MY FEEDLY

Barn Find: The Auburn 653 Phaeton Discovered On The TV Show “American Pickers”

This is the 1935 Auburn 653 Phaeton that was discovered in a barn in season 12 of the popular TV series American Pickers. The car had been sitting in storage for decades in South Dakota, owned by collectors Jan and Sandy.

American Pickers host Mike Wolfe made a deal with the couple to buy the car in the condition it was in, and he promised to get it running and bring it back so that Jan could finally have a proper drive of the Auburn he treasured for all those years.

Sadly Jan died before this could happen, but Mike took the car back to the farm when it was running and took Jan’s wife Sandy for a ride as she cradled a picture of her late husband.

Fast Facts – The Auburn 653 Six

The Auburn 653 Six was developed rapidly in 1934 alongside the Auburn 851 Eight as more affordable models for the upmarket company, that might bring in some much needed revenue in the midst of the Great Depression.
Both of these new models were styled by Gordon Buehrig, one of the leading automobile designers in the United States who also penned the Auburn 851 Boattail Speedster, the Cord 810/812, the Duesenberg Model J, and a slew of other important cars from the era.
The Auburn 653 Six was developed with five body styles, the most luxurious of which is the Phaeton (shown here), other styles included the Cabriolet, Coupe, Sedan, and Two-Door Brougham.
Power is provided by a an 85 hp Lycoming six cylinder engine with a swept capacity of 210 cubic inches (3.4 liters), power is sent back to a live axle rear via a three-speed manual transmission. Impressively the 653 can achieve 23.7 mpg (combined) making it an economical car to run by the standards of the time.

The Auburn 653 Six

When the program to develop the Auburn 653 Six and its sister car, the Auburn 851 Eight, began in 1934 it was a dire time for the company. The Great Depression had descended over the United States in 1929 and by the mid-1930s luxury car makers had largely used up their financial reserves, and were dropping like flies.

Above Video: This is the episode of American Pickers where the car is first discovered and bought, Mike had to work hard to get the price down from the original asking price of $80,000 USD.

Legendary designer Gordon Buehrig was given a budget of just $50,000 to develop the two cars, and a deadline of a few months. It was a herculean task, but Buehrig managed it, creating two Auburns that are now considered among the most beautiful cars of their type from the era.

As the name suggests, the 653 Six is powered by a six cylinder engine, specifically the Lycoming L-head straight-six producing 85 hp from its 210 cubic inch (3.4 liter) displacement.

Power is sent back through a three-speed gearbox to a live axle rear end, and when ordering you had the option of choosing a Columbia Dual-Ratio rear axle which (in combination with the transmission) would give you six forward speeds.

Considering the severe financial conditions of the Great Depression the Auburn 653 Six represented a slightly more frugal approach to luxury motoring, certainly when compared with the larger straight eight, V12, and even V16 engines being fitted to other cars in the luxury market. The 653 Six even offered 23.7 mpg (combined), excellent fuel economy for a vehicle of this type at the time.

Sadly the Auburn 653 Six and Auburn 851 Eight wouldn’t be enough to save the company, and in 1937 the production lines of all three related marques ended – Auburn, Cord, and Duesenberg.

The Auburn 653 Phaeton From American Pickers

The car you see here is now almost certainly the most famous Auburn 653 in existence thanks to its memorable appearances in two episodes of the hit US TV series American Pickers.

Above Video: This is the second episode about this Auburn from season 14 in which Mike takes the car back and gives Sandy a ride with the top down.

As mentioned above, the car first appeared in season 12 where it was discovered in a barn and bought by show host Mike Wolfe. As mentioned above he made a promise to get it running and bring it back to let the former owner Jan drive it, however he had tragically died before this could come to pass.

Mike kept his promise however, and returned the now running car to its long-time home and took Jan’s wife Sandy for a ride with the roof down as she held a picture of Jan – the three occupants set off to the local casino so Sandy could show the Auburn off to her friends.

The car is now for sale through RM Sotheby’s, it’s been preserved in the condition it was in during the filming of the episode above from season 14. The car is running and driving, however the new owner will have to decide if they want it fully restored or preserved in its current condition for posterity.

If you’d like to read more about this car or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing. The current guide price is $30,000 – $40,000 USD, it’s being offered with no reserve, and the sale is due to take place on the 8th of October in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

The post Barn Find: The Auburn 653 Phaeton Discovered On The TV Show “American Pickers” appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/auburn-653-car/
via gqrds

Drag-U-La From “The Munsters” Is For Sale

This is the “Drag-U-La,” a coffin-based drag racer that was designed by Tom Daniel then built by George Barris for The Munsters, a 1960s era TV series about a family of relatively benign monsters that lived an American suburban life.

