Vehicle Description
1976 Auburn 866 Boattail Speedster
In 1924 Auburn output was down to six cars a day, Errett Lobban
Cord-a successful automobile salesman-took over the distressed
company, and brought in James Crawford to design and develop a new
range of vehicles. Other companies had already produced 'boat tail"
autos, (Peerless, Packard, Hudson), but Auburn endeavored in the
car to have an image leader in an otherwise ordinary lineup of
autos. The Speedster had a fixed windshield, but no side windows,
no interior door release, and optional roof, a cramped cockpit for
only two-yes in a glamorous, aerodynamic looking body.
Fast forward to 1976 and go to Broken Arrow, Indiana and look up a
gentleman named Glenn Pray. Here you'll find a man, who is in his
second attempt at a reproduction, the first being the Cord which
did not work out. So here we have his second attempt in the form of
a reproduction fiberglass automobile emulating the Auburn 851/2
Boattail Speedsters. It does a pretty good job of it, with some
obvious clues to the fact that it is a reproduction. This 13,653
title verified actual mile example was custom ordered in the
blazing pink with hot pink lipstick interior, and all the options
this manufacturer could muster up at the time. I'll put it into the
category of and now I've literally seen everything!
Exterior
Of course borrowing from the original design, we can lead off with
the rear raked shield styled grille in chrome flanked by a single
headlight on either side. Curvaceous pink bodywork surrounds the
chromed grille, and just below we see an eyebrow shiny chrome
bumper. A loooooong cowled hood makes its way back to a chromed
surrounded raked back windscreen and on either side of that hood
are bulbous pontoon style fenders. Functional dual stainless steel
exhaust pipes make their way through the hood and eventually
through the fenders and running boards to a rear exit. A nice
suicide door offers up entry to the drivers cockpit. Bring on more
long slightly curved upward fiberglass to form the back of the car
and flank this with more pontoon fenders for the rear tire
coverings. These fenders will eventually move away from the inward
curving to a point boattail trunk top, giving the car its namesake.
Round Tamil lights are in bullet styled bezels just inside the
fenders, and below another curved bumper frames the bottom of the
car. Small running boards are attaching the front and rear fenders
and the rear fenders have a chromed plate on the leading edge that
curves around the actual fender. Add on a SUPERCHARGED badge to the
venting on the sides of the hood,and some flat aero dog dish chrome
wheels wrapped in wide whites and we have the look..of love? Oh and
oldest I forget, under that hot pink tonneau, there is a slightly
soiled and torn tan canvas convertible top.
Interior
A swing forward of the suicide doors reveals some hot pink leather
door panels to feast our eyes on. They have a small storage pouch
stitched into them. My eyes slip inside to a full hot pink leather
bench which has some tuck and roll stitching and is showing some
slight aging in the form of light cracking. A pink center console
in plastic resides in front and center of the bench and houses a
Mustang T style shifter, (think 60's style Mustang). Above is a
pink dash with dual machined swirls pattern inserts for the gauges
in front of the driver, and an AM/FM radio and some toggles and
knobs for the passenger. Thedash is light pink fiberglass and has a
top mounted rear view mirror. The steering wheel is black and has a
half round horn ring with a pink center and a large AC unit hangs
below the dash under the radio panel. Just below is some faded pink
carpeting is covered by black protective mats.
Drivetrain
Under the flip to the passengers side hood sits a Ford 460ci V8 fed
by a single 4-barrel carburetor. On the back is a 3-speed C6
automatic transmission, and spinning the rear tires is a Ford 9
inch rear. Stock dual exhaust is currently used for the exhale and
is fed by the functional cowl piping.
Undercarriage
Some light patina is noted on the steel underpinnings of the black
heavy coated fiberglass floor pans and wheel wells. Independent
coil springs are on front and a 4 link with coil springs is
reserved for the back. Power disc braking is up front, and power
drums for the rear. Mostly nicely clean underneath.
Drive-Ability
The car starts and runs just a bit rough, but did make it to the
test track where it has smooth power, jerk free shifting through
the 3 speeds, and good handling. All functions were working at the
time of the test drive save for the AC that was blowing warm, but
frankly who cares when you're in a car like this?
An interesting venture for Glenn Pray whip actually made some extra
money in this venture. It's a great look for the design, but the
pink is a bit too much for this writer, but to each his own.
Fantastic interior with many options and a good overall preserved
reproduction fiberglass car.
Classic Auto Mall is a 336,000-square foot classic and special
interest automobile showroom, featuring over 850 vehicles for sale
with showroom space for up to 1,000 vehicles. Also, a 400 vehicle
barn find collection is on display. This vehicle is located in our
showroom in Morgantown, Pennsylvania, conveniently located just
1-hour west of Philadelphia on the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike. The
website is www.classicautomall.com and our phone number is (888)
227-0914. Please contact us anytime for more information or to come
see the vehicle in person.
