Speedster info resources

Cunim: 12 years ago, I passed up a chance to buy a speedster for $100,000. It had a Hemi engine in it, but otherwise was pretty correct. Chances like that don't come up very often, if ever. I bought a nice older-restored speedster thru an auction, and it turned out to be a bargain.
Right now, it seems like $400-500K is the norm at auction, with prices going up over 600K at times.

Sometimes you just have to be lucky and know someone who is willing to sell, or else make some personal contacts with known owners.

Sometimes, half the fun is in the search...

Mark

gnutting wrote: It happens that I have an Auburn speedster (1931 8-98A) and a Bentley (1935 3 1/2 litre drophead). You note, correctly, that a replica "LeMans" body is acceptable in the Bentley Drivers Club (we sometimes call them "boy racers"). The historical reason is that vintage Bentleys were 'hot rodded" (in American English) beginning in the 1930s, and this was deemed so acceptable that now very few cars remain with period bodies. As an example, of 72 or 73 Bentley 6 1/2 litre saloons built by Gurney Nutting, today only 3 survive. The hot rodding tradition has destroyed a major part of Bentley's heritage. In the ACD club, the emphasis has always been on preserving the ACD heritage. I think that is a much better emphasis.

I agree, fully. I had a 1930 Speed Six with a LeMans rep body. Original chassis, engine, transmission, etc. Fully sorted and it was considered a "very original" car. After the initial excitement of this wonderful thing wore off, the "rep" part bothered me more and more. In the end, I sold it. Aaargh. Should not have done that as values have tripled since I did - but there you are.

Although LeMans reps are acceptable, they remain much less valuable so people do care. I think any vintage Bentley original tourer body today would be almost double a LeMans rep. Even the original sedans are seeing a rise.

Back to speedsters, the more I learn the more complicated it is. However, what seems to be emerging is not that different from Bentleys. The very few fully traceable cars are worth much more. What is different is that replica bodies are anathema and that is the opposite of the Bentley where parts replacement is frowned upon. With speedsters, mechanically, anything goes as long as the parts are not modern substitutes. For example, frame swaps are not unusual and engine serial numbers are likely to change as necessary. Because speedsters are so rare, this is all acceptable in that the car is still considered to be "real", but less valuable than a fully documented original. Makes sense, I guess.

It happens that I have an Auburn speedster (1931 8-98A) and a Bentley (1935 3 1/2 litre drophead). You note, correctly, that a replica "LeMans" body is acceptable in the Bentley Drivers Club (we sometimes call them "boy racers"). The historical reason is that vintage Bentleys were 'hot rodded" (in American English) beginning in the 1930s, and this was deemed so acceptable that now very few cars remain with period bodies. As an example, of 72 or 73 Bentley 6 1/2 litre saloons built by Gurney Nutting, today only 3 survive. The hot rodding tradition has destroyed a major part of Bentley's heritage. In the ACD club, the emphasis has always been on preserving the ACD heritage. I think that is a much better emphasis.

Joining the club is a good idea. Mostly because over time you will establish relationships and figure out who knows what. There is the public knowledge of the cars and then there is the insider network. There is no public db of the cars.

The 851/852 Speedsters seem to be very hot these days. It is interesting to me how the 810/812 Cord Coupes seem to bring 1/3 the money.

Thanks, Mike. I did join. As to which speedster, probably an 851 or 852.

I am quite familiar with prewar British cars and there I can locate each chassis and trace it back to the '30s (or not). For example, I have a book which shows every vintage Bentley ever made giving serial number, original engine number and so forth. If it's a 1930 Speed Six with a 1990 LeMans replica body and a transmission swap I can track it all down. Strangely, that modification is acceptable with Bentleys - but only Bentleys.

Similarly, each Invicta S type has a name (Speedy, Bluebird, etc) and the owners tend to be known back to day 1. There are fewer Invictas so no exhaustive books but info is often found in club publications or magazines.

I note the recent sale of the "honeymoon" 851. That car (which didn't interest me) appears well known so what about the rest of them? Ideally, I could build a database showing every original car and then just see which ones ring my bell.

You don't say what year Speedster you want to buy? Regardless the first thing you should do is join the Club, if you are not a member already. Many people want to buy a speedster. It is a very tricky pursuit as there are many speedsters with stories. There are many more speedsters in existence than were ever made by Auburn and the information you need is not printed in a book!
Cordially Mike

I think I'd like to get a boattail speedster but am not very knowledgeable about history and issues with them. Can anyone suggest articles or books that could be useful? Something deeper than a "pictures of great cars" treatement.