Re-creating the 1931 Cord L-29 LaGrande Speedster
April 1, 2005
In 1930, auburn-cord’s Phil Wright created a one-off Cord L-29 Speedster with
boattail styling for the 1931 New York Auto Show; following a summer tour of
Cord dealerships in the United States, actress Jean Harlow and her husband, the
producer Paul Bern, shipped the car to Europe. It returned to North America for
the 1931 Toronto Auto Show, received a refurbishment at the factory, and
then returned with Harlow and Bern to France, where it disappeared in the late
1930s.
After having completed another Cord re-creation several
years ago, collector Arnie Addison, the president of Dealer’s Auto Exchange, an
online vehicle auction company in Los Gatos, Calif., decided he would attempt to
re-create the fabled car. “I decided that if I were going to spend the time and
money to build another Cord, I’d build the most famous Cord of all time,” he
says. “With the rising costs of restoration, I decided it made more sense to
re-create a very rare, very special vehicle, rather than a standard one, because
the labor costs would be the same for both.
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This boattail Cord was built for the 1931 New York Auto Show and
once owned by actress Jean Harlow. The original car was lost in France over six
decades ago. The exacting project used authentic Cord parts and was
undertaken by Tyree Auto Restoration in Turlock, Calif. (Click image to enlarge)For Addison, the car represented far more than special coachwork. The old Cords just had an aura about them,” he says. “The L-29 is also important in automotive history. It was the first production car with hydraulic brakes and one of the first with front-wheel drive. It was also the first convertible made with a concealed top.” In his project, Addison valued authenticity above all else. “It’s been a monumental task, but we wanted to ensure that every part, every fixture, even the color was an exact match with the original car,” he says. “From its Duesenberg chronometer and altimeter to its teardrop-shaped exterior door handles and Royal Cranberry and Beige paint scheme, this car absolutely duplicates the original in every aspect. We even tracked down a 94-year-old member of the Auburn-Cord Duesenberg club who actually saw the car at the 1931 New York Auto Show to verify its original color, rather than rely on black-and-white publicity photos and documents.” The exacting project spanned eight years and took 20,000 man-hours. Addison says he will part with the Speedster for the right offer.
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