A Hupmobile Aerodynamic and a Car ID Test

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It is almost a given that when archaeologists stumble upon the remains of a literate society, they have a limited number of written words to decipher.  To be fair to our ancestors, carving symbols into stone or making your own paper is exhausting work.  Today, the entire experience has changed completely.  Craigslist ads like this one, which consists of a brief description of a stunningly rare 1935 Hupmobile Aerodynamic and a smattering of pictures of other interesting and rare automobiles, make me think of the poor digital archaeologists of the future.  Will these inquisitive souls scratch their heads and wonder why a society that enjoyed full use of the limitless internet would use so few words to describe items for sale?  Can you help identify the cars in this interesting stash of collectibles?  If so, get a sheet of paper and number it from 1-11.  Your quiz begins now.  You can place your answers in the comments if you would like to be graded by your fellow readers.

The first car is a freebie.  Here, you see a rare 1935 Hupmobile J-521 sedan that the seller has begun to restore.  These Raymond Loewy-designed Hupmobiles are seldom seen and are one of the more impressive Art Deco designs of the time.  We are told that it is all original and is complete including the hard-to-find headlight lenses, hubcaps, and taillights.  As you can see from the picture above, the interior has been impressively restored, complete with new interior wood and floors.  An interesting mention in the ad is that the engine is stuck.  The cylinder head has been removed but doing so has not changed the engine’s rotational status.  One would think that the engine would be restored before the interior, but perhaps the seller is more comfortable with starting inside.

The second car is a mystery to me.  The styling cues seem to be from the late 1920s.  Zooming in on the radiator shell’s badge doesn’t reveal much due to the quality of the picture.  It is obviously an orphan make, such as a Hudson or a Nash of some sort.  It also looks restorable, with the only glaring issue being the missing running board.  The creepy mannequin will have to go though.

Car number three’s formal lines and overall size give you a Rolls-Royce vibe at first glance.  However, this is no Rolls.  Looking at the car closely reveals a large set of brass headlamps, large wire wheels, cycle-style fenders, and a golf club door from when a set of golf clubs didn’t require a cart to haul them around.  Is this a Diana?  If so, there are supposedly just 18 surviving examples of that short-lived make.  Could this one be #19?

Car number four is a “Bathtub” Nash of some sort.  What year and model do you think it is?  The car appears to be riding on a fresh set of whitewall tires and is currently tagged.  Given the reputation these interestingly styled vehicles enjoy as comfortable driver-level collectibles, it makes sense that the seller would keep this one in good shape to serve in this capacity.

Can you identify the year of car number five, which is a Nash Metropolitan hardtop?  Stripped down to the body shell for what looks to be an excellent paint job, this little imported Nash seems to be on the road to complete restoration.  These diminutive little cars were an interesting experiment for Nash, and they came in a variety of fifties colors.  This salmon-colored example should be a stunner when finished.

Car number six is an early fifties Pontiac hardtop of some sort.  These cars were close cousins to Chevrolets and were known to be smooth runners with their inline six or inline eight-cylinder engines.  Can you tell us the year and the trim level on this car?

This rusty but likely restorable Packard is our seventh car to identify.  The ship’s wheel and badge suggest that this is a Packard Clipper.  What year do you think it is?  1955?  1956?

Above for our eighth entry is a Corvair convertible.  These are some of the greatest values in the collectible car world today.  While the drivetrain location and configuration are unusual by American standards, those in the know still call these the “poor man’s Porsche.”  Can any of you pinpoint the year of this car and its trim level with just one photograph?  With a little spit and polish, is this car close to being back on the road?

Car number nine is an Edsel station wagon that, while rusty and disheveled, still has a lot of life left in it.  There are more than a few of you looking lustily at this old wagon and imagining yourselves behind the wheel after getting it running and finding some tires.  Wagons have surged in popularity over the last ten years, and this one is definitely worth the effort to get back on the road again.  Do you know enough about Edsels to tell us the year and model of this one?

We have a few writers here at Barn Finds who are walking encyclopedias when it comes to foreign cars.  We may have to consult them for car number ten.  With just a side profile to work with, it is hard to be completely sure on this one.  Any guesses or should we ask for help?

