History We ALL Love a DARE! PIX of TRULY Extinct Makes?

That's quite interesting as a fellow in North Carolina claims his Rumble Seat Cord Cabriolet to be Sonyas car and says he has documentation. I'll have to see if I can find a picture of it. It would be GREAT if you could get a picture of the one in Norway. Dad always claimed he remembered the rumble sea in Sonyas car then as narrower then the rumble seat in the North Carolina car. car. So, the mystery is, which car is the TRUE Sonya Hjenie Cord???? Or, did she have two, a '36 and a '37, both with rumble seats???? Thanks for all your research. Jim

 

A Star is Reborn

<!--END Page Title --> <!--BEGIN Content Body //--> July 11, 2008

Story and photos by Angelo Van Bogart

In the miles of credits following at least 14 Hollywood films, there’s one supporting role you won’t find mentioned. Yet to any car hobbyist, this overlooked star stole the show.

Cast in the shadow of such silver screen legends as Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis in “Some Like it Hot” and Bette Davis and Glenn Ford in “Pocketful of Miracles,” the Duesenberg Judkins seven-passenger limousine that appeared in these films was left to drift into obscurity by Hollywood filmmakers. It was almost allowed to drift off the face of earth, had it not been for the efforts of car collector George Albright, who brought the Judkins limousine back from pieces to a whole car in 2008. But to get this washed-up “has been” back to center stage took a lot of twists and turns – and parts hunting.


Although this car was once used by E.L. Cord’s wife and starred in several movies, the body, which was separated from its chassis in 1985, almost never made it back to the road. Thanks to the efforts of George Albright and several restorers, it’s a whole, road-worthy, new-looking car again.

"I feel like Indiana Jones,” said Albright of his search for parts. Beginning only with a nice, original style 1091 Judkins limousine body, hood and rear fenders, Albright’s search for original Duesenberg components to complete the car shares many traits with the movie character that searched the globe for historical artifacts.

Making a star

The Judkins body Albright started with might have been a star even before it made its splash on the silver screen. In 1930, Duesenberg included an identical Judkins seven-passenger on its stand at the New York Auto Salon in Buffalo that may or may not have been Albright’s car. Randy Ema, present owner of Duesenberg and restorer and historian of the marque, does know the original owner of Albright’s car was William Sandow. In 1935, Ema’s records indicate this Judkins sedan became the chariot of Mrs. E.L. Cord, wife to the famous president of the Cord Corp., which owned Duesenberg.

The Cords used the long-wheelbase Duesenberg Judkins seven-passenger sedan until 1937. Following their ownership, the low-mileage car’s film career began when it was inducted into the Pacific Auto Rental fleet to be leased to production companies for use in films.


All 10 of the Judkins style 1091 sedans were built on the long, 153-1/2-inch wheelbase Model J chassis, a fact exemplified by this factory photo. Can anyone identify the location in which this unknown Judkins was photographed? (Randy Ema
collection)

At least one photograph from Pacific Auto Rental touts the Judkins sedan as a “gangster era” car, and the rental company reeled in at least two filmmakers who used the car for their mobster-era productions. Perhaps the car’s most cringe-worthy scene appears in “Some Like it Hot,” starring Monroe, Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and original Duesenberg Tourster owner Joe E. Brown. In this 1959 film, the low-mileage Duesenberg Judkins sedan squeals into a parking garage, breaking through a chain before unloading a car full of outlaws led by Spats Colombo, played by George Raft. After the outlaws spray the competing mobsters with bullets, the car quickly pulls out of the garage with the remains of the chain and its attached “sound your horn” for entry sign still clinging to the bottom of the car. In this scene, the mighty roar of the car’s 420-cid straight-eight sings through the viewer’s surround-sound system as the driver takes advantage of the 265-hp engine’s low-end torque.

A more polite use of the car can be seen in “Pocketful of Miracles,” a 1961 gangster film starring Bette Davis, Ann-Margret and Glenn Ford. The Duesenberg’s role is much smaller in this film, as it serves only as a backdrop for a brief scene in which the character playing a Spanish consul exits the car at a New York City pier.


