Chevrolet · 1930–present
Chevrolet Series AD Universal
The Chevrolet Series AD Universal or Chevrolet Universal AD is a Chevrolet car which began sales in 1930. Available in a variety of body types including as a 2-door coupe, 4-door sedan and a delivery van. Total production was down due to the Wall Street crash of 1929 while 864,243 were manufactured and 39,773 came from Oshawa. The seven-millionth Chevrolet since 1912 was built May 28, 1930 at Flint Assembly
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Predecessor: Chevrolet Series AC International · Successor: Chevrolet Independence
All Chevrolet Series AD Universal data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →
History
The Series AD was launched as replacement for the 1929 Series AC models. Sales dropped by over 200,000 to 640,980 vehicles for the year. The AD retained the new "stovebolt" overhead valve 194 cubic inches (3.2 L) six-cylinder engine from the Series AC, but with bigger intake valves and smaller exhaust valves, along with a new manifold, raised power from 46 hp (34 kW) to 50 hp (37 kW). The suspension now included hydraulic shock absorbers and the fuel gauge was moved from the tank to the dash panel, along with an angled, non-glare windshield and new instrument gauges with circular shapes and black faces, smaller 19" wheels using wire spokes while hickory spoke wheels were now optional. The previous Imperial Sedan was replaced with the Special Sedan, which separated the name and image from top level Cadillac, while the process of dedicating one body style to Chevrolet factories continued. In 1930, Chevrolet bought the Martin-Parry Body Company who supplied chassis and passenger compartment trucks with a factory-installed bed. In May 1925 the Chevrolet Export Boxing plant at Bloomfield, New Jersey was repurposed from a previous owner where Knock-down kits for Chevrolet, Oakland, Oldsmobile, Buick and Cadillac passenger cars, and both Chevrolet and G. M. C. truck parts are crated and shipped by railroad to the docks at Weehawken, New Jersey for overseas GM assembly factories.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.
Specifications
- name
- Chevrolet Series AD Universal
- Manufacturer
- Chevrolet (General Motors)
- aka
- Chevrolet Universal
- Model years
- 1930
- Predecessor
- Chevrolet Series AC International
- Successor
- Chevrolet Series AE Independence
- Body style
- 2-door coupe, 2-door roadster, 4-door coach, 4-door sedan, 2-door van
- Layout
- FR layout
- Platform
- GM A platform
- Engine
- 194 cuin OHV 6-cylinder
- Wheelbase
- 107 in
- Length
- 156 in
- Kerb weight
- 2195 -
- Related
- Oakland Six, Pontiac Series 6-30B
- sp
- us
Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Check the linked sources for citations.
More photos
Sources
- Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5094418CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Series_AD_UniversalCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1351456144 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1930_Chevrolet_Universal_AD_Standard_4-Door_Sedan.jpgCC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: Lars-Göran Lindgren Sweden · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.