Auburn Speedster

[Xander Wildeisen]

https://huntsville.craigslist.org/cto/d/1929-auburn-speedster-8cyl/6363007193.html

[JV Puleo]

I like the chassis completely eaten away on the left side... it gives a new meaning to optimistic... but then a "true craftsman" would do it.

Edited October 29, 2017 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[wayne sheldon]

Wow! Well. I have restored from worse. But not on anything quite as ambitious, complicated, or expensive as this. If I were ten years younger, and had a lot more money than I ever did have? I would have loved the challenge. As it is, I think I have more good projects than I can live long enough to do now! Yeah, that frame is nasty. If one could not find or afford a good frame, A large section would have to be pieced in. Not for the faint-of-heart, or the average welder. Frame welding must be done by someone that knows what they are doing.

Is there anything there that can tell anyone here what body style it was originally? I am not an expert on Auburns.

 

Quite intriguing!

[Rusty_OToole]

What makes him think it was a speedster when there is nothing left of the body.  Give us a serial number. My guess is it was a sedan until he threw away the body. It is still a rough condition parts car no matter what he fantasizes.

[George Smolinski]

I like the mossy green patina on the dash or what's left of it. How is he going to determine who is or isn't a true craftsman? Do you submit resume's including photos of your work? Seller may have been smoking some of the shrooms he found where this pile was sitting.

[West Peterson]

 

5 hours ago, Rusty_OToole said:

What makes him think it was a speedster when there is nothing left of the body.  Give us a serial number. My guess is it was a sedan until he threw away the body. It is still a rough condition parts car no matter what he fantasizes.

 

I could be wrong, but I think the back panel here indicates Speedster. No? The area on the topside of the panel appears to have a point to it, indicating where the top of the boattail would have been. Also, I don't think any other body style had a lower panel like that. I believe this was an original boattail. Based on the description, it is the smaller of the two series available, the 8-90 (246cid/90hp powerplant and 125-inch wheelbase) vs the 8-120 (298cid/120hp and 130-inch wheelbase).

 

[West Peterson]

Nevermind. Obviously the cowl is all wrong for a Speedster (boattail). Must have been a cabriolet??? Which isn't all bad either, but certainly not nearly the same value when finished.

[Curti]

The speedster body is the only thing that has real value, and it isn't there.  it is strictly parts, and they are real rusty. 

[auburnseeker]

Here is what looks like an original speedster.  It doesn't look like you would see the V prominently etched into the tail pan. 

I think what the seller was referring to was you could use this to build a new speedster from with a ton of money and time.  Maybe another car or two for parts as well, but remember it's not a parts car. 

As mentioned cowl looks wrong for an open car. 

[plymouthcranbrook]

Perhaps we are just over thinking this. Maybe he hit the zero key one time to many when putting in the price.

[60FlatTop]

That Eldorado with the top down parked in the background looks like it is heading in the same direction. Someone "saved" that Auburn for future ambitious restorers and another project is being created for Craigslist 2070. Cycles, you can always count of cycles.

Bernie

[Bud Tierney]

Reminds me, again, of the time, years ago, when I was visiting my brother in LA...

We;d earlier disposed of three vehicles, he'd gotten into 40s Cads, I'd moved north, gotten away from the fie;ld...

With him, looking at a car, or what there was of it, I said "Tom, ...that's a parts car..."......

His answer was "You're out of touch...when you were down here, it WAS a parts car...NOW  it;s  a restorer...".

Altho I do believe that if Tom was still here, even he'd pale at the thought of saving this one.....