If you grew up watching TV in the 1960s, or reruns in the 1970s and 1980s, then The Munsters will already be familiar to you. It was a staple of the rerun circuit for decades despite the fact that the original show only ran for three years from, 1964 to 1966.

Fast Facts – Drag-U-La From The Munsters

Drag-U-La was built using a real fiberglass coffin mounted to tubular steel, front-engined dragster chassis.
The car was fully functional and made numerous runs (and you can see in the footage below), apparently when it was built it had 350 hp and a very low curb weight, so 1/4 mile times were likely decent.
Drag-U-La first featured in the TV show, it was then used again in the 1966 movie “Munsters, Go Home!”
In all, Barris Kustom built five examples of Drag-U-La, the car you see here was the final one made.

Hot Rod Herman

Drag-U-La was originally built to feature in the May 1965 episode of The Munsters titled Hot Rod Herman.

This episode was likely a way to attract drag racing fans to the show, drag racing in the United States was experiencing explosive growth at the time and many people spent their weekends down at the strip.

Above Video: This footage from “The Munsters” shows the storyline featuring Drag-U-La.

The premise of Hot Rod Herman was that Herman Munster, the Frankenstein character, had lost the Munster Koach (the family car) in a bet at the drag strip that went awry.

Grandpa Munster and Herman then spent the next week in the garage building Drag-U-La, so they could take it down to the drag strip and win back the Munster Koach.

In reality of course, the Drag-U-La vehicles that were built were made at Barris Kustom in California under the watchful eye of George Barris, undoubtably the most famous movie car creator in history.

Both Drag-U-La and the Munster Coach were designed by Tom Daniel who worked with Barris at the time, Daniel would design over 80 cars over the course of his career, some full scale and some as scale models for Monogram.

Building Drag-U-La

The biggest difficulty that the team at Barris Kustoms faced when developing Drag-U-La was where to source an authentic coffin.

The car uses a real drag racing chassis and running gear, and is apparently capable of impressive 1/4 mile times by the standards of the era.

As it happens, it was illegal to sell a coffin without a death certificate in California at the time, however the resourceful Richard “Korky” Korkes, Barris’s project engineer, managed to secure a deal under the table with a funeral home in North Hollywood.

Korkes struck the deal, paid in cash and then left the funeral home empty handed. He returned later that night with some colleagues to collect the fiberglass coffin that had been discretely left around the back of the funeral parlor.

The coffin was mated to a real tubular steel, front-engined dragster chassis, Barris and his team then cut out two sections of the top and fitted a plexiglas bubble. The car was powered by a 289 cubic inch Ford V8 said to be capable of 350hp and topped by two four-barrel carburetors mounted on a Mickey Thompson Ram-Thrust intake manifold.

A pipe organ-like exhaust was then developed with four pipes on each side exiting vertically with slash cut tips at descending heights, a parachute was affixed to the back, antique lamps were mounted up front as headlights, and a marble gravestone was fitted up front – said to be Grandpa Munster’s license plate “from the Old Country.”

As with many dragsters of the time, the driver was sitting with their crotch pressed up against the differential. You would want to pray the diff didn’t explode.

When it was completed the car was not only functional, but apparently it was genuinely quick. Barris Customs would build five of them in total for use in the TV series and later in the 1966 movie “Munsters, Go Home!”

Some of them spent decades in museums, some went to private collections, and one ended up suspended from the ceiling at Planet Hollywood in Atlantic City.

The example you see here is due to be offered for sale in January through Mecum Auctions, it’s being offered with no reserve and you can click here if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid.

Images: Carol Duckworth courtesy of Mecum Auctions

The post Drag-U-La From “The Munsters” Is For Sale appeared first on Silodrome.

from Silodrome https://silodrome.com/drag-u-la-from-the-munsters/
via gqrds

Rare Garage Find – 1 Of 4 Ever Built: The Jaguar XK140 By Ghia

It’s believed that just four examples of the Jaguar XK140 were bodied by Ghia, an Italian coachbuilding firm responsible for some of the most beautiful cars of the era.

Of the four cars that had bodies built by Ghia this one is the most unique as it features modernizations applied by Ghia after it was initially built – the grille was changed in 1956 and then in 1959 after some front end damage the front of the car was redesigned – leaving it looking distinctly different from its siblings.

