-balloon tyres; Wheelbase 102 5/8 in.; track 56 in.; road clearance 9 7/8 in.


POST AUGUST 1ST 1925:

CHEVROLET [“1926” Model K]
The alterations in the Chevrolet consisted of very minor modifications. These included interchangeable headlights mounted on a cross-bar between the front mudguards, ignition and throttle levers mounted on the instrument board, the lengthening of the gear lever and the standardisation of balloon tyres. A choice of two-tone colour combinations were also available.


21.7 H.P. 4-cylinder CHEVROLET 5-seater Touring Car [“1926 Model” Superior Series K]
Engine: overhead valve type; 3 11/16 x 4in. bore and stroke; (Treasury rating 21.7 H.P.); lubrication pump and splash; Remy ignition; Zenith carburettor; 3 speeds forward; single dry plate clutch; central control; wood artillery type wheels; springs semi-elliptic front and rear; wheelbase 102 ½ in.


The "1926" models in the UKs had standard nickel-plated radiators.


1926 Superior V:

21.7 H.P. 94 x 102 m.m. bore and stroke [3 11/16 x 4 in.], 2,801 c.c., R.A.C. ratinmg 21.75 H.P., power output 32 b.h.p. @ 2,800 r.p.m.
General specification: o.h.v. engine, valves pushrod operated; cooling by pump circulation; forced-feed lubrication; Remy battery ignition and 6-volt electrical equipment; Carter carburettor; petrol 26 m.p.g.; tank capacity 8 gallons, vacuum feed. Unit construction of enginedry-plate clutch and three-speed gearbox, ratios 3.8:1, 6.76:1 and 12.67:1; enclosed propeller-shaft, spiral-bevel final drive; rear-wheel brakes; suspension semi-elliptic with rear underslung; wood artillery wheels, 31 x 4.4 in. balloon tyres; wheelbase 8 ft. 7 in.; track 4 ft. 9 in.; road clearance 9 7/8 in.

"1927" Superior V:

21.7 H.P. 4-cylinder CHEVROLET 5-Seater Touring Car Engine: overhead valve type; 3 11/16 x 4in. bore and stroke; (Treasury rating 21.7 H.P.); lubrication by pump and splash; Remy ignition; Carter carburettor; 3 forward speeds; single dry-plate clutch; central control; wood artillery type wheels; semi-ellip5tic springs front and rear; wheelbase 103 in.

Thanks, I did not know about the Superior K Series K and series V designations. I thought the 1925 model was called Superior K and 1926 Superior V, but now I learned it is a bit mor complicated and confusing. Thanks for that!


Can anybody confirm this is a 1928 Touring?


Thanks again! [/quote]

Yes, that is a 1928 Touring.

I have always called ALL 1925's "K's" and ALL 1926's "V's." I am am aware that early V's continued (apparently) to use up the supply of ID Tags that had a K pre-stamped.

Most guys talk about "Early '25s" and "Late 25's" with respect to the change of the location of the throttle and spark levers on the steering column, etc. It is kind of a gray area as to exactly when they stopped being 25s and started being 26's in my mind. Seems like there was some over-lap.

In my opinion, this would be the logical stance for the club to take for separating the two years, since the model V started on Jan 1st 1926. Also, the gear driven generator was a 1925 model K feature until the belt driven generator was introduced in the 1926 model V.

Roger

Many thanks to all of you!

I have put some new 1929-1932 photos in the apropriate place.
[li]https://vccachat.org/ubbthreads.php/topics/220806#Post220806[/li]

As regards engines, Engine # 1,538,964 to # 1,549,060 inclusive were possibly being assembled in the last week before the Christmas break and then in turn in cars assembled from, at the latest December 28th 1924. These first 10,367 units used Block PART # 334653 [Cast # not yet known] and were installed exclusively in the Superior Series K cars and light delivery chassis up to January 15th.

From Engine # 1,549,061, Part # 344671, Casting # 344624 was used from then on..

On August 1st 1925, the “1926 Model” or “Late K” [actuallty 1926 SELLING SEASON as dealer contracts ran August 1st to 31st July] with the front light bar, and the new U.E. Series R were introduced (The change-over to the Late K and U.E. Series R was at around Engine # 1,829,000 we think) though motors were produced for both car and truck series following on with the same sequential numbering system into September until the numbers reached a point around September 15th 1925. However, it would be helpful to have more block date codes to pin point this date, to determine the exact Engine # at just under # 1,900,000, when the sequence was terminated, and also to confirm the date. Flint motor Plant then started the new day’s assembly with a new sequence starting with Engine # 2,000,001, having missed out just over 100,000 numbers, to add credence to the marketing fable of “two million units sold”.

From January 1st 1926, the Superior Series V and the Utility Express Series X were introduced. The first 1926 Model motor was # 2,160,736, which must have had a Block cast in mid-December 1925, depending on when the Christmas break was taken.
The new motor had a belt-driven Remy generator instead of a gear-driven one and a centre-mounted camshaft-driven oil pump/Remy Distributor that weakened the centre main bearing support. The Chevrolet Service Bulletin No. 17 of July 20th, 1926 announced that the Block # 345505 was used up to Engine # 2,249,424 and then from # 2,249,601 to # 2,252,175 [which represents approximately 10 days to two weeks of engine production] inclusive With the change in models from the Series K and R to the Series V and X, the radiator had to be changed as the inlet for the 1925-6 Series motor was on the left side and that on the 1926 Series V and X had an inlet on the right side instead."

At Engine # 2,249,425 with components cast in late January 1926 for say the second week in February 1926 assembly, a new Block casting was introduced, again for 1926 Series V and X models. This new Block was Part # 346716 [in the February 1st 1928 Parts List Part # 343993] and Casting # 346709.

What was the difference in the two Blocks? The easy identifier is that the earlier Block Part # 345504 had the water pump cap screw holes off-centre, intended for Water Pump Part # 343147 whilst the later Block Part # 346716 had cap screw holes centred, i.e. at E-W, N-S positions, and the Pumps in each case had screw holes to match up so that the Pumps had to be correct for the Block.

There was a change associated with the annual signing of Dealers’ contracts on August 1st, 1926, which was at roughly the return of workers from the summer break: whilst there was a Plant shutdown at Flint, there was a halt in assembly. The change-over to “1927” Model Superior Series V and U.E. Series X was therefore at around # 2,605,000, depending on when assembly started, with the first Monday in August being the 2nd.This takes into account 5,000 motor units assembled by Flint at the very end of the season for export and for Plants other than Flint where there were longer delays between motor assembly and installation in the vehicle. There was NO change in the Block casting this time: the Block was # 346709 as before, though this is often quoted as “348709” as the “6” looks very much like an “8”. However, there really was no major external difference between the 1926 and 1927 Models: it was more of a marketing exercise. The “1927” Models [actually Sales Year] or late 26 had a rear stop light plus in the cars/light delivery chassis, a Transmission support attached to the side rails, plus the spark and throttle controls placed inside steering column centre,

Oracle
Unbelievable knowledge from you, thanks
In Australia our Superior V's had a single swage (bead) line around the entire body and exterior door handles. 99% of them were in two tone colours. It appears that Aus. Holden built bodies were one step ahead of Chevrolet in the US.
They were a very pretty car compared to the Superior K.
Chris