looking for early 1930s coupe prefer bigger bodied car

Looking for decent early thirties coupe just missed a 1930 willys knight on ebay.Not particular on brand just want a bigger bodied coupe with good legroom and headroom --thanks 830-285-1955 texas

No problem finding a car with headroom; cars were designed then to accommodate hats. You might want to post something in the general section for advice about which makes of coupe had lots of legroom. I don't personally know of any coupes/roadsters of the period that had seat adjusters, and folks were a lot smaller then. I'm 6'5", and that's a big reason I switched from a Model A roadster to a '38 Buick Sedan.

If you are tall in height or big in the girth a Model A Ford Roadster or Cabriolet is not the car for you. Especially the Roadster ( open cab ) pickup. I think of all my cars the Roadster pickup is the least likely to be stolen because nobody can get in the darn thing. I either squeeze by the steering wheel or usually get in the passenger's door. Wayne

Thanks , I am 6 ft 4--- 235 pounds that's why I would like a bigger bodied car ,any suggestions for a make of car that would have a little more room but not break the bank? would prefer something with a good body but could need mechanical work

Early Chrysler products have the legroom that you need.

There's a '30 Willys Knight 3 window coupe for sale in my town of Gardnerville NV, near Carson City. It's not my car, just saw it sitting on highway with for sale sign. It looks to be a tired amateurish restoration but it's a nice solid car. The price is $13k, sign says it doesn't run. Don't know if that's an outlandish price or not, and it's not my car, just passing information. I could get the phone number if you're interested.

I know of a 1929 Sterns-Knight rumble seat sport coupe/landau irons, golf door , decent original interior, not been out of the garage since the 1960s. Car has wire wheels and ORIGINAL PAINT. Even the top fabric looks original. I think the wheelbase is like 140 inches. Car is in western NY . Mike

There's a '30 Willys Knight 3 window coupe for sale in my town of Gardnerville NV, near Carson City. It's not my car, just saw it sitting on highway with for sale sign. It looks to be a tired amateurish restoration but it's a nice solid car. The price is $13k, sign says it doesn't run. Don't know if that's an outlandish price or not, and it's not my car, just passing information. I could get the phone number if you're interested.

This looks like a good one....

http://forums.aaca.org/f145/any-chrysler-people-interested-chrysler-coupe-370819.html

I know of a 1929 Sterns-Knight rumble seat sport coupe/landau irons, golf door , decent original interior, not been out of the garage since the 1960s. Car has wire wheels and ORIGINAL PAINT. Even the top fabric looks original. I think the wheelbase is like 140 inches. Car is in western NY . Mike

There's a '30 Willys Knight 3 window coupe for sale in my town of Gardnerville NV, near Carson City. It's not my car, just saw it sitting on highway with for sale sign. It looks to be a tired amateurish restoration but it's a nice solid car. The price is $13k, sign says it doesn't run. Don't know if that's an outlandish price or not, and it's not my car, just passing information. I could get the phone number if you're interested.

I would be a bit Leary of any car that doesn't run. That can get expensive quick especially if the engine requires machining beyond a valve job. Machine shop charges can rack up fast if you can find a shop that is willing or knowledgeable enough to work on an older engine. Internal parts for unusual or rare cars can be hard to come by / pricey or even non existent. Speaking from personal experience here. That 36 Chrysler in my Avitar turned over when I got it. Great now I will get it running. Boy it runs great now. 2000.00 in engine parts later including all new pistons and I lost track of how much time as I did all the work myself including cutting all the valves and machining the seats. Fortunately the main bearings were within tolerance as they aren't available. I suppose I could have had the shells rebabbitted but that would have only added to the cost along with probably machining the crank to make everything perfect. (figures Chrysler used the engine in this car for only 1934-1936. Looks like all other Flat 6 Chrysler Engines except it is totally different and only shares parts with the 34-36 Desoto. All this didn't include new brakes, Exhaust water pump cooling system and fuel system service. If it's your first old car and you don't have alot of time, tools or money, buy something that you can test drive. A running driving car similar to the Willys Knight will be cheaper at $20,000 unless you can do all the work yourself than that might be at $13,000 by the time you get it serviceable plus you will likely lose this summer getting it up and going/ finding parts.

The general rule has always been that mechanical work is preferable to cosmetic. But your point is well taken. A full rebuild on a straight 8 Auburn will run you north of 10k these days. The more exotic stuff climbs fast. 20k or more for a Stutz, V12 Packard is 30k plus., etc.

One thing with cosmetic work is it's easy to see what it needs. With mechanical work what seems like a small problem can lead to a full rebuild. You won't know in some cases until you really dig into the problem. With bad paint, interior or chrome it readily presents itself. Finding someone to properly diagnose mechanical problems can be tricky (look at the many threads on here about problems with brakes, running, Starting, overheating, Vapor locking, Bump steering, just to name a few) Often that's why the cars get sold. The owner can't make it right so he moves on.

I myself have had problems that in the end were relatively easy fixes but took lots of diagnostic work, brain picking and asking around. That's with myself being able to do the work. Can you imagine what a shop would charge at 75.00 an hour. I know of more than one shop that gave owners cars back after not being able to fix them only to go to another shop with the same scenario. Some of those eventually ended up at a friend's shop that really specializes in fixing unique problems.

Now, I'm leery of anything that doesn't run and drive well unless I know the fix and how to get it fixed unless the price is that where there is a healthy cushion in my budget to make it right. .

I am a decent mechanic and a terrible body man . Would love to find a running car for 20000 but am having no luck .Problem may be I would like to have a big coupe long wheel base, big hood, side mounts and three window ,so far these cars seem very scarce. but still looking . Thanks for all the advice

bln55, where do you live?

Kerrville, Texas

Early Chrysler products have the legroom that you need.

We have a 1930 Chrysler model 70 Royal coupe, I'm 6" and 200 lbs. It is tight to get in and out of. Seat is all the way back & my stomach touches the steering wheel and my hair touches the headliner at times. My model 70 Brougham has plenty of room.

Regarding that '30 Willys Knight coupe, I happened to see the car headed north on a trailer yesterday in Carson City NV. I had originally seen it sitting in town on the trailer with a for sale sign at $13k. I'm wondering if it was on ebay does anyone know what the winning bid was? Just curious.

Regarding that '30 Willys Knight coupe, I happened to see the car headed north on a trailer yesterday in Carson City NV. I had originally seen it sitting in town on the trailer with a for sale sign at $13k. I'm wondering if it was on ebay does anyone know what the winning bid was? Just curious.

I know of a 1929 Sterns-Knight rumble seat sport coupe/landau irons, golf door , decent original interior, not been out of the garage since the 1960s. Car has wire wheels and ORIGINAL PAINT. Even the top fabric looks original. I think the wheelbase is like 140 inches. Car is in western NY . Mike

bln55 do you know about the 31 Huppmobile coupe currently on ebay? Looks like a nice car.