The Judkins sedan while it was in use by Pacific Auto Rental. At the time of the photo, the car had very low miles and was in largely original condition. Notice the rental company marketed the car to gangster movie-producing filmmakers.


Despite its use in these films and others, the Duesenberg’s mileage remained low and its condition was exceptionally original when it was offered by Rick Cole Auctions as part of the no-reserve liquidation sale of Pacific Auto Rental’s fleet on Aug. 18, 1985. Along with Duesenberg J-395, a Murphy convertible coupe, the Judkins sedan headlined the sale and fetched $180,000, according to Old Cars Weekly auction records.

A falling star

Even though it was not acceptable to remove closed coachwork from Classic car chassis to mount more sporting open coachwork, such as phaeton or speedster bodies, some people were still attracted to the prospect. In the 1980s and earlier, such a change could enhance a car’s value, though many collectors looked upon such a change as altering history. The Judkins featured here was a victim of this trend.

Fred Weber of St. Louis and his son Dave purchased the Judkins sedan from Pacific Auto Rental’s liquidation sale and soon sent it to master restorer Fran Roxas of Chicago. Weber’s instructions to Roxas were to remove the Judkins sedan body from its low-mileage Model J chassis and replace it with one of the racy torpedo phaeton bodies Roxas was masterfully re-crafting from his shop.

Roxas complied, resulting in the pairing of a beautiful black torpedo phaeton body atop the Judkins’ original chassis, 2276, and with its original engine, J-255.

"They wanted to have a car that had a body that could be switched,” Roxas said. “It was going to be a car that could be open or closed, but that never happened.”

Weber eventually sold the car, and it was displayed with the torpedo phaeton body in the impressive Auto Collections at the Imperial Palace before traveling to England, where it now resides with a collector.

The fate of the Judkins body was not as fortunate. Rather than accompany its original chassis and engine, the Judkins body passed among collectors. Since the body was no longer mounted to a chassis, it remained in storage from 1985-2005. During that time, many collectors contemplated what to do with the body, and at one point, it nearly became an enthusiasts’ bar or bed!


Judkins frequently used these loop-type door handles on the bodies it built, and these handles, along with much of the other hardware, are original to the car and have not been restored.

Before that could happen, George Albright stepped in. In 2005, the pre-1905 automotive history student came upon a speedster body at auction that had been built for a Duesenberg chassis in 1946. Albright won the auction and started him down a path to put the speedster body back on the road. Before traveling far, the path made a turn down a new road to the Judkins seven-passenger body and many other original Duesenberg parts.

“I decided to look for a reproduction frame to put under [the speedster body], and it took me back to Russell Yordy, who I had known for 15 years,” Albright said. “Russell said, ‘I’ve done a bunch of Duesenbergs, and I don’t want to do another one. Rather than you do this second-generation [speedster] body with a reproduction frame, well, I have this beautiful Judkins limo body, and it needs to be put on this restored rolling chassis I have.’ ”


Judkins frequently used these loop-type door handles on the bodies it built, and these handles, along with much of the other hardware, are original to the car and have not been restored.

That Judkins sedan body, style no. 1091, was the last remaining example, and one of the most famous Duesenbergs of all – the car from “Some Like it Hot” and “Pocketful of Miracles” and one of several Duesenbergs used by E.L. Cord. Albright quickly changed his plans of restoring the speedster body in favor of returning the Judkins seven-passenger sedan body to the road.

The hunt

In Duesenberg circles, cars that retain an original engine, chassis, coachwork, aluminum firewall and instrument panel are held in very high esteem, since these components have been reproduced. Given the history of the Judkins sedan body, Albright wanted justice to be served to the remaining coachwork and searched for these original parts. He made the search for a frame, the foundation of any car, his starting point.

“I said, ‘If I am going to go through all of the trouble of having an original body and engine, I want an original frame,’ ” Albright said. But there was a large problem in that plan. “I talked to Yordy and Randy Ema and Brian Joseph, and all of them said an original frame has not been available for many years.”


The division between the rear seats and driver compartment retains the original inlaid wood, along with the lap robe bar. The handle in the center raises and lowers the division window.

