Hupp 32 Suitable for Touring?

Reading the last thread about the road abilities of the Hupp 20,

I'd like to hear your opinions on the larger Hupp 32, which came out I think in 1912.

I believe that it was a larger car all around with a 3-1/4 x 5-1/2 engine.

Just wondering what kind of driving and touring cars these are. Such as, what's a comfortable top speed? Do they have enough power to pull hills, etc.

And are they reasonably robust to take a few thousand miles a year?

Go to ebay and do a search on the book "three men and a hupp". It is an interesting book and describes the capabilities of the Hupmobile. The model 32 came out as a 1911 and as a sales promotion, three men drove it around the world.

The left Detroit driving west to San Francisco in November of 1910.

The were on the road for 14 months making sales calls to promote the new model.

Their car had no front doors, top or windshield. They arrived in New York in 13 months later for the NY car show.

They drove the car to Detroit for their show a month later through a blizzard sometimes only covering 5 miles due to shoveling snow. Photos are of the 1911 Hupmobile driven around the world during 1912.

Will this car hold up, yes. Your restriction is how fast you want to tour. The model 32 (horse power) had the standard clutch and 3 speed transmission. Hupp used a 4 cyl engine till 1925 when they added the 8 cyl. In 1926 they dropped the 4 cyl and replaced it with a 6 cyl. There are people who know the 4 cyl and tour with them. I suspect the 4 cyl will loaf at 30 and tour at 40 with little effort. I have a 6 cyl that will loaf along at 45 with no effort. It starts to work about 50 and will run 60 when needed. In 2nd gear it will go up anything. If I have misled you on anything, someone will jump in and correct me.

I have been on Hupp tours with Model 32 Hupps. In 1995 we were on a tour in Ohio following Dave and Noella in there 1913 Model 32 touring.I can assure you that the Hupp 32 has good power and speed. They have a 3 speed transmission and true, Ohio is fairly flat but New York and Pa are pretty hilly. Now, only having rear wheel brakes, you need to keep that in mind. At times Dave was going 40 to 45 on the flat straight roads.They are very dependable. If I had to chose, it would be a Model 32 over the Model 20.

The Hupp tour started November 3, 1910, and I'm fairly sure it was a Model 20 that did the tour and is in the pictures. The tour finished in January 1912.

The Model 32 is surely a better tour car, but not as pretty as the Model 20, IMHO....

Here are a few Pic of a Model 32 at Hershey this fall. Note that this is the long wheel base model.

I mised the best pic.

Thanks for your comments. OK, then, let me come clean.

I've known about this Model 32 since last fall but haven't driven down to look due to all the snow this winter.

http://www.villageservice.com/inventory-details/1913/Hupmobile/Model%2032%20%20Roadster/00000000000001417

Do any of you know the car? Know who the owner is/was and if the car has a good history? The posted price can't be a bargain since it's been for sale for a long time, so what's considered reasonable for a car like this?

And if I do go to look it over, what should I be looking for or looking out for? Of course, I'd like to visit on a dry day so I can drive the car. We'll see what happens.

Any advice appreciated. I've owned brass cars all my life and have a 1914 Franklin now. These early Hupps are appealing. . . . probably not a surprising thing to hear from a Franklin owner !

Thanks ---

My personal opinion is that this car is $10K-15K overpriced. The Model 32, and early Hupps in general, don't command high prices. I think that $20 may be top of the market for this car. Again, all my personal opinion....

PM Sent, call me

That's pretty neat, they have a bunch of jerry cars and what I think is an acetylene bottle on the side for the lights. You could really go off into the wilderness with that one!

Cheers, Steve

My Great Grandfather had a model 32 . It served him well. Unfortunately he was not a great driver and this was compounded by his Irish affinity for whiskey. On one well lubricated trip home he drifted slightly off course and knocked down two shop verrnada posts fully collapsing the shop verranda. The Hup was apparrently unscathed!! The dangers did not cease when he arrived home as he had an unfortunate habit of forgetting to apply the brakes when he entered his garage to park the car. After replacing the garage rear wall a few times my long suffering grandfather and his brothers solved the problem by installing a crumple zone of empty gas cans at the rear of the garage -Gas cans being easier to replace than garage walls ! Karl

G,day Huppers. Yes the Hup 32 is a very able touring car so long as they are not hurried. They will tour all day at 60 klm per hour and will do short bursts of 80 klm but sustained speed make them sick and shake everything loose so that every morning tightening up is required. Worst feature is heavy steering even with up to an inch and a half out of the pitman arm. The 1 inch dia drive shaft is made in three pieces and the larger end sections were welded together by spinning them together under pressure until they got hot enough to melt . Hup wern't too fussy about them being in line as the Hyatt flexible roller bearing on the pinion end took care of the run out ,as much as 150 thou in some cases. When restorers replaced these flexible rollers with deep grove ball or Timken taper it took out the slack and the tailshaft broke at the pinion enlarged section if not sooner then later. there is no warning. Another annoying feature is that the front cross member and sump extension will crack through in the area of the crank dog. Removing the magneto without due care means losing the valve timing on non electric models. We have two of them, both 1913 and son John and his family have often done 500 klm days returning from interstate rallys and yes ,the hand control rods do go through the gas tank. Ours have 25 inch wheels running 880 x 120 tyres. Max Burke Nulkaba 2325 Australia