Vintage Snapshot: Student Mechanics Learning the Ins and Outs of Ford and Chevy
– Posted on November 23, 2018
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Very cool.
Must be about 1937. Chevy has the peculiar Dubonnet suspension and Ford has the good old solid axle.
The Ford looks like it might have a column shifter and hydraulic front brakes, making it newer than the Chevy (I thought I saw the “Knee Action” there) – probably a 1940.
Dubonnet was gone around 1940 in Chevs a similar setup lingered in Vauxhalls until 52, Fords got juice brakes belatedly in 39,
The fans tell a story. Six blades on the hot blooded Ford. Only four on the cooler running Chevy.
And the Ford had 2 water pumps to the Chevy’s one….
All Male and All European Americans.probably 80+ years ago USA was a very different country.interesting photo. Thanks for sharing.
Did whitewall tires back then have the white walls on both sides of the tire?
I think that this is obviously is a staged shot. Those are some very clean young mechanics! Even almost eighty years, later there’s still a need for well trained mechanics, although they might be referred to now as “automotive technicians.” There is less of a need Today since modern cars are so long lived and require a lot less maintenance and repair. However, I still find plenty of opportunities to get my hands dirty with my old cars.
So 4 guys working on the Ford, 2 on the Chevy. Does this mean that everyone wanted to work on the cool, high performance Ford V8 and a couple of guys got stuck on the boring old Chevy? Or does it mean that it took twice as many mechanics to keep a Ford running as compared with a Chevy. 🙂
I agree that this was a promotional shot of some kind, perhaps in the Detroit public school program? Those engines/chassis were spotless and beautifully painted. I suspect that most students of the mechanical arts never saw one that looked half as good as either of these.
Jim, I believe the Ford had a thundering 90 hp and Chevrolet a tepid 85.
To adjust idle, first remove body from the frame.
Is it a German Ford?
Melancholy thought: Time keeps marching on. All the young men in this photo, even if they lived to be very old men, are probably deceased now.
^^^^^Jon1790,that thought does strike me when looking even at more recent photos. If taken in 1938, a then-16-year-old would be 96 today. My father is just two years younger, but very aware (and a little amazed) that he’s “last man standing” of his HS, WWII, and college cohort—the one who’s been to the others’ funerals, as these things work out. Interesting that he did a FoMoCo career, at that.
BTW, do we know whether this is/isn’t a colorized photo? Paul, can you point us to the source?
Sorry; I can’t. It was posted at HAMB/Jalopy Journal, by a reader.
The photography and image quality is outstanding.
The guys who are stuck with the Ford are wondering WTF is this excuse for a distributor?
Silly Chevrolet Person! Ford distributor is visible in the photo. With radiator out it’s even possible to touch it without shredding skin.