The Chevrolet Series BA Confederate (or Chevrolet Confederate) is an American vehicle manufactured by
Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...
in 1932 to replace the 1931
Series AE Independence. Production slipped significantly from over 600,000 cars to 323,100 for the model year as the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
continued, but was still sufficient for Chevrolet to retain first place in the American car sales table.
Sales were also affected by cross-town rival Ford introducing the
Ford V8
Ford engines are those used in Ford Motor Company vehicles and in aftermarket, sports and kit applications. Different engine ranges are used in various global markets.
3 cylinder
A series of Ford DOHC 12-valve inline-three engines with Twin Ind ...
coupe and sedan.
A new body style called a station wagon was produced in limited quantities by coachbuilder Mifflinburg Body Company of
Mifflinburg, Pennsylvania
Mifflinburg is a borough in Union County, located in Central Pennsylvania's Susquehanna River Valley. Mifflinburg was first settled in 1792 by Elias and Catharina Jungman (Youngman) and their two children. They divided the land into 60’ by 1 ...
.
[
]
Specifications
The Series BA carried over much from the Series AE and the main external differences were the sloping of the windshield and the removal of the external visor above. Once model year 1932 Chevrolet offered fourteen different body style choices, which were all supplied by Fisher Body
Fisher Body was an automobile coachbuilder founded by the Fisher brothers in 1908 in Detroit, Michigan. A division of General Motors for many years, in 1984 it was dissolved to form other General Motors divisions. Fisher & Company (originally Allo ...
and continued the program of devoting production to different factories for national consumption. The choices were now broken into "Standard" and "Deluxe" and one distinguishing feature was that on either side of the hood the previous louvers were replaced by opening vents, finished in a distinctive chrome on DeLuxe models.[ Flint Assembly, Buffalo Assembly and Janesville Assembly provided more than one coachwork choice due to production capacity.][ In May of 1925 the Chevrolet Export Boxing plant at ]Bloomfield, New Jersey
Bloomfield is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population was 53,105. It surrounds the Bloomfield Green Historic District.
History
The initial patent for the land that w ...
was repurposed from a previous owner where Knock-down kit
A knock-down kit (also knockdown kit, knocked-down kit, or simply knockdown or KD) is a collection of parts required to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, then exported to another country or region ...
s for Chevrolet, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac passenger cars, and both Chevrolet and G. M. C. truck parts are crated and shipped by railroad to the docks at Weehawken, New Jersey
Weehawken is a Township (New Jersey), township in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the North River ...
for overseas GM assembly factories.[
It remained powered by the "Stovebolt" six-cylinder engine, but now upgraded with a downdraft carburetor and a higher compression ratio to produce . A three-speed synchro-mesh transmission was fitted and a "Free Wheeling" mode called Wizard Control was standard, which permitted the car to coast when the driver's foot was lifted from the accelerator.][
The electrical system was 6 Volt Negative ground, dual front (referred to as "Town and Country") horns and a passenger side Brake and Parking lights were options that could have been added on at either the dealership or factory. Turn signal systems had not yet been implemented, the generator used a "Cut-out" relay which only used 1 wire for its generating system. Voltage regulators weren't implemented until 1935.][
]
See also
*1932 Cadillac Series 355
The Cadillac V8 Series 355 was manufactured by Cadillac from 1931 until 1935. They were V8-cylinder cars, sold in several models: a 2-door coupe, club coupe, a 2-door convertible (car), convertible, 4-door convertible (car), convertible, a 4-door ...
*1932 LaSalle Series 303
*1932 Oldsmobile F-Series
*1932 Buick Series 50
The Buick Super is a full-sized automobile produced by Buick from 1940 through the 1958 model years, with a brief hiatus from 1943 through 1945. The first generation shared the longer wheelbase with the top level Roadmaster while offering the smal ...
*1932 Pontiac Six Series 402
References
Series BA Confederate
Cars introduced in 1932
1930s cars
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