VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 Superior K and V, the meaning?

Does anybody know what the K and V meant? I read it once but don't want to bore you all if everyone knows.

Regards
Al

Albrass The K & V were series of the superior model. The k was made during the calendar year 1925 & the V was started about 1/1/1926 until about August 1926. Then Chevy started the Capitol AA series. Many drive train changes were made with the change from series "K" to series "V".

From my notes:

Hendon was the first plant in the world to officially assemble vehicles, so “GB” was a destimnation code only on crates from North America. When G.M. International, Københaven, Danmark was opened the Plant was allocated the Code “XB” by G.M. Export Division, and as every Plant opened [there were 20 by the time Southampton opened in December 1938] in theory the next “X” code was allocated in alphabetical sequence, though the Australian Plants never seem to have used them. Hendon was the very first Assembly Plant, and from January 1925 the Plant Code of “XA” was allocated and used sparingly for a few months only on vehicles built on a pilot basis with bodies built in-house at Hendon. [These codes are not to be confused with the Oshawa-allocated alpha-numeric system starting with “X1” running to “X9” which was meant as a destination code but often used as part of the serial number from at least 1936 to 1959 and throughout WW11, nor the Buick export Model Numbers].

As to the use of the name “Superior”, this term was first applied to the so-called “improved” Model 490, produced from 1 August 1921 for 1922 Model Year. This running change extended to dealers and publicity. The 490 Light Delivery also became a “Superior” as well. This nomenclature extended to the 1923 Model B/Light Delivery Model B, and the 1-Ton Utility Express Model D [“G” in the U.K.]. When Oshawa finished their sequential system for the 1923 cars and commercial chassis with 9B 29500 or thereabouts, they restarted 19 November 1923 with the description “Superior” for all models for 1924, the Models F [car & light delivery] and H[truck] in the U.S., with # 9B 30000, running to # 9B 52595 in December 1924. However, to explain how the U.S. and Canadian model identification ran, here is a piece by Ken Kaufmann.



CHEVROLET MODEL AND SERIES IDENTIFICATION
By Ken Kaufmann
Chevrolet model and series names for the 1928 and earlier models have been very confusing for almost 75 years since Chevrolet started using a “Series” desinatation in the 1925 model year. A CHEVROLET SERVICE BULLETIN, dated July 14, 1928, that provided a guide to ordering the correct parts for the various models and series sets out the correct designations. It was pointed out that sometimes a letter had been used to indicate a model one year, like 1917 Model F, and also used again for another year to indicate a series such as the 1924 Series F. Chevrolet admitted this practice caused much confusion in ordering parts and printed a Model, Year, and Series List in this bulletin for the partsman to post to avoid any future confusion.
This bulletin pointed out, “The letters that are used indicating series are stamped on the Serial Number Plate of the car and should not be confused with the car model. In the Master Book the letter appearing before the description indicates the model and those following the description indicate the series.” For example, note the following from the 1928 Master Parts Price List:
Sup., U, C, N Fan (2 Blade) (Series K, M, R, V, AA, AB) 346712
U, C Fan (4 Blade) (Series X, LM, LO, LP) 346780
It can be determined from the above that the 2 Blade Fan was standard on the 1925 Utility Express Series M and R, (and all 1925-28 passenger car, light delivery, and 1/2 ton truck chassis) and was up graded to the higher air flow 4 Blade Fan for the 1926 Utility Express Series X and 1927-28 Capitol Series LM, LO, and LP. Of course, this 4 Blade Fan was commonly used for severe duty applications for all 1925-28 Models and Series for greater coolant capacity in hot climates.