Dumb luck didn’t wait long to strike, and one month after purchasing the Judkins body, Albright saw a Kruse International advertisement featuring the sale of the Karl Klieve estate.

“That was August 2005, and Karl was a Ph.D. engineer that had this interesting habit of buying Classic cars and taking them apart and letting the parts lie around,” Albright said. Among those Classic car parts were two original Duesenberg engines and a pair of long-wheelbase Duesenberg frames – just what Albright needed. “I went to the Klieve auction and bought both of the original frames and the two engines [including] J-102 and its original frame, no. 2128.”

Although many of Klieve’s parts were left outside, the frames Albright purchased from the estate were in excellent condition. The long-wheelbase frame that made up chassis no. 2128 was a particularly good match to Albright’s original-paint Judkins sedan body, which was also built for the long wheelbase.

“He had hung it from the ceiling rafter in chains, and it was in its original paint,” Albright said. “You could see that frame was made by the Parish Frame Co. – you could still see where it said ‘Parish.’ ”

Many of the main components required to restore the Judkins limousine with original parts were quickly stacking in Albright’s garage, but there are a lot of parts to a car, and Albright had a ways to go.

“I had two original frames, two motors [plus] beautifully restored running gear on a reproduction frame,” Albright said. “Then I had the beautiful original-paint Judkins limousine body. I had all this, and one thing led to another and someone introduced me to Dee Howard.

“Dee Howard had the largest stash of Duesenberg parts on the planet. He was 85 years old and the family decided it was time for him to get rid of his car collection. Dee and I made a deal in 2005 to buy four more engines including [engine] J-183, which had a fully restored original [short-wheelbase] chassis under it. So now here I am sitting with seven engines and three original chassis, plus I bought all of Dee Howard’s [other] stuff.”


As is typical for limousine-style sedans, the front interior features leather upholstery. Although the paint on the Judkins body was original when Albright purchased it, the interior and top had been redone by the previous owner.

The additional “stuff” included a semi trailer full of parts, the jackpot to nearly completing the Judkins limousine’s restoration.

“Dee Howard literally sold me a semi trailer full of Duesenberg parts,” Albright said. “It filled my 30-foot by 40-foot garage, and we were finally in a position to put [the Judkins sedan] back together.”

Among the few parts Albright still needed was an original instrument panel and an external windshield visor made of green glass as used on Judkins bodies. Albright’s luck hadn’t been exhausted while searching for an original frame, and he was able to find the also hard-to-find instrument panel and visor by networking.

“That dashboard is from one of the lost Duesenbergs out of France,” Albright said. “A man in France saw this Duesenberg in a junk yard in the 1950s and 1960s … on the France/Spain border, and he got the dashboard out of it when it was dismantled.” Albright was able to buy the instrument panel, complete with gauges, from a friend of the man who rescued the part.


Thanks to the car’s use in films and TV featuring well-known Hollywood figures, this car’s interior is the red carpet. The rear compartment features cloth and jump seats.

More challenging was finding the visor for the Judkins body. Even though the body remained intact and very original down to the rear fenders, the visor was lost somewhere in the car’s well-traveled past.

“Those visors were used on Judkins and V-16 Cadillacs, and I was introduced to a guy at Hershey who had three,” Albright said. “He was told it came from a Duesenberg, and it bolted right on!”

A career comes full circle

With a garage full of pieces, Albright was ready to search for someone who could re-assemble the puzzle. The answer turned out to be simple — Albright went right to the puzzle maker, Fran Roxas, who disassembled the Duesenberg Judkins sedan in the first place.

“If you read Old Cars Weekly like I have for 30 years, you’ve seen his name and creations,” Albright said of Roxas. “He’s very hard to find … he’s not listed and he doesn’t advertise. If you go looking under Roxas, you can’t find him. I called somebody that introduced us.

“He knew the car and where the pieces went back together,” Albright said. “So, I sent the original body and frame and the restored running gear to Fran, and he fully restored the original frame [no. 2128] and moved the engine over and put the original body on it.”

“[Albright] had a running short-wheelbase chassis and he wanted to put this [long-wheelbase] car back together, so we switched everything from his short wheelbase to this [long-wheelbase] frame, which I believe is the second chassis manufactured,” Roxas said.

