Why were 30/31s not cool back in the day?

Reading through "Hot Rods of the 40s" by Don Montgomery.
He makes the statement that 28/29 Roadsters, and 32's were the cars of choice for the So Cal rodders. But 30/31s were not considered cool rodder material.
No reason given.

Anyone know why?

 

Personal opinion or fact? that is the question......

 

maybe beacuse that was HIS opinion???

i personally like the looks of a 28/29 roadster on 32 rails,but 30/31 are not THAT big of a difference,,besides,from far away a 30/31 roadster on 32 rails kinda looks like a 32 roadster,

 

Exactly right its the writters opinion, I just dont get what aesthetic on the 30/31s wasnt appealing to rodders in the 40s? Seems to me the cowl on 30/31s flows alot smoother than the 28/29 and its a logical bridge to the 32s...So what was uncool about the 30/31s?

Page 20 of the book:
"The most popular Roadster was the all time favorite 32 roadster. The 29-29 Roadster was next in line of popularity with the 27T quite a distance behind. The 30-31 Model A Roadsters were never popular, apparently due to their looks.

 

im sure this is being bought into more today than in the 40's

 

28/29 roadster had smaller cowl area as to 30/31. cheated wind better . that was the old propaganda anyway.

 

Now the smaller frontal area argument makes some sense!, at least from the view of guys in the 40s whose focus was on top speed at the dry lakes. Same reasoning might apply to the 27T being ranked above the the 30/31 - Less frontal area on 27T.

The 32 on the other hand is pretty big on frontal area - so maybe the reasoning gets weaker there and damn good looks took over ?!

Folks of every generation have different ideas on whats popular, I was just real curious what was going on in the heads of rodders in the 40s....

 

I've heard the wind argument before.....it's what ever.....I'll take one of each please.....

 

i like 28-29 roadsters on top 32 frames, but like 30-31 coupes channeled over frames

but my favorite is 32-34 3 windows

 

Same reason why 55 and 57 Chevies were more popular than 56's... First of the body style and First of the High performance.

Me... I always loved the 30-31's and the 56 Chevy's were the cleanest of the Tri-Fives...!

 

Unless they're channelled 30/31s look awkward as highboys on A rails due to the wide cowl IMO and apparently others.

 

I always heard that if you were really serious about going fast your first choice was a T then a 28-29 and then 30-31 and the guys that wanted more of a dual purpose car built 32's. I think 29-29's were the more slippery car and a bit lighter then the 30-31's too. Johnny

 

28/29 are a bit shorter than 30/31 and 32's

 

the history books dont lie, most of the fastest cars on the lakes and salt early on were 27T and 28/29A's. i think it was because of the smaller or better yet thinner cowl, that being said i bet a lot of it was the fastest guys run this so should we.
just like to day 32 were more expensive, if only a coulpe of dollars but that couple of dollars took away from go fast junk. Also 32's are much bigger its almost like you could fit an A inside one(almost). i belive it did have todo with frontal area and keeping an eye on the lead dogs ass. plus 28/29 A's look so much better on 32 rails.

 

of course the 32 had the V8 so for sure there's a factor for its' popularity...after that it's 28-9 style (smallercowl & grille shell,even frt fenders,if ran, were nicer)and mix and match chassis with V8s or B blocks

 

^^^ you beat me to it,
32's had a V8

 

Peer pressure had lots to do with it. There was 'cool' and 'uncool', and it started at the lakes. There was a 'society' that stood by its 'rules', for instance:
'26-'27 Ts were 'cool'. '28-'29s were cool. '30-'31s were not. '32s were cool. '33s not. '34s were cool. '35s not. '36es O.K., '37s, 38s. 39s not. '40s were O.K. '41s were cooler if they were convertibles, Coupes barely. '42s not. '46, '47, '48s sorta grew out of the 'cool vs. uncool', but '49 and '50 were desireable in Fords & Mercs; '51s weren't as popular 'til much later. (this was the flap in 'those days' in Calif., anyway.
Bill Burnham outlined this in an old Street Rodder mag, maybe someone can tell us which?
It was miserable for me in '55, I prefered the '33 over the '34 because the grille was so sloped, just beautiful! I passed on one, got a '36 Three window instead.
Ancient history. Argue if you must, but that was the way it was.

 

I have to agree with Atwater Mike, i have many books on old fords, and this is the case.
But after owning a 30 for a short time, im thinking i like it better. lol.

 

I think cowl post make the difference, I personally preffer 28/29s over 30/31s

my $0,02!

 

I think that the reason which the early model A's appealed more to the Rodders was because it had that little bit more angled cowl giving that aerodynamic/speedster/salt laker look.....

But once again, many cool A's were 30-31's!

HC

 

I like 30 31's better as a coupe n 28/29 in a sedan.. Not sure why... Just do...

 

I am no expert on anything. But if you look at early hop up magazines or car craft etc.. of lakes racing i have yet to come across an example of a fenderless model a coupe. Not sure why . Seen roadsters but never a coupe.

 

Kind of an off-ramp here. But WTF is the difference in cool between a '39 DeLuxe and a '40, besides a much cooler crank-out windsheild on a '39? I may be biased, but I still call B.S.

I DO like the sloping cowl on a '28 or '29 better than the later "A's", though...

 

I've always liked the 30-31 Roadster over the 28-29, the bodies just flow better, and the car MUST have a full hood IMO. I've got a 1939 issue of Ray Kuhn's Automobile Racing with a feature on Dry Lakes racing, there are two 30-31 Roadsters featured. Maybe the reason the 28-29 were used by early Rodders is the fact that they were older and cheaper to buy back then. I have no aero wind flow knowledge but would like to know what happens when the air hits that door post that sticks out on a 28-29 vs the smooth side of a 30-31.

 

Way back a Deuce had the V8. To go faster, put on a smaller, lighter body. The obvious choices were 26 /7 T's or early A roadster bodies. 30 and 31 ones are not much smaller or lighter than a Deuce body so there was no point. Basic, pratical reasons.

 

Coupes were Not even suspect of being a hotrod in the early days.....Roadster racing is what it was ALL about...coupes finally became accepted as hotrod material around 1948-1950...coupes were "chair cars" as the old timers called 'em

 

I want a '30 or '31 Roadster. On the frame it was born with, not another '32 frame... I don't like the curvy cowl style line on '28-'29s. Just my opinion, though.

 

Someone come take this 30 roadster off my hands... I thought it was cool, but I guess I was wrong.
I'd be interested in seeing some wind tunnel tests to back up the aerodynamic theories. I honestly have wondered about this myself.

 

I agree. They're utterly hideous and obviously uncool... someone buy this thing... it's uglin' up my garage...

 

Gotta agree. The cowl post adds an appealing character line where the '30-'31 looks slab sided. Looking at the '30-'31, you can see where Ford was headed with the '32 design.

Bob