Finally, our eleventh car may not be a legitimate car at all.  Is this little beastie a pint-sized reject from the movie Maximum Overdrive or was it a legitimately marketed car at one point?  If so, why?  Would you drive this one?  Would you do so in an area where your friends might see you?

So, there is our lineup.  If you want to play, place your guesses in the comments for each car from numbers one through eleven.

If you are in the market for a 1935 Hupmobile Aerodynamic sedan or any of the other cars hinted at by the seller, then they are all for sale on Craigslist in Oxnard, California.  The price on the partially restored Hupmobile is listed as $15,000 or best offer.  As for the rest of the cars, a phone call to the seller may be your best bet.  Thanks to T.J. for racking up a heck of a find!

Auctions Ending Soon

Comments

  1. misterlouMember

    #10 is an NSU Prinz Sport.

    Like 7
  2. Aaron TothStaff

    Car #3 is a Franklin. It’s air-cooled!

    Like 4
  3. Derek

    Is no. 10 an NSU? It looks rear-engined, and doesn’t look very FIAT-y.

    Like 0
  4. JACKinNWPA JACKinNWPAMember

    The Edsel is a1959. I would peg the Nash as a 1951.

    Like 5
  5. Flint Fieseler

    The First One Is a 1928 Dodge Victory Six
    Good Night To All
    Flint

    Like 0
    • Flint Fieseler

      I had to do some sleuthing to find these out, hats off to those who can identify the cars off the top of their heads. The only one I knew for sure was the 1920s Franklin (Airman)?

      Good Night to All
      Flint

      Like 1
  6. Flint Fieseler

    The First one is a 1928 Dodge Victory Six.
    Good Night To All
    Flint

    Like 0
  7. Flint Fieseler

    After some looking around, the last one is a 1960 Electric Shopper. It was apparently powered by a 1.5 horsepower motor, and they also made an eight-passenger version. It was Made in Long Beach, CA and had “low, sweeping silhouette distinctive to the new big cars”
    The Packard appears to be a 1956 Clipper.
    Good Night To All
    Flint

    Like 0
  8. Flint Fieseler

    After some looking, the last one is a 1960 Electric shopper. It was made in Long Beach CA and has a 1.5 hp motor. It has a “low sweeping silhouette distinctive to the new big cars”
    The Packard appears to be a 1956 Clipper
    Good Night To All
    Flint

    Like 0
  9. Flint Fieseler

    After some looking, the last one is a 1960 Electric shopper. It was made in Long Beach CA and has a 1.5 hp motor. It has a “low sweeping silhouette distinctive to the new big cars”.
    The Packard appears to be a 1956 Clipper.
    Good Night To All
    Flint

    Like 0
  10. Howard A. Howard A.Member

    I’d like to suggest, that a feature like this could be fun, IF THE AUTHOR DIDN’T SPILL THE BEANS as to what these are. He gave away the makes, and in this day, just the obscure makes alone are a noodle scratcher for most. The particular models or years are a moot point. Without the grill badge, the Met could be a Hudson Met, #6 Poncho a ’53 Custom Catalina(?), #7, Packard Custom Clipper, #10 is for sure a NSU Sport Prinz and there are hundreds of 3 wheel cars, but Flint got it, an Electric Shopper, 1960ish. Without the internet, it would be tough, however.

    Like 2
  11. Mike

    More pics of the Franklin. Just google Mystarcollectorcar 1928 Franklin

    The story is from 2017. I guess the seller just can’t finish. I wonder how much?

    Like 1
  12. Anthony H. Tellier

    Smart guys Here

    Like 3
  13. nlpnt

    If the Met is being restored as-original it’s an early model.

    I’d guess the Hupp shows signs of personalization though – almost all prewar American closed cars had cloth upholstery and the only exceptions I’ve ever come across with factory leather were either built for export or semi-purpose built taxis.

    Like 4
  14. Vibhic

    The Pontiac is of ’51 or 52 vintage.

    Like 0
  15. TC

    There was a magazine out when I was a kid,used to show only a grill that you had to identify in a quiz.I always got 80-90 percent right.Now,I get 50 percent.

    Like 2
  16. Steve RM

    The interior in the Hupp looks so inviting.

