VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION New User Forum Is this a Chevy?

I am a diver and there is a local legend about a 30's Chevy Taxi going through the ice in the late 1930's. I have just located what I think might be the vehicle but I am having trouble making a positive ID, especially after 90 years of being underwater. At a depth of 50 feet in pitch black and murky water I have only managed to get what I think is the rear bumper of the vehicle on film. You can see the rise of cab in the background murk but what throws me off is the light. There is no scale but I believe it is only about 4 inches across and I can't seem to find any images with that configuration of light.

So I am asking the Chevy experts, is this a '30 Chevy? I do apologize, but this is the best I can do for video until I get back down.

What you're doing is really interesting!

Based on the round tail light and the configuration of the bumper, I don't think it's a Chevy at all. The 1929 and 1930 Chevys had a race track shaped tail light and the 1931 and later had an oval shaped tail light. The rear bumpers were mostly "bumperettes" -- short bumpers, one on each side. I'm attaching a couple of photos.

On your next dive, if you could get to the front of the car and get a close-up of the top front of the radiator, every car of that era had an emblem there, usually with the make of the car.

You also may want to post your post here: https://forums.aaca.org/forum/66-what-is-it/ It's the AACA forum for identifying old cars and their parts. Since it's probably not a Chevy, they will likely be able to tell you what it IS.

Good luck with your research. Please do keep us posted.

All the Best, Chip

Thanks Chip ...
I assumed it was a Chevy because the owner of the Chevy dealer also owned the Taxi service. I figured the taillight configuration would be a key to help ID it. I have also since tracked down the year it went through the ice, Christmas of 1937. The profile is a coupe, and with the round taillight, I am leaning towards a REO Sport Coupe (1929??), the Sport Coupe had a solid bumper right across and a rack for a trunk to be mounted. I definitely need to get back down and check the rad cap. I will also post it on the other forum to see if I can get an ID on it.

That's interesting, but coupes were very rarely used as taxis, because they have only a single bench seat (and sometimes an open-to-the sky rumble seat), and thus couldn't carry enough passengers.

The radiator emblem I was referring to will be on the front of the radiator shell at the top, just below the radiator cap, like in this photo:



Good luck with it!

All the Best, Chip