The Cord 810 and 812 were revolutionary front-wheel-drive cars that were produced for a brief time in the 1930s. The 810 model saw fewer than 1,800 copies before the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Co. ran out of funds for the vehicle. An enthusiast later bought remnants of the company and produced a small number of shrunken 810s in the mid-1960s, including this example in Mahwah, New Jersey. One of only 97 built, it’s said to be in like-new condition and is available here on Facebook Marketplace for $22,500.
A variety of body styles of the 810 were made, with convertibles being about 70% of the output. The Cord was significant in that it would be the last U.S. production FWD car built until the 1966 Oldsmobile Toronado debuted 30 years later. 1936 Cords were 810s while 1937 Cords were 812s, but they were simply leftover 810s that were retitled. Years after the demise of the Cord, Oklahoma schoolteacher and Cord junkie Glenn Pray came along and purchased the remaining assets of Cord.
Pray decided to build a more luxurious version of the 810 but on a smaller physical scale, calling it the 8/10 (was it 80% as big?). To make it happen, Pray took the air-cooled engine and platform of the Chevrolet Corvair and reversed the order since the Chevy was RWD. The body materials were plastic, but not fiberglass. Though he gained a bunch of bits and pieces from the Cord acquisition, Pray decided to sell both parts for the old 810 and newly completed 8/10 vehicles. The latter were built in a former pickle factory in Broken Arrow (Oklahoma).
The 8/10s should have all run off Corvair flat sixes that were supercharged for maximum performance. Despite other investors getting involved, Pray was only able to assemble fewer than 100 of the 8/10s, which included a handful of experiments. The seller tells us this 8/10 is production #8 and once belonged to Glenn Pray’s son, Adam. We’re told it’s well-documented, and there’s a YouTube video out there of it moving from OK to NJ. The current price is $6,000 less than the original price, st as just the right buyer has yet to emerge.
His looks very interesting. Never heard of these replicas. What I’d really like to see is more photos of it outside in the daylight and some good interior and under hood photos too. From what I can see the proportions look dead on. This looks like it would be fun to drive, but I’d be nervous of something happening to it. Nice one Russ!!!
Russ, you featured one of these in 2020, but that one looked like a good parts car candidate. This one looks pretty nice from the photos. I’d like to see one in person to see the fit and finish up close.
I first became aware of these replicas when I was 8 years old. They were included in my 1966 edition of the Auto Universum book. It was my first knowledge of replicars. This one looks to be pretty nice.