While completing the switch, Roxas restored the chassis, which included spraying new paint. When Roxas mated the freshly painted chassis and fenders to the original-paint body, the two clashed and the original paint no longer looked appropriate. When Roxas noted the clash, he called Albright, who was forced to make a decision.

“Unfortunately, the original body was not nice enough to leave the original paint,” Albright said. “We used the exact color scheme, down to the apple green pinstriping, which was from the factory.”

Added Roxas, “We went through a lot of trouble to match the original colors, because the body still had the original paint and pinstripe on it. It made our restoration, as far as colors, easier, because we didn’t have to do too much research.”

When Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg automobiles carry original bodies, chassis and engines, they are considered category one cars by the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Club. It was always Albright’s intention to restore the Judkins body with as many original parts as possible for historic preservation, rather than judging purposes, but he ended up with a car that can stand proud among other vehicles in the ACD Club.

“It’s probably the first category one car to be reassembled in 20 years or so,” Albright said of the Judkins limousine, which now rests on chassis no. 2128 with engine J-297.

“I was emphatic about building this car with original parts. In addition, I’m very proud of the fact that I was able to take the Dee Howard rolling chassis and sell it to another Duesenberg collector. I took the Klieve stuff and the Dee Howard collection – parts have been floating around for 30, 40, 50 years – [and] I was able to put the two other Duesenberg chassis back into collector hands and ultimately back on the road, along with mine, making three.”

Putting the Duesenberg back on the road was an expensive undertaking and took a large part of Albright’s time over three years, but the experience was very rewarding.

“I walked into financial quicksand. The task of paying for the parts and the restoration was tremendous,” he said. “I have very much a love of history. It was three years of hard work, and I put out a lot of money, but I had a significant amount of satisfaction by saving one of the most historic Duesenbergs.”

Albright also met a lot of people who have the star power in the hobby to match that of the Duesenberg they all helped restore.

“I got to know Randy Ema very well, and Brian Joseph, who is forever the gentleman,” said Albright. “And of course, Fran Roxas, who is one of the top restorers in the world. They’re all in the top 10 restorers in the world.

“They have all been so kind, because of their love for the cars,” Albright continued. “A lot of people knew there had been an injustice done to this car – to dismantle an original-paint car that is one of the most historic Duesenbergs. A lot of people have been appreciative to see a car like this come together.”

Among those people was Ema, who is known for his Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance-quality restorations, as well as his historical efforts to preserve Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg history.

“It’s the most filmed Duesenberg,” Ema said. “Once the body was removed by Roxas who restored it, it bounced around for years and I never thought it would end up back on a chassis. I was elated when I saw it go back on a chassis, especially an original chassis.”

All the right people helped put the right car back on the road, and when Albright says “All the right stars fell in to place,” he means more than the bright spots in the sky.

Author’s note: Special thanks to Randy Ema, who’s historical information was of great help in writing the story of this Duesenberg and many others.

Since its restoration and debut at the 2008 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, the Duesenberg Judkins sedan has been sold to the John O’Quinn collection in Texas where it is displayed with nearly two dozen other Duesenbergs.

 

Jim, that's an exciting quest you have going! I hope you can batten down THE fact of the matter! BEST of luck!!!

BTW, are there specific differences between the 810 and 812 models? AND, did Cord make both versions in '36 and '37???

 

I wonder what the status of the John O'Quinn collection is since his death last year.

 

There were continous running changes made on the 810 and 812 throughout the production cycle. In fact, there were a bunch of leftover 810 cars that got renumbered to 812 and then sold as such. There are some features that are only found on one car or the other. For example, the blower was only available on the 812. But, to answer your question specifically, there was no real change from 810 to 812 other then a new model year.

