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  • balthazar
    balthazar

    By balthazar •

    Trivia Tuesday, April 28 2015

      Why did Chevy not have a "Small Block" in 1955? Can you get this and the rest of our Trivia Tuesday questions for April 28th?

    1.) Most windshields are basically “parallelograms”, IE; though there is often a minor arc to a given side, they still present themselves as ‘rectangular’ to the eye.

    This is the 1954 Kaiser, which shows the feature Kaiser used since 1950; nicknamed the ‘Sweetheart’ windshield. Note the obvious double-arc’d top edge of the glass. For the sake of this question, we’re calling it a ‘non-parallelogram’.

    Is there a more recent vehicle with a similar “non-parallelogram’ windshield? If so; name it.

    2.) How is it factually possible that Chevrolet did NOT have a small block V8 in 1955 in the U.S.?

    3.) Which GM Divisions built both small block and big block V8s in the 1960s?

    4.) First post-war U.S. make/model to feature a speedometer marked higher than 120 MPH.

    5.) 'Body by Fisher' and 'Body by Fleetwood' were two common badges found on certain GM cars. There was a third 'Body by —' tag found for many years on GM vehicles- what did it read?

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    ocnblu

    1. Kia Optima.  Windshield is scalloped at the top to mimic their grille design.

    2.  There was no "big block" to compare it to.

    3.  Was it Buick and Chevrolet?  The small V8 that was sold to someone in England, wasn't that a Buick design?

    5.  I want to say "Budd", but not sure.

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    balthazar

    ocnblu is correct on #1 and #2. Just spotted the Kia the other day and it struck me. I like little details like that, esp when it's unique.

    And thank you for knowing #2.

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    William Maley

    ocnblu - Yeah, the Buick 3.5 V8 was sold to Rover and would go on to power a number of vehicles from them.

     

    4. I guessing Ford Thunderbird or Chevrolet Corvette

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    ocnblu

    I am guessing the small aluminum V8 from Buick does not count then?  Perhaps because it was a single shot deal and not a family of "smallblocks"?  If that is the case, then I will say Chevrolet only, as I believe all BOP V8 engines were variations on the same basic architecture.  And we know Cadillac only used big mamas.

     

    On the speedometer question, I am going to guess Chrysler 300, 1955.  Wild guess.  Maybe it was a Kaiser Darrin or something more obscure like dat.

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    knightfan26917

    ocnblu is correct on #1 and #2. Just spotted the Kia the other day and it struck me. I like little details like that, esp when it's unique.

     

    Ha ... cool.  Had not noticed that.  Looked up some pics, & whatdya know.  Tho, to me, the Kia is a bit more subtle than the Kaiser ... or maybe it was just the angle of the pics I saw?

     

     

    Cort :) www.oldcarsstronghearts.com

    1979 & 1989 Caprice Classics | pigValve, paceMaker, cowValve
    "It's hard to tell if I exist" __ Barenaked Ladies __ 'Pinch Me'
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    balthazar

    balthazar 15,107

    Posted (edited)

    3.) Chevrolet, Buick & Olds all produced both small & big block V8s in the 1960s.

    Buick's 215 was a SBB, tho there were others (unrelated) that decade: the 300, 340, and 350. 

    Cadillac had but one engine in that decade, and Pontiac built V8s from 326 CI to 455 CI out of the same block. 

     

    4.) The first post-war U.S. car speedometer marked higher than 120 MPH was the '53 Corvette, at 140 MPH, so William nailed this one.

    FYI : there were units marked higher than 120 before WWII.

     

    5.) The 3rd 'Body by" GM tag was 'Ionia Body' ID.
    ionia_sill.jpg

    Ionia Manufacturing built station wagon bodies for GM (Chevy & Pontiac) in the 40s and 50s. Those 2 Divisions went to all-steel station wagons in '49, leaving only a contract with Buick running thru 1953 (Buick's last real wood station wagon).

    Edited by balthazar
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