<VV> Steel tops, was: convertibles

[Tony Underwood]

At 10:05 AM 5/30/2007, Brian wrote:
>I have a 1934 publication in which photos and press releases state 
>that the 1934 Studebaker was the first to offer a complete steel 
>top.  Photos show a Stude being pushed off a hill, rolling over and 
>over and finally coming to rest on its wheels with no damage to the top.
>
>-- airvair <airvair at richnet.net> wrote:
>Absolutely correct. In fact it was GM that was first to be able to stamp
>a solid steel top. They then marketed it as the first "turret top"
>available. I retired from GM with 30 years in diemaking, but no, I
>didn't work on that one. It came out, I think, around '33. Something for
>which Fisher Body was very proud.




For what it's worth, the 1934 Chrysler/Desoto Airflow had an 
all-steel body, including the roof.

It was the first actual American unibody production car with integral 
framework members which were a part of the body of the vehicle.    It 
was also the first all-steel body car which used no wood in its 
construction.

GM and Ford actually produced propaganda films condemning the 
all-steel unibody design, with GM's film showing a steel tube with a 
wooden dowel inside, demonstrating how the tube wouldn't bend with 
the wooden reinforcement...  yet would bend and kink without the 
dowel.    Thus, they implied that the Airflow's all-steel unibody was 
"unsafe"... not as durable as wood reinforced vehicles (which was untrue).

Neither GM nor Ford used wood reinforcement inside any structural 
components of their metal frames.  Wood was used inside doors, in 
floors, roofs etc.    ;)



Chrysler did a promotions campaign for the Airflow with a film shown 
as a newsreel in theaters (with stills of the footage displayed in 
dealerships) of a 1934 Airflow being rolled off a cliff in 
Pennsylvania, tumbling down and coming to rest with no major damage 
to the vehicle which was driven away afterwards.



tony..