1937 Cord Custom Beverly - $50,000 - Conneaut Lake, PA - Not Mine - Still Available, Same $50,000 Price: Oct-Nov 2021:

[auburnseeker]

7 minutes ago, Brass is Best said:

Anybody wanting a Cord should go and look in person. They should go for a long ride in the car. More than just around the block. If the seller doesn't want you driving until you pay for the car that should be expected. An inexperienced throttle jockey can destroy a transmission in seconds. But if the car is good a 20-30 mile trip should be no issue. I have put thousands of miles on my Cord. I maintain it and service it. They are wonderful machines. Anybody who tells you they have problems or were bad from the factory has never owned or driven a good one. 

 

 

They are like most old cars,  just a bit more complicated when compared to more basic 30's cars.  Seems 95-99% of the cars out their are not sorted or really finished.  We have come to expect them to drive terribly and be unreliable because so many restored cars,  got paint chrome and interior with little done to the mechanical or even if fully rebuilt,  the mechanics weren't dialed in.  I know even something as simple as the 51 Dodge I'm working on, had all new suspension yet the camber on the front wheels was terrible.  I just spent a day messing around with that as i had to keep pulling the wheels to adjust it then let it back down and recheck it.  Brakes not quite right including no brake return spring ever installed at the master,  Cowl vent brackets missing,  you name it.   Park Brakes don't work, lights don't work,  lots of stuff.  Seems most people either get tired of the process and just get the car done,  or really don't know all the fine tuning you need to do to make it right and reliable.  The 40 Ford I sold last year,  my 51 Dodge,  the 48 Plymouth Convertible, my 36 Chrysler convertible,  all stuff they needed but the last owner or two never got to. I have my 31 Auburn to tackle next,  but have to get the Dodge done first which keeps presenting more stuff to fix,  the deeper I go.  Now back to those cowl vent brackets i had to fabricate then rebuilding the door check arms so I don't crease the front fender moldings I just straightened and polished.  Fortunately it seemed to atleast start and run well when I put it in the garage in the fall so Hopefully with all new brakes tires and a home done alignment it will drive OK. 

[John_Mereness]

22 hours ago, alsancle said:

 

It always amazes me how people who theoretically want to sell something fairly expensive put zero effort in to the process.   I'm thinking with elderly owners they just don't have the technology to do it?

 

How hard is it to put a really detailed description together?    The ads you see from dealers are usually just as bad as the individual one time sellers.   How he hell do these guys stay in business?

Perhaps old and not tech savvy.  

 

Technically speaking their craigslist advertisement should be at a price point where someone locally buys their car. That said, the poor advertising scares off probably more people that it attracts. 

 

I disagree with Matt, but only to a point.   I am not a fan of the history portion of the listings, but when I write a description the focus is on the car's condition and car usually sells in a day to a month - there is an art to it.  They also tend to be really good cars that are well known locally/regionally via Horseless Carriage, AACA, CCCA, and ... - that helps.  I find people generally do read too (or at least the ultimate buyer does).  As to those that want to get to the haggling in seconds - with every listing there is a certain number of bottom feeders that show up to test the waters more or less - if you deal with them they will do a deal with you, but most are not what you want - you get a feel for weeding them out.   Also, if a dealer prices to sell to another dealer then that is a whole other discussion in itself of probably not doing it right (albeit, there are reasons such as timing and ....).  By the way, I know a lot of people do not like auctions, but when an Auction company sells to a dealer they are probably doing something wrong too (albeit, again there are reasons such as timing and ....).  And one size does not fit all - there are some very good specialists and pays to seek them out.

 

It is baffling - Ex. My sister/brother-in law live in one of the "hotter" Real Estate areas of town via school system is ranked # 149 in US and # 2 in greater Cincinnati area and # 5 in Ohio and one of the neighbors listed their house with a non-name "tech"/internet based brand "marketing" realtor for their "absolutely perfect house" (and it really is)  as "they know what their house is worth and they do not want to share the "high" commission fees for someone to not do any work" = Well, instead of selling in a bidding war prior to the sign even going up in the yard, it is now has been for sale for over a month.  Basically, everyone else just goes with the "player" as they end up with more in their pocket from the get go and that offsets any fees to the point of basically being "free" as to commission. 

 

 

 

 

[John_Mereness]

21 hours ago, auburnseeker said:

They are like most old cars,  just a bit more complicated when compared to more basic 30's cars.  Seems 95-99% of the cars out their are not sorted or really finished.  We have come to expect them to drive terribly and be unreliable because so many restored cars,  got paint chrome and interior with little done to the mechanical or even if fully rebuilt,  the mechanics weren't dialed in.  I know even something as simple as the 51 Dodge I'm working on, had all new suspension yet the camber on the front wheels was terrible.  I just spent a day messing around with that as i had to keep pulling the wheels to adjust it then let it back down and recheck it.  Brakes not quite right including no brake return spring ever installed at the master,  Cowl vent brackets missing,  you name it.   Park Brakes don't work, lights don't work,  lots of stuff.  Seems most people either get tired of the process and just get the car done,  or really don't know all the fine tuning you need to do to make it right and reliable.  The 40 Ford I sold last year,  my 51 Dodge,  the 48 Plymouth Convertible, my 36 Chrysler convertible,  all stuff they needed but the last owner or two never got to. I have my 31 Auburn to tackle next,  but have to get the Dodge done first which keeps presenting more stuff to fix,  the deeper I go.  Now back to those cowl vent brackets i had to fabricate then rebuilding the door check arms so I don't crease the front fender moldings I just straightened and polished.  Fortunately it seemed to atleast start and run well when I put it in the garage in the fall so Hopefully with all new brakes tires and a home done alignment it will drive OK. 

