An Inquiry Regarding History or Provenance on Old Car Projects

[B Jake Moran]

We all collect cars for different reasons.  One of my touchpoints is whether the vehicle is an artifact.  I wanted to own a 56 Packard because I read the book "The Rise and Fall of the Packard Motorcar" (which is an excellent read) and how the author noted the chaos of the last few weeks akin to the Titanic going down without the loss of life.   To me, a 56 Packard, especially one built in the last days, is a reason to own and show the car above and beyond whether I like 56 Packard styling, performance and the enjoyment of the cars.  

 

This inquiry is not about necessarily restored cars, cars with a Marti Report, or a Galen Govier authenticity for those who know muscle cars or any other 3rd party validated cars that are restored.  Key word here is restored - it's value is commiserate to the condition.  

 

Rather, I have located a couple of vehicles in recent history which are being completely ignored by collector groups because they are projects, they need completed and expensive restorations.  

 

One example is a 1955 Kaiser Manhattan that got me curious about this topic and why I would like members inputs here, as a topic with no consequence, just a conversational topic. 

 

On the Kaiser Frazer Owners Club website a car showed up last year which is historically significant especially to KF specific collectors, yet it received no interest.  

 

It was/is a 1955 Kaiser Manhattan, which in and of itself is similar to the aforementioned 1956 Packard - 1 of roughly 235 1955 Kaisers cobbled together from remaining parts.  But, this is one of 2 that was sent to northern California to be used by Henry Kaiser or his wife, we don't know which was which.  These were basically one off vehicles ordered in that last year, near the end.  Bother were white and Indian Ceramic, with Indian Ceramic leather interiors and all options for 1955 - or standard features - which included a factory fitted supercharger.  

 

The car would be considered a holy grail car 20 years ago BUT the twin to this car was crushed years ago and parted out because even then KF geeks did not see the VALUE in preservation.  Owing to the American standard for individualism I am not a guy that holds that guy accountable for his decision.  It's his car he can do what he wants.  

 

I offer this only as an example.  The post in question on the KFOCI forum dragged on for sometime.  The seller was offusive and was asking admittedly too much money.  The car is still a 4 door sedan after all, but for true aficionados who increasingly see no rare holy grail cars come up for sale, one would think the word would have gotten around on this car and one of the club's senior monied members would have grabbed it and restored it.  

 

This would be a car that - correctly restored - would be an awesome museum loaner, and driver in club and other events.  But it would require likely a careful (and fun) multi year, expensive restoration.  At the end of it, you own a car likely sat in by the industrialist Henry J Kaiser, a man of monumental historical presence as a major industrialist of WW 2, a man who along with Joe Frazer created the "last onslaught on Detroit" by doing what Preston Tucker could not, and his swan song was ordering a beautiful color combination car bearing his name .

 

But this is not the only restoration project with historical interest I have seen bypassed by collectors who in times past would push each other out of the way to buy a certain car.   Just the one I am thinking about as an example.    I saw a rare Galaxy 500 convertible with a factory 429 and 4 speed, with a Marti report showing it to be 1 of 126 or so, which at $14,000 needing restoration was a bit much, but I believe it remains unsold.  

 

Think of what gets your interest piqued.    Does provenance or rarity influence your decision to restore? Or is the high cost of restoration the deal killer? 

[A. Ballard 35R]

You raise an interesting point. For many people the significance of "the last built" would depend on the particular car, such as the last Model T Ford or the last Model J Duesenberg. The Packard you mention would probably qualify since there is a large Packard following whereas the Kaiser Manhattan would not have as large a following. Also, there is a difference between rarity (the Galaxy 500) and the last one produced.

[padgett]

Personally have never understood the value of personality owned owned (Frank Sinatra Reatta) or cinema cars (usually more than one including a General Lee on a VW chassis) particularly since most were freebies from marketing.

 

First ones are another case (e.g. first two 67 Firebirds that I understand were given by Pontiac to the Daytona Speedway. Know how many factory defects are in a "first" car - is why you usually get to over 100 before one reaches the public ?

 

But then everyone has a different opinion, I look more for form and function (small and fast helps) with a DOHC-6. I do not value a Gullwing Mercedes more because Briggs Cunningham drove it (usually with the doors open around town because they have little ventilation and no AC).

 

ps Learned something new here, namely that there was a lo-po (Lima) version of the 429 used in full sized cars until 1973 (not a Ferd person, always thought of the 429 as the tunnel port Boss boy-howdy engine. Makes more sense now).

