Automobile Stories

1929 Graham-Paige Model 612 Roadster

 

Our most recent automobile is a stunning red and black 1929 Graham-Paige Model 612 Roadster. The Graham Brothers, Joseph and Robert, and Ray Austin had interests in a number of successful businesses including glass and building trucks. In 1925-1926 Dodge Brothers bought Graham Brothers, Inc., retaining the three founders in management positions. They left after half a year and set out in the automobile business on their own. In 1927 they bought the Paige-Detroit Motor Company which built Paige and Jewett cars. The team quickly built up the company, increasing production from 22,000 cars in 1927 to 73,000 in 1928 and employment from 2,840 to 7,200 people.

Click to continue: 1929 Graham-Paige Model 612 Roadster

 

1928 Willys-Overland Whippet

 

In 1908 John Willys (pronounced: will-iss) bought the Overland Automotive division of Standard Wheel Company and in 1912 he renamed it Willys-Overland Motor Company. They built cars in Toledo, Ohio and Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Through the teens it was second only to Ford in auto production but the recession of 1920 brought it down and Willys assets were sold off. Production of Overland cars continued until 1926 when it was replaced by the Whippet brand which lasted only until 1931.

Click to continue: 1928 Willys-Overland Whippet

Champ's 1929 Hupmobile

 

The Car that Wouldn't Quit

— story by Roy Pettit

My uncle bought this Hupmobile in 1929, when he was 16. His name was “Champ Bond,” and he had the reputation of being a real character. Considered a “mechanical genius” by many, he invented a “solution” for every problem. Sometimes he invented a solution looking for a problem!

He used the Hupmobile for a long while as any regular person would, and he especially liked to drive it whenever he went on his camping expeditions. He found that the running boards were a particularly good place to strap on camping and fishing equipment.

Then, in the 1950s, Champ got a 99-year lease from the Forest Service for a ski operation in Haines, Oregon, near a place called Anthony Lake. Haines was a very small town in Baker County, located roughly between Baker and La Grande. Even today, the population of Haines is only about 1,600 people. Anyway, Champ set up his ski operations there, and decided to use the Hupmobile’s engine to power the ski lift.

Click to continue: Champ's Hupmobile

1929 Packard Model 640 Super 8 Phaeton

Only 30,000 original miles on this gorgeous car!

Hear what the current owner has to say by viewing the video to your right.

Originally from the area of Bennington, Vermont, this 1929 Packard Phaeton had been stored from the mid-to-late 30's until 1961 when it was bought by someone from Wisconsin. After coming out of storage, it was driven to the Classic Car Club of America meet in Buck Hill Falls, Pennsylvania, and then to Wisconsin where the top was replaced and the exterior painted in 1962.

The Phaeton was bought by the present owner's father in 1979 when it had just 15,000 original miles on it. He drove it to many events throughout New England and displayed the car at Owls Head Transportation Museum in Rockland, Maine and at Sturbridge Museum, Sturbridge, Massachusetts.

The current owner, who has placed the car at WAAAM on loan, has had the car since November 2003. It now has just over 30,000 original miles.

Mechanically original, the only work done on the car (beyond routine maintenance) has been the aforementioned top and paint and a bit of interior work.