Since things are changed on the cars over the years, how can I tell without any doubt if my '32 cabriolet is a regular or deluxe model? When I restore the car I want it to be whatever it was in '32, I know some people have added things to make their car a different model, I don't want to do this even by mistake.

I know dealers could and did add options to the cars to suit the buyers and buyers added or deleted items on the cars over the years.

Are there any numbers or codes that identify the model as it was made in '32?

I always thought my car was a 'regular' whatever that is, until this was posted on another string "Combination 95 for Deluxe Convertible Cabriolet, Deluxe Convertible Landau, Phaeton per Dec. 5, 1931 DuPont "Chevrolet Color Bulletin No. 4".

My motor build date is Dec. 1931.

What pin-up model do I have.

Hey Gator!

From my understanding '32 Cabriolets did not come in a standard model. For example: Standard being cars with painted hood louvers and without cowl lights. Deluxe being cars with chrome hood louvers and cowl lights. These items were very easy to change! These are the only items that I have been able to say make a difference between standard and Deluxe.

All '32 Cabriolets have a rumble seat.

Actually, there is a standard cabriolet model for 1932. There were two models, the Standard Cabriolet and the DeLuxe Cabriolet. Both models are featured in a score of 1932 literature, advertising, film strips and etc. The Deluxe model had sidemounts and the standard model had a rear mounted spare. Shame on you Brucie....you knew that! ha ha!

Hey Bruce, Are you building a standard or a deluxe Cabriolet. Remember Bruce, They both came with two Headlights???????????

Skipper, read my last post! That is what I said. Now you backed me up!

Deluxe Cabriolet, I have documented that my car had just about every option that you could put on the Cabriolet.

Ok, let's see what I have then:

chrome hood vents - yes
cowl lights - yes
sidemounts - no

So I thought 'standard', then the color bulletin that said only deluxe convertible cabriolets had the paint code 95 in Dec. of '31 (Chevrolet Color Bulletin No. 4, Dec. 5, 1931), which is my paint code. Only other models with code 95 were the 'Deluxe Convertible Landau, and the Phaeton. Or is the Chevrolet Color Bulletin wrong? This is what is causing me to question what I thought.

Just occurred to me that over the 70 years someone might have had the sidemounts exchanged for the rear mount, even the dealer in '32 maybe?

Hey Brucie! I did read your last post and here is what you said: "From my understanding '32 Cabriolets did not come in a standard model". And, you also said, "But there really is not a Standard Cabriolet for '32". So, I didn't back you up on that one since there IS an official standard cabriolet model for 1932. However you were correct that the standard cabriolet did not come with painted doors, no cowl lights and etc. I did back you up on the sidemounts vs. no sidemounts though.

Also, there is no such thing as an "option" for 1932. Options are items that you could order directly from the factory and you could pick and choose what you wanted when you ordered the car. What you are talking about are accessories, and they were installed by the dealer, not the factory. And, if you wanted any changes on the car, those were done by the dealer as well......not the factory.

Gator: Don't worry about the terminology used on the paint charts. What you have to go by is the paint number that is on your cowl tag, and yours is "95" I believe, so everything is cool on your end. It doesn't matter if you have a standard or a deluxe cabriolet since the paint number on the cowl tag determines what the original color of your car was. Besides, in most VCCA judging the cowl tag information is ignored anyway.

Just to clear up a mild misunderstanding. The "Chevrolet Color Bulletin No. 4, Dec. 5, 1931" is a piece of DuPont literature not Chevrolet. I am sure it is based on communications between DuPont (Chevrolet paint supplier) and Chevrolet but may not be entirely accurate. As a matter of fact even official Chevrolet literature is not entirely accurate. JunkYardDog and I can give you many contradictions in official Chevrolet literature, some in the same piece.
It is always best to document with more than one source.

Right on Chipper Dipper! You can blow your bugle on that one!

cool.

It's interesting tying the two main points together about the fact that the literature was not always consistent, and that a number of accessories could and would be added by the dealers.

