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Seeking Graham-Paige archival materials


carmaven

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I'm researching a custom bodied 1929 Graham-Paige 837. I'm trying to locate any factory records, archive material or even correspondence of the Graham brothers that may mention this car. 

 

Does anyone know of any source of such materials?

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George:  Thank you for the quick post. 

 

Unfortunately, I cannot share the exact car publicly at this time. It will come out in the next year or two. I already have access to general sales brochures, manuals, technical data and such but I need to find details specific to this car. We know the car is custom bodied but it is unclear by whom. I'm hoping that some collector, library, archive or club has records or correspondence related to Graham-Paige in 1929 that may shed some light on the specific car I'm researching. 

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For research on any Graham-Paige, you should turn to Michael E. Keller, author of the definitive two volume Graham-Paige histories: The Graham Legacy, Graham-Paige to 1932 and The Graham Legacy, Graham-Paige from 1932.   On page 151, Mr. Keller discusses their foray into the custom-bodied 837 with a dual cowl phaeton by LeBaron for the New York auto show.  Catalogued were two other LeBaron-bodied models, a seven-passenger sedan-limousine and an open-front town car.    Your car might also be an individual custom order as the 837 chassis was made available to custom coachbuilders in an effort to raise the luxury reputation of the top-of-the-line eight cylinder 827 and 837 models.

 

We'll be very interested to see your custom-bodied Graham-Paige 837 as soon as you are comfortable to allow us to do so.

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alsancle: It is a town car but it has an opening rear quarter. It is supposed to be by Lebaron but the body builder plates are missing. 

 

I have found the experts on this car but I'm still open to information, particularly about Lebaron bodies in this period. 

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Try to locate where the Maker plates were normally screwed to either one or both sides of the lower outside cowl. Then measure the distance between the two screw holes that at one time held the plate on the car. Then find someone with a period LeBaron maker plate on a car or a loose one and see if the holes on the plate line up with the holes on your cars cowl. If they do its probably LeBaron. Evey maker plate was slightly different in size and length,and thus mounting screw hole distances. For instance Derham maker tag was a shield. Had strange placing for the two mounting holes. LeBaron was rectangle, like most other maker plates.Sincerely George Albright

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18 hours ago, carmaven said:

alsancle: It is a town car but it has an opening rear quarter. It is supposed to be by Lebaron but the body builder plates are missing. 

 

I have found the experts on this car but I'm still open to information, particularly about Lebaron bodies in this period. 

So, its a landaulet town car, similar to the one gifted to the Vatican.  You'll find a period photograph from the Vatican Archives on page 159 of Michael Keller's first volume mentioned above.  Wonderful another example survives or is it that particular one?

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Follow the directions and advice that has been mentioned - the distance between the screw/nail mounting holes on the body badge area at the bottom of the cowl would help - I have a collection of these and could look to see what may fit if there was more information.  I have a fair amount of coach builders journals, magazines, literature but you are to vague and do not provide enough information to even attempt to try to look something up and help- it all takes a lot of time  to do this. I can well understand and appreciate you wanting to be sparse in details so as to not alert the world to what may be hiding someplace and thus ruin your chance of possible ownership, but at the same time you can't expect an accurate answer to your question with so little information.

Good luck with your endeavor, I am sure the Graham guys reading this will be of great assistance.

WG

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115909441_PopeGrahamPaige1.thumb.jpg.812e94c6b766b26b67dd3d5f128bf6b1.jpg

This is the only known Graham-Paige 837 LeBaron bodied car, owned by the Vatican Carriage Museum.  Michael has several paragraphs in his book about the car.  What would you like to know?  It was a standard body style offering in 1928 (835),1929 (837); 1930 and 31 would have been (127) if any were built? (the 1928 835 is pictured in my previous post) but no known survivors.

Edited by Graham Man (see edit history)
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