Guest Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 Did a 1931 Chevrolet come with zerk type grease fittings or Alemite fittings.The Alemite fitting, being the type with the pins sticking out on each side of the fitting, that holds the grase gun in place when you twist it on.I've seen 1931 Chevs with both Alemite & Zerk fittings, and each owners believedtheir car is correct.Did different factories just use the fittings that were available to them,or is only one type correct.Documentation telling or showing the correct type of grease fitting would be great.Many Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest De Soto Frank Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 My Dad's '30 Chevy Special Sedan has "bayonet" (Alemite?) fittings...Would have to believe that a given car would've been all one kind or the other... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 Thanks for the quick reply Frank,Do you mean they have a pin sticking out each side, to hook onto the grease gun.If so, they are Alemite fittings.Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest De Soto Frank Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 Yes, the pin-type; "twist-on" , if you prefer.I'm never sure what to call them, as I've seen Zerk guns and fittings bearing the Alemite name... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 I guess Alemite made grease guns for both types of fittings.I believe that they actually made the pin type fitting originally,but whether they developed the Zerk fitting or not, I don't know.Maybe someone can help us on this one.Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 There might be a third type of fitting with a similar name. Early Plymouths came with a Zerk fitting. In 1934 they switched to a "Alemite hydraulic" fitting. All of these were apparently made by Stewart Warner. The "Alemite hydraulic" is what we nowadays call a Zerk fitting.Don't know what Chevy used, but here are the photos for Plymouth and a link to a reference about grease fittings:http://www.ply33.com/Backmatter/LubricationFittings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 Many Thanks Ply33,I wasn't aware, that there were 3 types of fittings.I didn't know the cone shaped fitting was the first oneto be called a Zerk fitting.I thought that the later model, was the only one called a Zerk fittng.I have the cone shaped ones on my Model A, and I didn't knowthat they were actually called Zerk fittings.I wish there were similar photos like those, available for the 31 Chev. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D Binger Posted June 1, 2005 Share Posted June 1, 2005 Cheverolet and GM used the pin type Alemite fitting until 1934 when the hydraulic ball fitting was introduced in 1934. The pin type came out in 1920. Before that the greese cup was used. The cone type or Zerk came out in 1925, I think. Ford used these from 1928 until 1934. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles2 Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 I'm pretty sure that the cone-shaped fittings used on the Model A Ford are Alemite fittings; at least that is what the Model A folks call them. The modern ball-shaped fittings such as on my 1940 Buick are Zerk fittings and I haven't a clue what the pin fittings are called. Can anyone confirm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rbl2 Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 My 26 Chevy came with alemite fittings. Those are the ones with the pins on each side. All the original books I have refer to them as alemite fittings. The gun that was used is called an alemite grease gun, IIRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest De Soto Frank Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 I refer to them as "bayonet" fittings because they look just like the "bayonet-base" light bulbs that are all over our cars.The ordnance experts can correct me, but I think any removable device with a fitting that slips on, then twists to lock, is know as a bayonet-mount.The term is also applied to older photographic gear employing similar fittings.Maybe the term isn't politically correct these days... There probably wasn't a problem until the other style fittings came along, all of which were made by Stewart-Warner / Alemite as well as others... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay Wolf Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 If you look at Resoration Supply Company's catalog on page 7 it shows different styles.http://www.restorationstuff.com/Catalog/Restoration%20Supply%20Catalog%202003.pdfPage 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BillP Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 Also see Alemite dot com, they say they invented the zerk and have extensive product listings on both styles of fittings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_tigermoth Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 charles you are incorrect. please see skinned knucles article regarding grease fittings or D.binger's post on this thread. sincerely, tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles2 Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 In what way am I incorrect? Your saying it's so don't make it so no matter how loud you say it. To which Skinned Knuckles article are you referring? Is the author credible? Look in any catalog for Model A parts and you will find the flat-topped conical grease fittings they sell referred to as Alemite-type fittings (they sell reproductions) and the grease gun fitting them as an Alemite Grease Gun. Check out the Model A Ford Judging Handbook (a highly researched and very credible source); says the same thing. You can also buy modern grease fittings to replace the original Alemite fittings that came with the Model A. In the catalog, these replacements are called Zerk fittings. If you go to a NAPA store and ask for Zerk fittings they will give you the modern kind that have a ball on the end without any pins or other decorations. If I recall correctly, Zerk fittings are (or were) also made by Alemite. Finally, I said that I didn't know what the fittings with pins were called. So, tell me, where am I incorrect? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 The <span style="font-style: italic">Skinned Knuckles</span> article in question is from the July 2004 issue (Vol. 28 No. 12) in an article written by Bill Cannon. Bill is a very credible author being a former automotive engineer and his articles often accompanied by copies of period literature to back up his facts.In addition to the "Alemite pin-type", Zerk and "Alemite hydraulic" fittings discussed so far in this discussion thread, the article also covers the DOT system (both "A" and "S" types), Empress System, Saal System and a few others that he did not have sufficient documentation to analyze. In addition to the text of the article are three pages of tables listing what fittings were used on US automobiles from 1920 through 1939 (from the Adria and Ajax through the Willys-Overland and Windsor cars). That set of tables was republished, with permission, from an article in a 1976 issue of <span style="font-style: italic">Antique Automobile</span>. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ply33 Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 In regards to the original question about the fittings on a 1931 Chevrolet, the table shows the Alemite pin system used to 1933. The Alemite hydraulic came into use in 1934 on Chevrolet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles2 Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 Thanks for the information. I'll try to locate a copy of the article; certainly sounds credible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest imported_tigermoth Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 apology accepted. best of luck. sincerely, tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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