Back from the dead: Restorations (Part I)

Something that most non-car people usually don't consider when they see a gorgeous old car is the amount of work that goes into making that old car look brand new. In some respects, the fairly recent phenomenon of massive restorations (it is only about 30 years old) has created a skewed view in people's minds. They go to Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance or a similar show and think that those old cars have always looked like that, with perfect panel fit, smooth, tight leather, and glistening mechanicals. The truth of the matter is many of those cars didn't even look that good when they were new. Furthermore, the test of time can wear heavily on cars, and it is no a minor miracle, but a major miracle that these cars can be brought back to life.

One question that can weigh heavily on an enthusiast's mind, however, is whether or not to restore a car, and if so, to what extent. Sometimes, a car is found in very good condition save for some slight mechanical work, such as the Duesenberg Model X Jay Leno discovered. That car is completely original save for a rebuilt engine. On the other hand, some cars have been treated so poorly that a complete restoration is required and the vehicle ends up looking practically new in the end. Pretty much every car that wins Best of Show at Pebble Beach falls into that category.

Of course, every once in a while, a car comes along that is completely original and looks stunning. It is rare, but it happens. The best example I can think of off the top of my head is a stunning 1929 Duesenberg Model J Murphy Convertible Coupe that has recently been shown at the Meadow Brook Hall Concours (where it won the Preservation Award for best original car) and Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival. The car is completely original, include the still fantastic black paint. The only thing that has been done to the car in 77 years is to have the wheels repainted. Amazing.

For more pictures of pre-restored barn find cars, check out a great selection of pictures from the A.K. Miller Collection.

Photos, clockwise from lower left, a 1974 Dino 246GT, a 1974 Dino 246GTS getting ready to look like the car pictured below it, a 1954 Mercedes Benz 300SL Gullwing Coupe in the process of being restored, and two shots of the aforementioned 1929 Duesenberg Model J Murphy Convertible Coupe in original, unrestored condition.

History Repeats Itself: The Selden Patent

Patents have long been used as a method to protect ones inventions and creations. Why shouldn't the years of hard work that is required to create a new invention be rewarded with the exclusive rights to produce it or control its production by others? Of course, this power is sometimes abused, and such is the case of the Selden Patent.

Much like the recent lawsuit over Blackberry's rights to 'mobile email,' the Selden Patent tried to accomplish a similar problem, by patenting a vague but important invention: the automobile. In simple terms, the Selden Patent, the history of which can be acquired from the title link, was an attempt by a patent attorney named George Selden to patent the gas-powered automobile. His patent was based on his previous research on combustion engines, but the vehicle he patented was not built until long after he began exploiting carmakers for royalties.

Most carmakers gave in to his demands, rather than risk legal battles, but one budding automaker refused to bow down to the Selden Patent: Henry Ford. Ford contested that the patent did not cover cars with an Otto Cycle engine, but rather vehicles with a Brayton Cycle engine. While Ford initially met resistance in court, after eight years of legal battles and 14,000 pages of case documents, Ford won the case. After all, his car (and virtually every single piston-powered car) had an Otto Cycle engine, and no cars had a Brayton Cycle engine.

In the end, Selden lost his patent just a year before it expired. The lasting effects of the patent can readily be seen on most cars built before 1911 though, just look for the little brass plaque with a picture of a car on it.

A full copy of the Selden Patent can be obtained here.

Photos, clockwise from lower left, George Selden and the sole version of the vehicle he patented (courtesy of Engines of Ingenuity), a copy of the drawing Selden patented (courtesy of Wikipedia), and three pictures of a car the was subject to the Selden Patent, in this case a 1904 Olds Curved Dash (the top picture is of the actual patent plate, mounted on the back of the car)

Badge engineering: Cord 810/812 v. Graham Hollywood

One thing that has plagued General Motors for a long time have been accusations of over use of 'badge engineering.' Basically, badge engineering is the process of taking an existing model and rebadging it as something new and different. The best modern examples of badge engineering have been the Japanese's' successful use of luxury brand names. A Toyota Camry is rebadged as a Lexus ES350, for example. At its worst, a Chevrolet Cavalier was rebadged as a Cadillac Cimarron.

This practice is nothing new, of course. One example of badge engineering is the Cord 810/812 that later morphed into the Graham Hollywood. Basically, the Cord was designed as a entry-luxury, front-wheel drive sedan. The unique design was the handy work of designer Gordon Buehrig and it included features like the first pop-up headlights, a striking coffin nose, and a sloping rear end (on most models, at least). Cord went out of business in 1937, however, when E.L Cord sold off all the interest in is failing auto conglomerate, the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Corporation.

