Yankee Doodle Roadster for sale...

Yes, the iconic 1940 Coachcraft Roadster better known as the Yankee Doodle Roadster was just up for sale on Ebay. Now, I'm not one to 'plug' cars for sale, but in... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.

 

First time I have seen this one.
I agree, it does have excellent proportions. Looks MG'ish to my untrained eye.
That thing is really impressive as far as early sports cars go if you think of anything else running around in 1940.

 

Very "Darrinesque". Once people use to build things like this because they couldn't afford the new cars.That is a killer piece.

A Kaiser Darrin with similar lines.

 

It looks great, it would be nice thing to own and drive, if i could only sell a kidney to get enough to bid

 

Yeah, I agree. That's a beauty all right... as most of the CC cars are.
The only thing I'd like to see different is a slight cutaway on the doors, like this:

 

Thanks for the heads-up Jive-Bomber...you nailed it right on the head when you said 'iconic'...I love me some Coachcraft designs!!
I wonder how much it will ultimately trade hands for?

 

Yes, and that is no coincidene...
Burt Chalmers, Paul Erdos and Rudy Stoessel did work with Dutch Darrin in their shop "Darrin of Paris" at Sunset Strip in Hollywood. That was 1937-39 after Dutch time in France but prior to when the custom-built Packards got accepted by the management of Packard. When Packard's CEO visited Darrin gave a "green light" to further cooperation with the Packard company and the Darrin Packards some time later started to be built as low volyme cars at the former Auburn plant in Indiana it was time for Burt Chalmers, Paul Erdos and Rudy Stoessel to move ahead. And in 1940, if I'm correct, the former colleuges to Dutch Darrin did start Coachcraft at Melrose Ave.

 

I'd make that look good.

Hell, let's face it, I'd make anything look good.

Rich

 

Looks like nobody came up with enough scratch. Wonder what the reserve was.

 

The seller (and grandson of Rudy Stoessel) is a HAMBer (coachcraft.ltd) ... he listed the car in the HAMB Classifieds on November 17th ... with an asking price of $350K ... just click HERE.

 

Yes its a killer piece indeed, but saying that people use to build things like this because they couldn't afford the new cars. Well, thats way underestimating what this specific car really is. Coachcraft Ltd was a premium coachbuilder/custom car builder with employees that had experience of many years of working with one-off coachbuilt cars and were by means any "backyard hack". Their customers were moviestars, executives, and so on and the cars built by them was expensive, to say the least...

Though this specific car has a very interesting story, as it first was started as an auto-shop class project. The Coachcraft bodywork did cost 1500 USD in 1940 (a custom body ordered without permission of its young owner's dad... it took a long time to get the work paid). Jimmie Summers finished it later and the complete cost of building it was about 6000 USD. It took close to ten year to finish it to its current look (according to Honk, Sept 1953). The current front was built after WWII by Frank Kurtis, the first front did have a sectioned '39 Ford hood and grille. A true piece of history!

 

I didn't mean to imply that a coach company was the cheap way to go.More of a general comment on customs in the late forties and fifties.

 

Great lines, kinda European, and a 200 HP flathead to boot!

 

If it took $350,000 to buy it then it only fell $274,500 short of that reserve on eBay. Might be a sign of a weak market. I think the car was worth what was bid IMHO. Maybe even more! LOL

 

nice lines!
Anyone else see the Roger Rabbit proportions?

 

For those that missed it (only two pages worth), check out this relevant and interesting thread by Coachcraft.ltd :
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=421807

 

You know this is why I like the H.A.M.b,You guys are true car people and I'm BEATING on the writter now to finish this book!! Anthony at Coachccraft.Ltd

 

Sitting next to the Porsche sure gives an idea of the work that was done to complete this car. One of the all time best customs to my eye.
Allen

 

Don't remember seeing this, but wow!
What a looker!

 

This is a gorgeous car with great history, and the Bob Mosier restoration is impeccable. I don't know if there are many HAMBers who could step up for the true value of this car, but it's the real deal. It has been for sale for several years, and the right buyer just hasn't shown up.

 

looks like a noddy car!

 

a nice little car, reminds me of the Triumph TR3

 

Great lines but I never heard of this build. It has real classical lines and I guess it never made it to Texas in the old mag's we had then.There are so many cars built back then it was hard to keep up with them. Glad I got to read and see the history on this one. Thanks for posting the information.

 

Goddamn, that's a gorgeous car.

 

Reminds me of similar car Frank Kurtis built, that ended up in Morocco. I sure wish Geoff would chime in, he and Rikster share a passion for stuff like this!!

 

Err... isnt this a rather poor atempt at a Jaguar XK140? Iconic it may be, but it's a copy of something rather nicer.

 

EvilGus ... Please explain to me how (in 1940) the gents @ Coachcraft were able to COPY a 1954-57 Jaguar XK140? ... did they have some sort of crystal ball?

 

Given that the car is still stunning some 70 years later, maybe they did have a crystal ball....

 

You just couldn't let it pass - could you....

 

Nope ... there's already enough mis-information on the Internet ...

... and just be glad I didn't suggest that the blokes over at Swallow Sidecar / Jaguar actually COPIED Coachcraft when they designed the '48 XK120.