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16/12/2011, 18:12
Story And Images By MURRAY HUBBARD
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This
1937 Cord 812 Winchester sedan is proof when art meets automobile,
magical things happen. We found the Cord 812 at this year’s RACV
Motorclassica held in Melbourne’s Exhibition Buildings.
Although
the Cord 812 came late in the Art Deco period of the 1930s this
example in 2008 found itself as the centre piece of the 2008 National
Gallery of Victoria’s exhibition `Art Deco’ and was the first car
to grace the NGV as a work of art.
There
is no doubt the 1930‘s were the halcyon days of car design. By the
late 1920‘s car had become relatively reliable and makers turned to
design to help sell their products. This also coincided with the art
deco period. Some of those first car designs came from the French
with what we shall call the ‘Delage’ look: large, almost bulbous
front mudguards sweeping low along the sides to form the running
boards and then mimicking the front mudguard’s angles with the rear
mudguard. These design cues would continue until the early 1950s with
such vehicles as the Jaguar XK 150.
The
Cord 810 and then the Cord 812 however went its own way, still well
within the art deco design, but far enough away from the Delage look
to be individual and distinctive. If you see a Cord 812, even today,
you know it’s a Cord 812, as there is nothing else like it, where
as the Delage look was adopted by many makers. It is believed art
deco architect Frank Lloyd Wright either owned or coveted a Cord 812.
You could theorise that if Lloyd Wright had designed cars, not
buildings, then the Cord 812 is the style of car that would have come
from his drawing board.
This
Cord 812 is owned by Melbourne classic car enthusiast, Terry Dowel.
There were only around 2900 Cord 812s produced and of these only
around 60 were built right hand drive. This car was originally sold
in London for 895 British pounds by RSM Automobiles and retains its
original dealer plates. In 1999 it was imported to Australia by Mr
Dowel.
The
first Cord, the L29 finished production in 1932, a victim of the
Great Depression, and in 1933 the makers of Cord, Auburn Automobile
Co., in the US commissioned a new Duesenberg design. That vehicle was
discarded until 1935 when Gordon Buehrig and his engineering team
were called in to revamp the Duesey prototype ... not as a Duesenberg
but as the new Cord. It was, and remains, a remarkable car in
automotive history. The Cord 810 - predecessor to the 812 - has it’s
debut at the New York Auto Show in 1935. The main difference between
the two models is that the 812 offered supercharging.
Under
the bonnet was a Lycoming 288.6 cubic inch V8 with the power put to
the ground via the front wheels. Some were naturally aspirated via a
single downdraft carburettor and others fitted with a
Schwitzer-Cummins supercharger. The V8 was placed behind the line of
the front wheels with the four-speed gearbox located ahead of the
front wheels. There is no synchromesh on first gear. A small lever on
the right side of the steering column is used to change gears. The
actual process involves depressing the clutch pedal aided by an
electro-vacuum mechanism. It was for the era a highly complex system.
A spiral-bevel differential distributed torque to exposed
ball-jointed drive shafts.
But,
it was not just the drivetrain that set the Cord apart. The massive
front mudguards contain disappearing headlamps while the horizontal
fluting around the nose and both sides of the bonnet are different to
any other car on the road. The front of the 812 is distinctive with
the large shelf protruding well ahead of the bonnet line, the smooth
fenders thanks to the hidden pop-up lights and the horizontal flutes.
And, if that wasn’t enough the Cord also featured hidden door
hinges on the inside of the car, giving it exceptionally clean lines.
The bonnet too was different, opening by hinges from the back of the
bonnet, while the majority of designs from this era saw the bonnet
opening on either side and hinged from the centre. The Cord also had
variable speed windscreen wipers and a standard radio - innovations
decades ahead of their time.
In
reality, the production 810 and 812 had more in common with what we
now call ‘concept’ cars produced for motor shows to gauge public
interest and showcase design and engineering. Rarely do they hit the
streets in the original form. The Cord 810 went to production in the
same form it was shown at the New York show. It was interesting to
observe motoring enthusiasts at Motorclassica when they saw the Cord
812. We suspect the reaction to this remarkable car was much the same
as that which gripped the New York Automobile Show in 1935.
SPECIFICATIONS
Engine
Lycoming
V8 set at 90 degrees cast iron three-bearing block
Bore/stroke:
88.9 mm X 92.55 mm
Capacity:
4729 cc
Heads:
detachable cast alloy, two valves per cylinder, operated by rollers.
Power:
195 bhp @ 4200 rpm
Transmission
Four
speed, pre-select via small lever on steering column
Suspension:
Front:
independent by tailing arms and transverse leaf springs
Rear:
Dead rear axle beam with half-elliptic leaf springs, hydraulic lever
arm dampers
Brakes:
Four
wheel hydraulic
drum
brakes
Wheels/tyres:
16
inch pressed steel, bolt on. tyres 6.50 x 16 inch
Dimensions
length:
4.97 m
wheelbase:
3.17 m
Weight:
1655
kg
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