As a relative newcomer to owning and restoring an old Chevrolet, I am interested in finding out why there are so few around say compared to similar period Fxxds? One resource I have says production during 1929-1932 came to about 2.6M Chevrolets and about 3.1M Fxxds, amounting to almost similar amounts. Yet on sites with vehicles for sale, Chevrolets seem to be very rare. Checking for 1929-1932 on eBay today, there were 51 Fxxd's for sale and only 5 Chevrolets during this period, a 10:1 ratio. When seeking parts, or other vintage car owners around here for advice, the ratio seems to be about similar. Is there a site with some data and rationale for the significant difference in numbers?

Its actually very simple. Chevys are better cars so people tend to hang on to them. On the other hand, people tend to get rid of their Fxxxs after they find out what they are in for.

Chev's had a wooden frame which rotted out over time... A lot of 32 Fords were also "saved" by street rodders that liked the more powerful V8 motors...

A Briggs Body Model A has just as much wood in it as a Chevroler. The Murahy body Model A does not have wood in it. 1931 was the first year that Chevrolet outsold Model A.

Another thing I noticed about the two is that every bolt on a Model A is one size larger than the bolt doing the same thing on a Chevrolet.

i always thought f$%DS sold better in farm areas and when they died. they just sat in back of the barn.
chevys sold better in city areas and when they died. they were hauled off to junk yards cause of no where to store them.
at least thats what i heard.

The old city slicker versus country bumkin theory eh!LOL. I'm sure someone may take exception to that. I think there is likely some significance to the "rotted wood" explanation, as I know a lot of wood in mine was bad, and it is not at all easy to repair, unless you go whole hog, remove cab from chassis and buy the kit. The individual pieces are damn complicated shapes. Oh yes, and I've emailed 1931 Sal as he seems to know a lot about fit and finish on '31's. Pressure is on Sal!

Hi Gunsmoke.

Best to you on your restoration project!!

Just for giggles, in the last 8 months of new members joining our club, there were 92 29-32 Chevs listed. Not bad huh??

Jim.

Sorry, but Chevrolet outsold F**D for the first time in 1927, mostly due to the long transfer of installing new machinery for the A-F**D. BowTies lost in 1928 but regained in 29 and 30 due to the Stove Bolt Sixes. I will check back on 31 and later, but 32 was F**D year due to the new V-8s.

Chevrolet outsold Ford every year from 1931 to 1957 except 1935 when Chevrolet had a fire at their transmission plant. When we had a 35 standard I was asked several times if we had a Ford or Chevrolet transmission. Ours had a Chevrolet transmission.

My source indicates Chevy passed the other guys in sales in 1927. While I do not have any data for 1928, for 1929 through 1933, it gives data as follows (approximated):
1929 Chevrolet 1,000,000 Other guy 1,500,000 2.5M total
1930 Chevrolet 700,000 Other guy 1,000,000 1.7M total
1931 Chevrolet 627,000 Other guy 542,000 1.17M total
1932 Chevrolet 300,000 Other guy 200,000 0.5M total
1933 Chevrolet 481,000 Other guy 340,000 0.82M total
This means that for the years 4 years 1930 to 1933, with the introduction of both the "stove bolt six", and the "V-8, and during the start of the depression (look at the huge number decline in '32)that Chevrolet sold 2,108,000 and the other guy 2,082,000, or virtually a dead heat.
What I find interesting is the relatively low sales of '32 Fxxd's in the first year of the V-8, must have had customers a little hesitant, or the Stove Bolt Six had caught on.
As well the really low numbers for '32 for both cars would have had some impact on these models being scarcer later on, and may be partly a factor in '32's being such a banner year for hod-rodders.

The production figures for Chevrolet and Ford are listed here. You will see some surprises....like in 1936, 1937, 1946, 1957 and some others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Automobile_Production_Figures

They have certainly had a long,seesaw battle over the years. Since most of us in this topic area are focused on '29-'32, the '32 numbers were to quote QA, "devastating". I wonder if the government of the day considered propping them up like they did this past 2 years?

.

Even if I am a Chevrolet fan I do not really believe your statement here, so I will go through my figures and come back a little later. But I also agree such statistics are quite difficult to get correct. Specially web sites but also factory information devert from what is most likely to be true.

I do know that I have a lighted Chevrolet Dealer sign that says "First in Sales". It starts with 1931 and around the outside it lists every year through 1953 except 1935 is missing. I have seen the same design sign that goes from 1931 to 1948 and 1935 is missing on it also.

I don't profess to be an expert or authority but this is what I have always understood from talking with other VCCA members over the years.

in discussing chevy vs ford production numbers, i'd sure as hell like to see all GMC emblems tossed in the garbage and put bowties on those generals. that way, i'm pretty sure Chevy trucks outsell those dang f-150's. mike