 

http://www.oldcarsweekly.com/article/john_oquinn_car_collection_liquidation/

 

[FONT=arial, helvetica, verdana]'Baby Duesenberg'

The prototype, known as "baby Duesenberg", was designed in 1933. The car featured streamlined styling with running boards absent; it had two outrigger radiators and inboard retractable headlamps. The prototype was built by coachbuilder Walker. To my knowledge the car did not survive. The design of the car is presented in (at least) three different patents; see the first three references in the reference list. All the patents are available online on the website of the US Patent Office. Both Duesenberg, Inc. and Auburn Automobile Company were divisions of the Cord Corporation. At some point the 'baby Duesenberg' project was abandoned. Later however an Auburn version of the car based on some of the concepts of the former project was built. This automobile, that would eventually become Cord 810 sedan, was also designed by Gordon Buehrig (see references 4 and 5). At this stage the car still had the retractable headlamps in the style of the "baby Duesenberg", however some differences are noticeable, see Figure 1 for details. Unlike the Cord, "baby Duesenberg" was a rear-wheel driven car, as directly stated in the patent 2,078,067. The car was likely built on the standard 1934 Auburn chassis with a Lycoming series GG engine (thanks to Randy Ema for the information). Although at the same time the development of a new front wheel drive chassis and a V8 engine was ongoing.
[/FONT][FONT=arial, helvetica, verdana]
Figure 1. Comparison between "Baby Duesenberg" and E306 Cord prototype; Click on a thumbnail to view a full-size image.
Figure 2. Extraction of the silhouette of the car from the side view images [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica, verdana]
[/FONT][FONT=arial, helvetica, verdana]References

1. Design for an automobile, patent number Des. 93,451 (Gordon Miller Buehrig; Oct. 2, 1934)

2. Cooling system for automobile engines, patent number 2,078,067 (August Duesenberg; April 20, 1937).

3. Headlight structure, patent number 2,084,120 (Harold T. Ames; Jun. 15, 1937)

4. Design for an automobile, patent number Des. 97,697 (Gordon Miller Buehrig; Dec. 2, 1935)

5. Design for an automobile hood structure, patent number Des. 99,973 (Gordon Miller Buehrig; Jun. 9, 1936) [/FONT]
[FONT=arial, helvetica, verdana]

[/FONT]

 

[FONT=arial, helvetica, verdana]Three versions of the E306 Cord prototypes by Nicko Moritz

Five E306 prototypes were built by the Auburn Automobile Company. This was further development of the "baby Duesenberg" concept. The retractable headlamps used on E306 had similar design to that of "baby Duesenberg", but the other innovative feature characteristic to "baby Duesenberg", the outrigger radiators, was abandoned. Later, the E306 prototypes saw production in the form of Cord 810 (1936) and Cord 812 (1937).

Cord was a front wheel-drive car which allowed for low silhouette but also required long hood. This combination resulted in attractive design produced by Gordon Buehrig. Moreover, unlike its predecessor (Cord L-29), this car featured a new front wheel-drive chassis, a new V-8 Lycoming engine and an innovative vacuum-operated pre-selective gearshift.

The E306 prototypes were quite similar to production Cord sedans. The only distinct exterior difference is the design and placement of the retractable headlamps. Also, the windshield and rear window areas were increased on the production car. One of the first prototypes apparently had grill-louvers made of stainless steel. There were other minor exterior differences (Josh Malks is acknowledged for valuable information).

To my knowledge none of the original E306 prototypes survived. The "Coppertone Cord" owned by Dr. Paul Bryant is a replica(?) of a prototype. The car is painted "burnt sienna" and has grill-louvers, wheels, handles, etc. copper-plated (Thanks to Bill Himmel of the information and reference images). Although, in my opinion, this color scheme fits well with the style of the car, the authenticity of the color scheme is doubted.

References

1. Design for an automobile, patent number Des. 93,451 (Gordon Miller Buehrig; Oct. 2, 1934)

2. Cooling system for automobile engines, patent number 2,078,067 (August Duesenberg; April 20, 1937).

3. Headlight structure, patent number 2,084,120 (Harold T. Ames; Jun. 15, 1937)
4. Design for an automobile, patent number Des. 97,697 (Gordon Miller Buehrig; Dec. 2, 1935)

5. Design for an automobile hood structure, patent number Des. 99,973 (Gordon Miller Buehrig; Jun. 9, 1936)

[/FONT]

 

Wonerful stuff about the later Cords, gang. AJ, thanks for the skinny on the blower distinguishing the 812 (BTW, I'd heard that, for whatever reason, the 810 had been "hurried" into production and had a Toyota moment, until thing got rectified).

