VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 1923 or 1924 Touring?

I am finding it hard to figure out just exactly what year car I have. I got the car as an honest-to-goodness "basket case". There were not two pieces of the entire car bolted to each other when I loaded it on my trailer. The wheels had even been broken down into their individual components. So I am starting literally from scratch with a car I really have no idea of what is missing and what parts I do have on hand. I do know there are several key pieces of the body and interior missing making identification even harder. I have engine date codes, trans date codes and flywheel numbers. I know the frame is 1924 style because of the brake linkage configuration. I was told that on a 1924 the center caps/hub caps of the wheels are different threads front to back and are not interchangeable. The caps I have fit both front and rear wheels both the same so I am told this is the 1923 style wheels/rims. The engine and trans date codes are both late 1923. I have no steering wheel to compare horn button locations. I have none of the ID/Info plates that are so valuable in determining what I want to know about this car. My question is, Are there any other ways to determine what year car this is with any degree of certainty without the parts I am missing? Thanks in advance for any info and please excuse the noob.

Mikeinwv Check your generator ID tag. Remy 950-A + 1923. Remy 950-B = 1924.Is your oil pump on the front('23) or rear('24) of the generator? Also post any numbers you can find on the engine and head. Pictures of your dash & gauges would help also.

Having research and restored my 1924 over the last 8 years I will tell you that there is no hard line between the two years and appears to vary slightly from plant to plant. My 24 was 90 percent intact and I bought it from the second owners family. For example, my car was built in Tarrytown NY. I have a 24 firewall as evidenced by the main wiring harness hole and horn mounted through the firewall. However, I have a curved front axle and the oil pump is mounted on the front of the engine. My front radiator splash pan has the crank hole above the license plate brackets unlike the 23 which had the crank hole between the brackets so the hole was covered when a front tag was installed. There are some others but my point is I believe Chevrolet used up the remaining parts on the shelf if they could as cars transitioned from one model year to the next. If you PM me your address I will send you a copy of a booklet written back in the 70's that gives a lot of info on the 23/24 models.
Good luck on your restoration, Tom

Thanks guys. I will check those things and see how they cross over between years. Sounds like I shouldn't worry too much if it is a 23 or 24. My question for GoldenWarrior is, Why do you call yours a 24 if it has the 23 traits as well and how will I know what year to call mine even after identifying the separate characteristics of the two years? I am just calling it a 23 because the guy I got it from (my uncle) said it was a 23.

My car has the original serial number tag on the seat box. It is a 2F series car. If it was a 23 it would be a 2B series car.

Hi.
I have a 1924 4 door Sedan with car no 2F57...(don´t remember the last).
My "mentor" told me when we found it the difference between 1923 and 1924 chassis is the front crossbar, straight, it is a 1924, dipped in the middle it is a 1923 or earlier. There might be other differences also.

Olle

With that being the case, then I have a frame with the 1924 brake linkage configuration and the 1923 dipped in the middle front crossbar.

I do not have any part of the car that shows me anything like a model year.

This thing must be a mix of all the best features of each year rolled into one fantastic chassis.

When I figure out how, I will post a couple pics showing the different parts of the chassis.

Thanks

My car is a 1924 (2F) with a dipped front axle... I doubt if it was ever changed out. If my memory serves me correctly my car was an early 24 so perhaps they used up the remainder of the 23 axles in production.... who knows, Chevrolet kept such perfect records!

Yes, I'm sure they never dreamed their creation would grow into what it is today.

I'm keeping a list of the supposed differences between the 23 and 24 models. It is just difficult to determine because I have very little of the interior of the car.

Even though I have no reason to doubt my Uncle's claim that it is a 1923 I still want to do the homework so I know everything I can about the car.

In an attempt to show what I actually have - instead of just trying to explain or describe the parts and numbers - I have uploaded them to two different sites. If you have any information or an interest in anything pictured please let me know. I would probably part with anything that will be "extra" or anything that doesn't actually go with this car. I would be interested in trading for things that would benefit us both.

Facebook - Michael Howes

Photobucket - http://s1383.photobucket.com/user/mylsnh/library/?sort=3&page=1

Howdy MikeinWV.......would you be interested in selling one of those ignition coils.....Terry

I may be. I am told that the one pictured in the middle of the three is the proper one for my car. If you would be interested in one of the others I think we can make a deal. What did you have in mind?

Howdy MikeinWV......I have a 28 chev 1 Ton and the coil shut down. I put a standard 6volt in it and it works but I would like at least a copy of the original to put back into it.I'll see if I can send an email...I think I'll need your email address..Terry...P.S. I think I found it...

Mike,
I sent you a PM several days ago about a coil... Did you see it?
Thanks, Tom

Mike - I finally took the time to look through your photobucket pictures to review details.

Based on the casting dates and the following details, you definitely have an early 1924 Touring car.

Chassis: brake configuration (rods versus cables), brake drum diameter (23 used 10” and 24 used 11”), rear hub has the same threads as the front hub (23 used a hub adapter on rear wheels), clutch and brake pedals are stamped rather than castings.

Body: Cowl has the larger hole in the firewall for the horn. Speedometer does not have the trip odometer sticking out on the side (’23 has the trip odometer sticking out the side of the speedometer.

Engine Area: The Remy generator may be the correct part, but I didn't check the part number for '24. See note below about the oil pump location. The Autolite generator on the engine will work fine, just not what was on the car from the factory. According to the parts books, the Autolite was used on the 490 and 1923. 1924 does not list the Autolite.

Does your timing chain cover have a hole and mounting pad in front of the generator to mount an oil pump? 490 & ’23 had the oil pump mounted to the front of the timing chain cover, 1924 started mounting on the back of the generator.

Dip Stick: You have the dip stick that was first used in ’24. Earlier years used 2 petcock’s to check the oil level (high and low).

I just scanned a booklet that will help you understand a little more. This booklet was put together by Michael Mooney, which had been the technical advisor for the 1924-1924 Chevrolet’s in the VCCA. I will send you a copy.

Chris

Thanks again for all the really good information. Believe it or not, last night I found a pretty nice looking 1923 style odometer - with the trip odometer sticking out the side - in another box. I will put up a picture of it when I think about it again.

Not sure what this guy was doing with this car. Maybe rebuilding or maybe just building something he liked.

What was the engine color, and was it just the engine or did that color extend onto the transmission and trans brace?

Paint color is an interesting area of where some disagree. Over the years, some very knowledgeable friends told me that the early superior engines (think at least '23 & '24) were the same color as the Ohio Bell trucks of the 70's and 80's. I will show some pictures below of what I have used and I feel this is much closer than anything that I have yet to seen for sale.

I have shown pictures of an original front plate (outside of the engine where oil doesn't not come in contact) and the sample card. The actual engine when dried is slightly lighter than the sample card, but I assume that the engine paint may have gotten darker over the last 90 years, however I have n proof.

I am not trying to start a battle discussion of the color. I believe the color that I am using is closer to the original than the paints that I have seen on the market and you can choose to use this color or any other color that you like. Please note that the Bill Hirsch color that they sell is wrong for these years.