814 Prototype Cord

I believe the convertibles do have a reputation for being flexible. The engineers went to a lot of trouble adding bracing and stiffening members. The "Bird Cage" is the most obvious one under the hood. There was another brace fitted between the firewall and the back of the dash board. I have a sedan which I assume has the basic structure in the frame rails and floor. The sedan has the roof to stiffen the whole structure. A lot of work went into the cabriolet to increase the depth of the frame rails and sill panels. This would have been done only to increase the stiffness.

To me Buehrig's "self designed" gearbox sheetmetal cover looks much better than the simpler cover on the prototype.
Similarly the reverse slanting of the grill louvers just looks odd. Buehrig's design is more suttle and pleasing to the eye.
We can probably assume the prototype was the work of Alex Tremulis.

Replied by Tom Georgeson on topic 814 Prototype Cord
I will add that my recollection, from what I have read, is that the car has the higher sill plates of the Custom which explains the eight louvers. It also made for a stiffer frame for the convertible which is an improvement. Think it is an interesting car but not an improvement.


Not to revive a long dead thread, but, were the convertibles known for having a weak structure overall?

Gary,

When you get to Auburn be sure and find me, I'm on 9th street every night and usually under a hood or car during the day.

If you like the photos of this car you will be amazed at the car itself. I actually do like the changes to the front end, maybe just because it's different.

Keep going on your Cord and get it back on the road. Just make sure you do things the right way. It will be more then worth it. I can't tell you the amount of pleasure I get from driving the Cord. My kids can tell you that when I get behind the wheel for a trip I have a grin from ear to ear that takes a week to get off my face. Now I have to get my phaeton as reliable as my sedan was so I can just get in and go.

Jim

Mark what I'm very much impressed about this car is the body finish. As many might agree, its better than when it left the line but we all know thats no reason for points deduction just because someone "made it better". If I could finish my body as nicely I could die a very happy person. It does make be happy to know someone is really gone the extra measure to restore and take care of this example of rolling art. Thanks for sharing your comments. I'm always looking for comments to what I do or ask here. This forum is what keeps me going on my car. My only regret is I did not have my father take a ride in the Cord when the wifey and I drove it around out neighborhood way bad in the late 70's. I had just finished rewiring it using three different wire diagrams. Had finished doing the brakes so it would stop. Had a battery and new cables done. Then used a 1 gallon can on the passenger side fender as the fuel tank. We had no way to shift because we did not have the wire harness nor the controls on the colume. I left off the trans cover. Showed the wifey how to move the shift lever into 1st gear and off we went. That was a great drive of about 1 miles and the first time it was driven on the roads since 1949 when it left the roads. I will be driving it again but this time I will have the full shifting ability. At this time I feel I will be able to save the seats both front and back. But the door panels, carpet and headliner will need replacing. None of that will keep it off the roads.

Hello Guys...

Your points are all well taken. While it would be hard to improve on the Mona Lisa, this is a spectacular Cord cabriolet. I recall during it's last outing at Auburn, intentionally attempting to find some flaw or even something askew. I could not. The quality and detail of this faithful restoration of the 1938 prototype is unmatched. The icing on the cake is that it's owned by a dedicated ACD family from the Chicago area who are also very nice folks. I'm hoping we will see the car again soon at the 2015 Reunion.

Thanks for the pictures too!

Mark

I will add that my recollection, from what I have read, is that the car has the higher sill plates of the Custom which explains the eight louvers. It also made for a stiffer frame for the convertible which is an improvement. Think it is an interesting car but not an improvement.

Thank you Jim for this information. When I first saw this car yesterday I noticed the sloping grill and the smooth trans cover. Still not partical to these bosy changes but it is growing on me. The body finish is one of the best I have ever seen pics of. I probably will never see this car in person but I can hope too. I made the wifey a deal for our 50th wedding anaiversary in 5 years. Auburn for the ACD festivle or a trip to hawaii. Well it looks like we are going to both... Its a win win for both of us. I couldn't care less about the islands and she has very little interest in Auburn. It really sodesn't matter where you are as long as your with the ones you love. Been that way since 1970..

Hi Gary,

If my memory is still good, this car was originally built by the factory as a prototype. Numerous factory photos were taken of it. Then it was converted back to a standard 812 and sold. When the current owner started restoring the car he noticed several differences between this car and a standard cabriolet. After consulting with several of the Cord experts and a lot of research the figured out this was the 814 prototype. The car was then restored back to the prototype configuration.

The car Best Cord at Auburn it's first year out (2005). The second year the owner (in true ACD Club spirit) brought it back and requested not to be in contention for Best of Marque - to let someone else have their moment in the spotlight. The Club did not honor his request and awarded him Best Cord and Best of Show!

To answer your other question the car is mechanically the same as the 810/812 cars and I don't think it's supercharged.

Jim

Thanks for the great pictures. I'm not sure if the grill has chorme on it or not. Can't really tell in the pics. I did count 8 rows on the grill too compared to other Cords 7 rows. Unless you bring in the custom cords with an extra row. Was this car mechanically differnt? If so what are those differences. Was this car supercharged with none of the outside pipes? Its an interesting car. Having never seen this before I'm still on the fence about likeing it or not. It really does look well restored and taken care of. Funny to only now realizing we have a 1938 Cord to talk about. 814 is a little hard to accept right now but will see how it grows on me. Still a car to be proud of. I suppose this is the only one made or is there still some prototypes that have never been spoken of on this forum.

Hi,

This beauty is well-known and well cared-for. It has been to Auburn, where I took a few of the pictures below. Noticeable changes from 1937 are that the transmission cover is smooth and the grille-fence has a swept-back rake to it.

It certainly is a beautiful car.

--Tom

I was surfing the net and found an article about a 1938 814 prototype Cord. Anyone know anything bout it.
www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z142 ... otype.aspx