 

Well, ALL that said, it is a shame that E.L. and what were obviously a great team of engineers and workers could not make their last-ditch Aurburns, Cords and Duesenbergs successful, sales-wise.

The Great Depression was a horrible time (sales-wise, anyway) for U.S. auto companies. Arguably, EVEN the few independents who "hung in there" through the awful '30s emerged after the war so HOBBLED as to be virtually doomed -- no matter how long they fought to tough it out!

I'd like to have a magic wand and make that marriage of the "major" post-WWII independents happen by 1948 !!! Obviously, personalities and hard-wired corporate cultures would have had to bend, but it COULD have worked. By the time it was tried, everybody was a day late and a dollar short.

 

Okay, guys, HERE is one that's been bugging me for at least two years: Murray-Mac, supposedly made from 1921 to 1929. To date, I have found NOT ONE detail, NOT ONE photo of a car that was made for almost a decade (and, according to WIKI, descended from the Murray of 1916 - 1921). WIKI cites page 208 of Clymer's 1950 edtn. book, Treasury of Early American Automobiles, 1877-1925. New York: Bonanza Books.

How can a long-running car make get totally lost? Any help???

 

The Coppertone Cord By Tom Strongman

Gordon Buehrigs Cord is often said to be one of the of the most beautiful automobiles ever designed. It's gestation is a story of persistence.

The famous Cord is based on a design that Buehrig first penned when he worked as a stylist in the art and color division of General Motors under the legendary Harley Earl. Buehrigs design done for a company contest was rejected.

When Buehrig moved to Duesenberg, he was asked to design a lower cost Duesenberg and he worked up a design based on the one rejected by G.M. It had front wheel drive, outrigger radiators and an aerodynamic shape punctuated with art deco details. The little Duesenberg never happened, but when Buehrig was asked to design a new Cord, he resurrected his design once again. Five prototypes were built for 1935 New York auto show, and the car left showgoers in awe.

Paul Bryant of Prairie Village Kansas is a retire physics professor from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a Cord enthusiast of the highest order. He has restored three Cords and including the Coppertone Cord. Coppertone, so named because of the copper plating on it's louvers , is one of the five prototypes, and it was shown at the '35 New York Show. Bryant found the car many years ago in Minden Mines Mo.

Bryant knew his car was a very early model, or perhaps one of the prototypes, because many of it's elements seemed different then standard. He contacted Buehrig about the car and Buehrig asked Bryant to bring the glovebox door to the annual Cord celebration in Auburn Ind. There, Buehrig scratched through the paint on the back of the door and found a deep wine color.

Buehrig later stopped in Prairie Village enroute to Michigan from his home in Arizona. Upon closer examination of the entire car, he verified that, it was indeed, one of the earliest prototypes, although it had been modified along the way. Bryant asked Buehrig how he should restore it. "Just as I designed it" Buehrig said.

To that end Bryant worked to bring the car bring the car back to it's original configuration. He copper plated the louvers, made hubcaps without holes and restored the headlights to there side opening configuration.

Today, Bryants work of many years is complete and on permanent display at he Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum in Auburn Ind.

 

Well, there is definitely not a kick-up on the frames here. They all seem to be the same dimensionally (except one which appears to be hacked in half), and they were put up there for some reason or another. They fit *exactly* between the girders which leads me to believe they may have been cut-to-fit in that space. The rails are dead straight and look to be quite a bit larger than the ones in the pictures of the actual Sterling. It was all a rumor that these were from a "Sterling", mostly because of the road we are on and the age of the building, but they may be from something else entirely. I've seen the name Huffman before regarding truck production here in Elkhart, but I don't know where the factory was located. I do not believe the parts to be for a later Elcar or a Crow since those factories were across town and I don't believe most places back then outsourced work to others, but it's possible.

I can get specific dimensions on what is there, but I need to wait until after hours and use the electric lift to get up there and measure. A few of the frames actually have some equipment mounted to them (blower systems, etc.), so it's hard to tell what holes are original and what's been drilled in them over 100 years or so.

