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Composition of Original Airflows and Difference of Desotos


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Hi everyone.

I'm currently doing a class project on the Chrysler Airflow. Though my research, I have found many references to Desoto Airflow and Chrysler Airflow. Did Chrysler own Desoto? Was Desoto a breakoff of Chrysler? Also, does anyone know what the original body of the Airflow was made out of? Was it stainless steel? I would appreicate any help! Thanks!

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Jedd...

If the DFer's here can't provide all the answers you need, you might try the Airflow Forum. The Airflow Forum is in fact a part of this discussion forum series hosted by the AACA. However, there may be knowledgable people on the Airflow Forum that do not frequent this part of the forum.

The Airflow portion of the forum is located at:

http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=UBB65

Just a thought....

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Guest DeSoto Frank

Some more info for you...

De Soto was a division of Chrysler Corporation, producing cars for model years 1928 thru 1961. When introduced in 1928, De Soto set a first-year sales record that was not broken until the introduction of Ford's Mustang in 1964.

De Soto started as a mid-priced car, filling the gap between the high-priced Chrysler and the low-priced Plymouth. When Chrysler acquired Dodge Brothers in 1929, things shifted slightly, with De Soto eventually getting #2 spot, and Dodge placing 3rd in the price hierarchy.

The Airflow project began in the late 1920's, when Chrysler Corps' head engineers- Carl Breer, Fred Zeder, and Owen Skelton (know as "the Three Musketeers")- began looking for ways to improve their cars.

The were among the first people to apply aviation-type wind-tunnel testing to car body design, to help reach a body design that had the lowest practical drag coefficient (wind resistance).

The placed scale models of their conventional late-20's cars in the wind tunnel and discovered that the cars actually had less wind resistance if they were "run backwards"!(Check out the Photo Gallery on this site for pictures of 1920's sedans and notice how square & boxy they are)

Additionally, Breer and the others believed that the "natural world" operated on certain basic, common physical principles and that if they designed their cars in harmony with these "natural laws", they would be more comfortable and efficient. (There is extensive,detailed description of this in Carl Breer's memoir: "The History of Chrysler Corporation".)

Prior to the "Airflow", most cars were designed such that the radiator was placed directly over the front axle, the engine behind the axle, the driver's seat basically halfway between the the two axles, and the rear seat directly over the rear axle. Additionally, all cars of this period had "solid" axles and leaf springs, which evolved from horse & buggy suspension. This resulted in a less smooth ride than we are used to these days.

The folks sitting over the rear axle had the worst ride of all, as they were subjected to the greatest amount of up & down movement as the car travelelled over uneven road surfaces...if you happen to ride a bus to school, try this: locate a seat directly over the rear wheels and sit there for a trip- notice what the ride is like- then sit in a seat between the front and rear wheels - you will be surprised at how much difference there is.

Breer refers to this in terms of "moment of inertia" - and figured if you were able to locate the passengers nearest the "moment of inertia" (place of least up & down movement), they would have a more comfortable ride.

The "Airflow" achieved this by moving the radiator out ahead of the front axle (where it remains to this day), placing the engine over the axle, and moving both the front and rear seats to a point in between the two axles - the first of the "cab-forward" designs that were made such a big deal of by the auto industry about 10 years ago....

As for its body design and shaping, using the wind-tunnel tests and many different models, the engineers came up with a body shape that greatly reduced wind resistance of the car, maximizing its potential speed and fuel economy- basically a "tear-drop".

Engine power was fairly limited in these days - a four cylinder engine from 1930 would produce around 40 horsepower whereas there are four cylinder engines today that can produce over 200 horsepower! So any improvements that would take load off the engine were a big help.

Another development was the Overdrive - a supplemental transmission that increased the speed of the driveshaft 30% over the engine speed - this feature was also known as "cruising gear", enabling the stream-lined Airflows to easily cruise at speeds up to 70 mph or greater (avgerage cruising speed capabilty of most cars in 1934 was around 45-5- mph.).

The original concept of the Airflow body construction had been a "steel unit body and frame", all welded together for stregnth and lightness. Prior to 1936, most car bodies were made of a wooden skeleton with sheetmetal "skin" nailed over top... this resulted in a rather heavy body structure that was prone to squeaks and groans, and was quite capable of breaking apart like a wooden fruit box if the car rolled-over during an accident!(No seat belts or air-bags in those days either!)

One of the promotional films for the new Airflow showed an Airflow sedan being coasted over a sheer cliff, and turning end-over-end several times, landing on its wheels, and a driver walking up to the car, opening the driver's door, getting in, starting the car and driving it away with mostly surface dents!

Unfortunately, production limitations forced Chrysler to abandon the unit body idea although they kept the welded, all-steel construction.

The first full-sized prototype -the Chrysler "Trifon" - was road-tested around the back roads of then-rural Grosse Point Mich, (near Detroit) in 1932. The "Trifon" still exists, and is kept at the Chrysler Historical Collection in Auburn Hills, Mich, and is occaisionally toured at larger car shows.

When the Airflows were introduced in 1934, the De Soto Division offered only Airflow bodied cars, while Chrysler hedged a bit, offering a conventionally styled car along with the Airflow.

The public mostly found them to be "bizaare", or "ugly", for all their engineering and safety merit, and the Airflow became a sales nightmare.

Some wags referred to the streamlined cars as "Airflops"....and the Airflow was withdrawn after the 1937 model year.

Fairly rare today, Airflows are highly regarded by collectors as "cutting edge" automobiles that were "ahead of their time"....

Many of the Airflows basic design concepts were adopted by other car makers, although done more gradually so as not to shock the public.

The Airflow's aero-dymanic statistics are still respectable, even today - a true testament to the soundness of the original design.

Related ideas would include the Burlington Route streamlined Zephyr trains of the 1930s - stainless-steel streamlined Diesel-powered trains- that were the rail-raod equivalent of the Airflow, also elements of Art Deco Design....

Good luck with your project!

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Guest DeSoto Frank

Hmmmn; didn't think about THAT possibility...I think I might've just "painted a fence"...(apologies to Mark Twain)....

Too bad I never got a chance to write a term paper on Airflows (or other things nearer my fields of interest) when I wuz in skul.... <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Might've enjoyed writing assigments more....

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