[alsancle]

Some characteristics of an individual car generally mean something to collectors in general and some only to a guy trying to sell a car.

 

Some positive value depending on details:

 

1. Famous owner (depends on who and a picture of the guy sitting it)

2. Auto Show car  (with a picture or proof)

3. First car built

4. Pilot cars

 

Quirky stuff like two cars with consecutive serial numbers,  or the last car off the assembly line are usually not really important.   Sort of like having the only 74 Gremlin built with a column shift, green interior and AC.    Nice to mention, but not worth anything.

 

[1912Staver]

How bad is it condition wise? A car like you are describing probably would have more historical value if it is a reasonably well preserved , unrestored car. 

Even a very meticulous restoration looses at least some historical context when the car is important for reasons like past ownership, or first. example , last example or similar 

differences from the the "run of the mill" cars from the production run. Can the car be simply recommissioned and displayed or does it definitely need a restoration ?

 

Greg

[padgett]

#2 Auto Show Car is even more difficult because often this year's show car received changes and became next year's show car. Pontiac "X" series were like that. Many from one.

[TTR]

In my limited experience, to properly* "restore" just about any post war (American) production car, regardless of make or model, will require a minimum of couple of thousand hours of labor and tens of thousands of $$ in parts & supplies.

Not many owners are willing to spend money like that on most, even if they have alleged "historical significance".

 

*Whenever I hear or read of one with less effort and/or proven expenditure, I automatically wonder what short-cuts were taken.

 

P.S. I even have experience in mid-'50s Packards, Nash (with "Packard" engine) and early-'50s Kaiser among several other makes from same era.

Edited October 13, 2020 by TTR (see edit history)

[1912Staver]

10 minutes ago, padgett said:

Personally have never understood the value of personality owned owned (Frank Sinatra Reatta) or cinema cars (usually more than one including a General Lee on a VW chassis) particularly since most were freebies from marketing.

 

First ones are another case (e.g. first two 67 Firebirds that I understand were given by Pontiac to the Daytona Speedway. Know how many factory defects are in a "first" car - is why you usually get to over 100 before one reaches the public ?

 

But then everyone has a different opinion, I look more for form and function (small and fast helps) with a DOHC-6. I do not value a Gullwing Mercedes more because Briggs Cunningham drove it (usually with the doors open around town because they have little ventilation and no AC).

 

ps Learned something new here, namely that there was a lo-po (Lima) version of the 429 used in full sized cars until 1973 (not a Ferd person, always thought of the 429 as the tunnel port Boss boy-howdy engine. Makes more sense now).

 

Padget, there are a number of versions of the 429. The Boss is of course  " King of the hill" , but even it came in a pair of versions , street and track { Nascar }. Base 429 is a LTD / Thunderbird / Pickup Truck 

torque powerplant. Next step up is 429 " Police Interceptor", then 429 Cobra Jet , both non Ram Air and Ram Air versions. Ford liked lots of variety in this era. All the " good " versions were built in quite limited

numbers compared to the base 429.

 

Greg 

[Walt G]

Everyone can define "value" in their own terms. to me "rare" is over used in just about everything except when grilling a steak. I do not read for sale ads where the word rare comes before  the actual description of even what the car, truck, go cart, bicycle , tricycle etc is. I find of interest cars that appeal to me both visually and mechanically ( so that I can drive them - I don't own a truck nor trailer and drove a custom bodied early 1930s car for about 50,000 miles in all kinds of weather for nearly 40 years ( from near zero to over 80 degrees temperature wise and in dry and wet weather) We all have our own idea of what is important to us , what is significant, and what makes us happy.

[rocketraider]

I've long believed that if Kaiser had had a modern OHV V8 they'd have fared better. A Manhattan or especially Dragon was no one's lame excuse for a luxury car. Gorgeous, but underpowered even with the blower. With V8, I always thought they could have slapped Lincoln and Imperial and been Cadillac's annoying ankle-biter. Coulda woulda shoulda.  

 

Celebrity ownership, meh. Those are attractive to people in the cult of celebrity. Though the Kaiser in question, being specially built for and used by the company founder, should warrant saving because of its history.

[padgett]

Back to the old saw "rare is easy, desirable is harder". Good salesman will seize on anything to promote the current car on the lot. Have had a couple of "single digit" cars but just liked them, usually found out rarity later. Growing up in the Palm Beaches, every other interesting car had a celebrity owner but was a cast-off then (Jaguars were cheaper than Chevrolets. Then I found out why. Still have Whitworth wrenchs. Could use an inner tube to repair an E-type (to replace the clutch on jackstands it is easier to drop the engine and trans out the bottom) power brake and most of mine wound up with Delco alternators....

