Guest tin knocker Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Can anyone tell me the year of this Auburn? Photo was taken in 1937. Also, what is the round object on the passenger side cowl?Rollie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CarlLaFong Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Looks like a 32 to me, though I'm no Auburn man. The round object has a twin on the other side. It is a cowl lamp. JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 I'm not sure there is anyway of telling from this picture if it's a 1931 through 1933. However, what is unique about the car is the absence of side mount spare tires. There couldn't have been too many built without sidemounts, but there is a picture of one on page 281 of Don Butler's Auburn Cord Duesenberg book. The caption for the 1933 "phaeton" says the car is restored, then re-restored with sidemounts added. You can barely see the license plate, but it looks like it may be from Michigan, which might lead one to believe they are one and the same car. The one in the book is a 12-cylinder car, but in your photo, I can't see if the hub says 12 or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tin knocker Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Thanks for the information. The picture was taken in north central Wisconsin. The owner (Dan Lillie) has long since gone on to his reward but some other pictures are still around and when my son in law is over I will try to post another. I understand that the car was legendary for its fuel consumption.Rollie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 Was Dan Lillie a relative? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tin knocker Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 No, he wasn't a relative but he was a close friend of my mothers family and for a time resided with them. His car was a hit with my mothers brothers. Being a four door soft top would the car be called a pheaton?Rollie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West Peterson Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 That's what Auburn called them, that's why I put it in quotes ("). It is actually a convertible sedan in generic nomenclature. Cadillac was also guilty of mislabeling their convertible sedans, calling them "all-weather phaetons", and Cord (also from the Auburn company) called its convertible victoria a "phaeton." These are just a few examples of the misuse of body style names. Volkswagen currently makes a "phaeton" that isn't even a convertible. Of course, if you go all the way back to horse and buggy days, I believe the phaeton was a closed style, but may have meant that the carriage had four wheels as opposed to two. It's a very confusing subject... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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