It may be possible to get one of the frames down, but the others are pretty well locked into the superstructure. They all have two crossmembers on them. The large gusseted flat one in my picture, and the other bent piece that appears to either go over a differential housing, or under an oil pan. I don't know.

I'll try and get more info off of them, but there are no identifying marks that I could see.

Thanks,

Grant

P.S. I did find the height of the main frame channels to be ~5.5", and there appears to have been an addition made the frame of about 12-15" that is poorly welded in place to get the frames long enough to fit in between the girders. In addition, the end of the frame near the flat-gusset crossmembers has a piece of C-channel or flat stock on that end which acts like a 3rd crossmember, or some type of bumper, but it is not any wider than the frame itself.

 

[FONT=arial, helvetica, verdana]1936-37 Cord Convertible Coupe (so-called "Sportsman") Technically, there is no such thing as a Sportsman. The Sportsman nomenclature came from an ad featuring the Cord Convertible Coupe that said "For The Sportsman"
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[FONT=arial, helvetica, verdana]1936-37 Cord Phaeton. Cords Phaeton nomenclature is kind of confusing as a true Phaeton is a 4 Door Convertible with no windows, only side curtains.
[/FONT]

 

[FONT=arial, helvetica, verdana]1936-1937 Cord Westchester Sedan. Most people prefer the fastback design as it is Buehrigs original design. Just because the car has the fastback, it doesn't mean that it is a Westchester. There are Beverlys with just the fastback. The true distinction is in the interior.
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<dt style="font-size: 18px; font-weight: bold; font-stretch: expanded;"><center>E.L. Cord's 812 Beverly Finds Its Way Home</center></dt>


Many legendary automobiles have shared the names of their creators. For Auburn Automobile Company owner Errett Lobban Cord, the eponymous vehicles were the legendary Cord L-29 and Cord 810/812 models. Now, E.L. Cord's personal 1937 Cord 812 has been donated to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in Auburn, Indiana.

E.L.’s 1937 Cord 812 Supercharged Beverly is one of only 184 examples produced and has only 10,000 original miles on its odometer. It is powered by a supercharged Lycoming 289 cubic-inch V8 engine. The engine produces 170 horsepower and uses a four-speed manual transmission.

This car has never left the possession of the Cord family since the car was delivered by truck new to E.L. Cord at his Cordhaven estate in Beverly Hills, California, from the Auburn Automobile Company Connersville, Indiana factory complex in late 1937. The car is believed to be one of the last Cord 812s to have been delivered by the Auburn Automobile Company after its demise in 1937.

This piece of automotive history has been donated to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum by the family of Charles Cord, Sr. and Charles Cord, Jr., the son and grandson of E.L. Cord.

The Green non S/C Beverly pictured below was recently sold by Gateway Classic Cars. There are some non authentic items on this car. There were two phaetons built with the bubble trunk. Buehrig never liked the S/C pipes or the bubble trunks as they were not part of his original design. The pipes were designed by Alex Tremulis.

 

An Electric Drag

According to The Canadian Magazine, Vol. XXI, May-October 1903, this is “The “Canada” – an electric drag used for tourist sight-seeing in Toronto. Presumably there’s someone running along behind with a stepladder.


Green Car Sightseeing Service? Surely the word “green” in an electric context was coincidental, but still…


And some more electric transportation...............

 

1937 CORD CUSTOM BEVERLY

The Custom Beverly is referred to as a LWB or Long Wheelbase car. It has a 132-inch wheelbase, which is 7 inches longer than regular Cords. It is also 2 inches taller so its proportion is retained. You can spot a Custom because the are 8 louvers instead of 7. This is a rare automobile, less than 200 were built.

My Sunroof Cord is a Custom Beverly. The Car pictured below is not the same car in the Beverly post. This is a Custom Beverly.

 

The the top of the line Cord was the Berline built on a 132 inch wheelbase. There were some with a 135 inch wheelbase. The Berlines included a Division window. Buehrig never cared for the Long Wheelbase cars either.

