58L-Y8

I'd love to have my period-styled sport sedan design re-body of either the '33 836 or the '34 840A. Just lack of dollars standing in the way....

BTW, if you buy it, please repaint the wheels a darker red if you like the contrast or to match the green on the molding and wind reveals, maybe a tone or two darker. Would look much more period correct and quite elegant.

Looks like a very decent Reo you could enjoy. Its worth noting it the smaller Flying Cloud Mate which has a Continental 15E 214.7 ci engine, not a Reo manufactured engine. That takes nothing away from it, just good to know if you are apprehensive about an eventual engine rebuild. Continental engines were engineered for low stress, steady power and built for longevity, and rock-solid durability. Bets if you buy it and maintain it properly, it will never give you major trouble.

Though not a book but a group of articles, I'd recommend the website Curbside Classic as it deals with post WWII cars of all makes. There are a number of good analyzes of industry trends and influences as they relate to specific makes and models. You might narrow the subject to one or two aspects, if for no other reason than to finish with something worth reading rather than a general unsatisfactory overview. Steve

Looks to be a '33 836, is the chassis complete enough to make it worthwhile to restore for a speedster project?

Sounds like an interesting car we've never seen here, how about some photographs? Bender in Cleveland built hearses and ambulances on Studebaker commercial chassis in the 1930's and 1940's.

Yes, 1932 Essex with its overly large radiator shell and small headlights.

Packard received the rights to a spear or barb from Hibbard & Darrin, an inverted version, so the story goes. They jealously protected that detail as a styling hallmark thereafter. Any maker such as Nash would be ask to erase the detail from their cars if they had included it 'by mistake'. Mercedes-Benz has done the same with their three-point star logo to keep it as an exclusive. One example was requesting Studebaker down their variation from the 1953 models. Does not have to be an exact copy, just close enough in form. Dance nymphs were a big deal in that late '20's - early '30's period, Studebaker had similar photos done of their cars. The big Nash Ambassadors are wonderfully elegant cars, what a shame they're so rare. Steve

The accepted replacement cycle for cars fifty years ago was 6-8 years, around 90K-100K miles. Manufacturers planned their production on sales for that rate. A whole set of changes have occurred since then to lengthen the replacement cycle. Electronic engine management and fuel injection, improved metallurgy and manufacturing techniques, better lubricants, overdrive automatic transmissions. For the bodies, more affective sealers and mastics, metal protection coatings and paints, reduced weld seams for rust to start, lighter weight materials. Vehicles run more in their optimum operating range, resist the negative affects of the environment better than ever. 200K-300K is now realistic, the average age of all vehicles on the road is twelve years. It wouldn't be if all these things hadn't occurred.

Great photo, thanks for sharing it. Love those simple canopy gas stations and false front brick garage buildings from that era. I'll opine the large coupe is a '26-'28 Lincoln L with two passenger coupe body by Judkins. What say others?

I can't help with the brake problem, but what is the color name of that old gold on your handsome Combination Coupe? Can't help it, have to ask: 'Do people go on a rampage in their Graham-Paige? Hehehhehehh…..

Chrome disk wheels were a factory option but rarely seen. This is the first Standard Eight I've seen pictured with them. There are factory photos of a '30 734 Speedster Runabout (the boat-tail) so equipped. It was definitely most likely to be specified for sporty, open models.

The Buick Series 90 was the favorite of small town bankers and businessmen. It was the luxury car with the less pretentious image than would have been a Cadillac or Packard at the time. Signified one was successful but not showy or foolish flaunting one's money.

Jeff_a: You mean Father Divine's Duesenberj Bus! Hideous is the best description!

Yes, 1930 Packard Standard Eight, Series 733, Sport Phaeton, Body Style No. 431. No wonder he was quite proud of it, all of us would be delighted with such a wonderful Packard!

Thanks Carl for narrowing to the correct year, I knew you'd know which it was. Thanks Ed for enlarging on the commercial bus aspect of these. Any long 'sedan' now is considered a 'limousine' though they're no different conceptually except for the interiors and luxury features from these long-wheelbase stage-line or train station multiple passenger buses of decades ago. Most every builder of large heavy cars included commercial-purpose long-wheelbase chassis in their catalogue of annual models. The Studebaker is a 1926-27 Big Six or ES Commander or President. They offered a variety of wheelbase lengths such as 152", 158", 184" etc, did an active business with funeral, ambulance, bus and even panel truck bodymakers. Survival rate on these is terribly low given they were worked to death for all they were worth then junked.

