Barn Find Roadster!!!!! What Is It????

We found it to still be in the barn after all these years. My dad has had this in my Grandpas barn since he was sixteen years old. He picked it up from a junkyard in Biloxi, MS off of Pops Ferry Road. He never knew what it was and tried to mate it to a Model A cowl he had. Here are some pictures of him and the hot rod in 1966. He ended up putting the roadster back half into the barn where it sat until my Grandma passed away right after hurricane Katrina. What is it??? That hole in the side is factory, we believe it is some sort of luggage door or for golf clubs. Thanks for any help



Thats my Dad to the right. One cool dude!

 

not a roadster
its a coupester
not ford
thats all i know
tk

 

It is a roadster. It is not a coupe with the roof cut off.

 

right the roof bloted on to it
my guess is chevy, because of all the wood
tk

 

Thanks Tub! that makes since with the tall belt molding. I looked up coupster and found this. My dad has a 1923 Durant Touring and says that it is not a Durant.


First of all, I better explain what a Coupster is. It’s not a coupe or a roadster but a combination of both. It has a permanent top like a coupe but doors and upholstery like a roadster, and side curtains that pull down out of the top, instead of roll-up glass windows like a coupe. They were built in limited quantities in 1925 and part of 1926. Durant Motors got a patent on them so they could not be copied by any other carmaker.
At the time dad traded his for a 1928 Chevrolet coach, I was too young to own a car. I was only 13 at the time. Since then, I remember seeing only one other and it was in very bad shape. This was around 1950, and it was not for sale.
About 1955 I bought a 1927 Star Coupe, figuring I would never find a Coupster. Imagine my surprise, in November of this year, 2003, when I saw one advertised in the Durant Club newsletter. It was only about 300 miles away in Athens, Michigan - priced reasonable and restored to boot. As soon as I could I called the man and made arrangements to purchase it. I was really excited and was so surprised to find one after all these years.
As soon as we could, my friend, Virginia, and I hooked up my trailer, jumped in my truck, and headed for Michigan. Upon arrival, I found the car to be even better than I had expected. I drove it around the block, and it performed well, with a peppy and good running engine. I bought the car on the spot, and after spending an enjoyable evening with the former owner, Chuck Miller, and his wife we headed for home.
The trip home was without incident, except for one very unfortunate thing. Around Gary, Indiana, I saw one of the side curtains flopping in the wind, which was very strong that day. I stopped to get gas and pulled it down, thinking it would be O.K. well, it wasn't. Somewhere in Indiana the passenger side curtain blew off I didn't even see it go. The bad part was that the original curtain frame went with it. So now I need to make a new curtain. There is probably no chance of ever finding another one or the one that blew off.
The next day after we got home, we drove the car to our local Region AACA Octoberfest. The little car really attracted a lot of attention. A lot of people had never seen or heard of a Star car, let alone a Coupster. I also drove it in the local Veterans Day parade with our American Legion Commander riding with me, and there again it really stole the show. This car is identical to the one my father had, and every time I look at it, or drive it, it brings back a flood of wonderful memories.

 

My guess would be a coupe that was built on a wooden inner framework. The top tin was never welded to the bottom, just nailed at the belt line. But that's no Chevy, as they didn't have "golf" doors in them. Probably a higher-end make.

 

I saw one of these on ebay once. If recall correctly it was a Buick. The one I saw was a 31' coupe with that golf club door. Cadillac also had that door on a roadster 1930.

 

I believe you've got a 1931 Buick leather back rear quarter.

Being that it's a trunk lid gives away that it wasn't on a higher end model like a deluxe buick. Also, no holes in the panel above the decklid for the top rests.

 

looks like Termites ate my chevy beat me to it!

 

I'm going to revise my first post and say 1932 Buick, because in '32 they added the reveal above the golf door that I didn't notice when I posted the 31 picture...

 

Elrod what is the tan car? It look like the beltlines are different.

Does anybody have any pictures of 1930 Cadillacs?

 

Thanks Elrod! Sorry for the late post

 

Seen one at Bills Hot Rods in Oakdale,Ca. They said it was a Buick and was golf club door.

 

I don't think you have found the right one yet. There were over 125 car builders in Indianapolis in the late twenties.....and that's not counting the other cities in the US!

Try surfing Google by typing in a breif description, then hit "go"...then hit "images". (You will get a mixture of various makes.) Keep changing the year and maker. As you look at images, keep an eye on the character lines on the bodies. You might just get lucky, and find the exact make.

 

1930 caddy

 

Popps ferry road huh? thats like 2 blocks from me...

 

I'm pretty sure it's an early thirties olds. 31-32 looks REALLLY close

 

The corner of Pops Ferry Rd. & JAM Ln.

JAMCOUPE = JAM Ln.

JAM is my intitials as well as my Dad & Grandpas

Small world huh....

 

That rear quater panel looks simular to bcharlton's coupe. His is 32 Oldsmobile. The body lines are close and the golf door matches also. Hard to see in his car since it is welded up. I think that the 32 Buick body lines are closer than the Olds. The Olds the body lins pinch together while the Buick lines round together.



Maybe he will come around and post some better pics.

 

i think elrod nailed it with 32 buick

 

it's definately NOT 32 buick. the upper reveal and the middle reveal do not meet on jamcoupe's quarters but it does on the buick.

 

ahh i see... good eye!

 

What is the deal with the tiger driving in the black and white pic?

 

jamcoupe did your dad ever build anything roadworthy or are those pictures as far as he got with it ?

 

Yeah he built a wooden "C" Cab out of the rest and put the roadster body in the barn. It had a engine & 3 duece set up out of a Pontiac GTO and he thinks I'm nuts. Ill get pics of it and scan them.

He has built about 15 cars.

He currently has these

1932 Ford 5 Window steel
1935 Chevy 2 door Sedan
1923 Durant Touring
1928 Model A boat tail
1937 Chevy truck
1966 Cobra replica
1968 Camaro RS
1965 Buick Special Convertible

 

Thus far, everything has a golf door less than half the size of your car. Find the marque that used that huge door and you've found your maker. Similar era chryslers used a golf door too, but much smaller, so you can rule those out.

 

another of bcharlton's coupe

 

What Shifty said. And the beltline is way low on the door. It ends at the back differant then any of the pics shown so far.

 

Jam, my man...

If I were you, I would find a Model A cowl... and as queer as it may seem... I would mate that rear bustle with a Model A cowl and "duplicate" that hot rod makins in that picture.

A simple 2 x 4" rectangular tube frame... tapered in front... kicked up in rear a bit. Dropped front axle, split bones, Pontiac motor, suto trans... 9" rear... solid 16"ers... bias plys... and it would be one funky hot rod with a tid-bit of history... but most of all, at 75mph down the highway, it would be a shit-load of FUN!

Do it, man... just do it.

'Bout the ONLY change I might make is... I might cut down, or CUT OFF the windshield frame... 'cause that's what lends the "ugly" to that combo.

Sam.

 

Oh, and if you wanna make a hot rod roadster, consider shortening the body so the doorjamb runs through the current golf door. The body will have goofy proportions otherwise. My chrysler had a similar thing going on and it had to be shortened 10" to look right. Good luck