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1948 Davis Divan "1 of 17 Prototype Ever Made


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  • 2 weeks later...
15 hours ago, mercer09 said:

I saw that, and so what should that fetch Trimacar?

These cars are indeed rare, but they are so odd that they have a hard time finding a buyer, or at least that's my experience.

 

I had #13 of the run of 17 (not counting some military vehicles they made that were on a similar running gear).  This has been a while ago, but I advertised it, and had exactly one response to my ad in Hemmings. It was restored with new paint, new interior, new tires, new chrome.  It had the Hercules engine, which was tired.  In 1990, it was, and I advertised it for $10K and took the $7500 offer.

 

In retrospect wish I'd kept it, of course, I know exactly where it is but owner intimated to me that he wants big bucks for it.

 

I think in today's market that they are probably in the 15K to 25K range, and any more than that is because a museum with bucks wants to display a car that stops people in their tracks.  When I drove the one I had in my hometown, traffic was literally pulling over to the side of the road to look at it...….

 

They're interesting to drive, very stable, but the front wheel hits all the bumps in the middle of the road that haven't been smoothed down like the four wheel tracks have.

 

I still have an original script from that car, see picture.  I'm like the guy who has the car I had, I think it's worth a fortune!

IMG_1318.jpg

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I didn't look at the Hagerty values, so I guess I'm way on the low side.  I'd still bet it doesn't fetch more than $25K, but I've been wrong before.  I sure don't see it anywhere near the top of Hagerty value at $125K, and think that's dreaming.

 

I will say that anyone who buys it and starts taking it to shows, expect a crowd such as the one around Lindbergh's plane in Paris.  The odd always draws a crowd, just think the old time freak shows at carnivals...

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What a funky little thing, although it's probably like a Morgan 3-wheeler: impossible to miss a pothole. I would lump these in with the Muntz Jet I have. Obscure, interesting cars where they had a brief moment where they were the flavor of the month that jacked up prices. Now all the guys who wanted one--which probably amounts to two or three people--have one and demand falls back to near 0. All the price guides say the Muntz is a six-figure car, but I doubt I could give this one away for $60,000. I think Trimacar's guesses as to value are closer to reality than the Hagerty guide (which is probably based on insurance quotes for the two or three guys who fought to own one at auction and jacked up the prices momentarily). The fact that this one is laying there at $3100 suggests nobody is going to pay big money for it, even in the final seconds of the auction.

 

Still, I think it's pretty neat and would be a lot of fun to own. I might even throw a bid at it, although I just discovered yesterday (thanks to another thread and some looking around on Google) that what I really want is a Full Classic tow truck. Aiming at that Packard in New England...

 

 

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20 hours ago, alsancle said:

I think it is worth a lot more than you would think.  Look at the prices paid for Tuckers which they built more of and are uglier.   

A good point, except there was no movie made about the Davis!   For a long time, the Tucker was just considered an oddity in the old car world, and prices were low.  It wasn’t until the movie came out that prices started going crazy.

 

I do believe this Davis will go much higher than 7k though.

 

I think Wayne Carini in Connecticut has a Davis, believe his has a 60hp Ford V-8

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Not sure what is worse....a Davis....or The Flying Wombat! To each his own.............lots of other snide off color comments and jokes withheld as not to offend people.

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2 minutes ago, trimacar said:

Yes, Ed, not an attractive car...but I’m one of the few past  owners of such a beast and can tell you it draws a crowd like you can’t believe....


Just like a traffic accident!

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6 minutes ago, alsancle said:

What is wrong with the flying wombat?  Didn’t Bohman and Schwartz build the body?

An interesting car, for sure, but like many custom bodies, it’s an acquired taste.  At first it assaults ones senses, then it grows on you, kind of like your plain Jane prom date who shows up at the door with lipstick, fake eyelashes, and a dress split to here...

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52 minutes ago, alsancle said:

What is wrong with the flying wombat?  Didn’t Bohman and Schwartz build the body?


Five percent of their cars were very well done, and the other ninty five percent were a crime. As David said....an assault on your senses............I believe the actual charge was “intent to blind”............but only if you were lucky!

Edited by edinmass (see edit history)
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To be fair, B & S modified many, many more cars than they actually built from scratch. If I’m not mistaken, they only built less than five total bodies. Many of the cars they did modify were already masterpieces........and thus establishing good results were problematic at best. Slight updates to modernize the car were more successful than the major do overs. Over time, some of their designs and modifications have grown on me...............I’m getting soft in my old age. 

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