Tag: 1935

This dilapidated 1935 Packard 120 isn’t played out; it just needs a new life in keeping with its appearance. Here’s how I’d build it. – David Conwill

This dilapidated 1935 Packard 120 isn’t played out; it just needs a new life in keeping with its appearance. Here’s how I’d build it. – David Conwill

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It’s lived a rough life. Are parts-car status or an expensive back-to-stock restoration the only prospects for this 1935 Packard 120?

The Packard 120 series was a direct response to Packard’s falling fortunes in the 1930s and they were great cars. As the Great Depression wore on, the traditional luxury market softened to the point where it couldn’t support a company of Packard’s size. Competitors like Peerless and Pierce-Arrow had the same problem and soon disappeared. Cadillac, meanwhile, had La Salle and the entirety of the General Motors operation to make up for slow sales of its prestige machines.

Rather than introduce a new volume line to complement its traditional offerings (as it would later try to do in the ‘50s with the Clipper name), Packard instead introduced the 120 with Packard badging but a price that started $1,405 below the least-expensive standard Eight. A fairer comparison might be this $1,095 five-passenger Touring Sedan (the trunk-back body no. 892, with rear quarter windows; rather than the no. 893 flat-back Sedan or the 896 Club Sedan with its blind quarters) with the standard Eight five-passenger Sedan, which was priced at $2,385 on a 127-inch wheelbase or $2,585 on a 134-inch wheelbase.

The 1930s middle-class demeanor of the Touring Sedan is fine, but the forest-seasoned example for sale would be fun with a treatment that’s a cross between a Volvo Sugga and a Yellowstone bus.

That meant a 120 Touring Sedan like this one undercut not only the pricier Packards, but also the $1,295 LaSalle four-door sedan; the $1,190 Buick Series 50; the $1,165 Nash Advanced Eight; and the $1,127 Hudson Custom Eight Touring Sedan. Pricing was essentially on par with eight-cylinder Auburn models and was even cheap enough it might have stolen away some prospective Chrysler customers.

Possibly working to the 120’s advantage was not just the Packard badge, but the state-of-the-art engineering that had gone into developing the new line. Big Packards in 1935 still used solid front axles and mechanical brakes, but the 120 has an independent front suspension and hydraulic brakes. The 120 also used Packard’s traditional straight-eight powerplant, but in a scaled-down version utilizing a one-piece cylinder block and crankcase. The 256-cu.in. flathead engine made 110 hp at 3,850 RPM: Compare that with the 320-cu.in. engine in the standard Eight putting out 130 hp at 3,200 rpm and bolted into a chassis weighing at least 1,200 pounds more than the 120 and it’s easy to see why the new, budget-minded Packard sold like hotcakes in its first year. Production of 24,995 One Twenties eclipsed the fewer than 7,000 other Packards built for 1935.

The White Model 706 was a capable intercity and transit bus that made its mark on history through an open-top version used in the national parks.

What all that means for this car is that if you want a 120 to recreate that 1935 experience, you might be better off to look elsewhere. Despite the 120’s great history and Packard build quality, fully restored, this would be not quite a $40,000 car; and it would be easy to spend that or more bringing it back to Day One condition.

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1935 Ford V8 Spider With A Rare Viotti Body – Henry Kelsall @HotCars

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RM Sotheby’s is one of the biggest auction houses in the whole of the United States. And they often have some truly stunning cars up for sale, be it classic Mercedes Gullwings or iconic Maserati race cars.

This car up for sale though is truly sensational. It is a 1935 Ford V8 Spider, and it is possible that this was the sole Ford car bodied by Carrozzeria Viotti of Turin. This car forms part of Sotheby’s Monterey auction in August 2022.

This car is a far cry from the standard machines you would expect to see a Ford V8 engine in. The results of the Viotti metalwork and the Ford V8 though are truly stunning. Allegedly, the car got built at the request of Count Giovanni “Johnny” Lurani, an Italian count who was also a noted racing driver.

The car also at some point found itself in Argentina, before its discovery in the 1960s and then exportation to the United States. This is where it remained in a private collection for some four decades before it was then acquired by Oscar Davis in 2015.

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Pick of the Day: 1935 Jensen-Ford woody wagon, only surviving example – Bob Golfen @ClassicCars.com

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Most of us remember the Jensen brand from the 1960s and ‘70s, when it was equipping its British grand touring cars with American V8s, as well as providing the bones for the Jensen-Healey sports car. 