    Like 1
  17. Pete Phillips

    The green Pontiac hardtop is a ’52. The bathtub Nash is a ’51

    Like 1
  18. CarbobMember

    The seller says that they are selling their Hupp. They don’t mention the other cars but the seller includes one picture of each. So I guess they are for sale as well. I don’t know why they wouldn’t be more specific and also reveal their asking price. I find the Nash and Pontiac interesting. It looks like all of the glass has been removed from the Hupp. I guess the new owner will need to source replacement glass. That might not be easy given how much glass shops have changed over the years. As to the quiz; I knew the makes of seven of the vehicles. So I get a D-. It’s stuff like this that makes BF so much fun for me. Thanks to Jeff and TJ.

    Like 3
    • Uncle Ed

      Glass replacement shouldn’t be too bad on the Hupp. Looks to be all flat glass

      Like 1
  19. Johnmloghry johnmloghry

    My guesses on American cars. I know nothing of most foreign cars.
    1. 1935 Hupmobile J-521
    2. ?
    3. ?
    4. 1950 Nash Aeroflight
    5. 1955 Nash Metropolitan
    6. 1951 Pontiac Ghieftan?
    7. 1955 Packard Clipper
    8. 1964 Chevrolet Corvair
    9. 1958 Edsel Estate Wagon
    10. ?
    11. ?

    Like 2
    • Howard A. Howard A.Member

      What, no signature “God Bless the USA? :(

      Like 1
  20. Dave D

    I wish i could take credit for identifying these cars but I can only say that I knew 5 of them myself. I got help from misterlou, johnmloghry, Aaron Toth, and Derek above as well as google. as for #11 I think it is an Frankenstein project. I did pic out #s 5, 6, 7, 8, & 9.
    I did manage to find verifying pictures on the net which I posted the links to.

    #1 1935 Hupmobile J-521 –
    https://momentcar.com/hupmobile/1935/hupmobile-series-521-j/

    #2 1928 Dodge Victory Six #2620912
    https://image.hmn.com/-M4K0MBRJ2IDq9q-6ewyDFknayg=/900×0/uimage/92507804.jpg

    #3 early 1920s air-cooled Franklin –
    https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33SjxFGj_EjLaxHSSKWf9hxum8HXrkaelhDPmoHoQjhwgWZEYbSHq9qgeWRQoeGIuQM5IQkvSy3-f_XS8H28YK0MrT3i_pOb8zkZjB-8sfyiagpNyIbUynN1TY9XRNEve2talow_4g1w4kV8A0cgGEvSyX3L_TurHLzhjcpkFGFBUTJ-AahI/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/269657221_144127977983266_1253426978549272792_n%20(2).jpg

    #4 1951-nash-airflyte-statesman-custom
    https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=AwrjJsNifPhm.3kHng6e7olQ;_ylu=c2VjA2ZwLWltZwRzbGsDaW1n/RV=2/RE=1727589602/RO=11/RU=http%3a%2f%2fsmclassiccars.com%2fuploads%2fpostfotos%2f1951-nash-airflyte-statesman-custom-5.jpg/RK=2/RS=Vyesk7dj5PkofFwmlMhl6NwVIgo-

    #5 1954 Nash Metropolitan –
    https://tse4.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.9V2jjcWD0Ufvw2PdDr-cMAHaE8&pid=Api&P=0&h=180

    #6 1952-pontiac-chieftain –
    https://dealeraccelerate-all.s3.amazonaws.com/vintagecars/images/8/1/81/6292801783db_hd_1952-pontiac-chieftain.jpg

    #7 1956 Packard Clipper –
    https://img00.deviantart.net/2f67/i/2016/246/d/a/1956_packard_clipper_custom_vii_by_brooklyn47-dagb19f.jpg

    #8 1962 Corvair Monza –
    https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1962-chevrolet-corvair-8/

    #9 The Edsel is a 1959 Villager –
    https://cdn.dealeraccelerate.com/cam/34/1422/49723/1920×1440/1959-edsel-villager-station-wagon

    # 10 – NSU Prinz Sport
    https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4b/e5/55/4be5552cdb80dc10818fcc9376990507.jpg

    Like 0
  21. Dude

    The second car is 1929 Peerless 6-61 roadster

    Like 0

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