I take it, then, that in those times there was wide distribution of factories and dealers, but perhaps only one source for the marketing from headquarters in Detroit. Then, the pressure of trying to sell cars in the depths of the Depression caused the marketing executives to change copy on the fly with less quality control on consistency of messages. Does that sound like a reasonable assessment?

With dealers solely adding accessories, it seems possible to get some unique combinations not necessarily shown in the literature. In my case, Gator, my '32 had a rear spare mount with a full rear bumper, but apparently that was a dealer quirk (possibly driven from the buyer request). I swapped the bumper out for the correct rear bumperettes.

Makes things kinda interesting for us, huh? (And let's not even get started on what kind of hand cranks were offered then...! :p )

Correct Eddie, and the dealer would also add aftermarket accessories as well if the customer wanted them. They didn't care. All the dealer wanted to do was sell a car and have another happy customer.

Hey Skipper, I was talking about what most people would call a Standard model for 32. The typing just came out wrong! You still backed me up! You know what I was talk about!

Hey Brucie: Wiggle, wiggle! ha ha!

You have to go by what Chevrolet called the models, not what the peope themselves call them. For example, Chevrolet has a "Five Passenger Coupe" and called it as such, but most dudes call it a "Vicky". There is a "standard" cabriolet, and there is a "deluxe" cabriolet, and that's what Chevrolet called them. Yep, I knew what you were talking about, but Gator didn't and I only backed you up on the sidemount issue, not on the fact that there was no "standard" cabriolet model. Wiggle Wiggle!

Why did you have to say Vicky, that is a synonym of a four latter word!

You mean "Elvira"? No, wait a minute.......that's a six letter word! I will have to think on that one.........

Since the dealers/customers decided what accessories to add, when the car arrived at the dealer's it had been shipped as a what?

I assume then as far as GM was concerned it wasn't a certain 'model' when shipped, just a basic car to be finished by the dealers/buyers.

I think I got it now.

Actually, the car was shipped as a certain model, ie. Standard Coupe, Special Sedan, Sport Coupe, Coach and etc. If the customer purchased a Standard Coupe (did not come with sidemounts) at the dealer and then if he wanted dual sidemounts instead of a rear spare, the dealer would make the switch for him......at extra cost.

Is this the reason why I see the phrase "as it left the dealer" more than "as it left the factory"?

Or in some cases "as it COULD HAVE left the dealer's"

Yep!

There is a lot more leeway in the older models in the VCCA's judging than other clubs or years.

The later models had a lot of info on the tags that needs to match up at judging time, my '32 car only has a paint code (which doesn't count against you if it doesn't match, if it is an orginal color).

On the newer cars like the '57's you have a ton of information on the tags with what was on your car when new. Now people get around that by buying a 'new' cowl tag with what they want on it, including color.

On the newer cars like a '57 does the VCCA judges check to see if the cowl tag information matches what is on the car?

Gator - NO! We're not that knowledgeable and don't have sufficient time to debate the cowl tag vs vehicle configuration during the judging process. We're instructed that the vehicle must have a color combination used for that type vehicle when originally produced.

Thanks for the info.

What Oldie said is correct, however, that is something that seriously needs to be corrected in the VCCA judging. If the judges are not that knowledgeable about the paint color combinations for example, then how do they know that the car is painted a 1932 color in the first place? If they have the information to determine which colors are correct for 1932, then they can also use the information on the cowl tag to see if the car is painted it's original color. It doesn't take any longer to determine if a 1932 is painted one of the original 1932 colors or if the car is painted the color that is shown on the cowl tag. Actually, it is quicker to look up the paint number that is on the cowl tag than it is to wade through the list of all of the 1932 colors to determine if the car that is being judged has a 1932 color or not.

The cowl tag information is there for a reason, and that is documentated history direct from the factory, and for the VCCA to ignore that information during judging is just not fair to the fellow that has a paint job that matches the paint number on the cowl tag. Everyone is asking for documentation to help in the judging process......so it is beyond me why the information on the cowl tag is still not used for the judging process.

Well,guess if you are in a quandry about your car's color paint it black Duco, I think any year up from 1929 had a black car, unless it was a 1944 and then it would be West Coast 1928 engine color (Olive Drab).
Or you could buy a F**D model T or Model A, weren't they available in black?