[8E45E]

19 hours ago, rocketraider said:

I've long believed that if Kaiser had had a modern OHV V8 they'd have fared better. A Manhattan or especially Dragon was no one's lame excuse for a luxury car. Gorgeous, but underpowered even with the blower. With V8, I always thought they could have slapped Lincoln and Imperial and been Cadillac's annoying ankle-biter. Coulda woulda shoulda.  

Some seem to forget the Kaiser (and Willys) had a rather successful second-life in South America.  The Kaiser continued as the 'Carabela' until 1962, and the Willys passenger cars until 1967.

 

Craig

[3makes]

Walt's comment is spot-on with everything, including steaks.

[Matt Harwood]

I have always looked at special ownership, early/late production, serial number coincidences, or other interesting tidbits (I hate the word "provenance" but that's what I'm saying) as icing on the cake, not the cake itself. With certain notable exceptions (mostly Steve McQueen's cars) ownership history doesn't really move the needle much price-wise unless it's a very significant car owned by a very significant figure. Likewise, ownership history doesn't change someone from not wanting a particular car to wanting it. The car itself is still the primary dictator of value.

 

One of the Duesenberg SSJ roadsters was "owned" by Clark Gable (actually used by Clark Gable, but let's not split hairs). Does that make it more valuable? Or is being a Duesenberg SSJ the valuable part? How many other Clark Gable cars can you name? He surely owned dozens or hundreds of cars, but only three or four are noteworthy--because they would be noteworthy cars regardless of who owned them.

 

When evaluating any car for my business, there are two components I consider: value and marketability. They are separate things. Yes, you can improve marketability by decreasing value, but that's not the same thing. It's worth what it's worth, but marketability (meaning its appeal to buyers, particularly when compared to other similar vehicles) can be improved with an interesting history. People usually won't pay extra for an interesting history, but it may be the difference between choosing one car over another similar car. Same with service history or factory documentation or some kind of documented special event (like a pace car that was actually used at the race).

 

For instance, I have this lovely Marmon Sixteen that was built for John Rockefeller's youngest daughter and then owned by Bill Harrah. Interesting, yes. Will someone pay a premium to own a car originally owned by John Rockefeller's youngest daughter? Doubt it. However, the car is still what it is--a Marmon Sixteen with unusual custom bodywork, one of three custom bodied Sixteens and one of only two on the 154-inch chassis. Those are the virtues that dictate value. The history makes for an interesting story that may appeal to a buyer, but if Alta Rockefeller owned a Ford Model A, it would still be an $18,000 Model A today.

 

There are certainly some buyers (mostly Corvette guys) who get all geeked up over serial numbers and owning the "first" or "last" Corvette model built, but again, I don't know that it adds much measurable value. In aggregate, perhaps--I remember recently that a noted Corvette collector liquidated some of his cars and he owned the first and last publicly serial numbered C4s and C5s and sold them as a group. A collection like that may have some added value due to the inherent uniqueness of the package, but are those cars individually worth more than any other zero-mile C4s or C5s? Meh. When I was doing R&D for GM on the C5 Corvette, we had serial number 004 and 007, and we turned them both into race cars and drove them into the ground. Nothing special about them despite being the third and sixth cars off the assembly line, respectively. They were still just C5 Corvettes.

 

Does that make sense?

[1937hd45]

I'm sorry, I just can't get my head around mass produced Post WWII vehicles, and the never ending attempt to somehow make them important. If you have a Gremlin with a Levi interior, column shift, pink with the blue stripe, one of one and it makes you happy, fine. There may be a reason they never built a twin to it.

 

 

Bob 

[rocketraider]

3 hours ago, 8E45E said:

Some seem to forget the Kaiser (and Willys) had a rather successful second-life in South America.  The Kaiser continued as the 'Carabela' until 1962, and the Willys passenger cars until 1967.

 

Craig

Both cars suited the South American market. The 1950s American luxury and near-luxury market dictated OHV V8s, advanced engineering and gadgetry, and dramatic styling. 2 out of 3 couldn't increase Kaiser's market share, and we all know waiting too long to introduce an OHV V8 hastened Packard's end. Buick had arguably the finest OHV inline Eight in the world but they realized that to stay competitive in the 1950s American market they needed a V8.

