JustDave Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 hello everyone for a long time ive been searching for a 32 devaux cabriolet convertible,i keep hearing stories but when i follow up its always just a story,i know theres 2 in michigan 1 at the museun and the other owned by mtron cummings,some body out here must know of 1 setting in an old collection,or just knows of 1 and keeping it to himself,also heard stories of a 31 phaeton,but i cant even find a picture of such a car,any help would be appreciated, looking for and unrestored any condition example cant someone help, just dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted April 1, 2011 Share Posted April 1, 2011 While you're at it, keep your eyes open for the elusive successor car, the '33 Continental Beacon and Flyer Roadster. They did exist, but none seem extant.I found a few Continentals in NZ and Australia. You might want to expand your search.While '32 DeVauxs are very rare, have you ever seen a '32 Continental/DeVaux? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustDave Posted April 2, 2011 Author Share Posted April 2, 2011 hello barrynice to talk to you again, i have a 32 devaux sports coupe,its been in sorage for abut 7 years now,i bought it out of illinois,the owner had owned it since 1951,the car is very rough but it is restorable and i didnt want to see it get junked, parted out or street rodded,it is a late production model,no real options,i dont know when continental took over devaux but it may very well be a continental devaux,in 31 they said hall on the motor the 32 i have doesnt have that,the hood latchis gone for 32 they have 1 handle only,also tailight brkt step plate an instruments are different,my 31 has a cloth covered roof while the 32 is all steel,will continue to look for a 32 cabriolet,i heard of 1 in south or central america,they had contacted some folks about parts but i couldnt get any info on who owned itsome folks dont wish to give up any info but thats ok ill keep looking and 1 will turn up ,i also am always looking for parts and literature,good luck on your search will keep looking for both, dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted April 2, 2011 Share Posted April 2, 2011 If your 32 doesn't have a Hall motor it is likely a Continental DeVaux. That would have been made from a leftover Hayes body and a Continental engine.Do either of your cars have the single shackle front suspension. I'm trying to confirm that that was a '33 engineering change, along with the unusual real leaf suspension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Ferris Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I am replying to your posting about a 1932 DeVaux convertible. I expedited the restoration of the 32 now on display in the Grand Rapids Public Museum and one one time ran the DeVaux Registry. A museum in Argentina wrote for information and sent pictures of a 32 convertible thay had. This was over 20 years ago. I turned that material over to Myron Cummings. So there is at least one more out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustDave Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 hello george, good to hear from you again,i remember talking with you about 25 years ago regarding the devaux,i still have both coupes the one i bought in 69 is still unrestored,i am always looking for devaux cars and parts,as far as the convertible goes nobody wants to tell where there at,but ill keep looking and hopefully find one if theres one out there,do you have any production figures on the convertible,do you have a devaux at this time,my email is servauto645@hotmail.com,please stay in touch thanks dave enrico Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryJ Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 About 4 or 5 years ago there was a nicely restored Continential Beacon at the Hilton Head Concours.......I must admit, it stood out to me above all the other cars there. Rare bird! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 Was that the red and black one? I believe we were there that year with our Mark II.Our '33 unrestored Flyer has taken 4 awards in 4 shows. Not a single one of the judges in any of the shows had ever seen one in person. They've seen Beacons, but no Flyers.Has anyone on this site ever seen a running '33 Continental Flyer, other than mine? There is a RHD Flyer in New Zealand that's restored and running, but I can find no others. I guess that qualifies as rare, no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustDave Posted October 17, 2011 Author Share Posted October 17, 2011 hello everyonei just received a message from gary yelle about this thread, barry gary says he has a picture of a 33 continental convertible in his files,also wanted to let george know about 2 years ago he received an email from a doctor in argentina whos father has a devaux convertible,garys email address is garyyelle@msn.comthanks to everyone who responded dave enrico Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 E-mail sent. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryJ Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 I believe it was red and black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 hello everyonei just received a message from gary yelle about this thread, barry gary says he has a picture of a 33 continental convertible in his files,also wanted to let george know about 2 years ago he received an email from a doctor in argentina whos father has a devaux convertible,garys email address is garyyelle@msn.comthanks to everyone who responded dave enricoI sent a note, but didn't hear back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustDave Posted October 19, 2011 Author Share Posted October 19, 2011 barrybe patient gary is not real quick at replying,i believe he lives in kent washington,you may be able to get his number from info,you asked about a single shackle on the devaux,please explain and ill look, thankd dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 The front transverse spring is attached to a fixed mount on one end and a shackle on the other. That prevents it from doing the typical buggy wobble of the era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&J Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Justdave, I ran across this old thread on google When are you going to make a convertibleAnyways, I was wondering why there are 2 styles of windshield frames and header on convertibles. One has square top corners. Is this a left over 31 body?By the way, I also saw a tiny thumbnail of a modern pic of a 32 convertible on hamb, posted by Sunroofcord on the extinct makes thread (i think) The car was dark green Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 When are you going to make a convertibleNice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&J Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 Nice.He,he..you must know WHY I was doing a google search.. I was asking about the windshiel details in case someone was wanting to make a convertible coupe. I am sitting there thinking after I posted, and I know why that factory conv pic looks so familiar. That body must have been made at the same plant as my Nash. There are too many similarities..The fact that the door still has one upright post to fit against the windshield posts, is a somewhat unusual design for a 32 convertible auto. The Nash was exactly the same, and some reveal lines look alike.That one post makes the whole conversion SO much easier, as it can keep the original front vertical window track location. Just needs to be a wider channel for a metal framed door glass. Then move the rear vertical channel back as far as possible. The window lift mechanism may need mods, unless it is a dual arm setup.