 

A friend's 1935 Auburn is in the alignment shop (we have one of the best race car guys on the globe here locally - a fine shop with an owner that has a mind for engineering - like the math/formula side of engineering) - the friend was on the highway and it went into a death shake and he "thought they were going to die."   So, what they found already was that someone had milled the axle to get more angle on it, plus installed a 5 degree and a 7 degree shim in addition to that (looks like they could not get it right so kept adding more and more), an extra 1 1/4 of toe in., a bent front axle (how that happens I will never know), the back axle was not straight on the springs, the wheels not balanced properly, one tire does not run true, and ...  The good news is that the frame does appear straight and the steering box and ball joints/king pins/etc. are fabulous, as well as leaf springs and spring bushings.     Dad dropped off a copy of the specs and they basically have now talked through every aspect of the suspension and steering - when done the fellow should have a fine car and it will be very driven prior to its return to owner (here is the scary part - the car was restored in 1970's, the next fellow who re-restored it owned a spring shop, and the next owner spent 16K addressing suspension issues - AKA SOMEBODY SHOULD HAVE HAD THIS MORE CLOSE BY NOW).  

[John_Mereness]

22 hours ago, Brass is Best said:

Anybody wanting a Cord should go and look in person. They should go for a long ride in the car. More than just around the block. If the seller doesn't want you driving until you pay for the car that should be expected. An inexperienced throttle jockey can destroy a transmission in seconds. But if the car is good a 20-30 mile trip should be no issue. I have put thousands of miles on my Cord. I maintain it and service it. They are wonderful machines. Anybody who tells you they have problems or were bad from the factory has never owned or driven a good one. 

 

 

When properly sorted an 810/812 Cord is perhaps the finest driving car made pre-1953-ish (Cadillac with power steering and brakes in 53 is where you start seeing the driving differences).  

 

Their only problem was that you needed to be in a large city with proper dealer support as they were beyond the skills of the local filling station mechanic. 

 

As to bad from the factory - same as any car in there being a few lemons (I assume related to owner abuse that surfaced those issues and I am sure such as a few Lycoming casting issues), but it is the good ones that have survived to this point - it still is something though that is above the skill level of the average mechanic (though someone with some smarts can apply themselves and learn  how to keep their car going).  

 

As a sidenote:  I had never really gone out in a well sorted Cord, so I asked maybe 4 years ago at ACD Festival - I was lined up with what was "the finest example they thought was there" and even then the owner had a few apologies.  What I initially thought were the finest example too also had owners that apologized as even though they drove there and drove home they referenced they had a few issues to address that had surfaced.  I had dad on the fence up until that point and now he is back to kicking and screaming when I look at one, but says he will help work on one if I do jump in. 

[Matt Harwood]

The Cords were the "big idea" cars of the '30s, much like the Ford retractables of the '50s. The idea was there but the technology wasn't quite perfected to make it work like it should. What they achieved was amazing and it worked (like the retractables) but you can see that there was a lot of overtime involved in figuring out how to repurpose existing technology to a different job.

 

I want to also take a moment to commend the people on this website and say how proud I am of all of you/us. In the past five years there has been a fairly drastic shift in the way people are looking at the cars and their operation. We have a great many discussions about "sorting" and getting the cars to work correctly and there's a far greater awareness of the finer points of mechanical fitness that I don't think was a prevalent even as recently as five or seven years ago. There are a number of you who really hammer on the basics (Ed, Randy, John, AJ, David) of getting a car right, and it seems to be catching on. John's comment above about riding in "the best" Cord and the owner was still making excuses reminded me that we've come a long way but there's still a long way to go. Attitudes are shifting, even if only in our own little microcosm here--I'm quite certain each of you is taking some of that with you and spreading it around to your friends in the hobby. Make sure they see you running your cars and outrunning everyone else. People in big cars are still surprised by how effortlessly that big Buick of mine glides away from them on the road--I really like that and I owe much of it to you guys.

 

So that's just an "atta-boy" for you guys who are like-minded about getting the cars right. Most folks still don't care or don't know the difference, but if we keep showing them what properly sorted cars can do, that'll change. There's a real difference, most folks just don't know what it is. So thanks to all of you for turning it into a priority for more people within the hobby; you're all doing great work.

 

 

Edited August 21, 2020 by Matt Harwood (see edit history)

[58L-Y8]

Still Available, Same $50,000 Price: Oct-Nov 2021:

1937 Cord Custom Beverly - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle... (craigslist.org)

Contact:  Dick  (814) 3-3-six-8-four-7-zero

Copy and paste in your email:   cb8dede734513eff88fc2738d225d9c7@sale.craigslist.org

[supercub]

This car looks great in black. The amber fog lights are a good accent to the black. The machine-turned dash panel is impressive.

[alsancle]

10 hours ago, 58L-Y8 said:

Still Available, Same $50,000 Price: Oct-Nov 2021:

1937 Cord Custom Beverly - cars & trucks - by owner - vehicle... (craigslist.org)

Contact:  Dick  (814) 3-3-six-8-four-7-zero

Copy and paste in your email:   cb8dede734513eff88fc2738d225d9c7@sale.craigslist.org

 

Interesting it has not sold.  As I said in my previous post,  it must not be as nice as the pictures show it.

[63RedBrier]

I think CL is the wrong venue to advertise such a car, especially at that price!  I believe CL is geared more toward bottom feeders, flippers, and cars under $10k...

[daniel boeve]

Are you sure this really excists ? I guess it owned by a person that works on a drilling platform and he will send the car to you after you have paid for it .