 

Again, coulda-woulda-shoulda.

[8E45E]

20 hours ago, rocketraider said:

Both cars suited the South American market. The 1950s American luxury and near-luxury market dictated OHV V8s, advanced engineering and gadgetry, and dramatic styling. 2 out of 3 couldn't increase Kaiser's market share, and we all know waiting too long to introduce an OHV V8 hastened Packard's end. Buick had arguably the finest OHV inline Eight in the world but they realized that to stay competitive in the 1950s American market they needed a V8.

 

Again, coulda-woulda-shoulda.

Studebaker's sales should have INCREASED for 1951 with their introduction of a thoroughly modern OHV V8, but it didn't!  Their sales continued to drop, despite the new engine.

 

If that was the case with Packard, it should have been the case with Pontiac, as the both introduced brand new V8 engines for the 1955 model year, but Pontiac managed to maintain their market share, despite also being 'late to the party' with an OHV V8.

 

Craig

Edited October 15, 2020 by 8E45E (see edit history)

[John_S_in_Penna]

On 10/13/2020 at 9:29 AM, B Jake Moran said:

...its value is commiserate to the condition.  ...

 

Well, I can commiserate if its condition and value 

really are miserable!  But usually a car's value is

commensurate with its condition---

 

Sorry, Jake, I just couldn't resist!

[John_S_in_Penna]

On 10/13/2020 at 9:29 AM, B Jake Moran said:

One example is a 1955 Kaiser Manhattan that got me curious about this topic and why I would like members' inputs here...

...even the KF geeks did not see the VALUE in preservation. 

 

Consumer Reports for 1955 did not rate the Kaiser car

in their special May 1955 Auto Ratings issue.  However,

they did rate the 1955 Willys which used the Kaiser engine:

 

"...the particular model chosen to keep the Willys name in

the passenger car field is the Kaiser-engined 4-door sedan

introduced last year. ...The current engine has a very poor

frequency-of-repair record. ..."

 

People living during any period of history undoubtedly have

broader insights into those times than people living today have. 

Both Willys and Kaiser were at the end of their lives in 1955.

Did their quality have something to do, perhaps, with their demise?

[padgett]

Back in the day I remember some complaining that the Buick with OHVs used oil.

[Ed Luddy]

On 10/13/2020 at 11:31 AM, 1912Staver said:

 

Padget, there are a number of versions of the 429. The Boss is of course  " King of the hill" , but even it came in a pair of versions , street and track { Nascar }. Base 429 is a LTD / Thunderbird / Pickup Truck 

torque powerplant. Next step up is 429 " Police Interceptor", then 429 Cobra Jet , both non Ram Air and Ram Air versions. Ford liked lots of variety in this era. All the " good " versions were built in quite limited

numbers compared to the base 429.

 

Greg 

I've had a few different 429's. The 1970 SCJ Ram Air was the wildest. It was stuffed in a factory Drag Pack Ford of Canada Cobra Torino with a hi stall torque converter C6 and a locker rear end. Got about 6 MPG and would roast a set of G60's off in a week. 

[Ed Luddy]

Back to the topic, there's  1955 KF Manhattan for sale locally, no takers. It too needs a restore. There's a 55 Eldorado convertible for under $20 Canadian, but it too needs a resto. So many very interesting cars available needing major work that very few can afford to complete. I'm working on a 1970 Chevelle I've had for awhile and I'm sick of it big time. This is a easy to restore car due to huge parts availability and fairly basic structure. BUT it sat in a damp barn for too long and like a fool I had to have because of it's somewhat odd combo of options and had access to GM of Canada Vintage Vehicle documentation to back it all up. 

[8E45E]

13 hours ago, Ed Luddy said:

I've had a few different 429's. The 1970 SCJ Ram Air was the wildest. It was stuffed in a factory Drag Pack Ford of Canada Cobra Torino with a hi stall torque converter C6 and a locker rear end. Got about 6 MPG and would roast a set of G60's off in a week. 

One of the rarest installs I saw was this setup in a 1970-1/2 Falcon many years ago.  Here is similar one:  https://www.rkmotors.com/vehicles/1032/1970-1-2-ford-falcon

 

Craig

[8E45E]

13 hours ago, Ed Luddy said:

This is a easy to restore car due to huge parts availability and fairly basic structure. BUT it sat in a damp barn for too long and like a fool I had to have because of it's somewhat odd combo of options and had access to GM of Canada Vintage Vehicle documentation to back it all up. 

