![]() The owners that sold it then had it since 1969.1937 CHRYSLER AIRFLOW C17 - RARE 2-DOOR COUPE HERE WE HAVE A SUPER RARE 1937 CHRYSLER AIRFLOW C17 COUPE. Before its acquisition in 2022, the vehicle was bought by a dealership in Torrance, California, in 2006. This story’s hero is a restored example that underwent a minute reconstruction – the original build sheet was followed to the tee. Later models were relieved of the initial production hindrances, but the Americans had decided by then. Customers were displeased to trade their taste in the straight-edged, traditional-looking automobile in favor of the falling-apart new sensation. The early cars were riddled with defects. Remember the manufacturing mishaps I mentioned earlier? Losing the engine was just one of those.īecause the car’s panels were a completely new design – greatly influenced by the Art Deco style – the techniques and tooling to make and assemble the sheet metal were either not good enough or missing altogether. The incident repeatedly occurred in many of the first 3,000 Airflows built. That is, if the engine didn’t fall off when the car hit the 80 mph (130 kph). Sufficient to rush the three-speed manual to 90 mph (145 kph). The L-head engine was rated at 115 hp and 178 lb-ft when new (117 ps, 242 Nm), thanks to a 6.5:1 compression. The outermost numbers indicate speed (a very bold 120 mph is the upper limit), and the middle and inner values are the engine’s speed during the two cycles. Not a typo, ladies, and gentlemen – this 1936 Chrysler straight-eight had two operating regimes: regular drive and overdrive. Look closely at the dash and instrumentation of this Airflow: the main gauge indicates speed, RPM, and RPM, all in one three-scale dial. Simplicity would be one aspect, practicality could be another, and sturdiness is not to be disregarded. ![]() In some ways, automobiles from that pre-war era were superior to their present-day successors. Whether it was a regular Airflow or a modified stunt car is under a massive shadow of a doubt, but it is irrelevant to our story. I won’t go down the speculation alley about the verity of that particular act, as there is no way to verify the details. Even the glass stayed intact, to say nothing of the engine and transmission. After the car reached the bottom, a driver climbed in and drove away with only minor sheet metal damage. The Airflow gained immense media attention in the 30s when it was rolled off – end over end – a 100-foot rock quarry (it is also vividly captured in slow-motion in the promotional film). How so? The wind-tunnel-conceived aerodynamic vehicle offered the unlikely answer to a very stressful question: how to go faster without an impractically-big engine. The drivetrain featured several innovations made possible by the car’s shape. Had it not been for the haste to launch it for Chrysler’s tenth anniversary, perhaps the Airflow would have been a mature enough project to live long and prosper. Beans counters had their say, and the car was presented in due time for the corporate birthday, on January 6, 1934, at the New York Auto Show. It was - and made a great impression – but several manufacturing issues took a heavy toll on the quality of the car, overcoming its brilliant engineering.Īccountants and executives wanted to cash in on the sensation automobile, but engineers would have waited longer. The bosses from New York wanted the Airflow to be a star at the “Century of Progress International Exposition” in Chicago. The Airflow was developed with scientific accuracy but built with profit-chasing haste.
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