Customs Auburn Streamline Custom Dreams come true

Hey,

The Automobile Quarterly issue from which the Bill Mitchell drawing was Vol.21 No.3 1983. No other Mitchell drawings so up in that issue.

Harly Earl drew few, if any designs of automobiles, once he took over the design of GM automobiles in the twenties. Earl was an excellent, albeit abusive, champion of automobile design talent. Mitchell was cut from the same cloth with one distinct difference, he could draw and design. Mitchell's work in the early Cadillac/LaSalle studios and his much later work on the Corvette and Buick Rivieras being real standouts!

The design of the Auburn, that has been upheld in the design world as Gorden Buehrig's "Baby" started as a design by Al Leamy while working on early Cord and Auburn designs. Buehrig added a different grill and fenders and bauda-bing! ya got a Auburn speedster!

If I were to be thinking of building one of these designs as a kustom, and didn't wanna go the "Tubberware" (gl***fibre) route, I'd look hard at the GM products of the late thirties, the Olds & Buicks. These vehicles had the shapes in the fenders and cowl panels to get a good start on the shape you're after. To completly build one of these, in metal- steel or aluminum- would take a couple of years, ever with a power hammer and the skill to use one. with an English wheel and a shot bag...eye yhy yhy!
double that time!

I think the automotive shapes from the era of the coachbuilt/deco design are where Harry Westergard & Jimmy Summers & Joe Hage drew their ideas from.

S****ey Devils C.C.
" Spending A Nation Into Generational Debt Is Not An Act Of Comp***ion! "

 

That's a beautiful concept Tinwolf and Rikster, you've uncovered a great looking car under all that decoration!

Don't care for the front fender skirts...on anything.

 

Cool concept guys! I liked the version with the padded top, but were not so found of the woodlites. I think the version without headlights looked really nice. But what about using the woodlites like they did on the socal plating car, where they integrated the lamp into the fender. I think that could have been smashing on the car.



Actually, the whole front of the socal plating truck would have looked cool on the concept

 

Hi !
How is the -35 coming along , got to visit you one day !
V12 Auburn without fenders sounds like the ultimate cruzing missile , I bin wanting to visit Niklas for many years but have never connected . Maybe you could bring me , maybe his project is topsecret . No spy cameras !!
Wolf

 

Hi John !
Well the "speedboat slant" is nothing I negotiate with , maybe it can be adjusted but a custom (in my book) needs to be higher in the front then the back , thats all there is to it . Ive seen several customs totally horisontally leveled or even worse leaning forward , this totally ruin the look but who am I , its all a matter of taste !
Wolf

 

Hi !
I know , coming to a concource elegance or a meet for only stock original restored cars I guess this one would "take the cake" in destroying original tin . hehe ....
Customizing a Cord after the same concept , why not , Cord with its hidden headlights is already started down the custom path , cleaned up and lowerd with a carson and skirts , now weir cookin !
Wolf

 

Hi Superfleye !
Well I really like the oddball looking headlights as the ultimate in styling , I have no idea how they work but who cares , they fit inbeween the fenders.
Maybe the Cord headlights totally hidden style would work together with fenders that cover the frontwheel like the first black rendering ! Anyone up for some custom photoshop work ?
The California Plating truck is ofcause a favorit with a "stationwagon" carson on a duvall windshield , it doesnt get much more custom built then that . I dont think those teardrop vents are hiding a headlights , original -36 fords have vents for the horns or something so I think thats what they are for , then I think Rik have a picture with the headlights on ?!
The California plating car is simply an awsum custom !
Wolf

 

Wolf! You are welcome anyday Will talk to Niklas and check if his project is "official" it will raise some eyebrowes thats for sure.... amazing work! i guess You have seen his other cars, such as the V16 roadster.....

Have You received Your coupe yet?

Call me or Email me some day.

T.

 

Great thread. I'm liking your interpretations. I'm not a scholar and I don't over ****yse, but this just seems right to me.

There's many a beautiful custom hidden in ugly duckling clothes.

 

Is the Auburn bomb with the artillery wheels a real original body, or one of those made in the 60's deals? I like it with all the bells and whistles on it like that.

I'd like to see what the fenderless job looks like too if anyone has any build pics of that.

 

Hi Ulf, Thanks for photoshoping my car. You have done a great job, and it looks great. Here are some more pics of my 1936 Auburn Speedster.











