A Small-Scale Classic
While we all dream of it, not everyone will be afforded the opportunity to obtain an amazing barn find, such as the now-restored 1930 Cord L-29 Brougham. As it stands today, 1 in 3,000 people will have better chances of getting struck by lightning in their lifetime. Better still are the odds of finding a coveted “full classic” at a considerably smaller scale—especially at a storied event such as the AACA Eastern Fall Meet, held each October in Hershey, Pennsylvania, where we found this 1937 Cord convertible for sale produced by Pyro Plastic Corporation.
Pyro Plastic was founded by William and Betty Lester in 1939 after perfecting the injection molding process for creating precision forms of various sizes. Located in Union, New Jersey, Pyro quickly established itself as a “leading contractor of custom-made parts and products in plastic.” It wasn’t hyperbole. During World War II, Pyro was awarded military contracts, at least one of which was for the manufacture of aircraft parts. After the war, the company shifted focus to the boom economy plainly in the making: toys.
Armed with freshly minted molds, Pyro’s toy program centered on military-type products, initiated by its introduction of trigger-actuated, noisemaking “clicker” pistols. Inexpensive, quick-to-manufacture army men, jeeps, tanks, airplanes, and other such creations were quick to follow, all designed to fit in shop owner’s aisle bins or in nicely packaged poly bag sets. By the mid-Fifties, Pyro was the dominant producer of military toys, further bolstered by creations that coincided with the growing interest in space-age science fiction. If that were not enough, Pyro further diversified into the fledgling assemble-it-yourself plastic model kit market.