Old Chevy Cars, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939

The Chevy Cars of the Thirties

The 1930's for Chevy saw the development of the "Stove Bolt Six" motor, putting out an impressive 50 horsepower from it's 194 cubic inches.  After a variety of upgrades and improvements this very solid motor served Chevrolet for almost 30 years.  The 1930 thru 1933 Chevrolets carried new name badges, the Universal, the Independence, the Confederate, the Eagle, and the Mercury.  Yep a Chevy Mercury!  The balance of the 1930's Chevrolet models were called either the "Master" or "Standard" Chevrolet.

Even during the Depression, Chevrolet did pretty well against their primary competitor, Ford.  They out produced Ford in 1930, 1931, 1932, and 1933.  

In a continuous effort to win over buyers from Ford, in 1933 Chevy offered such things as "fender skirts", and "no-draft-ventilation" (front door vent windows), airplane styled instrumentation, cowl vents, safety glass, adjustable driver's seat, and synchromesh transmissions.  New more streamlined styling continued into 1934.  The first "knee-action" independent front suspension was offered that year as well.  

1935 Chevrolets featured radiators that sloped back in a "v" shape, with a unique new feature, the radiator cap was located under the hood!  1936 Chevy's featured a hydraulic braking system, beating out Ford by three years.  Roadster and phaetons were dropped from the Chevrolet line in '36 as well. By 1937 the "stovebolt six" had expanded to 85 horsepower, and helped their sales considerably. 1938 sales outpaced Ford and continued this way in most model years until the 1990's.