 

SunRoof, I do understand Gordon Buerhig's fussiness. But, in fact, EVERY version of this car looked striking -- and from every angle. THAT'S WHAT I MYSELF LIKE ABOUT THEM.

The '35/6 Auburn boat-tail speedsters, though indeed beautiful, were "period defining." The Cord 810/12 was, instead, TIMELESS. As I recall, I think it was called one of the VERY best auto designs of the 20th Century (all time?).

 

Jim,

Any pictures of an arm chair beverly? On my first trip to Auburn when I was about 10 there were 2 arm chair cars there and I thought they were really cool!

A.J.

 

Yup, that's why the Cord 810-812 is called "The Timeless Classic" And any list of top automotive designs will have the Cord on it. Cords are kind of like people. Each one of them has there own personality.

The following applies to sedans only. IN GENERAL (because nothing is 100% with Cords):

810 Westchesters had fastbacks with a flat-panelled broadcloth interior.
810 Beverlys had fastbacks with a pleated broadcloth interior featuring fixed armrests front and rear (the so-called Armchair Beverlys).
812 Westchesters were exactly like 810s
812 Beverlys had a bustle trunk and pleated broadcloth interior and fold-down armrests front and rear.

Exceptions have been found, all factory work:

- Westchesters with pleated leather upholstery, no armrests
- a Westchester with flat-panelled broadcloth, and pull-down armrests
- 812 Beverlys with leather interiors and more

That's not to get into the (7") longer "Custom" series, and a very few with even longer wheelbases.
_________________

 

Holy shit, THIS could not POSSIBLY have been regarded as SAFE
by the people who paid their nickel!!!

 

OKAY, FIREmen, cigarettes that require FIRE. Do you really want
these guys to come put out your fire in a slow-moving electric
vehicle? Heck, what's wrong with this pic??? Jeesh, I love auto
history!

 

Well, I always feel EL Cord went out on a respectable AND WISE note. The cardinal rule of business is that you must make profits. If, after a reasonable 1-2 endeavor, no profit occurs, you cut losses, treat your employees as best you can, and you exit THAT business. Cord, as I understand, went on to make tons of money west of the Mississippi in real estate.

 

February 2010 in The Automobile: 'RUSTON-HORNSBY Jonathan Wood unravels the story of the short-lived, Lincoln-built Ruston-Hornsby .....' This and much more in the monthly magazine devoted to pre-1960 cars with up-to-date auctions, news and views, as well as in-depth historical articles. If you would like a copy sent to you each month for a year, the prices are: Europe and Eire: £49.50, rest of world: £65. All issues to be sent via airmail. If you live in the UK, 12 issues cost £42.50. For a free copy please email or write to: The Automobile magazine, PO Box 153, Cranleigh GU6 8ZL, United Kingdom.

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1920 HUFFMAN Six Motor Car AD. $1895. Elkhart, Indiana


Huffman Brothers Motor Co., Elkhart, Indiana. Continental Six Cylinder Motor. Inlaid linoleum covered running boards and floor boards. Trouble lamp on 12 foot cord on dash. Available colors included Foch Gray, Victory Blue, Huffman Maroon.

 

Motor Truck in the Monument Business

What Retail Monument Dealers Think of the Efficiency of Motor Transportation for Memorial Work

Excerpt from
Granite Marble & Bronze, Vol. XXXI, No. 1, January 1921, pp. 32-33d



&#8220;Cream City Granite & Marble Works:
&#8220;&#8216;We operate a Huffman two-ton truck. The truck is cheaper for handling stone, especially on long trips. We can deliver our work at least ten times as fast as with the team. Our truck is equipped with solid tires. Pneumatic ones would bring the platform too high.&#8217;

 

Wow, there are some features of this truck that REALLY match up to the frames in the ceiling here at the shop. The rear-most cross member, the frame sides, and the fact that the springs are mounted outboard of the frame lead me to believe this may be the same truck. The only part that I wish we could see in any type of detail is the area under the hood/fenders. That would help to see if the crossmember there matches up with the formed one on the frames here.

Does anyone know of any other pictures of a Huffman truck or know of one that still exists?

Thanks,

Grant