Chevrolet model and series names for the 1928 and earlier models have been very confusing for almost 75 years since Chevrolet started using a "Series" designation in the 1925 model year. Almost 10 years ago, in the September 1988 REVIEW, was reprinted a CHEVROLET SERVICE BULLETIN, dated July 14, 1928, that provided a guide to ordering the correct parts for the various models and series. It was pointed out that sometimes a letter had been used to indicate a model one year, like 1917 Model F, and also used again for another year to indicate a series such as the 1924 Series F. Chevrolet admitted this practice caused much confusion in ordering parts and printed a Model, Year, and Series List in this bulletin for the partsman to post to avoid any future confusion.

    This bulletin pointed out, "The letters that are used indicating series are stamped on the Serial Number Plate of the car and should not be confused with the car model. In the Master Book the letter appearing before the description indicates the model and those following the description indicate the series." For example, note the following from the 1928 Master Parts Price List:
 
 

    It can be determined from the above that the 2 Blade Fan was standard on the 1925 Utility Express Series M and R, (and all 1925-28 passenger car, light delivery, and 1/2 ton truck chassis) and was up graded to the higher air flow 4 Blade Fan for the 1926 Utility Express Series X and 1927-28 Capitol Series LM, LO, and LP. Of course, this 4 Blade Fan was commonly used for severe duty applications for all 1925-28 Models and Series for greater coolant capacity in hot climates.

FIRST CHEVROLET SERIES WERE THE 1925 K & M

    It appears Chevrolet printed its first Data Sheet in the 1923 Master Price List of Parts, but this single page only covered 1914 to 1923 Models, and there was no mentioned of the term Series. However, there was a footnote that "the serial numbers of Superior Models started with B-1000, prefixed by zone number." The 1924 Master Parts Price List added the 1912-13 models (incorrectly) to this Data Sheet for the first time, but again did not list or give any mentioned of any Series. Nor was any Series listed in the 1924 Combined 490 and Superior Parts List. Therefore the first use by Chevrolet of the term "Series" was in 1925 with the announcement of the Superior Series K and the Utility Express Series M. In fact, it was not until the January 1, 1926 Master Price List of Parts was the 1923 Series B and 1924 Series F added to the Data Sheets, but not the Series D and H Trucks. The Parts Books up through 1926 only listed these early Superior and Utility Express parts by the 1923 or 1924 model year, but did not call out any series. It was not until the January 1, 1927 Master Parts Price List that Chevrolet started using the 1923-24 Engineering assigned B, C, D, F, and H Car Number prefixes as the Series designation. In 1927, these numbers appeared for the first time as the Series after the part description (name of part) in the parts books. The point I want to make is that Chevrolet never used the nomenclature Series B, C, or F as a car description back when these Superior Models were manufactured or sold, and it was not until four years later in 1927 that the name Series B, D, F, and H (the C was recalled) came into common use - sort of 4 years after the fact!

1922 SERIES A?

    Recently some sources, myself included, have used the Series A nomenclature as a description for the improved 1922 Four-Ninety models that started in September 1921. While it is true that all 1922 Four-Ninety models had a "A" prefix stamped before the serial number on the Serial Number Plate, so did most 1921 490’s and the 1920 490’s that were built at the Flint and Tarrytown plants since about the first of April 1920. That is, originally Chevrolet used the "A" prefix for both engine and car serial numbers as a code to signify that 100,000 units had been built. So after the 100,000 490 engine was built, towards the end of March 1917, the next engine started at A1, the 100,001 engine built. The same was true for cars, so when both Flint and Tarrytown built its first 100,000 cars by April 1920, they continued on at 1-A1 for Flint and 2-A1 for Tarrytown. The other plants later skipped a bunch of numbers so they could also use the "A" prefix by mid 1921. For the launch of the 1922 490’s in September 1921, all U.S. plants jumped up to start at Car Number A50001. The Oakland plant even put the "A" prefix before the plant code of 6, so the first 1922 490 off the line was A650001, instead of 6A50001. This was probably done to make the Car Number appear to be a larger number then the actual plant total output. But the fact remains, Chevrolet never used the Series A designation at all, and it is misleading to call the 1922 490 a Series A, since the "A" Car Number prefix first commenced about April 1920.

1922 MODEL SUPERIOR?

    The first usage of the model name Superior was began by the Sales Department in March 1922, replacing the "Four Ninety" in name only, because of the poor reputation it had received. However, the Car Number NamePlate, that was attached to the dash, was still stamped after the Model prompt--490. The Superior name was never used in any Service or Parts references, so for all intent and purpose, this car remained a 1922 490 to the end of production. This month is listed all the USA built models by Model, Body Style, and what Chevrolet called the "Trade Name" for the 1912-19 Model Years.
    Chevrolet model and series names are continued this month for the 1920 to 1928 models. There is still much confusion over Chevrolet’s issuing of the Series letters for the 1923-24 models, since this was not established until 1927. In the following Data Sheet, as a concession to Chevrolet’s later Service and Parts information, the Car Number prefixes B, C, D, F, and H are listed under the Series column.

MODEL SUPERIOR - SERIAL NUMBER 9-B300001-up

    I am currently trying to compile a similar Data Sheet for 1916-28 Chevrolets manufactured, assembled, or sold outside
of the USA, but this is far more complex and confusing giving the number and nature of the foreign plants and the export market. But with Tom Krill, David Hayward, and others help, we are learning more all the time. Please write us if you own an "Export Model" Chevrolet.

    A case in point, is Oshawa, which only used the B prefix for Car Numbers in 1923-24 and never used the prefixes of D, F, or H at all! Therefore, all Oshawa built cars and trucks for the Model Year of 1923 had a Car Number below B30000, while 1924 Models had a Car Number of B30001 and above.
 
 

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