As part of the liquidation, Cord also sold off the dies and tooling for its 812 model. The buyer of this was the Graham-Paige Company. Graham took the liberty to radically alter the basic design of the car, converting it from front-wheel drive to rear-wheel drive, and putting on a less radical front end. Selling in a similar price range as the late 812, the Hollywood, as Graham called it, helped keep Graham alive enough to survive WWII.

Notice the differences between the Cord pictures, at right, and the Graham pictures, at left.

Profile: 1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow

The 1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow can easily be considered one of the most visually striking cars of the pre-WWII era, or automotive history as a whole for that matter. The car burst onto the scene at the 1933 New York auto show and Century of Progress Exhibits, looking completely alien, more of a space ship than a car.

The Silver Arrow was really an attempt by Pierce-Arrow to create some buzz for the Buffalo, NY company that had seen falling sales and a losing bottom line. Commissioned by Pierce-Arrow vice president of sales Roy Faulkner (former Auburn sales manager), the car's bodywork was the brain child of 25-year-old maverick designer Philip O. Wright, who would later team with John Tjaarda to produce the Lincoln Zephyr and Continental. The Pierce had an aerodynamic look to it, maintaining smooth lines throughout and a sense of supreme composure. All attempts were made to lessen obvious drag, including the integration of a rear trunk, a full bodied look with no running boards, hidden door hinges, and the mounting of both spare tires behind enclosures directly ahead of the front doors. The rear was punctuated by a pair of slit like triangular windows, giving the car a Darth Vader-like look from the back. The interior was rich in wood veneer and cashmere cloth.

Ultimately, only five Silver Arrows were ever built (all on 139" wheelbase, Pierce Twelve chassis) , and all were completed in an amazing 13 1/2 weeks time. The first one was finished in a mere eight weeks. The cars were later offered for sale for $10,000 each, roughly triple the price of a run-of-the-mill Pierce Twelve. Today, three Silver Arrows still exist and all still have a commanding presence and are worth well over a million dollars a piece. One is on display in the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, CA. It is worth the trip.

Special thanks to Supercars.net

I have been a bit slow on doing this, what with all my other posts, but I believe a special thanks is in order to Richard Owen over at Supercars.net. I have been on his site for a number of years now, acting as a contributor to the site (mostly for Duesenbergs like the SJ and Mormon Meteor), a forum member, and a forum moderator. I also have run my own little website there too, which has received significantly more hits than this one has, but has been up much longer as well.

On that site, I am known by the handle 'Duesey' and have for a very long time featured an avatar with a picture from the AK Miller collection. On Wednesday, September 20th, Richard posted links to my Auburn Concours and ACD Festival galleries and a link to this blog. Since then I have received a number of hits from fellow SC.net members, and I'd just like to thank you all for stopping by. Simply as a matter of trivia, you have come to represent well over 30 countries and every continent (save for Antarctica). I hope you all have enjoyed my website and will come back soon. Please leave me some comments on what you think about the site, likes and dislikes, or if there are any subjects, cars, or people you'd like me to feature in the future. You can comment in the comment section directly below this and every post, or email me.

Following the Road: Headlights that Turn

Yesterday I went to a Lexus sponsored event called Taste of Lexus. The 'Taste of Lexus' is a program that Lexus puts on to build interest in their cars. They have a bunch of tents with food and demonstrations on their technology. The also have cars for you to test drive, both theirs and their competitors. What really caught my eye was a new [optional] feature they were touting on the 2007 Lexus ES350 sedan called the 'Dual-Swivel Adaptive Front Lighting System' (you can also get it on the RX350/400h, GS350/430/450h, and IS250/350, but there it is called the 'Adaptive Front Lighting System').

The concept behind the system is simple: when you turn the steering wheel, the headlight swivel to point slightly in the direction your are turning to illuminate that part of the road more clearly. Neat stuff, huh? But it would be a grave misnomer to taught it as a 'new idea' or a 'new technology.' In fact, headlights or driving lights that turn with the front wheels have been around for a very long time. The systems used previously were much simpler than Lexus' of course. Rather than using small servos to move the headlights a particular deviation from dead straight, the lights were simply connected to the steering mechanism through a mechanical connection, often just some extensions coming off of the steering rack.

Many luxury cars as early as the teens used swiveling driving light arrangements in addition to fixed headlights to better light the road ahead. This was especially important because lighting systems were very weak at the time. The most primitive systems, however, belonged to tiller-steered cars with acetylene lights attached directly to the end of the tiller, so the light simply moved with the tiller. One of the last major attempts at was by Tucker in 1948. The Tucker Torpedo had three headlights, the middle one turned with the steering wheel and was heralded as one of the many safety features that the car came equipped with. Few cars after that had driving lights that turned.

Photos, clockwise from lower left, are of a 1930 Packard 740 Custom Boattail Speedster (2 pictures), a 1948 Tucker Torpedo, and a 1898 La Nef.