To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVE at RM Sothebys' The Guyton
Collection event, 4 - 5 May 2019.
Estimate:
$80,000 - $120,000
- Acquired from the famed Phillip Wichard Collection; two owners
since 1967
- Attractive, well-preserved restoration by Walter Seaburg
- Original body, engine, and chassis
- Accompanied by a copy of its build sheet
- Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) Full Classic
The Guyton 1931 LaSalle roadster was delivered through the Rario
Motor Company of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, and equipped with a
radiator stone guard and dual side-mounted spares. The car was
restored in the early 1960s by Walter Seaburg, for Dwain Pansing of
Dayton, Ohio. According to later owner Phillip Wichard, the car had
been an extremely low-mileage original example and required no
major mechanical work, and to this day it retains its original body
wood, stamped with the body number in the door sills.
Significantly, the restored car was a National First Prize winner
in Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) competition in 1962 -
an era when the AACA was still largely populated by "horseless
carriages," and some 1931 LaSalles would still have been "used
cars!"
Mr. Wichard acquired the car in 1967 and on the basis of Mr.
Seaburg's excellent work, he would become one of his best clients.
The LaSalle continued to be shown for nearly 30 years, drawing much
attention, before it was sold at the dispersal of the Wichard
collection in 1995. Obviously as impressed as its seller had been,
the car was acquired by Fred F. Guyton, and has been on display in
his museum since.
Like the 1929 Cadillac in the Guyton Collection - also an
ex-Wichard, Seaburg restoration - the work on this car is
remarkably well preserved; the paint still shines and has few
notable flaws, while the leather interior has the obvious patina
and surface-cracking of well-worn enjoyment rather than age.
Accessories include a correct Cadillac trunk, metal side-mount
covers, twin Trippe lights, a single Pilot Ray driving light, and
dual running board spotlights.
This jazzy LaSalle's show days are behind it, but it is still a
beautiful automobile and would be a real stunner on the next CCCA
CARavan or Cadillac-LaSalle Club event for a new owner - who can
enjoy a "junior Cadillac" whose collector heritage is beyond
reproach.
To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction,
please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/gc19.
