Wednesday, October 14, 2009

1936-38 Yosemite Gilmore Economy Run -- Graham Supercharged Six, Chrysler Airflow, Studebaker Dictator and More





A 1937 Chevrolet on the Yosemite Run



Very little has been written on the seminal years of what became the Mobilgas Economy run, namely the Gilmore Yosemite Economy Run. Few photographs of the event exist, for example. During the years 1936 to 1940 inclusive, stock current automobiles competed in annual gasoline economy tests. These tests were sponsored by the Gilmore Oil Company and sanctioned by the AAA. The name under which these runs were publicized was the Gilmore Yosemite Economy Run or the Gilmore Yosemite Mileage Run. I am including results for the first three years of this Run, and will keep you posted as I work on this topic. I plan to review local news papers, and also look at archives located in Los Angeles. I'll be chugging along, as I also have other topics to work on as well -- and I will post progress on those also.



Results of 1936 Yosemite Run

Price Class

Cars

Weight with Passengers

Ton Miles

Ton miles per gallon

Miles per gallon

1-A

Willys 4

2980

524.5

49.48

33.21



Willys 4

2845

500.7

45.52

32.00



Willys 4

2610

459.4

33.77

25.88

2-A

Graham Crusader 6

3760

661.8

47.61

25.33



Plymouth 6

3845

676.7

43.10

22.42



Chevrolet 6

3255

567.6

41.43

25.70

3-A

Pontiac 6

4000

704.0

47.89

23.93



Terraplane 6

3790

667.0

45.37

23.95

4-A

Studebaker Dictator 6

4200

739.2

50.98

24.24



Nash 400 6

4140

728.6

46.11

22.28



Pontiac 8

4100

721.6

45.10

22.00



Oldsmobile 6

3740

658.2

44.47

23.78

5-A

Graham Supercharged 6

4160

732.2

55.47

26.67



DeSoto Airstream 6

4155

731.2

48.11

23.16



Chrysler 6

4450

783.2

46.62

20.95



Hudson 8

4060

714.6

46.40

22.85



Auburn 6

3900

686.4

46.07

23.62



Hupmobile 6

4100

721.6

45.96

22.42



Nash Ambassador 6

4665

821.0

45.61

19.55



Oldsmobile 8

4000

704.0

38.68

19.34



REO 6

4180

735.7

31.99

15.30

6-A

Studebaker President 8

4760

841.3

48.63

20.35



DeSotot Airflow 6

4470

786.7

48.26

21.60



Hupmobile 8

4740

834.2

45.84

19.34



Nash Ambassador 8

4800

844.8

44.46

18.53



Packard 120 8

4440

781.4

44.40

20.00



Auburn 8

4240

746.2

42.40

20.00



Chrysler Airflow 8

5820

1024.3

53.35

18.33

7-A

Lincoln Zephyr 12

4400

774.4

38.91

17.69













1936 Sweepstakes Winners

  1. Graham Supercharged Six – 55.47 Ton Miles Per Gallon
  2. Chrysler Airflow 8 – 53.35 Ton Miles Per Gallon
  3. Studebaker Dictator 6 – 50.98 Ton Miles Per Gallon




1937 Yosemite Run

Price Class

1937 Cars all sedans

Weight with Pasengers

Ton Miles Per Gallon

Miles Per Hour

Miles Per Gallon

A

Willys 4

3485









Willys 4

3404







B

Master Chevrolet 6

4300









Plymouth 6

3982







C

Terraplane 6

4400









Pontiac 6

4400









DeSoto 6

4502









Nash Lafayette 6

4380







D

Graham 6

4245









Pontiac 8

4500









Oldsmobile 6

4340







E

Graham 116 Supercharger 6

4460









Hudson 8

4600









Chrysler Royal 6

4480









Nash Ambassador 6

4380









Packard 6

4480









Oldsmobile 8

4780







F

Nash Ambassador 8

4880









Chrysler Imperial 8

4900









Lincoln Zephyr 12

4620







G

Packard 8

4836







H

Cord 8

5000









Chrysler Airflow 8

5580







1937 Sweepstakes Winners

  1. Graham Supercharger 6 – 53.4 Ton Miles Per Gallon
  2. Graham 6 -- 52.246 Ton miles Per Gallon
  3. Hudson 8

1938 Yosemite Run

Price Class

1938 Cars (all 4-door)

Weight with passengers

Ton Miles

Miles Per Gallon

Ton Miles Per Gallon

A

Willys 4

3203

503.67

30.534

48.900



Willys 4

3210

504.77

29.392

47.175



Willys 4

3200

503.20

28.080

44.929

B

Ford 60 8

3519

553.36

28.850

50.767



Chevrolet 6

3955

621.92

21.993

43.491



Plymouth 6

3808

598.81

21.250

40.460

C

Terraplane 6

3915

615.63

25.779

50.461



Nash Lafayette 6

4379

688.60

22.305

48.837



Pontiac 6

4312

678.06

21.840

47.087



Dodge 6

3990

627.43

21.107

42.109

D

Pontiac 8

4460

701.34

20.967

46.756



DeSoto 6

4144

651.64

20.691

42.871

E

Studebaker Commander 6

4250

668.31

24.380

51.807



Oldsmobile 6

4338

682.15

19.177

41.595

F

Nash Ambassador 6

4530

712.34

23.647

53.559



Graham 6

4279

672.87

24.764

52.982



Hupmobile 6

4402

692.21

21.840

48.070



Packard 6

4458

701.02

20.290

45.227



Oldsmobile 8

4545

714.70

19.061

43.315

G

Hudson 8

4336

681.84

22.790

49.409



Nash Ambassador 8

4840

761.09

19.650

47.568



Studebaker President 8

4540

713.92

20.691

46.968

H

Graham Supercharger 6

4339

682.31

25.779

55.927



Hupmobile 8

4794

753.86

20.556

49.272

I

Lincoln Zephyr 12

4665

733.57

23.470

54.744

J

Packard 8

5742

902.93

16.211

46.543

1938 Sweepstakes Winners

  1. Graham Supercharger 6 – 55.927 Ton miles Per Gallon
  2. Lincoln Zephyr 12 – 54.744 Ton Miles Per Gallon
  3. Nash Ambassador 6 – 53.559 Ton Miles Per Gallon






A Graham Supercharger -- until the 1990s, no American firm made more supercharged cars than Graham! They were reliable, and saved perhaps 7-15% on fuel.



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