But the Pick of the Day, a 1935 Jensen-Ford Shooting Brake, is a rare oddball that shows Jensen’s ingenuity from the prewar era.  While the appearance seems like the kind of woody wagon that might have been built on a Rolls-Royce or Bentley chassis, a peak under the hood reveals a Ford flathead V8.

“This exceptionally rare Jensen-Ford Shooting Brake is the sole surviving example of an estimated two or three built in 1935,” according to the St. Louis, Missouri, dealer advertising the wagon on ClassicCars.com. “Based on a Canadian Ford Model 48 V8 chassis, it is one of the twenty-odd Fords imported and bodied by Jensen in the ‘30s.

“However, Jensen did much more than simply tack a new body onto the existing frame – to achieve their desired look and lower center of gravity, they repositioned the engine and lowered/raked the radiator, resulting in a dramatic and sporty appearance.”

This unusual shooting brake, as the British call 2-door wagons, was nearly lost to the ages after being stored away for more than 20 years.

“In the early 1980s, the car resurfaced via a Jensen Owner’s Club UK newsletter article, describing a wood-bodied Jensen in a complete but rather sorry state, lurking in a garage in Dorking, Surrey,” the seller explains. “With the threat of the car being sent to the breaker’s yard, the author issued a plea to save it.

“Help arrived when the owner contacted a fellow Jensen Club member for a valuation. When he saw the car sitting in the junkyard, he immediately decided to buy it and bring it home for restoration. A piano restorer by trade, the new owner painstakingly refurbished the ash framework, taking great strides to preserve as much of the original wood as possible.

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1935 Duesenberg Sets Bring A Trailer Record With $1.34M Winning Bid – Christopher Smith @Motor1.com

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It was a real doozy for the online auction company.

For a brief period in automotive history, the pinnacle of high-performance luxury motoring was a company in Indiana called Duesenberg. Founded in 1913, its cars became so coveted among the world’s elite that it’s credited with establishing the phrase it’s a doozy into modern language. When one comes up for sale it usually brings over $1 million, just as this 1935 Model JN Convertible did on June 25 through online auction company Bring A Trailer.

Yes, the same online auction company that regularly features cars selling for less than $100,000 (and some that even bring under $10,000) sold this Duesenberg for $1.34 million. Bring A Trailer certainly has come a long way from its beginnings in 2014, but this isn’t the only high-dollar machine to cross their virtual auction block. The previous Bring A Trailer record was held by a 1956 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, which sold for a curious $1,234,567 in June 2019. BaT bidders certainly aren’t without a sense of humor.

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Pick of the Day: 1935 Ford woody wagon sans reference to surfboards – Bob Golfen @ClassicCars.com

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Woody wagons have become emblematic of beach culture, often depicted with surfboards on their roofs even when located in Kansas, but there is certainly so much more to the affection for and collection of vintage woodies than “surf’s up.”

Matter of fact, most woody hobbyists (or “woodie,” as an alternate spelling) must get mighty sick of all the surfer references from bystanders.  I know I would.

Case in point: The Pick of the Day is this lovely 1935 Ford woody 4-door wagon advertised on ClassicCars.com by a dealer in Hailey, Idaho, that never has been nor is expected to ever be connected with surfing

Wood-bodied wagons were classy conveyances back in their day, most often purchased at a premium price by the landed gentry or used as passenger vehicles by premium hotels and resorts.  Wood was no longer a crucial component in the construction of automobiles by the 1920s (not including commercial vehicles), but wood remained popular for charm and aesthetics.

Henry Ford was so certain about the future of wood bodies that in 1920, he purchased 400,000 acres of Michigan forest as a steady source of lumber for Ford vehicles.  In that way, Ford was able to build its own wood bodies in house rather than using outside specialists to supply them, as did most of Ford’s competitors.

This example of a classic Ford woody looks to be in superb condition and with all the right ingredients

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1935 DeSoto Airflow – @Hemmings

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Gotta love the Airflows

Seller’s Description: 1 of 6,269 SG-Series Sedans Produced for 1935
Complete Frame Off Restoration Finished in 2011
Formerly of the Binder DeSoto Collection
Finished in Yellow over Brown Interior
242 CI / 100 hp L-Head Six Cylinder Engine
3-Speed Synchromesh Manual Transmission
Lockheed Hydraulic Drum Brakes
Rear Fender Skirts
Color Matched Disc Wheels
Whitewall Tires

More info from Wikipedia

The DeSoto Airflow was an automobile built by DeSoto during model years 1934, 1935 and 1936. DeSoto received the then-revolutionary Airflow model due to its price structure relationship to larger and more expensive Chrysler brand cars.[1] The 1934 Airflow models are noted for their unique styling. They generate interest for their engineering innovations.[2] It has a 115.5 in (2,934 mm) wheelbase.[3]

The Desoto Airflow was a result of Chrysler Corporation policy of badge engineering, being mostly similar to the Chrysler Airflow.

