marbeton Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 My friend discovered an old Chrysler that has a data tag in German. It is said that it is type 65 from 1928, but it does not match engine performance and content. It is said that it was made in Germany, but I do not know that it would be a production factory in Germany. Photo data tag is from that car. Can someone help me with the determination of the car, when and where it was made and what is the type. It's definitely a six-cylinder. Thank you marbeton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 (edited) FEDCO chart says it is a 1928 Model 65....first column at the bottom...."LL3....".... Edited March 6, 2019 by keiser31 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbeton Posted March 6, 2019 Author Share Posted March 6, 2019 1 hour ago, keiser31 said: FEDCO chart says it is a 1928 Model 65....first column at the bottom...."LL3....".... Thank you Keiser31, ist very importent for me. You do not know whether they were manufactured in Germany or just imported the USA? marbeton 1 hour ago, keiser31 said: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 2 minutes ago, marbeton said: Thank you Keiser31, ist very importent for me. You do not know whether they were manufactured in Germany or just imported the USA? marbeton THAT, I do not know. My Dad was an executive for Chrysler Export-Import Division, but unfortunately he is gone and cannot say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narve N Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 That's a cool tag which US market cars did not have. I believe there was an European assembly plant, possibly in Netherlands or Germany at the time. The tag is likely result of national regulations. The European 1929 Chrysler adverts were fantastic examples of ArtDeco by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbeton Posted March 6, 2019 Author Share Posted March 6, 2019 I think so it´s import to Germany and data tag there had to do in German to comply with German regulations Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 Do you have any photos of the car that you can post for us to view? We DO love photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbeton Posted March 6, 2019 Author Share Posted March 6, 2019 Not yet, but I´ll get them and send them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viv w Posted March 6, 2019 Share Posted March 6, 2019 I seem to recall reading somewhere that Chrysler had an assembly plant in Belgium in the 1920's, but can't remember where I saw the article 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudsy Wudsy Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 7 hours ago, Narve N said: That's a cool tag which US market cars did not have. I believe there was an European assembly plant, possibly in Netherlands or Germany at the time. The tag is likely result of national regulations. The European 1929 Chrysler adverts were fantastic examples of ArtDeco by the way. Wow! You are right about the fantastic graphics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbeton Posted March 7, 2019 Author Share Posted March 7, 2019 . 10 hours ago, viv w said: I seem to recall reading somewhere that Chrysler had an assembly plant in Belgium in the 1920's, but can't remember where I saw the article If production in Belgium is, it would have been another FEDCO series like Canada's Windsor. I think the car was imported from Detroit complete and only in Germany I was making German data tag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narve N Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 Here is a Norwegian data tag for a Series 75 Roadster. The car was made in Detroit and the quality of the tag is questionable, including stamping an incorrect first digit in the FEDCO-number and unreadable last digits. It has also lived a hard life, but will likely be put back in its patinated condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbeton Posted March 7, 2019 Author Share Posted March 7, 2019 Does that mean that cars made in Detroit for export had data tag in the language of the country where it was exported? Right from production? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narve N Posted March 7, 2019 Share Posted March 7, 2019 10 hours ago, marbeton said: Does that mean that cars made in Detroit for export had data tag in the language of the country where it was exported? Right from production? No. Must have been added by the importer, including recommending a specific oil for servicing. I also doubt Chrysler Corp would have slipped a data-tag with incorrect numbers on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbeton Posted March 7, 2019 Author Share Posted March 7, 2019 15 minutes ago, Narve N said: No. Must have been added by the importer, including recommending a specific oil for servicing. I also doubt Chrysler Corp would have slipped a data-tag with incorrect numbers on it. Yes, apparently you are right and the data tag was supplied by the importer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 You say the data plate does not match the engine performance and content. Is it possible the engine was changed some time in the last 90 years? Can you give us the engine number and photos of the engine? Engine number is stamped into a raised pad on the engine block, usually on the left side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbeton Posted March 9, 2019 Author Share Posted March 9, 2019 The engine number corresponds to the data tag. But it does not match the engine content and engine power. According to historical records, type 65 should have engine content 195.6 cu.i, (3,205 ccm) but the data tag is 3.180 ccm. The performance should also be based on historical records of 65 HP, but the tag data is 55 HP. Here is the difference I do not understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbeton Posted March 26, 2019 Author Share Posted March 26, 2019 On 3/6/2019 at 8:41 PM, keiser31 said: Do you have any photos of the car that you can post for us to view? We DO love photos. I'm sending a few photos. Interestingly, the dashboard does not match any Chrysler of that time. The wheel is also in the front fender and not on the back of the car. Plus, there's a fifth door. Apparently the car used to be a taxi. Have any such special modifications been made directly at the factory? Unfortunately, I do not have more photographs yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viv w Posted March 26, 2019 Share Posted March 26, 2019 Marbeton, the vehicle type , such as model 65, is not the horsepower of the vehicle, it is the maximum speed the car was capable of when new. So a model 65 would