Al Capones car for sale RM Auctions. I thought this was neat.

[jackofalltrades70]

Al Capone

[5219]

I saw this car on display in a museum in Niagara Falls, Ontario in 1961. I am sure that it is the same car. It probably has been on display since the thirties.

I never believed the story about FDR using it during the war. Remember, a 1928 car was totally antiquated by the time the forties rolled around.

[Trulyvintage]

Matt,

Thank you for posting that link

My Dad grew up in Cicero during the Capone era

His brother - my Uncle Len was hitchhiking as a little boy when Capone stopped

alongside him, the door opened, Mr Capone told my Uncle not to hitchhike,

my uncle ran all the way home ......

Behind the Legend of Capone, there was a real person who was feared and respected

by his neighbors for good reason .... :cool:

Jim

RM Auctions, the company selling the Cadillac this weekend in Michigan, did its own research and found a 93-year-old man who as a child helped install the armor for Capone in his father's shop. "My dad said, 'we don't do that kind of work here,'" Richard "Cappy" Capstran says. "And they (Capone's men) said 'you do now.'"

According to RM:

Capone showed up in person to settle the bill and paid Ernest Capstran double the asking price. When he walked around the car, Capone saw ten-year-old Richard and asked who he was. The elder Capstran explained his son had helped with the job and done an excellent job sanding in between layers of lacquer. For this, Richard received from Capone a $10 bill, a small fortune for a young boy. This special job was never discussed outside the family until years later.

[Matt Harwood]

This car has been bouncing around auctions for years. O'Quinn bought it for a crazy amount of money that nobody will ever match, history notwithstanding.

And it's a good thing it was armored, because it must have been UNGODLY slow. I know how ponderous my 1929 Cadillac sedan is, and adding 4000 pounds of armor surely didn't do anything for performance, handling, and braking. I bet a cop on a bicycle would have no problems catching it, and a young one might be able to catch it on foot! Fortunately, the armor has been removed (I wonder how they got those wire wheels and tires to survive the weight on those ancient roads?), so it probably drives quite nicely today. A neat footnote in history to be sure.

[Harold]

I saw this car on display in a museum in Niagara Falls, Ontario in 1961. I am sure that it is the same car.

I saw it at the same museum in 1964. Good to hear it's still around.