1931 Voisin C18, not mine.

[Xander Wildeisen]

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1791315031231227?ref=search&referral_code=null&referral_story_type=post&tracking=browse_serp%3A4bd743d8-a5a0-4407-bbd2-d188c72679c9   

[Xander Wildeisen]

1931 Voisin C18 · Convertible · Driven 10,000 miles Rare Coach built aluminum over steel roadster body for a 1931 - 32 (my best guess) French Voisin. Body, fenders, one running board, luggage rack, spare bracket, top bows front splash pan, lower hood side panels, taillight bracket with license plate. Would like to see this mated with an original frame rather than turned into a unique hot rod. The last picture is of a 1931 Voisin in a museum. Car located in Sonora Ca. Trades considered.   

[Xander Wildeisen]

Text above from listing.

[alsancle]

One of the rare Voisin's built from an MG.

 

EDIT:  See down below, perhaps a real Voisin body.

Edited April 10, 2023 by alsancle (see edit history)

[Leif in Calif]

Located in Sonora, CA...probably left by a discouraged gold miner. 

[Crusty Trucker]

1931 Voisin c18

$10,000

Listed 11 weeks ago in Sonora, CA

[George K]

On 4/6/2023 at 4:32 AM, alsancle said:

One of the rare Voisin's built from an MG.

Not so.

[Leif in Calif]

1 hour ago, George K said:

Not so.

That looks like a Bugatti to me. Not odd enough  to be a Voisin.

I'd sure want a data plate of a letter from a recognized Voisin expert before I parted  with any portion of $10K. 

[Xander Wildeisen]

https://m.facebook.com/marketplace/item/962145638060197/ 

[George K]

3 hours ago, Leif in Calif said:

That looks like a Bugatti to me. Not odd enough  to be a Voisin.

I'd sure want a data plate of a letter from a recognized Voisin expert before I parted  with any portion of $10K. 

It is a  Bugatti. Same coach builder. You don’t need to worry about it as I can tell you’re not the buyer.

[Leif in Calif]

14 minutes ago, George K said:

It is a  Bugatti. Same coach builder. You don’t need to worry about it as I can tell you’re not the buyer.

Right you are George! I think I missed something...where was there information about who the coach builder was?

[George K]

There was no mention of the coach builder. I know from experience.

[Leif in Calif]

On 4/8/2023 at 1:39 PM, George K said:

There was no mention of the coach builder. I know from experience.

That's a very beautiful car, and I knew I'd seen it but couldn't remember where.

Isn't it the type 54 in the Mullen Museum? It's by a pretty obscure coach builder, O. Uhlík in Prague. 

[George K]

Amazing what you can find on the internet. My experience is hands on. Big difference. It is Czech.

[Leif in Calif]

1 hour ago, George K said:

Amazing what you can find on the internet. My experience is hands on. Big difference. It is Czech.

My time at the Mullen Museum wasn't virtual, nor is my scholarship, but I can only envy those fortunate enough to have first hand knowledge, and hope that they can be kind enough to share it. 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Leif in Calif (see edit history)

[alsancle]

On 4/8/2023 at 3:30 PM, George K said:

It is a  Bugatti. Same coach builder. You don’t need to worry about it as I can tell you’re not the buyer.

George, are you saying the subject body might have actually been a period mounted on a Voisin?

[George K]

1 hour ago, alsancle said:

George, are you saying the subject body might have actually been a period mounted on a Voisin?

You tell me.

[alsancle]

Thanks.

 

I’m wondering where the chassis went?

[George K]

On 4/6/2023 at 11:19 AM, Leif in Calif said:

Located in Sonora, CA...probably left by a discouraged gold miner. 

Leif has an educated guess.

[wayne sheldon]

I just keep wondering "what does one DO with a body like that?" One does not just go out and pick up a loose Voisin chassis. Modern day coach builders can replicate a body fairly easily (for a bunch of money!). In my mind all collector cars should try to use as much original era of the car as reasonably possible. I feel way too many Classics have reproduction bodies when real era sedans should have been restored and preserved. It is very possible that this car's chassis was used to recreate something a bit more exotic?

Some parts of a chassis may be similar enough to other era European customs that some of one could be assembled? But what of the rest of it? The frame was probably manufactured by the dozen, very small numbers. The engine transmission and other things? As I recall, Voisin used a Knight engine for many years. Are any other Knight engines even close? (I would doubt it myself, as I recall Voisin was famous for their higher performing Knight engines than most other Knights.)

If the coach builder did indeed build very similar bodies for other era customs (like Bugatti?)? Would some other chassis be appropriate for something like this?

Me just being curious.

[George K]

I know what I would do. The problem is age. In my youth I would bought that in a hot second. That Bugatti was a GP car that had a rough life and was rebodied as a sports car. The best sports car was always built on a retired race car. I am not an Anglophile but I could forgive the double hump cowl and have built a wicked special with it. The wheelbase suggests that body was on some kind of race/ sports version of a Voisin chassis. Voisin was a free thinking avant-garde builder. That body was not on a staid Voisin.

[George K]

Here’s an exemplar.

[George K]

A quick look confirmed the sellers text. C 18. Interesting that the first year chassis was available as chassis only so you could choose the coach builder.

[George K]

5 hours ago, wayne sheldon said:

I just keep wondering "what does one DO with a body like that?" One does not just go out and pick up a loose Voisin chassis. Modern day coach builders can replicate a body fairly easily (for a bunch of money!). In my mind all collector cars should try to use as much original era of the car as reasonably possible. I feel way too many Classics have reproduction bodies when real era sedans should have been restored and preserved. It is very possible that this car's chassis was used to recreate something a bit more exotic?

Some parts of a chassis may be similar enough to other era European customs that some of one could be assembled? But what of the rest of it? The frame was probably manufactured by the dozen, very small numbers. The engine transmission and other things? As I recall, Voisin used a Knight engine for many years. Are any other Knight engines even close? (I would doubt it myself, as I recall Voisin was famous for their higher performing Knight engines than most other Knights.)

If the coach builder did indeed build very similar bodies for other era customs (like Bugatti?)? Would some other chassis be appropriate for something like this?

Me just being curious.

One would hope Mr. Mullin would find it and sometime find a suitable chassis. He certainly has the financial hp.

[Xander Wildeisen]

So, are these real Voisin chunks?

[George K]

A couple of closing thoughts. One is that Fagoni built a Voisin with a almost identical cowl shape. The Bugatti Type 54 has a Voisin front fender support system. I don’t remember that on the car. Lastly the Voisin used a Dyna start setup on the front of the engine. That’s why the front valance has that tapered cover.

[George K]

[suchan]

Great thread.

I'm sure there's an interesting story behind a Voisin ending up in Sonora.