Airflow streamlining

This aerodynamic, radically designed car debuted to much fanfare alongside its more luxurious stablemate, the Chrysler Airflow. From the front bumper back, the Airflow’s design represented the first major attempt to smooth away the wind catching objects and channels found on cars of the era. Headlights were moved from their traditional pods forward of the radiator, and housed in flush mountings on either side of the broad waterfall-styled grille, which lacked the traditional upright radiator throat and decorative cap ornament. In place of the flat windshield that most cars had (and which caught the brunt of on coming winds as cars moved through the atmosphere), the Airflow split the windshield into two panes of glass, each angled to better redirect the air around them. Front and rear fenders received smoother, more form fitting curves. In the rear, Airflows encased the rear wheels through the use of fender skirts.1934 DeSoto Airflow coupe

In addition to the benefits of its smoother exterior design, which translated into a quieter passenger compartment than on previous DeSoto models, the car featured wider front seats and deeper back seats with more leg room.[1] Passengers sat on seats which were a good distance from either axle. They reminded one of a Victorian era davenport (sofa).[4]

Because of the car’s unibody construction, passengers rode within the frame of the car, not on top of the frame as they did with most other American makes. It also boasted a stiffer body and better weight distribution through the engine placement over the front wheels, in contrast to the common practice of placing the center of the engine’s gravity just behind the front wheels. The automotive press gave the cars positive reviews for their handling and acceleration.

Chevrolet Leader News 1935 Vol. 1, Part 1 – US Auto Industry @YouTube

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Promotional newsreels featuring a variety of Chevrolet-centric stories, including: the building of Norris Dam in Tennessee; an automobile racing an ice boat across a lake in Mt. Clemens, Michigan; gasoline economy tests on Detroit streets; women showing off their hairstyles in an automobile moving along New York City streets; the Soap Box Derby at Dayton, Ohio; and a miniature dog riding in the glove compartment of an automobile in San Francisco.

Lost and Found: Did Ford offer a coupe with beds in 1935? – David Conwill @HemmingsClassicCar

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Did Ford offer a coupe with beds in 1935?

Reader Joey Crosslin wrote in with the above photo. He said “I recently found a photo of my father’s first car. He passed away a while back. It appears to look like a ’35 Ford coupe with a rumble seat but not exactly sure. Can you can identify what model it was? A couple people told me there was a model that folded down so someone could sleep in it.”

Well, to start with, we are certain this is indeed a 1935 Ford. Specifically it’s a Model 48 (as were all U.S.-built ’35 Fords) five-window standard coupe. Five-window coupes have two windows on each side, whereas three-window coupes have only one large window on each side. We know this isn’t a De Luxe because the windshield frame and grille are painted rather than being bright metal. The rumble seat was an extra-cost option, though we can’t really tell from the photo if there was one installed on this car.

1937 Nash brochure featuring the “distinctive Nash bed-arrangement” which was to become a hallmark of Nash and AMC memories and the butt of too many drive-in movie jokes.

Did Ford offer a coupe with beds in 1935?

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Related – Vintage matched pair: 1935 Ford Tudor with camping trailer

American Pickers: Mike Delivers a Million Dollar Speedster Part to Doug Pray of ACD

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Interesting to see that American Pickers are getting involved in the efforts of Doug Pray to keep both his Father’s and the ACD legacy alive.

BROKEN ARROW — Doug Pray has a fixed date in mind that he is working hard toward.

The vehicle will not be a replica, but a manufactured vehicle using 1935 Auburn parts. It will be the first of a series of Auburn G3s to be manufactured in his small Broken Arrow manufacturing plant with a price tag of $750,000.

“The problem with a 1935 new car with 1935 parts is they drive like a 1935 car,” said Pray, 64. “What we are doing is upgrading the engine from 150 horsepower to 250 horsepower with a new supercharger, aluminum billet, pistons and rods along with improved brakes and steering.”

The price tag was derived from how much his firm charges per hour for restoring the Auburns and Cords of clients — $70 to $80 an hour for a usual restoration. Pray currently has four frames to build up into his Auburn Speedster G3 (G3 stands for third generation).

The Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Festival is one of the largest car shows in the U.S. for the past 60 years. Pray believes it is the ideal format for unveiling his new vehicle.

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