FIRST CHEVROLET SERIES WERE THE 1925 K & M
It appears Chevrolet printed its first Data Sheet in the 1923 Master Price List of Parts, but this single page only covered 1914 to 1923 Models, and there was no mentioned of the term Series. However, there was a footnote that “the serial numbers of Superior Models started with B-1000, prefixed by zone number.” The 1924 Master Parts Price List added the 1912-13 models (incorrectly) to this Data Sheet for the first time, but again did not list or give any mentioned of any Series. Nor was any Series listed in the 1924 Combined 490 and Superior Parts List. Therefore the first use by Chevrolet of the term “Series” was in 1925 with the announcement of the Superior Series K and the Utility Express Series M. In fact, it was not until the January 1, 1926 Master Price List of Parts was the 1923 Series B and 1924 Series F added to the Data Sheets, but not the Series D and H Trucks. The Parts Books up throught 1926 only listed these early Superior and Utility Express parts by the 1923 or 1924 model year, but did not call out any series. It was not until the January 1, 1927 Master Parts Price List that Chevrolet started using the 1923-24 Engineering assigned B, C, D, F, and H Car Number prefixes as the Series designation. In 1927, these numbers appeared for the first time as the Series after the part discription (name of part) in the parts books. The point I want to make is that Chevrolet never used the nomenclature Series B, C, or F as a car disciption back when these Superior Models were manufactured or sold, and it was not until four years later in 1927 that the name Series B, D, F, and H (the C was recalled) came into common use … sort of 4 years after the fact!
1922 SERIES A?
Recently some sources, myself included, have used the Series A nomenclature as a description for the improved 1922 Four-Ninety models that started in September 1921. While it is true that all 1922 Four-Ninety models had a “A” prefix stamped before the serial number on the Serial Number Plate, so did most 1921 490’s and the 1920 490’s that were built at the Flint and Tarrytown plants since about the first of April 1920. That is, originally Chevrolet used the “A” prefix for both engine and car serial numbers as a code to signify that 100,000 units had been built. So after the 100,000 490 engine was built, towards the end of March 1917, the next engine started at A1, the 100,001 engine built. The same was true for cars, so when both Flint and Tarrytown built its first 100,000 cars by April 1920, they continued on at 1-A1 for Flint and 2-A1 for Tarrytown. The other plants later skipped a bunch of numbers so they could also use the “A” prefix by mid 1921. For the launch of the 1922 490’s in September 1921, all U.S. plants jumped up to start at Car Number A50001. The Oakland plant even put the “A” prefix before the plant code of 6, so the first 1922 490 off the line was A650001, instead of 6A50001. This was probabily done to make the Car Number appear to be a larger number then the actual plant total output. But the fact remains, Chevrolet never used the Series A designation at all, and it is misleading to call the 1922 490 a Series A, since the “A” Car Number prefix first commenced about April 1920.
1922 MODEL SUPERIOR?
The first usage of the model name Superior was began by the Sales Department in March 1922, replacing the “Four Ninety” in name only, because of the poor reputation it had received. However, the Car Number Name Plate, that was attached to the dash, was still stamped after the Model prompt…490. The Superior name was never used in any Service or Parts references, so for all intent and purpose, this car remained a 1922 490 to the end of production. Listed are all the U.S.A. built models by Model, Body Style, and what Chevrolet called the “Trade Name” for the 1912-19 Model Years. Oshawa, only used the B prefix for Car Numbers in 1923-24 and never used the prefixes of D, F, or H at all! Therefore, all Oshawa built cars and trucks for the Model Year of 1923 had a Car Number below B30000, while 1924 Models had a Car Number of B30001 and above.
