Back during the Great Depression, finding a car that was affordable and also fast attracted both the police and the criminals alike. The 1934 Chevys of the time did just that. The four door Phaelon model was powered by a 221 cubic inch L Head V 8 that cranked out 85 horses while shifting through a three-speed manual sliding transmission.
Six years ago, novice classic car buff Kent Miller was searching for his first piece of automotive art. As a younger man, while in school, Kent had worked on old cars, getting them and fixing them up. Now he wanted something he didn’t have to spend a ton of time restoring.
He also hinted that he wasn’t very eager to spend “a ton of money on a car I could have had for a fraction of that 25 years ago.”
Through an internet search he came across a 1934 Chevy Phaeton for sale in Denver. As it turned out, he had a number of friends and colleagues in the Mile High City and asked one of them to take a look at this one for him. When the friend reported back that the car was in excellent shape and was worth the money, Kent and his wife flew out to pick it up.
According to Kent the entire trip was something of an experience. Since they were flying one way and not taking luggage, airport security took them aside to ask them why. Finally able to convince the TSA agents what they were doing, they made it to Denver and picked up the car.
One of the only things they flew out to Denver with were some CDs since the car had a CD player. “But it was broken,” said Kent. “The guy had an Elvis CD stuck up in there” so it was the radio or nothing.
With the exception of stopping at a rest stop for a short nap, they drove it straight through; leaving midafternoon on a Saturday and arriving home just after dark on Sunday.
Kent said they actually made very good time, more than keeping up with traffic. He admitted that once his wife fell asleep, “I had it up over 100 and it wanted to go more.”
The stress of the kind of highway driving the car wasn’t built for took its toll. “The gauges went out,” said Kent. “I didn’t even know how much gas I had.” Later, he added, a seal broke and oil was streaming down the side of the car. “We looked like one of those old airplanes that comes gliding in after a mission,” he said. “But we made it.”
Overall the car was in very good shape when Kent bought it. In fact he didn’t even have to touch the body. He had the motor fixed and re-did the interior. Beyond that he just keeps it clean.
Now he likes to take it out for a spin on weekends or drive it to a show. So keep your eye out for this classic 1934 beauty.
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