But you are doing your part to save it and keep it on the road!!  There was an original otherwise plain white with blue roof '70 Chevelle sedan that showed up at our local A&W Cruise night over the summer.  Rather unusual in that it was ordered with factory air conditioning.

 

Craig

[West Peterson]

First and last cars are meaningless to me, especially for high production vehicles.

 

I'd much rather have a car with documented provenance in original ownership... depending who that was, of course. Given the option of two identical cars, one having been owned by a respected historical person and the other being owned by John Q. Public, I'd pay a little extra for the one owned by the historical person.

 

On the other hand, if two identical cars were offered and one was known to be the first/last, I'd probably pick the first/last car, but wouldn't pay any extra for it.

[Str8-8-Dave]

As an amateur restorer who is up to his eyeballs restoring a 1931 Buick here is what I would like to see.  I would like to see a way of tracing my car or any other car that is old enough not to be picked up by modern vehicle history tracking such as   AutoCheck or CarFax to it's original point of sale and the string of owners and states it has been registered in.  In today's world of HIPAA and personal privacy the Secretary of State or local DMV will not and cannot do this tracking or report any results.  They actually have some national tracking databases to verify validity of a title or to track down liens that may be hiding in another state, having bought my car on E-Bay in Illinois and dragging it to Michigan when I presented the Illinois title I had 3 days of sweating waiting for the car to be declared no stolen, subject to lien or otherwise unsaleable.  But if i have an interest in finding out what state the car went to from the factory or who bought and sold it I'm SOL.  The best you can hope for is to be the first guy to restore a car and have the opportunity to look for hidden treasure under seats, under floor mats or other out of the way places that may give some clue as to where the car has been. 

[alsancle]

15 minutes ago, Str8-8-Dave said:

As an amateur restorer who is up to his eyeballs restoring a 1931 Buick here is what I would like to see.  I would like to see a way of tracing my car or any other car that is old enough not to be picked up by modern vehicle history tracking such as   AutoCheck or CarFax to it's original point of sale and the string of owners and states it has been registered in.  In today's world of HIPAA and personal privacy the Secretary of State or local DMV will not and cannot do this tracking or report any results.  They actually have some national tracking databases to verify validity of a title or to track down liens that may be hiding in another state, having bought my car on E-Bay in Illinois and dragging it to Michigan when I presented the Illinois title I had 3 days of sweating waiting for the car to be declared no stolen, subject to lien or otherwise unsaleable.  But if i have an interest in finding out what state the car went to from the factory or who bought and sold it I'm SOL.  The best you can hope for is to be the first guy to restore a car and have the opportunity to look for hidden treasure under seats, under floor mats or other out of the way places that may give some clue as to where the car has been. 

 

Most of the data you are looking for is either lost, destroyed or may have not been written down if the car passed through owners that didn't register and title it.

 

[jeff_a]

I think a last-car-built is interesting, and one owned by a celebrity or a governor, too, but don't think it adds to the value. I would be more interested in knowing if the the engine works. I would think a 1938 Pierce-Arrow, a '36 Auburn, a '34 Marmon, or a '66 Studebaker would be neat to have, but I think the value would be more from the condition and the general desirability than it being the last year of production. In the local used car publication, there's a 1983 Chrysler Imperial for sale that's really interesting, in theory, anyway. It's the last year of the V-8, rear wheel drive Imperial, built '81-'83. One would set you back $20,988 in '81. The one F/S in MT is $1,500. I'll include a story about the model.

 

If you look hard enough, you can find hundreds and hundreds of cars of historical interest that don't get bought right away. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. There's only so much money and so may garage spaces out there for the portion of the population interested in buying antique cars. 

https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/03/last-emperor-1983-chrysler-imperial/

Edited October 16, 2020 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[F&J]

22 minutes ago, jeff_a said:

If you look hard enough, you can find hundreds and hundreds of cars of historical interest that don't get bought right away. Maybe they will, maybe they won't. There's only so much money and so many garage spaces out there for the portion of the population interested in buying antique cars. 
 

Perfect statement right there.  No sales fluff, just basic common sense and terms.

[Ed Luddy]

There's far more cars for sale that I would like to have than there's money to buy them. Always been my problem, but I still get by!

[8E45E]

10 hours ago, Ed Luddy said:

There's far more cars for sale that I would like to have than there's money to buy them. Always been my problem, but I still get by!

Space to keep them can also be a factor.