Fast Facts – The Jaguar XK140 By Ghia

The Jaguar XK140 was introduced in 1954 as a replacement for the outgoing Jaguar XK120, a difficult task due to the popularity of the earlier Jaguar.
Jaguar engineers were careful to keep the much-loved styling very similar to the XK120, they added a series of refinements including more room for taller drivers, improved suspension, a more powerful engine, rack and pinion steering, and improved brakes.
Power is provided by a 3.4 liter Jaguar XK straight-six engine with double overhead cams and either 190 or 210 bhp depending on final specification.
As the XK140 could be ordered as a powered rolling chassis a small number had custom bodies fitted built by coachbuilders, including four that were made by Carrozzeria Ghia of Italy with design work completed by Giovanni Michelotti.

The Jaguar XK140 – Origins

The Jaguar XK140 had big shoes to fill when it was introduced in 1954, the earlier Jaguar XK120 had been the fastest production car in the world when it was first offered to the public in 1948, and it boasted celebrity owners including Clark Gable – arguably the biggest movie star in the world at the time.

This is how the car looked originally, before the front was redesigned in 1959.

Rather than attempting to reinvent the wheel with the development of the XK140, Jaguar engineers and designers instead focussed on improving the minor flaws in the XK120. The suspension and brakes were improved, the engine was tweaked for a little additional power, and the body was slightly modified to make room for taller drivers.

Perhaps the only downside to the XK140 was this conservative approach to modifying the design, the automotive world had moved a long way since the 1940s when the XK120 was designed, the XK140 did appear a little dated to some.

As is always the case, the car looked fantastic to many others and the model proved to be such a success for Jaguar that they would release another model in the series with similar design later, the XK150 first released in 1957 and sold until 1961 when it was replaced by the E-Type.

Ordering A New XK140

In the 1950s you could order your new XK140 as either a roadster, a drophead coupe, or a fixed head coupe. The roadster has a simple folding roof, the drophead has a more substantial folding roof offering better weather protection, and the fixed head is a tin-top coupe.

From 1969 onwards the car was raced extensively in vintage competition, turning in good results in part due to the light body and high-performance 3.8 liter XK engine.

Both manual and automatic transmissions were offered, this was a first for a Jaguar sports car and helped make the car more approachable for people who typically shied away from dealing with clutches and manual shifting.

The XK140 is capable of a top speed in the region of 125 mph and the 0 to 60 mph time is 8.4 seconds, both highly respectable figures for the mid-1950s – as you may expect from an automaker who already had a slew of Le Mans wins under its belt in the 1950s, all using a modified version of the same straight-six 3.5 liter XK engine.

The Coachbuilt XK140s

One benefit of the body-on-chassis design of the XK140 was the fact that it could be ordered as a powered rolling chassis and sent off to a coachbuilder for a custom body – typically in Italy. Ghia and Zagato both built their own bodies for the model, and both were vastly different from the body offered by Jaguar.

The Ghia bodies were designed by Giovanni Michelotti, a man who would become one of the most influential automobile designers of his age. Interestingly he would design dozens of British cars over subsequent years.

Unlike the original Jaguar XK design, the Michelotti body was distinctly Italian, looking perhaps more like a Maserati from the era than anything made in the British Isles.

This is how the car looks now, after spending the better part of 40 years in a garage and only coming to light recently.

The car you see here is one of these four Ghia-bodied vehicles but unlike the other three, this one returned to Ghia after a minor accident in 1959, as mentioned above, and received a new more modern front end.

These Ghia-bodied cars were made from aluminum alloy rather than the stamped steel used by Jaguar, alloy being a common coachbuilding material as it’s easier to work by hand and it results in lighter vehicles. In this case the Ghia XK140 weighs 100 kilograms or 220 lbs less than the equivalent XK140 production car.

In 1969 the car was bought by a new owner who wanted to take full advantage of this slightly lower weight and the racing heritage of 1950s Jaguars. He had a high-performance 3.8 liter Jaguar XK engine fitted, with a D-Type head and triple twin-choke Weber carburetors offering notably increased performance.

He then raced the car extensively from 1969 onwards in historic events, wining races at circuits like Monza, and even beating a Ferrari 250 TDF on one occasion.

The car was parked up in 1979 and it’s remained garaged ever since and unused, it now requires a full restoration as you can tell by the images, and it’s being offered by Bonhams with a price guide of $230,000 – $350,000 USD.

If you’d like to read more about this unusual British/Italian Jaguar or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.