DATA SHEET…CHEVROLET MOTOR CARS MANUFACTURED IN U.S.A. 1912-1928
1912 L-4 Little Four s/n 1-500 Roadster 2 1 96
1913 L-4 Little Four s/n 501-up Roadster 2 1 96
1913 Type C Type “C” Six s/n 1-97 Touring 5 4 120
1913 L-6 Little Six s/n 1-300 Touring 5 4 106
1913 D-5 Durant Special ACM 30 Touring 5 4 106
1913 L-6 “Chevrolet Special Little Six” Touring 5 4 106
1914 Type L Chevrolet Special Little Six [NYC]Touring 5 4 106
1914 Type L Chevrolet Special Little Six [NYC]Runabout 2 2 106
1914 Type C Classic Six s/n 98-499 Touring 5 4 120
1914 H-2 “Royal-Mail” Roadster 2 2 104
1914 H-4 “Baby-Grand” Touring 5 4 104
1914 L “Light Six” Touring 5 4 112
1915 Type H Chevrolet Special-198 CID [NYC]Speedster 2 - 106
1915 H-2 “Royal-Mail” Roadster 2 2 106
1915 H-4 “Baby-Grand” Touring 5 4 106
1915 L “Light Six” Touring 5 4 112
1915 H-3 “Amesbury Special” Roadster 2 2 106
1916 H-2 “Royal-Mail” Roadster 2 2 106
1916 H-4 “Baby-Grand” Touring 5 4 106
1916 H-3 “Amesbury Special” [NYC] Roadstert 2 2 106
1916 H-2 1/2 “Special Roadster” Roadster 2 2 106
1916 490 “Four-Ninety” Touring 5 3 102
1916 490 “Four-Ninety” Roadster 2 2 102
1916 490 “Four-Ninety” Service Car 2 - 102
1917 490 “Four-Ninety” Touring 5 3/4 102
1917 490 “Four-Ninety” Roadster 2 2 102
1917 490 “Four-Ninety” All-Season Enclosed 5 3/4 102
1917 490 “Four-Ninety” Chassis - - 102
1917 490 “Four-Ninety” Light Delivery - - 102
1917 490 “Four-Ninety” One Ton Truck - - 120
1917 “F2” “Royal-Mail” Roadster 2 2 108
1917 “F5” “Baby-Grand” Touring 5 4 108
1917 “D4” “Eight” Chummy Roadster 4 2 120
1917 “D5” “Eight” Touring 5 4 120
1918 490 “Four-Ninety” Touring 5 4 102
1918 490 “Four-Ninety” Roadster 2 2 102
1918 490 “Four-Ninety” Coupe 2 2 102
1918 490 “Four-Ninety” Sedan 5 2 102
1918 490 “Four-Ninety” Chassis - - 102
1918 490 “Four-Ninety” Light Delivery - - 102
1918 “FA2” “Royal-Mail” (Model FA2) Roadster 2 2 108
1918 “FA4” Model FA Sedan 5 2 108
1918 “FA5” “Baby-Grand” (Model FA5) Touring 5 4 108
1918 “D4” “Eight” Chummy Roadster 4 2 120
1918 “D5” “Eight” Touring 5 4 120
1918 “T” Model “T” One Ton Truck - - 125
1919 490 “Four-Ninety” Touring 5 4 102
1919 490 “Four-Ninety” Roadster 2 2 102
1919 490 “Four-Ninety” Coupe 2 2 102
1919 490 “Four-Ninety” Sedan 5 2 102
1919 490 “Four-Ninety” Chassis - - 102
1919 490 “Four-Ninety” Light Delivery - - 102
1919 “FA2” “Royal-Mail” (Model FA2) Roadster 2 2 108
1919 “FA4” Model FA Sedan 5 2 108
1919 “FA5” “Baby Grand” (Model FA5) Touring 5 4 108
1919 “FB2” “Royal Mail” (Model FB) Roadster 2 2 110
1919 “FB3” Model FB Coupe 4 2 110
1919 “FB4” Model FB Sedan 5 2/4 110
1919 “FB5” “Baby Grand” (Model FB) Touring 5 4 110
1919 “D4” “Eight” Chummy Roadster 4 2 120
1919 “D5” “Eight” Touring 5 4 120
1919 “T” Model “T” One Ton Truck - - 125
1920 490 “Four-Ninety” Touring 5 4 102
1920 490 “Four-Ninety” Roadster 2 2 102
1920 490 “Four-Ninety” Coupe 2 2 102
1920 490 “Four-Ninety” Sedan 5 2 102
1920 490 “Four-Ninety” Chassis - - 102
1920 490 “Four-Ninety” Light Delivery - - 102
1920 “FB2” “FB 20” “Royal Mail” Roadster 2 2 110
1920 “FB3” “FB 30” Coupe 4 2 110
1920 “FB4” “FB 40” Sedan 5 4 110
1920 “FB5” “FB 50” “Baby Grand”Touring 5 4 110
1920 “T” Model “T” One Ton Truck - - 125
1921 490 “Four-Ninety” Touring 5 4 102
1921 490 “Four-Ninety” Roadster 2 2 102
1921 490 “Four-Ninety” Coupe 2 2 102
1921 490 “Four-Ninety” Sedan 5 2 102
1921 490 “Four-Ninety” Chassis - - 102
1921 490 “Four-Ninety” Light Delivery - - 102
1921 “FB2” “FB 20” “Royal Mail” Roadster 2 2 110
1921 “FB3” “FB 30” Coupe 4 2 110
1921 “FA4” “FB 40” Sedan 5 4 110
1921 “FA5” “FB 50” “Baby Grand”Touring 5 4 110
1921 “T” Model “T” One Ton Truck - - 125
1921 “G” Model “G” 3/4 Ton Truck - - 120
1922 490 “Four-Ninety” / Superior Touring 5 4 102
1922 490 “Four-Ninety” / Superior Roadster 2 2 102
1922 490 “Four-Ninety” / Superior Coupe 2 2 102
1922 490 “Four-Ninety” / Superior Coupe 4 2 102
1922 490 “Four-Ninety” / Superior Sedan 5 2/4 102
1922 490 “Four-Ninety” / Superior Chassis - - 102
1922 490 “Four-Ninety” / Superior Light Delivery - - 102
