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1934 Chevrolet Standard Series DC

After being ejected from General Motors, William Durant teamed up with Swiss race-car driver Louis Chevrolet and founded the Chevrolet Motor Car Company in 1911. It later merged with General Motors and became a direct competitor to Ford; in 1929, it was the best-selling car in the United States.

The Stolvebolt Six
Following the challenges of the immediate post-World War I years, the market wholeheartedly embraced the prosperity of the 'Roaring Twenties.' For General Motors' Chevrolet Division, it presented an opportunity to shift its focus away from direct competition with Ford's lower-priced Model T, and move upmarket with a catalog of more sophisticated new models. By the close of the 1920s, Chevrolet introduced a new model range equipped with an equally new 194 cubic-inch six-cylinder engine. The company's first six-cylinder engine since 1915, it replaced the company's overhead-valve four-cylinder unit that began its existence in the Royal Mail and Baby Grand Chevrolets and powered the 490 models as it attempted to compete with Ford. The rough-idling four-cylinders gave way to the smoother power of the inline six, and the company advertised its Stovebolt Six 'A Six for the price of a Four,' delivering more than twice the horsepower of Henry Ford's antiquated but long-running four-cylinder engine. This durable overhead-valve engine became a Chevrolet mainstay for many years to come.

Harley Earl and the Art and Colour Department
Along with engineering and durability, Chevrolets of the late 1920s received modern and attractive bodies courtesy of GM designer Harley Earl and his Art and Colour Section. At the front was a more rectangular radiator and a chrome-plated radiator shell. There were one-piece full crown fenders, bullet-type lamps, and the single belt moldings accenting the body were wider. Updates in 1930 brought a slanting, non-glare windshield, along with standard wire wheels with fender wells, and front and rear bumpers.

The Chevrolet
Throughout most of the 1920s and into the early 1930s, Chevrolet offered a single model with a thoughtfully curated list of body styles. It often included a roadster, tourer, coupe, sedan, landaulet sedan, and a coach. Each body style was built atop a single wheelbase, often measuring either 103-, 107-, or 109-inches (this number fluctuated year-to-year).

In 1933, Chevrolet deviated from its single-model policy with two models on different wheelbase sizes. The 'Master Eagle' (Series CA) was built on a 110-inch wheelbase platform, while the 'Standard Mercury' (Series CC) rested on a 107-inch wheelbase. The engine powering the Master Eagle was an OHV 194 cubic-inch inline six producing 65 hp while the Standard Mercury relied on an OHV 181 CID inline six with 60 horsepower. The Master Eagle was introduced in December of 1932, and the Standard Mercury followed a few months later, in March of 1933.

The streamlined bodies of the Master Eagle, known as the 'Airstream' design, featured a vee-shaped radiator, skirted fenders, a beaver tail rear panel, and rear slanting hood door louvers. The Standard Mercury wore similar styling to its larger sibling with slanting vee-type radiators, skirted fenders, black painted headlight buckets, conventional hood louvers, safety glass windshields, and chrome-plated rims.

The 1934 Chevrolet
Continuing to use a two-model policy, the top-of-the-line 'Master' (Series DA) wheelbase size increased (by two inches) and now measured 112 inches (it used a new X-Y frame). The somewhat sportier Standard series continued to rest on a five-inch-shorter wheelbase of 107 inches. Mild styling revisions were applied to both models, with the Master receiving a new vee-type radiator and grille, deeper crown fenders, a new winged hood ornament atop the radiator shell, and the hood was wider and longer than the previous year. Along the side of the hood were three horizontal louvers that grew in length from bottom to top.

The hood of the Standard models was longer and had horizontal streamlined louvers along its sides. Perched on top of the hood was a winged hood ornament. Distinguishable features segregating the Standard from the Master were painted headlight buckets, less bright metal trim, and wider-spaced vertical grille bars. The list of body styles counted five for the Standard and eight for the Master. Both had a coach and a sedan. A phaeton, sport roadster, and coupe were part of the Standard, while the Master listed a roadster, business coupe, sport coupe, cabriolet, 2-door town sedan, and sport sedan. In October 1934, the four-door sedan was added to the Standard series as a mid-year model. Prices of the Master ranged from $540 to $695, and the Standard was priced slightly lower, at $465 to $540. Both models were introduced in January 1934.

Engines
Both the Standard and the Master were powered by overhead valve inline six-cylinder engines with solid valve lifters, three main bearings, and a Carter one-barrel carburetor. The engine in the Master was larger and more powerful, displacing 206.8 cubic inches with 5.45:1 compression and producing 80 horsepower at 3,300 RPM. The Standard received a 181 cubic-inch unit with 5.2:1 compression and 60 horsepower at 3,000 RPM.

Both models used a three-speed manual transmission with a single plate clutch and floor shift controls. Braking was courtesy of four-wheel mechanical brakes. Selective free-wheeling was optional on the Master, and the Knee Action coil spring front suspension was a new feature. Fender skirts were a new accessory for Chevrolet vehicles in 1934.

Body Styles and Production
Eighty-two percent of the Chevrolet vehicles produced in 1934 were the Master with 452,412 examples constructed. The most popular Master body style was the Coach, priced at $580, with 163,948 units built. The sedan priced at $640 was a strong seller with 124,754 units produced. Next in popularity was the business coupe ($560) with 53,018 units built, followed by 49,431 of the town sedan ($615). A total of 37,646 examples were sport sedans ($675), 18,365 were sport coupes ($600), 3,276 were cabriolets ($695), and 1,974 were 2/4-passenger roadsters ($540).

Nearly 100,000 examples of the Standard Series were built in 1934 (at 99,499 units), representing approximately eighteen percent of the company's total production. The most popular body style was the coach ($495 / $85 less than the Master) with 69,082 units built, followed by 16,765 of the coupe ($485), 11,840 of the sedan ($540), 1,038 of the sport roadster ($465), and 234 of the phaeton ($520).

Most of the body styles had 'closed' configurations, with the few remaining 'open' bodies accounting for a small percentage of total production. The Phaeton on the Standard line, with just 234 examples built, was the only example of the classic style available from Chevrolet in 1934. The 1,974 examples of the Roadster on the Master line were only slightly higher than the 1,038 units of the Sport Roadster on the Standard line. The most popular 'open' Chevrolet in 1934 was the Cabriolet on the Master line with 3,276 units built.


by Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2023

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1934 Standard Series DC
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1934 Chevrolet Standard Series DC Price Range: $465 - $540

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