See Ya!
Randy

 

i brought front fenders down like a delahaye

 

Hi Randy !
Thanks for the extra shots and thankyou for having the "kahunas" to modify a Auburn in this way . We (me and Rik Hoving that did all the photoshopping) were not second guessing your car but humbly wanted to know what a traditional custom look would look on a sleak Auburn speedster . Also thanks for the extra pictures , the artdeco Auburn surely layed down the law when it came the the ultimate sleak streamline look in the mid therties !
Wolf

 

Coverd frontwheels were used and the ultra sleek Figoni Falachi bodys used this trick as well as one of my most favorite of them all the Phantom Corsair that I think were a great inspiration to early customizing with its fully molded look , no driprails and set in licenseplate . However both had the skirts flushfit and I think this one needs it too if it was going to fly ...
Lowering it in the front with fully enclosed wheels brings some spaceage hovercraft to mind but why not , this dreamdesign are something to cherish and can be used to uplift thought for years as it has bin for me , please take this as far as possible and then some more ...............
Wolf

 

Once the design is cleaned up it really is beautiful..

The one thing that distracts me is the rear fender seems to sit too far back in the angle you have chosen,sort of like it is hardly attached to the car.. Rikster, how would it look with the rear fender(and wheel) moved forward 8-10 inches??

 

here's an idea lose the bumpers and take down front body will be alot more work but true to the french designer look

 

*****in car love the art deco style to it.The photoshop you guys have done was perfect.

 

qvo randy i've been to your chante seen your ranfas with george bolt and los vatos in the packerd muncho props on your fine collection of ranflas and
car collection . love the holden bodied convertible . and i will always remember you posting up with your vintage rambler wagon back in the days . paso rbles ect ect ect . you got history

 

As long as we are dreaming, here's a couple of Bugatti's I Photoshopped....both channelled and sectioned.

 

Outch ! the blue Bugatti is really neat , now weir totally art deco streamline hover floating , love it ! Thanks for showing me !!!
Wolf

 

How about this Idea from Last Refuge Hot rod on a model A 1928. Worked up sketch for a customer. Working on roll up windows too!

 

God Damn. That's it. I'm selling something and building this.

 

Hi Flyinbrian !
Well beware , I think its totally cool but to make reallity out of this is a lifetime undertaking . In my head the lines worked pretty easy but then we (me and Rikster) started putting it on paper and the major problem making the stock Auburn body look like the picture . To even out the severe difference in hight between the rear boattail deck and the hood Rik section the hood as much as possible but that didnt work all the way so the rear boattail deck also needed to be raised , then putting a Carson on a Duvall windshield looks soso when the door starts soo far back from the "A-pillar" so Rik extended the door , if the body were to be done in fibregl*** that means alot of cutting and extending and joining , if the body were made in sheetmetal or aluminum then you need to be extraordinarily skilled with sheetmetal but nothing is impossible , it just takes alot of time and enginuity and currage and money and ...........
Goodluck !
Wolf

 

You got some real neat ideas there. I love this period car and its flowing design.

 

It seems Im not the only one thinking streamline Auburn . Rik showed me the red one , not totally traditional custom but still plenty sleek , the white one have som hiddious front fenders but whitewalls and a nice tail !

 

Wolf,

Thanks to KustomBuick I now know you ***umptions where right. And this is indeed another Rick Dore consulted custom job.




Here are some more photos of it. A bit overdone for my taste, and putting a small diameter 1940 Ford steering wheel in and Auburn Speedster appears as a very strange choice to me.... But this car sure shows these Fibergl*** replica's could be turned into a very nice Cl***y custom car in real live.. and not only in 2D visuals...


KustomBuick photos











And here is a nice R&C article from one built way back...

 

I've had a gl*** Auburn Speedster in the garage for 20 years; guess it's time to get to work. Thanks for the ideas. Killer concepts.

 

Man how did you guys know thats all I want for Christmas.

 

Love the lines here.

I'm a big fan of these, but they are ginormous vehicles.

Could this same concept be scaled down some without losing the overall effect - perhaps down to the size of a stretched A speedster?

Maybe combine Metalshapes "unibody" ideas to lower the overall profile by sinking the p***enger compartment into the frame rails?

I think it would look even sleeker if the hood could be lowered to the point it was just above the crests of the front fenders.

I guess I'm thinking of something like the stance, footprint, body height of this:



...with the body more Auburn and fenders added. A little less m***ive, but still sleek and proportioned.

Would it still work, or does the style depend on being large-scale?

 

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=436326

Just build the streamline Auburn like this -32 in the link...Easy as 1-2-3,everybody can do it!