1922 “FB2” “FB 12” “Royal Mail” Roadster 2 2 110
1922 “FB3” “FB 22” Coupe 4 2 110
1922 “FA4” “FB 42” Sedan 5 4 110
1922 “FA5” “FB 32” “Baby Grand”Touring 5 4 110
1922 “T” Model “T” One Ton Truck - - 125
1922 “G” Model “G” Light Truck - - 120
1923 Superior B Touring 5 4 103
1923 Superior B Roadster 2 2 103
1923 Superior B Utility Coupe 2 2 103
1923 Superior B Sedanette 4 2 103
1923 Superior B Sedan 5 4 103
1923 Superior B Touring Chassis - - 103
1923 Superior B Light Delivery - - 103
1923 Superior B Commercial Chassis - 103
1923 M C Copper-Cooled Touring 5 4 103
1923 M C Copper-Cooled Roadster 2 2 103
1923 M C Copper-Cooled Coupe 2 2 103
1923 M C Copper-Cooled Sedanette 4 2 103
1923 M C Copper-Cooled Sedan 5 4 103
1923 Util.Exp. D Utility Express Truck Chassis - - 120
1924 Superior F Touring 5 4 103
1924 Superior F Roadster 2 2 103
1924 Superior F Utility Coupe 2 2 103
1924 Superior F Coupe … 4 4 2 103
1924 Superior F Sedan 5 4 103
1924 Superior F Touring Chassis - - 103
1924 Superior F Light Delivery - - 103
1924 Superior F Commercial Chassis - 103
1924 Util.Exp. H Utility Express Truck Chassis - - 120
1924 Superior F De Luxe Touring 5 4 103
1924 Superior F De Luxe Roadster 2 2 103
1924 Superior F De Luxe Sedan 5 4 103
1924 Superior F Coach 5 2 103
1925 Superior K Touring 5 4 103
1925 Superior K Roadster 2 2 103
1925 Superior K Coupe 2 2 103
1925 Superior K Coach 5 2 103
1925 Superior K Sedan 5 4 103
1925 Superior K Touring Chassis - - 103
1925 Superior K Light Delivery - - 103
1925 Superior K Commercial Chassis - 103
1925 Util.Exp. M Utility Express Truck Chassis - - 120
1925 Util.Exp. R Utility Express Truck Chassis - - 124
1926 Superior V Touring 5 4 103
1926 Superior V Roadster 2 2 103
1926 Superior V Coupe 2 2 103
1926 Superior V Coach 5 2 103
1926 Superior V Sedan 5 4 103
1926 Superior V Landau Sedan 5 4 103
1926 Superior V Commercial Chassis- - 103
1926 Util.Exp. X Utility Express Truck Chassis - - 124
1927 Capitol AA Touring 5 4 103
1927 Capitol AA Roadster 2 2 103
1927 Capitol AA Sport Cabriolet 2 + 2 2 103
1927 Capitol AA Coupe 2 2 103
1927 Capitol AA Coach 5 2 103
1927 Capitol AA Sedan 5 4 103
1927 Capitol AA Landau Sedan 5 4 103
1927 Capitol AA Imperial Landau Sedan 5 4 103
1927 Capitol AA 1/2 Ton Truck Chassis - - 103
1927 Capitol. LM Utility Express 1 Ton Truck Chassis - - 124
1928 National AB Touring 5 4 107
1928 National AB Roadster 2 2 107
1928 National AB Sport Cabriolet 2 + 2 2 107
1928 National AB Sport Cabriolet Convertible 2 + 2 2 107
1928 National AB Coupe 2 2 107
1928 National AB Coach 5 2 107
1928 National AB Sedan 5 4 107
1928 National AB Imperial Landau 5 4 107
1928 National AB 1/2 Ton Truck Chassis - - 107
1928 Capitol LO Utility Express 1 Ton Truck Chassis - - 124
1928 Capitol LP Utility

In the UK there was a Model G 'tonner' (1-ton) chassis in 1924, and then in 1925 they assembled Superior Series M parts to create the Model S [for Superior] built up to August 1925.

In Canada things were slightly different. The Series B was not labelled as such and neither was the Series D, and Utility Express Series F and H as they used the '9B-' prefix in a sequence and the models were just called 'Superior'.
Also the Capitol Series AA was the CapitAl Series A.A. Oshawa used full stops in the model codes..which you call periods I think.

In the book, "Chrome Colossus" ( a book on the early years of GM) it says that the K stood for William Knudsen, who was appointed president of Chevrolet in 1924. Formerly from Ford, Knudsen was assigned the task or trying to equal Ford in sales but he first required a car good enough and capable of doing it. The short-spring car was updated to make it more competitive and so the "K" was born. For the first time, Chevrolet really started to take a toll on Ford sales and the car was again updated, being now known as a "V", standing for Victory (success). I had never seen that written before and I've long remembered it. Fascinating !

Now I can't say this is all true, I've not researched it but it does make sense.

Al