Prewar Passenger Pigeon: 1934 Hupmobile Aero-Dynamic

From the beginning of automobile production in America to the end of World War II, an amazing number of manufacturers entered and left the market.  From simple cycle cars to the many famous luxury vehicle manufacturers, consumers had a dizzying array of choices.  Setbacks such as economic downturns, changing tastes, poor management, and the higher costs of limited production thinned most of these smaller manufacturers into extinction.  One of the stronger marques was Hupmobile.  Always beset by troubles, the company was looking for a miracle when it hired famed designer to pen their new “Aero-Dynamic” sedans in 1934.  Currently for sale on craigslist in South Easton, Massachusetts is a fairly straight example of these radically styled Hupmobiles.  This interesting sedan, found by reader Peter Rettig, looks like a stalled restoration, and is being offered for just $3,750.  Is the low price enough incentive to save a rare survivor from extinction?

Unfortunately for history, most orphan makes produced handfuls of cars compared to the Big Three.  From these handfuls, the great majority served as simple transportation to be used up and junked in the end.  The few that remained were taken in by caretakers with either an eye for something different or an emotional attachment.  With the waning interest of collectors in prewar cars combined with a glaring lack of original or reproduction parts, cars like this one face uncertain futures.  Why restore such a car if better and easier to work on examples of other makes are available?  Like the passenger pigeon’s plight, once plentiful orphan make cars are fading out of existence.  The condition and asking price of this Hupmobile bears witness to this.

Yet, if you look closely at the design of this 421-J model, which was the midrange six cylinder model of the Aero-Dynamic, it is quite stunning.  The body resembles what might emerge from the drawing boards at Citroen.  Up front, the headlights were almost completely merged with the fenders and hood.  Compared to models from Ford and General Motors, this car looks amazingly futuristic.  The only American car that had styling as radical was Chrysler’s Airflow.  The car’s designer, Raymond Loewy, went on to become famous for penning, among other things, the Pennsylvania Railroad GG-1 electric locomotive, Air Force One’s livery, Studebaker’s 1953 Starliner coupe, and the timeless Avanti.

Yet, there are only a handful of these Hupmobiles left.  This rare survivor fortunately appears to be very restorable.  A close look at the body reveals only a few spots of minor rust damage.  All of the panels are present, but the rear bumper is noticeably absent from the car.  Thankfully, a look at period advertising shows that the rear bumper isn’t as radical as the one up front.  Finding a bumper that could be adapted to the car might be possible if you took a trip to one of the major antique automobile swap meets such as Pate, Daytona’s Turkey Run, or Hershey.  The grill might be a problem.  This one is in rough shape at the bottom.  The new owner would have to find a good fabricator to restore it to new.  Finally, the missing glass is no big deal.  All of it is easy to fabricate flat glass.

Inside, the car looks to be disheveled, but complete.  What appears to be a radio control dangles from under the dash, as does the ignition switch.  The instruments are intact, and they can be rebuilt by a number of specialists across the country.  The seller tells us that the seat springs are included with the sale.  The only question remaining would be the material and pattern that would be correct for the car.  Then again, as long as the finished product looked period correct, how could a judge take off points?  What are your chances of finding someone who knew what a 1934 Hupmobile’s interior looked like when it rolled off the assembly line?

Under the hood is an inline six cylinder engine that put out 90 horsepower.  The legendary Ford flathead V-8 of 1934 produced 85 horsepower in comparison.  The gas tank has been removed from the vehicle, but the seller tells us that the engine will start when gas is poured into the carburetor.  Everything except the air cleaner looks to be present, and it was probably removed for the picture.

I hope someone takes this project on.  You can’t find a more distinctive vehicle for the price.  A concours restoration might be too challenging, but returning this Hupmobile to a presentable and drivable state shouldn’t be too hard.  Bringing such a rare car as this one back from the dead is both a labor of love an a service to the automobile community.  Cars like this one represent the variety of a bygone era.  Saving one of the few survivors of a lost marque before they all go extinct is surely one way to earn your wings in heaven.