 

Craig

[Restorer32]

We have a vehicle here that belonged to Burt Reynolds and was in several of his movies. I don't care about Burt's ownership but I bet that back seat could tell some interesting stories.

[alsancle]

2 hours ago, Restorer32 said:

We have a vehicle here that belonged to Burt Reynolds and was in several of his movies. I don't care about Burt's ownership but I bet that back seat could tell some interesting stories.

 

If it is a W72, Y82 Trans Am it is worth real money with the Burt Reynolds provenance.

[Dr. Thomas G. Hedberg]

In re: last-gasp cars worthy of preservation,  I'd nominate the 1940 Graham (and perhaps the 1946 cars still partially badged as Grahams), the 1972 Willys-Overland Itamaraty, and the (ready?) 2019 Studebaker.  (see attached photo)

[padgett]

Looks like someone caught a Caddy between two dump trucks. Just kinda balloned.

[JACK M]

1 hour ago, Dr. Thomas G. Hedberg said:

In re: last-gasp cars worthy of preservation,  I'd nominate the 1940 Graham (and perhaps the 1946 cars still partially badged as Grahams), the 1972 Willys-Overland Itamaraty, and the (ready?) 2019 Studebaker.  (see attached photo)

 

Who is building that?

[Dr. Thomas G. Hedberg]

Studebaker Motor Company:  Website http://www.studebakermotorcompany.com/home/home/

[58L-Y8]

The last car produced by orphan companies or a beloved model of makes still in production do have a certain historical significances, though hardly much beyond those just prior in the sequence.   Interesting to own or see in a museum or collection but not much more.  Famous or celebrity owned...meh...dependent upon how one holds that person in regard.    The intrinsic qualities of the car itself really are all that matters.   

 

...Oh goodie, another lame attempt to resurrect the Studebaker name on some current production car or truck.

Edited October 16, 2020 by 58L-Y8
...Oh goodie... (see edit history)

[nzcarnerd]

A story of a different kind of provenance. The city of Napier, in New Zealand, suffered a major earthquake on 3 February 1931, which required the city to be rebuilt. Because of the date the style used was Art Deco. In recent years the city has held an Art Deco festival which, among other things, includes a car rally and parade. As 2021 is the 90th anniversary of the quake the organisers are looking for 'earthquake survivor' cars. Due to a series of coincidences my recently purchased 1929 Studebaker Dictator (non folding top) cabriolet fits the bill.

 

The was car built in late '28, registered as a '29 but not sold new until 30 July 1930. I purchased it this year from the estate of the previous owner/restorer who had bought it in 1970 and put it back on the road in 1990. It is an amateur driver restoration and not a show winner. The owner lived close to the sea so the chrome has suffered pitting.  Among the paper work with the car was a copy of the original registration document which lists all of the owners and the date of change of ownership. The car was registered new in the city of Napier only a few months before the big quake, so unless we can find proof that the owner was travelling out of town on 3 Feb '31 it is reasonable to assume it is an 'earthquake survivor'.

 

The first owner was a woman and because her name was less common I have been able to find details about her from the local births, deaths and marriages site. At the time she was 44 and had two children, 14 and 12. This begs a question as to why would a 44 year old woman with two teenagers buy a cabriolet. 

 

I have yet to see it but I believe the original sales record for the car is in the hands of a collector (also a Studebaker owner - he has a 1931 President Four Seasons roadster) in Napier who has the records from the dealership that sold the car new.

 

I have made enquiries in the area and have in the last week established contact with descendants of the first owner, so the story is ongoing and I am expecting to meet them when I take the car to the Art Deco festival in February. It is a drive of over 400 miles to get there, and it is on the 'other' island, so it will be quite a journey. So far I have found the family was in business locally.  The husband probably had another car and the cabriolet may have been Mum's toy.

 

Why did I buy that car? I saw it for sale and thought it looked interesting. I already owned an unrestored sedan of the same model so have plenty of parts. I finalised the purchase just before the Covid lockdown in March but had to wait til June to go and get it. Subsequent enquiries have shown that it appears to be the only surviving right hand drive example of the model. There is one 'show winner' restored one in the US along with two (or more?) unrestored ones.

 

I posted a thread in June about retrieving the car. I am hopeful that between the sedan I already have and the one that came with the cabriolet some day my sons will build up a complete one.

 

 

[JACK M]

22 hours ago, Dr. Thomas G. Hedberg said:

Studebaker Motor Company:  Website http://www.studebakermotorcompany.com/home/home/

 

Dreamer that cant find funding.

I do wish him luck.