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Help! I need some good, clear photos of a 1934 Chrysler CA or CB engine....


keiser31

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I am trying to find some good, clear photos of a 1934 Chrysler CA or CB engine and cannot seem to find any. If anyone out there has any that they can post for me or send to me, it would be greatly appreciated. I understand the CA and CB engines are the same. Thank you very much in advance. John

keiser31@charter.net

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Hi John - cant help you with good clear photos of an engine but can confirm that CA / CB are the same, in fact they were all stamped CA, there is no engine with CB prefix to my knowledge. These are the last of what we call the half water jacket engines, I have an incomplete disassembled engine; what specific info do you need, I may be able to snap a few pics if you don't get a better offer.

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Hi John - cant help you with good clear photos of an engine but can confirm that CA / CB are the same, in fact they were all stamped CA, there is no engine with CB prefix to my knowledge. These are the last of what we call the half water jacket engines, I have an incomplete disassembled engine; what specific info do you need, I may be able to snap a few pics if you don't get a better offer.

You gave me the information I was looking for. I was not certain if '34 still had the half water jacket or not. I knew '33 did, but thought it was the last year for them. THANKS!

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They must have changed in mid-year. The DR-(34) Dodges (10) that we have are the exposed cylinders walls and I have had customers with 34s saying that they have full water jackets.

From what I understand the CA/CB Chryslers were stop gap "conventionally" styled cars to counter the sales rejection of the Airflow, in which case I suspect they just used up old stock engines.

As an aside they were an oddball dimensionally with a 241.5ci displacement, not found in any of the other Mopar products of the time which makes them a bit unique, and, going back to John`s original query, is why you probably wont get too many photos.

Just another piece of trivia, the crank and block were apparently used in some of the later 30`s Dodge truck range.

Edited by hchris (see edit history)
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They wouldn't be using up old engines, they did not keep warehouses full of thousands of engines.

Airflow was meant to be a showcase for Chrysler's most advanced engineering and sold for a premium price. It was never meant to be a popular best seller, that is why they had the conventional, and cheaper, Airstream models.

Chrysler used the 241 cu in engine in all their six cylinder models up to 1941.

There was no "sales rejection" of the Airflow. That was a myth spread by commercial rivals (General Motors in particular)

The Airflow was a radical departure meant to showcase Chrysler's most advanced engineering. They continued making the conventional Airstream models, and added the Airflow as a premium priced brand extension.

In other words they had the conventional Airstream for their mainstream trade, and the more radical, and expensive, Airflow for the avante garde.

The Airflow made such a sensation, it caught the rest of the industry flat footed. Makers of inferior cars rushed to compete in 2 ways: 1) "Prove" the Airflow was no good 2) Copy it as fast as they were able.

One good example was the Lincoln Zephyr. Its designers admitted frankly that the Airflow was their inspiration, to put it mildly. In an interview I saw they spent the whole time pointing out how they had improved on the Airflow design.

I have never seen a GM designer admit they copied the Airflow but there is no doubt they did. Compare the silhouette of any typical 1933 car by GM or anybody else, to the 1934 - 1937 Airflow. Now look at the same company's 1938 model and you will see it bears no resemblance to their 1933 car. It is a freehand copy of the Airflow with fatter fenders. Every car maker did this, if they didn't they wouldn't have anything to sell that the public wanted.

In spite of the evidence of their own eyes, people continue to believe the bullshit stories put out by GM and others that the Airflow was a failure, when in fact it was one of the most successful and influential cars of all time.

Edited by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)
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Actually, the CA and CB were not stop gap models, they were the Chrysler make's only 6 cylinder models in 1934, at least in the U.S. And they were introduced to the public at the same time as the Airflow. The Canadian Chrysler Airflow Six (CY) was a DeSoto Airflow with a Chrysler grille, bumpers, instrument panel and nameplates. The CY used the DeSoto SE six, though, while the CB was not available in Canada.

I believe the CA/CB/SE engine was the first of the 25" block sixes and they had partial water jackets. 1935 was the first year for the full length water jackets on all six cylinder engines.

Alhough DeSoto offered only the Airflow in 1934, obviously the powers that be at the Chrysler Sales Division had doubts about the sales success of the Airflow. Thus the 1934 CA and CB, followed by the Airstream models for 1935.

As Rusty stated, the anti-Airflow propaganda is all myth. In reality, Chrysler knew the Airflow would be a tough sell and would attract a small group of buyers. If you compare the Airflow prices with the non-Airflow models (the 1935-36 Airstreams) you will see the Airflows were priced higher and offered more luxurious interiors.

The higher prices helped covered the lower production runs. Contrary to another old chestnut, the Airflow did not almost bankrupt Chrysler. In fact, Chrysler Corporation made money every year from 1933 through to and including 1957. They may have most money on the Airflow, but sales of the other makes more than made up for it.

Chrysler Corporation was run by some very smart, and foward looking, men at that time.

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