Published: October 12, 2018, 9:55 AM
Updated: October 17, 2018, 3:57 PM
Lloyd Needham Collection
A choice array of pre- and post-war classic cars from the collection of the late Lloyd Needham of London, Ontario, will be sold at RM Sotheby’s annual fall auction in Hershey, Pennsylvania, on October 11-12. Here's a look at what could be yours for the right price, along with estimated sale prices (US dollars).
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1936 Packard Twelve Convertible Victoria ($225K - $275K)
Packard’s twelve-cylinder models were, by the late 1930s, the height of American engineering and design, adopting more streamlined, graceful styling that embodied the vigorous spirit of their age. Accordingly, they remain among the most desirable cars the marque ever produced, especially the open models such as this five-passenger convertible victoria, with its long, fleet lines taken from designs by the famed Raymond Dietrich.
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1937 Buick Special Convertible Phaeton ($60K - $80K)
One of the positive things to come out of the Depression years was the Art Deco design idiom, often flamboyantly expressed in the automobiles of the day. Buicks, in particular those from 1937, like this open-air Special Convertible Phaeton, had a distinctive styling flare with Art Deco overtones.
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1951 Monarch Convertible ($65K - $75K)
To provide Ford dealers in Canada an upscale model comparable to the Mercury that their sister Meteor-brand dealers were offering, Ford developed the Canadian-exclusive Monarch - essentially a “bathtub” Mercury with a unique grille and some body trim. This rare Monarch convertible is one of only four known to have survived.
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1947 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible ($75K - $100K)
The 1947 model year was the last of the pre-war styled Cadillacs, before they were replaced by new models that kicked off the finned era, albeit modestly. This lovely Series 62 convertible incorporates progressive features such as fenders flowing into the doors that were pioneered by GM’s Buick Y-Job experimental model.
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1949 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible ($70K - $90K)
Cadillac emerged as the leader in the post-war U.S. luxury car market on the strength of a full redesign for 1948, which was followed a year later by a new overhead-valve V-8. Praise for the 1949 Cadillac was literally universal, exemplified by its selection as the very first Motor Trend Car of the Year.
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1949 Chrysler Town and Country ($120 - $140,000)
The wood-bodied, post-war Town and Country convertible, a favourite of socialites and movie stars, was Chrysler’s most glamorous, top-of-the-line model, considerably more costly than the New Yorker upon which it was based. The wooden bodywork was fabricated by Pekin Wood Products of Helena, Arkansas, with a unique rear deck and taillights, and final forming and fitting at Chrysler's Jefferson Avenue factory in Detroit. This is an extremely rare early 1949 model, built shortly before production of the model ceased.
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1953 Buick Super Convertible ($50K - $60K)
The newest car in the Needham collection is this 1953 Buick Super Convertible, the last model with the original post-war styling from 1949, facelifted with distinctive headlights and additional exterior trim and incorporating a V-8, rather than straight-eight engine. Today they are widely regarded among the most handsome American automobiles of their generation.
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1940 Ford V-8 DeLuxe Convertible ($70K - $80K)
The 1940 Ford introduced several new features, as well as one of the most distinctive pre-war automotive designs. A significant change was the adoption of sealed beam headlights, stylishly set in oval chrome housings that also incorporated the parking lights. The result was another iconic Ford model, of which this is a fine example.
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1941 Lincoln Continental Cabriolet ($80K - $100K)
Returning from a trip to Europe in 1938, Edsel Ford sketched an idea for a concept he wanted to build on a Ford chassis. Designer E.T. Gregorie fleshed out the design but on a Zephyr convertible chassis instead and the Lincoln Continental was born. The hood and fenders were extended, and the car sectioned horizontally by four inches. The bustle back with outside “Continental” tire was the finishing touch to what would become an American design icon.
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1941 Cadillac Series 62 Convertible Sedan ($60K - $80K)
Four-door convertibles were relatively common in the late pre-war days, vestiges of the open Touring cars that preceded them. This 1941 Cadillac Series 62, the 25th of only 400 built, was one of the most prestigious.
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1948 DeSoto Custom Convertible ($40K - $60K)
DeSoto, like all Chrysler's brands, considered its immediate post-war models (1946 to 1948) as a single series produced continuously for three years, to meet a booming post-war demand. The DeSoto's styling was among the newest of any major automaker after the war, maintaining the basic shape of the 1942 models but with a number of changes, most obviously a return to fixed, uncovered headlights, rather than the hidden Airfoil units that distinguished it in ’42.
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