Vonja Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 Hey guys. I'm writing a story and trying to find a car make & model (1930s to early 40s) with an integrated trunk large enough to hold a person (it's a crime story, heh). I'd also prefer a model that's standard or mid-luxury (he's only a mid-level gangster). I tried to Google this but understandably most discussions on antique cars don't involve trunks. Thank you in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 9 minutes ago, Vonja said: Hey guys. I'm writing a story and trying to find a car make & model (1930s to early 40s) with an integrated trunk large enough to hold a person (it's a crime story, heh). I'd also prefer a model that's standard or mid-luxury (he's only a mid-level gangster). I tried to Google this but understandably most discussions on antique cars don't involve trunks. Thank you in advance! Check out 1941-18 Chrysler product three window coupes....here is a 1941 Dodge business coupe.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MCHinson Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 (edited) 1937 or 1938 Buick Century Model 61, 4 door trunkback. The photos shows the rear end and trunk of my 1938 Century. Edited July 27, 2020 by MCHinson (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F&J Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 34 Buick Club Sedan...full gansta,,, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JACK M Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 Do the black walls make my butt look big? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustycrusty Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 I know for a fact that three skinny high school teenagers will fit in the trunk of a 1940 Chevrolet sedan. You can squeeze a fourth behind the three rear facing bodies if you put the spare tire in the back seat foot well and cover it with a blanket......... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldcarfudd Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 If you dismembered the body, you could have a more exciting story and wouldn't need as big a trunk! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 Always an authority, Cagney's trunk of choice to haul bodies was a 1939 Buick. 😄 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFitz Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 Ask any old Moonshiner what cars had the biggest trunks,.... and the getaway speed a gangster would want. 😉 Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
58L-Y8 Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 A 1936-'38 Cadillac Series 60 coupe, the smallest Cadillac but with the power-to-weight ratio of a Buick Century. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 1936 Pierce Arrow Club Sedan........full size built in trunk..........I’m 6’1” and 230lbs and fit fine...............and it’s a COOL car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryankazmer Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 most cars of that era could hold a body in the trunk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted July 27, 2020 Share Posted July 27, 2020 Built in trunks began to come in about 1934. Almost all cars had them within a couple of years although you could buy a car without a trunk for a while, I think by 1939 all cars had trunks. Ford V8 and Cadillac are associated with gangsters but of course, they could have used any car. When Alvin "Creepy" Karpis was Public Enemy #1 he drove a Plymouth coupe equipped with everything from pistols to machine guns. A good choice for a medium priced car would be a Buick, Mercury V8 (big brother to Ford) Chrysler or early forties DeSoto. I have seen all of those used by the heavy in 30s and 40s gangster pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeff_a Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 (edited) One of the earliest integrated trunks was on the 1918 Peerless Mod. 56 Sporting Roadster. A factory offering with Peerless V-8, dual exhaust, 4-barrel carburetor, lightweight body, 80 h.p., flat-plane(like a 2018 Shelby GT350) aluminum 332 V-8. What it lacks being 12 years old compared to a 1930, it makes up makes up in performance. $2,490 new....probably under a C-note in 1930, so a guy could buy it for a song then sell it on some back street or to some farm boy for chump change. Edited July 28, 2020 by jeff_a (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carbking Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 4-barrel carburetor??? In 1918??? Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Man Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 Any 1920's or 1930's Business Coupe, they all had a trunk that would work. You could use an expensive car or an inexpensive car depending on your character. All the attention goes to the rumble seat coupes but the rest were business coupes, they were the least expensive cars used by most traveling salesmen you can tell them by the trunk handle on the bottom/lower trunk. My vote is a 1934 Graham... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 If I were (note the subjunctive indicating "contrary to fact") going to choose a car to stash a body in its trunk, I'd want no spare tire in the way, and the floor of the trunk should be just above the rear bumper. Come to think of it, I have a couple of candidates for that treatment in mind.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFitz Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 5 hours ago, Grimy said: If I were (note the subjunctive indicating "contrary to fact") going to choose a car to stash a body in its trunk, I'd want no spare tire in the way, and the floor of the trunk should be just above the rear bumper. Come to think of it, I have a couple of candidates for that treatment in mind.... Cars,..... or people ? Paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hchris Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 1934 Chrysler CB Town Sedan, internal trunk accessed by folding down rear seat cushion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 15 hours ago, GregLaR said: Always an authority, Cagney's trunk of choice to haul bodies was a 1939 Buick. 😄 WORST choice of car to haul a person in! Unless it got a retrofit, there's NO frame member past the rear springs!!! It was a common complaint if the driver backed into something, or got hit in the rear, the doors would jam shut. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 17 hours ago, Vonja said: Hey guys. I'm writing a story and trying to find a car make & model (1930s to early 40s) with an integrated trunk large enough to hold a person (it's a crime story, heh). I'd also prefer a model that's standard or mid-luxury (he's only a mid-level gangster). I tried to Google this but understandably most discussions on antique cars don't involve trunks. Thank you in advance! Here's proof! https://designyoutrust.com/2020/06/1939-pontiac-plexiglas-ghost-car-the-first-full-sized-see-thru-car-ever-made-in-america/ Click link and find the (once) pretty lady!! Craig 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 4 hours ago, PFitz said: Cars,..... or people ? PEOPLE, of course... 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 I think Vonja has left the building. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PFitz Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 3 hours ago, Grimy said: PEOPLE, of course... 🙂 Had me worried,.... for a minute there I thought you were going to chop trunk floors instead of people. 😃 Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 28, 2020 Share Posted July 28, 2020 11 hours ago, 8E45E said: WORST choice of car to haul a person in! Unless it got a retrofit, there's NO frame member past the rear springs!!! Hmmmm? I wonder if anybody hauled in the trunk ever complained about this issue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8E45E Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 16 minutes ago, GregLaR said: Hmmmm? I wonder if anybody hauled in the trunk ever complained about this issue? Or if they were even aware. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericmac Posted July 29, 2020 Share Posted July 29, 2020 '37 Cadillac 70 series Fleetwood Convertible Sedan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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