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Mystery Auburn Speedster

  • Joe Holderman
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11 Jan 2017 15:59 #32257 by Joe Holderman
Replied by Joe Holderman on topic Mystery Auburn Speedster
Great story / history!

Future Cord owner.

Messenger Link: m.me/hotrodjoe

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  • GeneALogy
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10 Jan 2017 23:47 #32250 by GeneALogy
Replied by GeneALogy on topic Mystery Auburn Speedster
I can tell You how it came to be there in SW Pennsylvania. My Uncle Dean purchased it in Los Angeles in 1946 and drove it home to Washington, D.C. His brother George Lenwell and Mrs. Lenwell borrowed it for their honeymoon. We have a photo of them in it. My father married Dean's sister six months later and says the car started and ran well. That is better than it worked when my uncle owned it in Los Angeles, so he must have gotten it fixed.
My uncle spoke the story in detail and I typed the transcripts, around the year 2000. Here it was: "I went out to this Master's Pontiac place -- it was called Master's Pontiac there in Hollywood that was the name of the company. I saw this gorgeous car. I fell in love with it. That was my Auburn. It was $1,500. It belonged to Lawrence Tibbett, the famous tenor opera singer back in those days.
And he had gotten rid of it for one reason for another, but the thing originally cost $6,000 in 1935. Six thousand dollars for a car, versus 1938 -- convertible, beautiful blue gorgeous convertible Pontiac, fully loaded for $900. So you can imagine the difference in spectacular amounts of money between this and that. Anyway, so I madly fell in love with it.
Margie, I had to push the thing to get it started. I pushed that thing for about a year after that too. All the time I was in California, I needed lots of people to be pushers, because I could not ever get that damn thing started. I'll tell you later about that. Wherever I'd go, I'd have to park on the hill so somebody could give me a nudge down the hill. And the girls didn't really want to hang around me, because they were tired of pushing that damn car.
So I'm just trying to explain to you that I did not have a happy time in California with that car. Because the girls…that was a heavy, heavy car and girls do not like to work that hard. Hey, they could find somebody else with a convertible… A smaller car, a cuter car. Besides, girls don't like great big cars anyway, and that was a great big car. Anyway, that Auburn caused me lots of trouble in California. "
As I mentioned, my father just told me that he saw the car running well in Washington, D.C. Dean returned to the Air Force and must have sold it then.
Sorry that doesn't help you find it, but maybe it does. What's your connection with the car, if You would like to tell?
Mike

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  • lloyd riggs
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29 Oct 2006 03:58 #5670 by lloyd riggs
Mystery Auburn Speedster was created by lloyd riggs
<!-- s:?: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_question.gif" alt=":?:" title="Question" /><!-- s:?: --> When I grew up in SW Pennsylvania, the local Chrysler/Plymouth dealer owned a 1935 Auburn model 851 Speedster. The man's name was Frank B. Miller and he owned the car during the early 1950's. The car was previously owned by actor Jackie Coogan and by the singer Lawrence Tibbett. Does anyone know the whereabouts of this Auburn. lloyd riggs, walnut creek, ca.

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