1950panhead Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 https://www.mecum.com/lots/FL0120-405804/1935-auburn-851sc-boattail-speedster/ Highlights Rare right hand drive example Supercharged Lycoming 280 CI inline 8-cylinder engine Engine no. GH4460 Stromberg downdraft carburetor 3-speed manual transmission Red exterior Tan interior Tachometer In-dash clock Single plate dry disc clutch Semi-floating rear axle Front and rear semi-elliptic leaf springs Bendix hydraulic brakes Polished engine side pipes Flying Goddess hood mascot Spotlight Ab Jenkins certified 100.7 miles per hour dash plaque Wide Whitewall tires Chrome full wheel covers The 1935 Auburn 851SC Speedster was E.L. Cord’s last-ditch effort at saving the Auburn Automobile Company he had rescued from the ashes in 1924 at just 30 years old. Today examples such as this rare right-hand drive 851SC occupy the upper strata of prewar American classic automobiles. With the company reeling from the Great Depression just three years after record sales, Cord ordered designer Gordon Buehrig and Chief Engineer Augie Duesenberg to the Auburn, Indiana, factory to produce a new supercharged speedster to boost Auburn’s image and attract new buyers to its showrooms. An older restoration, this example’s red coachwork, hand-hammered over wooden bucks, shows off the raked split windscreen, pontoon fenders, chromed bullet headlights, polished side pipes and high rear crown that are signature features of Buehrig’s design; the Flying Lady mascot is but one of a variety of decorative trim items customers could choose, another of which is this car’s driver-side cowl-mounted moveable spotlight with hand control. The Speedster’s supercharged Lycoming 280 CI inline 8-cylinder engine, a single-plate dry clutch and 3-speed transmission occupy a robust chassis incorporating semi-elliptical springs, lever shocks, Bendix hydraulic brakes and a 2-speed rear end with semi-floating axles, carrying on the Auburn tradition of power and resilience. Wide whitewall tires and chromed full wheel covers emphasize the style and streamlined elegance of this wonderful machine. The finely crafted interior features tan leather upholstery, a 120 MPH speedometer and 5,000 RPM tachometer, oil, temperature, fuel and amp gauges, and an in-dash clock. Like all Auburn Speedsters, this car carries a custom engraved dash plaque indicating the top speed—100.7 MPH—attained at the Auburn Automobile Company test track during pre-delivery road testing. Each Speedster was test driven by race driver Ab Jenkins, who amassed a string of official records in the new Speedster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1950panhead Posted December 28, 2019 Author Share Posted December 28, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1950panhead Posted December 28, 2019 Author Share Posted December 28, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1950panhead Posted December 28, 2019 Author Share Posted December 28, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunnybaba Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 A PRICE WOULD BE NICE............?????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1950panhead Posted December 28, 2019 Author Share Posted December 28, 2019 They are guessing $600k to $800k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
md murray Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 ….and I'm sorry but I'm afraid that price doesn't include any cosmetic detailing 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A. Ballard 35R Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 There's a lot more I'd be concerned about other than cosmetic detailing. As pointed out on another thread there is a lot about the marque and painfully little on the particular car and its provenance. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 (edited) 3 hours ago, A. Ballard 35R said: There's a lot more I'd be concerned about other than cosmetic detailing. As pointed out on another thread there is a lot about the marque and painfully little on the particular car and its provenance. Its only money...........besides, it’s at an auction........the car MUST be pure.......can’t wait to see the video of the girls with big boobs jumping up and down getting bid’s from a balding gray haired guy that has had a few too many martinis. Then we can all jump up and clap for him and slap him on the back. Edited December 29, 2019 by edinmass (see edit history) 3 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trimacar Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 The Ab Jenkins signed 100,7 mph is a total myth, these plaques were made in the 1960’s for fun, now people think they’re real....but they are not........ 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 6 hours ago, 1950panhead said: They are guessing $600k to $800k the reproduction data plate and RHD will hurt but real money around 500-550k wouldn’t surprise me. That is assuming original engine plate is intact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Since this is not really a for sale thread, I'll take the liberty of going off topic a bit. This car is also selling in January but at World Wide in Scottsdale. Has a reproduction data plate which is unfortunate, but is LHD and they have provided a little more history. https://worldwideauctioneers.com/car-details/?id=71&rid=9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 1 hour ago, alsancle said: Since this is not really a for sale thread, I'll take the liberty of going off topic a bit. This car is also selling in January but at World Wide in Scottsdale. Has a reproduction data plate which is unfortunate, but is LHD and they have provided a little more history. https://worldwideauctioneers.com/car-details/?id=71&rid=9 This car (via Chuck Morgan estate) has done well in Indianapolis Region CCCA - well worth researching as to history and ... As a sidenote: I defy anyone to ever show me a 1935 or 1936 Auburn Boattail factory photo without wheel disks over the wire wheels. