I want to know more about the changes from year to year on certain cars, so I was hoping you guys could help me. So what do you guys use to identify these car, and how can you tell what year it is....I know some things for some of these, but some of them are still pretty similar. Model A's....I know the cowl changed in 1930 on the cars, but were there any differances. Are there any differances between the 28's and the 29's, and were the 30-31's the same How did the five window coupes change from 31 to 32, other than the frame. 55-57 chevy bel airs and nomads.... I know the tailights, but what else. How can you tell a 55 from a 56 Shoebox Fords.....I know the grill changed to the double bullet for 51 but how can you tell a 49 from a 50, and how can you tell if its a sedan, coupe etc... 49 to 54 chevy two doors. And ford trucks from 52 to 56 And pretty much anything else you guys are willing to take the time to touch base on So yeah, I appreciate the help in advance. Gotta learn somewhere. jonnycola
ill answer the chevy one for ya since i have a 50.. the most simple ways to tell is the grills they changed the grille style every year. and the 53-54 the back gl*** is changed as well as there grill has "teeth" thye made them in a buisness coupe,hard top,two door sedan and 4 door sedan buisness coupe was a two door post car with a short roof and a longer deck lid as well as no back seat. a hard top would be a car with no post on the doors. and a 2/4 sedan would be a post car. hope that helps a little bit im sure theres a few things i left out. so if any one see somthing i missed please fill in the blanks.. dirtyt
I if I remember right abotu the shoeboxes, the grilles are different for each year, check the park lights on the 49 and 50's. I think the hood trim, decklid trim, and doorhandles were different on the different years as well.
'55 and '56 chevies have different front ends. The '55 has a tall and narrow grill opening compared to the '56, which has a short grill that is about the width of the front end. The parking lights on the '56 are rectangular also, and the '55 has kind of a tri-oval shape similar to the shape of the headlight eye brows. Another difference is in the side trim. The '55 trim reaches about a foot or so into the door where th '56 trim goes to the front fender behind the headlights like a '57,but the '57 trim's lower piece in the rear drops down where the '56 is straighter, but not straight back like the '55...if my memory is intact. Confused? I know I am..
I can't tell a 28 from a 29 either. 30's have two piece fender aprons and the top of the grille shelle is all polished. The top of the 31 shell has an indentation on the front that is painted and 31's also have one piece fender aprons. Some 31's have a large indentation on the firewall where the fuel line goes through. Model A's are completely different from 32's. Some of the easiest clues to ID the differences are: A's had cowl tanks, 32's had the tank in the rear. Closed model A's (except for some of the rare body styles) had visors, 32's did not. 30 / 31's have cowl bands, 32's do not. The side of the frame is visible on a 32 even with fenders, the A's have aprons covering the frame. Shoe box Fords. The grille on the 50 wraps around the front of the fenders a bit where the grille on the 49 looks almost the same, it stops short of wrapping around. The door handles and gas caps are different too. 49 / 50 Chevies have round front turn signals and 51 / 52's are kind of like an arrow head. 53's have a unique grille opening with round turn signals at the end and 54's have and oval turn signal at the end. Several other trim pieces are different too. 55's have the front turn signal on the fender outside the grille where the 56 turn signal are at the end of the grille. Agai there are a lot of differences in other trim pieces between the 55 and 56 too.
I'll answer some Q's...! The 28-9's fenders were more rounded over the tires vs. the 30-1's which sloped rearward before meeting the running boards. 28-9's coupe bodies biggest difference is in the cowel as you already know but there are subtle differences in the cab as well as the doors..., the 30-1's are slightly more rounded and the beltlines are slightly different. The biggest differences between a 55 Chev and a 56 are the fenderwells. The 55's are squarish and the 56's have beautiful sweep to them...! The 55's taillights look like an after thought and the 56's was an integrated piece of functional art that served as a gas filler cover as well (no unsightly metal flap that's pasted on the side of a quarter panel)...! Hope that helps..., (all editorialising aside )...! Mark
For the model A's, see if you can find a Feb. 2001 R&C (the one with the Shifter's Purple People Eater on the cover. Some one your way has got to have it). There is a very in-depth article on the differences. I had nightmares for weeks from it
I have been told that 30-31 body is wider. 49 ford door handles are pull type and 50-51 have push ****ons. Can't remember what else you ask.
I love questions like this, but this list is daunting -- there are at least several dozen answers, and most of them would be difficult to understand without illustrations. I recommend using the Google Image Search feature. For example, if you go to Google, hit the image ****on and type in "1955 Chevrolet", you'll get a bunch of pictures including this one. Read on...
...and if you type in "1956 Chevrolet", you'll get pictures of those, including this one. You can easily study the pair of pictures and identify the differences in grilles, headlights, side trim and so on. For DRD57, who I know is hip to variations a**** model A's, I offer this one paltry distinction for '28/'29 roadsters: from the factory, '29s had outside door handles, '28s did not.
Model A: Late '28 was essentially the same as the '29. Early '28 had a different brake actuating scheme whose most apparent external feature was a bump at the rear of the running board apron. Also, the emergency brake was located next to the driver-side cowl panel. It was moved to the right side of the gear selector part way through 1928 and remained there for the rest of the model run and beyond. Ford F-1: The bed of the '48 through early '50 had embossed sides like the early Ford pickups, with the lower edge of the embossing lining up with the horizontal character line on the rear fender -- altogether a nice touch of integration, and a bit surprising considering the totally new cab and front sheet metal. The '48-'50 grille consists of five stacked horizontal bars. The '51-'52 grille is made up of a large horizontal bar supported on three large "teeth", with the headlamp pods on the ends of the horizontal bar, all set in a full-width opening, signalling what was to come in '53. This is a love-it or hate-it issue with many F-1 fans. The early grille crowd profess they wouldn't have a late-grille F-1 as a gift, and the late-grille bunch feels pretty much the same about the early-grille models. The backlight (rear window) was widened in '51, and the dash was changed from a gl***-coverd instrument panel to two large round elements -- a speedometer on the right side of the steering column and a cluster of fuel level/oil pressure/coolant temperature/charge level to the left. Also, the dash had a stainless paint separator trim piece that mimicked the '51 p***enger car dash, with the dash painted body color and the separated area painted Argent (silver). The '48-'50 bumper is smooth, with a pleasing arc, and the '51-52 bumper has a rib at the top and bottom. There are other small differences, but this should get you started. FWIW, the '48 F-1 received the redesigned 8BA flathead V8 a model year earlier than the p***enger car.
What you are asking could fill a book. So zip off to Barnes and Noble and get Encylopedia of American Cars or books like it. It's the size of a telephone book. There are lots of car books that cover all the eras.
if you put gas in the taillite on drivers side its a 56 chevy- if you do that on a 55 you have to have tools.....
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