have been capable of 65MPH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbeton Posted March 27, 2019 Author Share Posted March 27, 2019 9 hours ago, viv w said: Marbeton, the vehicle type , such as model 65, is not the horsepower of the vehicle, it is the maximum speed the car was capable of when new. So a model 65 would have been capable of 65MPH. Yes type is actually 65 by FEDCO number.Interestingly, the German datatag shows the performance in 55 HP (PS) and a volume of 3180 cm3 and is actually supposed to have 195.6 cu.in. (That is 3.205cm3.)Also, the performance should be 65 HP (PS). But the most interesting are the fifth door on the back wall. Here I need help if this is done, or it is a later modification from some body shop. Another instrument panel was probably later replaced with a dashboard from Czech Aero or Skoda cars. According to the picture they exactly match them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 Appears to be a Chrysler modified locally for commercial use. If you carefully inspect the spare tire well, rear door and instrument panel you should see evidence of hand work and modification. The spare tire would have been moved from the back to the side to allow the rear door to open. The date of the dash board could be a clue to the date of modification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Narve N Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 Back in the 80s a vendor calling himself The Gasket King asked whether my Series 65 was an export model, which according to his sources should have a smaller bore than the regular Series 65 and corresponding different head gasket. I have never encountered anything like that but could be an explanation to the deviation in engine volume and HP-rating as the data tag shows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbeton Posted March 29, 2019 Author Share Posted March 29, 2019 I also thought it was some sort of export adjustment. Probably due to car taxes in Germany Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 The horsepower tax in UK caused smaller engines to be used in some cars exported to there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 (edited) UK horsepower tax was one pound per year per horsepower. In those days many working men made 2 or 3 pounds per week. So you can see this was a substantial expense. The horsepower was rated, or calculated, not developed horsepower. The formula did not take the stroke into account just the bore of the engine. So a small reduction in bore size could drop a car into the next lower HP class, resulting in a substantial savings to the customer. Of course car buyers took this into consideration when choosing a car. American car manufacturers made small bore versions of their motors for this reason. In Germany the tax was based on engine displacement. I don't know how high the tax was or if it influenced engine design. In any case it was dropped in 1933. Edited March 29, 2019 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
36 D2 Coupe Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 I had always been puzzled by the small bore export engines listed in the parts manuals. Now it all makes sense. I was not aware of the horsepower tax. You learn something new every day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 That horsepower rating may be in the German DIN standard, not the SAE rating. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spinneyhill Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 This is the first sentence of the Wikipedia entry on "Tax Horspower": "The tax horsepower or taxable horsepower was an early system by which taxation rates for automobiles were reckoned in some European countries, such as Britain, Belgium, Germany, France, and Italy; some US states like Illinois charged license plate purchase and renewal fees for passenger automobiles based on taxable horsepower. " The article gives the formulae used to calculate it. In Britain, it was (bore diameter squared) times number of cylinders divided by 2.5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 There is also the NACC (National Automobile Chamber of Commerce) rating, but it will be something like 8.5 hp. Someone with a shop manual can state the exact NACC figure. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted April 9, 2019 Share Posted April 9, 2019 On 4/8/2019 at 7:10 AM, 36 D2 Coupe said: I had always been puzzled by the small bore export engines listed in the parts manuals. Now it all makes sense. I was not aware of the horsepower tax. You learn something new every day In Ontario annual license plate fees were based on horsepower up until the sixties. After that was based on the number of cylinders, But the rates were much lower than in the UK. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbeton Posted April 10, 2019 Author Share Posted April 10, 2019 So it is already certain that the car was made for Germany and the engine was adapted to German tax regulations. The door on the back was probably made after WWII, when cars were missing and therefore body were adjusted for the taxi. Probably the rear seats shifted a little forward and behind them was made room for luggage with access through the fifth door. I'm still waiting for a detailed photo of the door to confirm that it's really a later adjustment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 (edited) Did a little checking online and 1 British pound in 1920, would be equal in buying power to $58.05 US today. At this rate the license fee of an Austin 7 would be $406.35. A typical middle class car would be in the 14HP class which would cost $812.70 and a 40HP car like a Rolls Royce would be $2322. And this was an annual expense. This would explain why tax discs were usually bought for 3 months at a time. The 1928 Dodge "65" had a six cylinder engine with a bore of 3.25" which translates into 25.35 HP. This would mean an annual license fee equal to $1471.56 in today's money. Edited April 11, 2019 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 I don't see any rear seat in the photos. This suggests the car was converted into a delivery van by adding a rear door and removing the seat. At this time the spare tire was moved from the rear to the right front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marbeton Posted April 11, 2019 Author Share Posted April 11, 2019 The rear seats are not much visible in the photos. I have verified that the car was in Prague as a taxi and that the rear seats should be. It is possible that after WWII was redesigned for delivery and some time so I rode. I haven't been able to find out yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now