Completely restored Tom Mix death car 1937 812 Cord Supercharged Phaeton
by David Lee Guss
Title
Completely restored Tom Mix death car 1937 812 Cord Supercharged Phaeton
Artist
David Lee Guss
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
The battered 1937 Cord Tom Mix death car was transported to RKO Radio Studios in Los Angeles where it was subsequently bought by Hollywood hardware store owner Ray Nelson.
After going through several owners the car was disassembled with the engine ending up in a LA machine shop, the rest packed off to a Chicago junkyard.
In October 1966 Nelson, seeking to own the car again, reassembled the vehicle including the rebuilt engine. Following his death the Cord passed through several more owners and ended up on display at the Imperial Palace Automotive Museum in Las Vegas.
More owners ensued with Scottsdale, Arizona based entrepreneur Bob White finally buying the vehicle at an auction in Branston, Missouri in the spring of 2010.
Despite being restored three times much wreck damage remained including a crushed cowl and numerous "half-inch-deep lead filling" indentations.
The complete restoration, finished in the fall of 2011, included reproducing leather stone guards and a gun. The end result was an exact replication of the Cord and accessories as it was at Mix's death.
The larger than life Western star had bought the car new for about $2,700 from a Cord dealer in Santa Barbara, California some $700 more than a new home cost then. The Phaeton was a convertible, one of two models manufactured.
Cord's parent company Auburn filed for bankruptcy in December 1937, yet another victim of The Great Depression. Auburn also made the Duesenberg, along with Cord the most stylish cars ever made in the U.S.
Both are museum quality works of art.
@2013 David Lee Guss Completely restored Tom Mix death car, 1937 812 Cord Supercharged Phaeton, 2013
Uploaded
April 23rd, 2013
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