Alexis de Sakhnoffsky Part 1, Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky, streamlining, streamline, Esquire, desakhnoffsky, Alex Sakhnoffsky, Count Sakhnoffsky, Алесис де Сакчноффскы - CoachBuilt.com De Sakhnoffsky's Cord, which appears to the right with 'Ziegfield Girl' Marion Dodge posing next to it, was described in great detail in the July 5, 1930 issue of the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune: "AMERICAN AUTO WINS PRIZE AT MONTE CARLO "Grand Rapids, Mich., July "5—A mountain-mist blue body, entirely devoid of straight lines, mounted on a Cord front-drive chassis, this spring brought to America for the first time the Grand Prix of the annual Monte Carlo automobile style show, and added fame to its 28-year-old designer, Count Alex de Sakhnoffsky, art director of the Hayes Body Corporation. "Winning Grand Prix awards at Monte Carlo, however, is nothing new for de Sakhnoffsky, despite his youth and his comparatively brief experience in designing motor cars. The 1930 award was his fifth, although it marked the first victory for an all-American product. "Last year he took the highest honor with a Packard chassis and a European body. An English Rolls-Royce was presented with the prize in 1928, and Belgian Minervas were the class of the fields in 1927 and 1926. "Count de Sakhnoffsky, who traces his family back to the fourteenth century, was born in Kieff, 'the mother of Russian cities.' He left his native haunts in 1920, rather than face conscription by the Reds, going to Switzerland where he studied engineering and drafting for three years. "From Dresses to Cars "From engineering he turned to designing dresses in Paris where his mother at present runs a dress salon. His father is dead. Later he became art director of Vandenplas of Brussels, leading European coach builders. "He remained with the Belgian company five years when he sailed for America. He has been in the employ of the Hayes Body Corporation nearly two years. All his time now is devoted to the creating of artistic cars. As art-director of the Hayes concern he designed the Marmon, new Peerless and Little Austin bodies. The count also has designed a 24-passenger cabin plane by Sabca of Brussels. "Believing that engineers rapidly are attaining perfection in the mechanical parts of the car, Count de Sakhnoffsky asserts the car buyer is paying more attention to the beautiful lines and color schemes. He pays little attention to body construction but says his part is purely artistic.
I think back then the starter was always installed and ready. You just pushed it in to engage the crankshaft.
Most cars of that era had a position for storing the crank handle that kept it in place but disengaged from the engine.
I worked in the industry for close to 40 years and what MAY have happened here is the elevator left the floor (freight elevators operate at slow speeds) in the up direction, the car in neutral with no emergency brake applied rolled out half way as the elevator continued up. Once the elevator cleared the car which I believe would have been half on the floor below with the back of the car over the open shaft fell in ass first into the pit which would account for their being no front end damage. Unfortunately many people when in a stuck elevator between floors sit on the elevator cab floor and push themselves off the cabs floor and tip/flip backwards when they land into the open shaft. If you are in a non working elevator STAY IN the elevator until help arrives.
The Jalopy Journal