(but I have a secret modern part that will fix that) There is a small bolt-on cap that closes off the top of that cut-off door/window post. I'd bet the Nash part would be a match to copy from.The windshield post mods would be straight forward without much headache. These 2 factory pics show the same W/S frame?? (dead flat across the center of the w/s glass) Of course, these factory pics might well be retouched?..so maybe I should look at modern pics of coupes.It would be nice to get some pics of the top irons. I saw one pic with top down and boot cover on. It looked like what was called a disappearing top?... Which was mostly a high price car thing, I thought. The stack of bows was not evident..really clean looking.That is one nice looking convertible...especially unusual to be so stylish, as it was on an inexpensive car. Very nice. Much nicer lines than the 32 Nash 6 cabriolet with the too low rear deck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Wolk Posted March 12, 2013 Share Posted March 12, 2013 The DeVaux bodies were made at the Hayes plant in Muskegon, MI. Finished bodies would be transported in a bridge between the Hayes factory and the DeVaux assembly floor. When DeVaux stiffed Continental for $500,000 for private-labeled Hall engines Continental Motors was formed after forgiving half the debt, paying out $40,000 and taking over the plant and unassembled cars. Hayes made bodies for many boutique builders and the Count that designed for Hayes designed for others, too. They may have similar automotive DNA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustDave Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 hello fj, barry and everyonebarry is right the devaux bodies where made by hays,ive looked at a 33 durant, a couple of frontenacs and i believe the bodies are exackly the same,i also seen a 32 or 33 franklin convertible that looked almost identical,i dont believe a convert is going to show up,ive followed every lead i could,found one out of the country but they wont sell,as far as making a convertible from my coupe i just dont have the heart to cut up my coupe,ill keep looking hell its been 40 years ive tried to buy one,the green cabriolet on the web owned by myron cummins in michigan is the ex harrahs car i tried to buy it frome the harrahs auction i believe in 1970 no dice,after being sold to a lady in nevada it came up for sale a couple years later and howard reinke in michigan bought it,i completely missed it, the maroon and silver one in the transportation museum in michigan is the forrest sweet car out of texas, i tried to buy that one in the early seventies but it was not for sale,il keep looking maybe one will turn up,in the mean time i have the 2 devaux coupes a 31 and a 32, and a 1927 moon roadster that im working on at this time,if its meant to be ill get one if not oh well,when i get these 3 cars done who knows what will turn up, tahnks everyone dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R W Burgess Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 .......in the mean time i have the 2 devaux coupes a 31 and a 32, and a 1927 moon roadster that im working on at this time,if its meant to be ill get one if not oh well,when i get these 3 cars done who knows what will turn up, tahnks everyone daveHey JustDave! Thanks for the commentary. I'd love to see some pictures of your collection. Evidently, you have been collecting longer than I have been able to buy(working). Keep looking. You never know what might turn up.Personally, since I have been involved in the hobby, I keep having older members trying to sell me early model cars. With two of mine now not running, I refuse to buy anything else. Makes the wife happy too. She even offered to bake me a cake Monday! Really! She's a keeper, much like your car collection.Later,Wayne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&J Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 I keep having older members trying to sell me early model cars. With two of mine now not running, I refuse to buy anything else...and values are dropping due to this. It is the average age of the person who likes the stock early cars..but they have too many to keep already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfreakofkorn Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 (edited) Durant Motors Internet ForumorYou can call this person http://www.hemmings.com/clubs/detail?hmn_club_id=1441768 Edited March 13, 2013 by jfreakofkorn (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&J Posted March 13, 2013 Share Posted March 13, 2013 l,as far as making a convertible from my coupe i just dont have the heart to cut up my coupe,ill keep looking hell its been 40 years Dave, if you bought any car in 1969, besides a plastic model kit...you might want to step up the search a bit ..anyways, I see a way to have a cabriolet without cutting your coupes. I got the idea from a thread about a brass-era car that came with 2 bodies...one winter, one summer.Just a quick search on hamb showed 2 members that have 32 coupe shells, and I am sure there are more as I try to recall.Take a 32 shell that has no chassis, fenders or any hope of being restored, and make a cabriolet body. Keep your coupe body so you can sleep at night.If you spot a 32 shell out my way with the newer style windshield header, drop me a line. I will grab it and do the conversion for myself just for fun. I know I can do it just from the web pics and looking at my Nash pieces. Then I'd put it up for sale I guess, as I'd never find the parts to make a whole car (original style running gear, wheels, etc). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustDave Posted March 13, 2013 Author Share Posted March 13, 2013 hello fjwhere did you find the body shells on the hamb,ive tried to watch it but never seen them,as far as the conversion goes from what i understand the converts sheetmetal is all the same as the coupe,the body is all wood framed so that shouldnt be a problem,youd have to roll new door tops,the only problem i would forsee is cutting the w/sheild down and slanting the posts to look factory,the top well is all wood but with the nash to go by i wouldnt think it would be much trouble,if you can find a shell and do decide to take on the project i may know where theres a cut down truck in the mass area,dont know much about other than its and old farm,fruit type conversion dont know if its 31 or 32,havent followed up on it yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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