First, '26-'27 Cadillac; second mid-'20's Studebaker Big Six; third ??? English make, commercial chassis all.

A.H.A. that took over Andy Hotton Associated limousine business could be the builder of the 1977 though It could be Moloney or one of a dozen other aftermarket conversion outfits active then. Not readily apparent in the photo is the rear section of the body was widened along with the top. The heavy frame on the rear door window as well as the sagging rear suggest this is an armor-plated, bullet-proof example. As far as good taste, this is way off, though it could be worse, pearl white with gold trim.

More than the prices, I'd enjoy seeing more details on those two '31 Packards. I'll go out on a limb, opine the custom body is an All-Weather Quarter Window Cabriolet by Rollston. There should be job/style numbers stamped on each piece of the wood frame. The body may not have originally come on that chassis. Walt G. could make positive identification. Certainly hope the buyer is able to gather up all the parts of that car. Good luck to him, that will be an ambitious restoration but very worthwhile.

Almost certain to next appear on the radiator of some '20's exotic custom coachbuilt French marque at the next Pebble Beach....

The vertical V-windshield was a Rollston town car detail that began in the late 1920's period, would be correct for this 845. Recall that as the Depression took hold, custom coachbuilders found themselves with stocks of unsold bodies in the white, especially formal styles, as the wealthly began to shy away from conspicuous displays of wealth.

The sleeve-valve straight eight Stearns-Knight was their own manufacture. The Willys 8-80 engine was a Continental Model 14W 245,4 ci. L-head, poppet-valve straight eight powering the Willys 1931-'32 8-80, 8-80D, & 1932-'33 8-88, 8-88A. One appeared on the Hershey show field during that rain-off year, iirc 2005. The short-lived '29 Stearns-Knight M-6-80 & N-6-80 were simply W-K 66A wearing a S-K radiator and trim for a premium price. Love the most obscure of the obscure! Steve

A.J. Prior to 1925, W-K were four cylinder, lower-middle-priced cars.. In an effort to capitalize on the rising apparent prosperity, they added the six cylinder 236.4 ci Model 66 126" wb priced around $2K. This held through the 1927 66A even as the prices rose. For 1928-'29, it was designated Great Six 66A, the bore increased for 255 ci. and a 135" wb model added. These were competition for Studebaker President FA/FB, Auburn 88/115, Graham-Paige 629/827, Kissel 8-80, Hupmobile E-3/Century 125, Gardner 8-90/8-90, basically all those heretofore medium-priced makes taking a run at the entry-level 'luxury' segment. For 1930-'31, it became Model 66B, reduced only to a five body style 120" wb line, priced uniformly at $1,895. Best of all, it received that elegant styling by Amos Northup of Murray Corporation, which didn't last long. W-O was experiencing the affects of the Depression, restyled it into the 66D during '31, carried through '32 and petered out as a 66E sedan only for 1933. Like all small producers, W-O was generating new model lines during 1931'32 like mad to try and capture more sales. Even went so far as to offer the Continental-engine Willys 8-80 as a bid for eight cylinder buyers. W-O had acquired Stearns-Knight in late 1925 as its prestige line. Turned out Stearns-Knight was an archaic, terribly inefficient operation, a money pit for W-O to keep alive. In addition to their six, the Model G-8 sleeve-valve straight eight was added for 1928, becoming the Model H 137" wb and Model J 145" wb in the $5,500 range. But, among the most obscure of the obscure are the 1929 M-6-80, 126" wb and N-6-80, 134" wb, 255 ci six, sound familiar? At $2,500-$2,900, these were not much more than badge-engineered, restyled 66A, maybe with nicer appointment. It was all for naught, Stearns-Knight shut down at the end of 1929. This is my analysis from reading the spec's and Standard Catalog of American Cars 180-1942, edited by Kimes and Clark. A great Stearns-Knight article by Dr. Robert Ebert in the Automotive History Review by the Society of Automotive Historians informs this synopsis. Steve

The complete '31 is an 845 seven-passenger sedan or sedan-limousine, factory bodied. The other appears to be an All-Weather Town Car possibly by LeBaron, or the in-house custom-body department which started in 1930 to bring more of that lucrative business under Packard control. It could be Rollston as well. Steve

Is the Hotel Inglewood still there? The urge to go fast and look cool when doing so developed along with the automobile.