Hello all, I just got this 1937 4 door, RHD, no trunk master Deluxe with knee action and dual side mount spares. Yes it has the wrong grill... I will change that back to original... It also has a foldable luggage rack. According to the local do***entation, the ch***is number is XT GA RS 618 Engine number is 311683 What can you all tell me about this car ? Which country ? plant was it made in ? How many of these were made in total ? I have read that 2221 were made of the Master Deluxe standard sedan but how many RHD were made ? I want to delete the side mount spares. I think they disturb the look of the car.
I would look underneath and see what was done to the car to make it have that grill and sidemounts. My guess is you'll find some hand made modification, rather than neat factory stamped parts. Thanks for the pictures, that's not something we see every day!
Looks like the body is too far back on the frame. Maybe it's an optical illusion. Looks nice though. Not too sure about those fender mount mirrors. .bjb
Far too unusual to make any changes until you've figured out if this is all factory original, or modified. Not sure about antique car collecting in your area, but this would be a very desirable car here in the US!
We had plenty of 4 door sedans in New Zealand (all right hand drive) but I don't think I have ever seen 1 with side mount spares. I also don't see any tail lights?
No, The history of this car is known. It's original grill has been badly damaged and replaced with this flat grill with metal welded around the side panels to make it fit. The sidemounts are original. Not a local hack job. They are all factory pressed parts. I will upload photos of the mounts. Tires fitted are taller than stock and the suspension has been raised to allow taller tires to work. Only the grill is a modification. RHD, dual sidemounts, luggage rack are all original. I have old black and white photos of other cars of the same model in Sri Lanka, which had the exact same features. Those would have been Australian made ? The Australian 37 RHD cars have a completely different body. The rear windshield is split. Not one piece. The sides of the hood/ bonnet are different...
Roads that bad over there? If not, I'd look into lowering it some(idk, maybe at least half the available distance. No, not a lowrider. Oversize tires for road-hazards clearance?), & keep the sidemounts. Rather unusual. Although they do serve a very good purpose, esp if you keep the correct-size tire on the car(ya, I'd have trouble w/that one...). If you need to not see them, then consider making a nice plate that'll snap(temporarily, as long as you want it) into the tire-cavity to emulate the look of no-sidemounts. But then there's the mounting bracket to deal with. Maybe they unbolt easily? I think once the car is painted nicely, the sidemounts will look nice. If you have to remove them, carefully remove everything ***ociated w/the sidemounts. From what I hear, the Bomb guys in the States would near-kill for that stuff. Shipping would be the problem. Marcus...
The flat back trunkless sedans are more rare, as people wanted trunks by then. They made the flat back sedans until 39. That body is not Australian. Holden made the Aussie bodies, that’s a Fisher Body.
Would be worth checking with VCCA.org. Would bet they have a bunch of answers. When/if you find out check back. Always like these history lessons.
Dual side mounts on a Chevy! If that's really a factory built car, it's gotta be the only one. Sell it to somebody who thinks it's the best thing since sliced bread, or just the fenders and tire covers. You're right, they look clumsy, but someone out there would give their right arm for that thing.
It looks governmental. If the history of the car is known, was it a government vehicle? The military is more about functional ability rather than style and the dual spares would be something they would add especially with no trunk. As would be the luggage rack. Does it have some form of tool storage space in it? If it wasn't a gov't car, I'd bet someone ordered it that way that had spent time in the military and had the means to order it how they wanted it.
My only comment would be that the Chevys of that era had an awful time getting the wheels centered in the rear wheel cut outs. If you want to fix it, you install offset spring pads. About 3/4" usually is good, but with it raised up, you probably would need more. You can also replace the springs with the center bolt not centered
I shared your side view photo on a site I'm on, the census was it's an Aussie built car, which explains the RHD and the flat-back body. Someone also said the Aussie cars were available with side mount spares.
Any chance you could post a pic of the cowl tag? We had a few flat back late 30's RHD Chevys down here in NZ. Most likely it is manufactured in Canada. Oshawa plant made the RHDs. Twin side mounts could be an export only option, maybe for countries where the roads weren't so good?
Here are photos of the side mount and some photos of other 37's with side mounts. The black and white photo of a car with "Z 3709" plate is also from Sri Lanka which is where I am. Note that car too, has the exact same luggage rack and the fender cut out for side mount and the bracket to hold it... Looking at the photos of the fender cut out and mount itself of my car, it's clear that its factory done. Someone modifying it at home, would not do the cut out like that with the fold and big rivets. Also the brackets are clearly not home made.
The luggage rack would have to be a rare accessory also. Spare tyre would normally mount there. Try asking over at the Team-BHP forum, they might be more knowledgeable about Chevys in your region. Pre-War - Team-BHP
Yeah those side mounts look factory for sure. I’ll dig out my old Chevrolet book and see what I can find.
Correct.... tail lights are missing. Someone in the past removed them and never fitted them back. The tail light brackets will be very difficult to find for slant back. I can reproduce them even for sale in USA, if I can borrow a sample to copy the shape and size from.
G'day @ceejay , Interesting car you have. Heres a pic that was posted on the hamb not to long ago regarding harbour freight stands. Take care.
The Australian cars (Holden body) are different to the Fisher body. (Front doors, hood sides, different, normal boot / trunk and split rear window.).No Chevs available here had factory side mounts. Even the instrument panel doesn't look like a RHD one.
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