58L-Y8

The Packard is a 1932 Individual Custom Series 904 All-Weather Landaulet. Designs were created by Dietrich with various configurations for the upper structures but built in-house when Packard decided to get a greater share of the dwindling custom body business. Who built or supplied which body style gets clouded at this point. The Studebaker is a President Model 90 State Victoria on the 136" wheelbase.

The holy grail for Packard collectors in addition to the custom-bodied cars. Wonder if any Sport Model chassis were sent to custom coachbuilders for one-off designs?

If only they had matched the paint color with the blue broadcloth, painted the wood spokes and fitted black wall tires, it would look very elegant and consistent with the taste of its era. "Less is more."

Walt, Thanks for posting those, so many images of rare, one-off or small series customs were published decades ago but haven't been seen since unless one runs across them by chance. Coated paper stock produced wonderful, clear, sharp reproduction too. European custom coach builders seem to have adopted the convertible-style, thin chrome window frames and half-door construction for closed body styles much earlier than here in the U.S. The Mercedes-Benz looks to be a hardtop or nearly so. That marvelous Delage town car by deVillars has that c-pillar-less, overlapping door and quarter window configuration. It was worth the wind noise it caused. The only two details that would make that design even more magnificent would be dual rear mounted spares rather than side-mounts and the swoopy character-line resolving in a graceful C-shaped sweep panel.

Ethel, in her most emphatic, exasperated tone: "Oh, For heaven's sake, Fred!"

"Oh, For heaven's sake, Fred!" Fred really got taken paying $300 for a 1924 Cadillac in 1954! According to the January 1954 N.A.D.A Used Car Guide, $300 would have bought either a higher mileage, below average condition 1946 Series 61 sedan or coupe which were $545 or $555 respectively as average retail. Or an above average 1942 Cadillac which at average retail were between $265 for the 61, to $285 for a 62, $275 for the 60 Special, and surprisingly, $225 for a 75. One supposes those didn't look old enough to make Fred look like the skinflint he was portrayed to be.

As recommended, the 1942 Studebaker President and Commander didn't return in their pre-war form, carry one-year-only styling on a two-year-only body series. The President Eight is the last straight eight Studebaker. A 1942 Nash Ambassador Eight is also the last straight eight for the Nash, the body carried over for 1946-'48. Hudson fielded its last Commodore Series 27 8-passenger sedan on the 128" wheelbase. If a Mopar is your choice. the 1942 DeSoto Town Sedan with either the Fifth Avenue or Sportsman trim options or a seven passenger sedan or limousine would be quite unique. But the ultimate 1942-only model is the Plymouth P14C Town Sedan style no. 405. It was the only model year Plymouth offered such a body style, only 5,821 were built. Good luck in your pursuit of a rare 1942 model.

Apparently, from the number of Step-Down Hudson convertibles with sun visors I encountered in junkyards here in the '60's, it was something a dealer or multiple dealers promoted. Most sedan and coupes were equipped with them too, so possibly it was a thing for dealers to sell the idea since the convertible had such a broad windshield header. But, yeah, it looked ugly then and still does!

The influence that both the 1927 LaSalle and the 1934 LaSalle exerted on the direction of automotive design in those years was well beyond the relatively modest number of each model year sold. Having both included would present a clearer picture of major design initiators of the period.

Thank you for enlarging on the criteria. Only recommendation I would make is to include a 1934 LaSalle if you haven't already. The '32-'34 Graham 'Blue Streak' are a highly influential, seminal designs as well.

Interesting choices, would you share with us the criteria that brought you to select these particular makes and model years?

This will raise someone's ire but while the Italian designers have a wonderful feel for small, sporty car design, when it comes to large cars, the feel goes away.

Jump seats? Is it the seven passenger sedan on the 136" wheelbase?

When custom coachbuilding goes horribly wrong, it really goes wrong in the worst way!

Any guesses what make car that is behind the new Auburn in the showroom?

Nubar could have just waited a year or two, bought a '49 'bathtub' Nash Ambassador, customized it. Heck of a lot cheaper and had just as much of a styling atrocity... Just goes to show how desperate English coachbuilders were for any work they could get in those immediate postwar years, Hooper must have been as hard up a any.

Congratulations! Can we guess its a sedan?

First car in the Garden City Garage line-up is a 1921-'23 Cadillac Type 59 or 61 with Westinghouse shock absorbers. This based on the bell-shaped headlights rather than the 1924 drum style. The second is also a Cadillac, a 1924, with body by Uppercu Cadillac's custom body department designer J.R. McLauchlen and built by Hollander and Merrill of Amesbury, Mass. Uppercu Cadillac offered those 'upscale' custom radiator shells with the Palladian squared upper surfaces (mild Rolls-Royce imitations) but with a broad header and arched top opening. One of their cars is identified on page 97 of 80 Years of Cadillac - LaSalle by Walter m.P. McCall published by Crestline. Apparently, Uppercu felt that Cadillacs didn't present enough of a prestigious, upscale look so had this custom radiator shell and hood to dress up the line. Everything old is new again, shade of the fake radiator grilles popular in the 1970's and !980's disguising cars to look upscale. Down the line is a horse-collar Franklin probably Series 9-B

Glad to do what I can, these are interesting images. Many times the over-exposure when reduced reveals subtle details that can be brought up. Gray-scale helps too. I use the free shareware Irfanview which has half a dozen intuitive functions that work nicely on old images. Is that a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost or Phantom I the child is taking her teddy bear for a ride in? Certainly had good taste in motorcars at a young age, didn't she?...

The Roamer roadster image shows a little more details with a bit of manipulation. The windshield appeared to have no top frame, just finished glass edge. Four bolt wheels, cowl parking lights and a deck lid cover with a handle. Wonder if the top detached and stored in it? The body design looks similar to the prior roadster in that the body line raises from the radiator to the windshield, the tapers toward the rear to a blunt beaver-tail. The cycle-style fenders and step-plates complete the sporty image. White-wall tires too.

For 1955-'58, Studebaker offered power windows for their four door sedans on either the front two or all four windows. It looks a little odd now, but power windows in low-priced cars was new and novel then. Nice-looking '54 Bel Air, would you please list all the options and accessories with which the car is equipped?

Great photos of the Roamer, thanks for sharing. What a stylish roadster it was. They must have been quite well-off to have one. Wonder if it was one with the Rochester-Duesenberg walking-beam fours.

One club you should join is the Antique Studebaker Club that specializes in pre-WWII Studebakers. It a great group, lots of knowledgeable people and help.

The absolute crème de la crème of Rolls-Royce sport sedans.

1927-30 Erskine 1932-33 Rockne