Paul Bryant’s smile widens as he describes how he came to own his 1936 Cord Model 810 convertible coupe. He has been intrigued with Cord automobiles since he was 7 years old, and in 1962, at the urging of his wife, Martha, he decided to buy one. His search led him to a supercharged convertible coupe in Overland Park that had been used primarily as a photo prop, but its engine was damaged.

 “I spent nine months courting that Cord,” Bryant said, but he had difficulty coming to terms with the owner. One day the owner called.  “You haven’t been over to see the car for a while,” he said. “If you don’t come, I’m going to run an ad and sell it.”

 Bryant and his wife Martha met with the owner in the evening. Various prices were discussed but no accord was forthcoming. The owner’s wife, however, was intent on getting her husband to sell the car. She broke the impasse by strongly urging that her husband accept a compromise price. 

 Bryant began a full restoration. The engine was repaired and the body was repainted. Rick Hulett silk screened new faces on the gauges and reupholstered the interior. In 1965, after three years of work, he and Martha drove the just-finished Cord to the annual Auburn Cord Duesenberg Festival in Auburn, Indiana.

 Approximately 150 Cord convertible coupes were built, and about 57 of them were supercharged. Because his car is fairly rare, Bryant eventually loaned it to the National Automotive and Truck Museum of the United States in Auburn. Last fall, after six years on display, he brought it back home.

 Six years in a museum had not been kind to his Cord. He took it to Stan Gilliland’s Auburn/Cord Parts restoration shop in Wellington, Kan., and began the automotive equivalent of CPR. The brakes were repaired, the shift linkage rejuvenated and the engine was given a once over. Its heart now beats a steady rhythm once again. The 40-year-old restoration has a lovely patina of use and care. Bryant’s car is not a trailer queen, but rather one that he and Martha can comfortably drive any time. 

 Bryant, of Prairie Village, is a retired physics professor from the University of Missouri Kansas City. He is a Cord man through and through, and he also owns Gordon Buehrig’s prototype for the 1936 Cord. Last year, after spending 25 years restoring an experimental 1932 E-1 Cord, he donated it to the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Museum.

 When Bryant slides behind the wheel of his convertible coupe with Martha at his side, his grin is as wide as the cockpit. His affection is obvious. This trio has been together for so long that the car seems like part of the family, and I guess it is.