GTP Cool Wall: 1934-1937 Chrysler Airflow

  • Thread starter Thread starter White & Nerdy
  • 91 comments
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1934-1937 Chrysler Airflow

  • Total voters
    109
  • Poll closed .
I don't think you'd need to explain to anyone why something like this is cool.
 
xXKingJoshXx
I don't think you'd need to explain to anyone why something like this is cool.
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Hence why I voted cool. It's cool because it's an interesting old car. What would make it sub zero has to be explained therefore doesn't count.
 
Zenith
Hence why I voted cool. It's cool because it's an interesting old car. What would make it sub zero has to be explained therefore doesn't count.
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Good point. 👍
 
Forward thinking, interesting old car. Stylish without meaning to be. Cool.
 
I'm not that interested in these kind of cars but this has an inline 8 so that makes it cool.
 
Zenith
@Cano and @Tyger

The point of my post was that having to explain why the car is cool is uncool.
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That would make this thread a little redundant wouldn't it? We would just have a poll ;)
 
Tyger
That would make this thread a little redundant wouldn't it? We would just have a poll ;)
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Not on a forum, to someone who sees the car in real life.
 
Judging it by 1930s standards it's subzero. But if you drove around in it today everywhere you went, you'd have to explain the car over and over again, which is uncool. But at the same time, just driving it around these days is cool in itself. I voted cool for many reasons.
 
niky
You never have to explain why you're driving around a classic car. Never.
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Well. That is not entirely true.
I was blasting around in a 1934 Alvis, with leather helmet and goggles, and then I got pulled over. You go and try to explain the cops how guy in his early 20's, in a tshirt and shorts, gets hold of such a car...
 
Getting pulled over in a classic car because you're wearing a leather helmet and goggles: hyper-awesome. Even if explanations are needed.
 
Cano
Getting pulled over in a classic car because you're wearing a leather helmet and goggles: hyper-awesome. Even if explanations are needed.
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Best part of it all was that it was a rally prepped car, and my boss always told me that for a shake down you should drive it as the owner does.
And that kind of rich people never seemed to have heard of speed limits. :D
 
Dennisch
Best part of it all was that it was a rally prepped car, and my boss always told me that for a shake down you should drive it as the owner does.
And that kind of rich people never seemed to have heard of speed limits. :D
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Getting pulled over in a classic car because you're wearing a leather helmet and goggles and not because you're driving like a gorilla: mega-hyper-awesome.
 
I find it cool. It might've also been cool back in the '30s... but I don't know, of course.
 
Dean
I find it cool. It might've also been cool back in the '30s... but I don't know, of course.
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It was actually considered ugly when released and was a sales flop. Chrysler tried to turn things around by putting a more upright grill on it, (more like other cars of the time) but it didn't really work.

This is what the Airflow looked like by 1937:
104117-500-0.jpg


I think this car gets a bad rap, along with the likes of the Edsel, the Aztek, etc. Often on many lists of the worst cars made, but not actually a bad car at all. Just not a pretty to look at for some.
 
Definitely a cool and interesting car.
 
Adamgp
Pretty aerodynamic back then.

To put it into perspective, a new 2014 RAM 1500 is around .42.
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Wat

There is no way that pig of a truck is more aerodynamic than a muscle car of some type.
 
Slash
Wat

There is no way that pig of a truck is more aerodynamic than a muscle car of some type.
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It's true.

Some configurations are below .40.
 
That's crazy.
 
Would fitting a topper or a tonneau cover + spoiler bring it down to passenger car levels?
 
White & Nerdy
Would fitting a topper or a tonneau cover + spoiler bring it down to passenger car levels?
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Not sure it would go that low. A half ton pickup is still quite a bit wider/taller than say an Accord/Camry or even a large car like a Taurus.
 
Slash
Wat

There is no way that pig of a truck is more aerodynamic than a muscle car of some type.
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Adamgp
Not sure it would go that low. A half ton pickup is still quite a bit wider/taller than say an Accord/Camry or even a large car like a Taurus.
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Remember, aerodynamics are a function of drag coefficient and frontal area. The two are separate. So a bed cover would probably make a difference in Cd, but the frontal area is still massive, so overall it's still much less aerodynamic than a passenger or muscle car.

Also, Slash, remember that aerodynamics is generally independent of appearance. There's lots of subtle things you can do to a car to make it more aerodynamic.
 
A bed cover will do very little. That still leaves terrible flow separation at the edge of the roof. What you need is a canopy like this:

cf44b_pknox_toyota.jpg


This truck, with the cap only, had a cd of 0.325 (stock around 0.44). With all the modifications shown, 0.25. Fuel economy shot up by 7 mpg.

And that's still with the bluff, square, nose. The front end often matters less than the rear. Which is why Sperm Whales actually work, and why the Nissan GT-R is more slippery than a baby's bum.

Appearance can suggest drag coefficient, but tweak the right details, and you can make a brick fly.
 
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