Bob Coleman first heard about his 1937 Cord when a friend saw it going down Metcalf Avenue on a trailer. Tracing the trailer license number to its owner, Coleman was able to buy the car from an estate. That was in 1989.
This Cord is the culmination of Coleman’s long-standing fascination with old cars. His first restoration was a Model A that he tackled while in high school, and he still has it. He worked on a 1954 Chevy while in the Air Force. He belonged to the Heart of America chapter of the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Club for years, which is how he ran across this car.
After buying the Cord, he parceled it out for restoration. When the mechanical work was complete, he and his wife Sandy held a “starting party” at the shop so friends could help celebrate its rebirth. As luck would have it, the car didn’t start immediately, and it took the entire crew of assembled friends and car buffs all afternoon to finally get it running.
The restoration of their Cord has been a joint project for the Colemans, who have been married for 39 years. Both of them are nationally qualified judges. Sandy picked out the upholstery and paint color and helped with interior chores, such as making individual bags for the seat springs. Once the restoration was complete, the Colemans’ car won two first-place trophies at the national Auburn Cord Duesenberg meet in Auburn, Ind. Now their focus is the joy of driving it. When we took it out for photographs, it caused a swirl of attention at every turn.
Cord automobiles have
a curious connection to this area. Errett Lobban Cord, known as E. L., was born in 1894 in Warrensburg, Mo., to parents who were married in Belton in 1882. His father, C.W. Cord, ran a general store in Warrensburg, and his name still sits atop a building just east of the courthouse. The family moved to California when E.L. was a youngster.
E.L. Cord was hired by Auburn in 1924, and he bought Duesenberg in 1926. In 1929, the first car to bear Cord’s name hit the market. The Cord L-29 was the first luxury car with front-wheel drive. It was followed by the sleek 810-812 model like the Colemans’ in 1935. Approximately 2,800 were produced in 1936 and 1937. The engine was a Lycoming flat-head V-8 that displaced 288.6 cubic inches and had 125 horsepower. It had front-wheel drive, unibody construction, electro-vacuum shifting and retractable headlights. Gordon Buehrig, Cord designer, once described the car’s sensuous styling by saying that he “put a bathing suit on my baby instead of a skirt.”
The Colemans’ Cord is about ready to be put away for the winter, but it will soon have a companion. The couple is in the process of restoring a black, supercharged 1936 Phaeton whose exhaust pipes exit through the hood and curve into the fenders like chrome tentacles. Their sedan is beautiful, but the racier Phaeton should be stunning.
