Monday, December 25, 2023

Hupmobiles and Grahams with Cord Bodies

The 1936 810 and 1937 812 Cords are considered by many, including me, as being among the very greatest automobile body designs.

So amongst many Cord fans, -- besides lamenting that there never were Cords after 1937 -- there was the feeling that the design had been desecrated when the body dies were used a few years later for the Hupmobile Skylark and Graham Hollywood.

All three links deal with that matter.  Hupp was a failing automobile company and Graham-Paige was in nearly as bad a shape.  Cord body dies (not well suited for mass-production) were purchased and then adapted to a chassis that was ten inches (254 mm) shorter than Cord's.  Skylarks were powered by Hupp motors and Hollywoods by Graham's.   The cars, including motors, were assembled by Graham.

Sources mention that there was some initial demand for these cars, but production delays diminished this to the point that fewer than 2000 were built 1940-1941.

The Graham-Paige link above credits John Tjaarda with the restyled front end.  The front could be shorter than Cord's because the Skylark and Hollywood powertrains were conventional front-motor-rear-drive as opposed to Cord's front-wheel-drive layout with the differential placed forward of the V-8 motor.

Gallery

1941 Hupmobile Skylark - RM Sotheby's photo
From the outside, Skylarks and Hollywoods are nearly identical.  One difference (based on Internet images) seems to be the lack of chrome trim on many Skylark cars' upper grille segments.

1941 Graham Hollywood - Hyman, Ltd. photo
Grahams seem to have more chrome trim.  Frontal features compared to Cord include a rounded-nose, the lower grille incorporated into a catwalk, and freestanding headlight assemblies.

1937 Cord 812 Westchester - Hyman photo
Cords had their famous "coffin-nose" hoodline wrapped in a horizontal louver motif.  Fenders and FWD drivetrain extend the front a ways ahead of the hood.  Headlights are hidden behind rotating doors.

1941 Graham Hollywood - Driehaus Collection photo
Abaft of the cowling/firewall, Cords, Skylarks and Hollywoods were nearly identical.  Compare this car's frontal zone with that of the Cord's in the image below.

1936 Cord 810 Westchester - Hyman photo
Cord's front fenders seem more separated from the hood than those of Skylarks and Hollywoods, but this might be an illusion.

1936 Cord 810 Beverly - car-for-sale photo
The main differences are most obvious in side-view.  Ignoring the Beverly's trunk, we see the longer front section of the Cord.

1941 Graham Hollywood - Driehaus photo
The Hollywood's hood is about the same length of the Cord's due to the need to house inline six-cylinder motors.  But the front axle is positioned closer to the cowling/firewall.  The front of the hood and lower grille are slightly forward of the fender's front edge -- the reverse of Cord's layout.  Note that whereas rear fenders of both cars are the same, the Hollywood's front fender is stubbier than the Cord's abaft of the wheel opening.

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