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 (edited) 23 hours ago, 1950panhead said: My opinion: Pretty decent car all the way around - this one is also worth doing the homework on and could be what you really want in a Boattail A plenty of "little" detail things under hood need attention as to correctness, but all things considered they are very minor (excepting proper radiator caps are near unobtainium and a proper coil takes resourcefulness to get rebuilt). It could also really use a more appropriate pressure line on the oil filter and black spark plug wires. The vacuum canister on the cowl is not correct - I am guessing they are having trouble drawing vacuum for the Columbia axle or wipers. Notice the crude welds on the cowl - they are correct ! May even sport a honeycomb radiator Also, notice that it sports a set of Double Whitewall tires - pretty rare as expensive and made only in limited numbers on limited occasions. Get researching !!! Edited December 29, 2019 by John_Mereness (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 1 hour ago, John_Mereness said: This car (via Chuck Morgan estate) has done well in Indianapolis Region CCCA - well worth researching as to history and ... As a sidenote: I defy anyone to ever show me a 1935 or 1936 Auburn Boattail factory photo without wheel disks over the wire wheels. I'll one up you, and I think our resident Auburn expert Curt might disagree with me, but show me any period picture of any 35/36 Auburn with wheels that were dipped in chrome. Also, the Budd snap on spokes were a period accessory dating to the early 30s, but not a factory option. I 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 (edited) The 1934 Cadillac V-16 had chrome welded spoke wheels under the covers - the so called "experts" were real quick to point out their expertise, but they were wrong (the plating was original and car had them from day one) - that being said even the best wheel experts shook their head and said they had no idea how they would ever restore them. And, they would never have survived if they were not on an incredibly well preserved car from new - which most of the plating was original still. As to Auburn - I think I have seen perhaps one factory photo of a 1935 with chrome wheels (but I do not have that photo in my library). An 851 and 852 would like the Cadillac have a welded spoke wire wheel - not conducive to plating. As to the Budd spoke covers - I think someone made them in the 70's or early 80's (I once had a ACD Bulletin in my hand that had an advertisement for them). I do have an 852 parked in the storage building and they would look great on it - I would not mind a set. Edited December 29, 2019 by John_Mereness (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 8 minutes ago, John_Mereness said: As to the Budd spoke covers - I think someone made them in the 70's or early 80's (I once had a ACD Bulletin in my hand that had an advertisement for them). I do have an 852 parked in the storage building and they would look great on it - I would not mind a set. I'm a close relative to that guy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 41 minutes ago, alsancle said: They are pretty neat when the light hits them in a certain way when driving or such as driving downtown under street lamps - sort of a flash bulb effect. I love watching them at night in building windows under street lamps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walt G Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 I am a bit foggy in my memory on this , but I think about 30-40 years ago there was a Auburn like this in England for sale and it was painted white . It may have appeared in the British magazine Motor Sport at the time. I just don't have the time to try and search to find other information and details, but I am certain there was a RHD car like this and know the color was white and it got repainted to another color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted December 30, 2019 Share Posted December 30, 2019 There is the RHD one that was discovered in the Philippines. That was in a bunch of magazines 10 years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Mereness Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 On 12/29/2019 at 7:15 PM, alsancle said: There is the RHD one that was discovered in the Philippines. That was in a bunch of magazines 10 years ago. Could be same car - I do not recall that I saw the Phil Bray restored car post restoration - he usually showed at Indiana CCCA grand Classics, but thinking Auburn was only showed in Michigan Grand Classics ? This particular car for auction is very nice, it just suffered from Florida humidity (but you buy an Auburn Boattail for such as original wood, matching numbers, how solid it was prior to restoration, and ... - preaching to the choir on this as you(AJ) have already been preaching what a good one is). Again, I encourage people to get researching this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alsancle Posted January 1, 2020 Share Posted January 1, 2020 The Old Motor has the story on the Philippines Speedster. Looks like it might be the same car given the after pictures and the fact that it was in the UK. Old Motor says 11 right hand drive Auburn Speedsters, which is more than I would have guessed. http://theoldmotor.com/?p=158210 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1950panhead Posted January 1, 2020 Author Share Posted January 1, 2020 Close but no cigar, the Philippine car is 1935 851 boattail is a documented car with the a-c-d club. the engine s/n is 32910 and the chassis s/n is gh3686. the car was delivered to the Philippines in 1936. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1950panhead Posted January 1, 2020 Author Share Posted January 1, 2020 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1950panhead Posted January 9, 2020 Author Share Posted January 9, 2020 The 35 speedster sold for $400k. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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