1941 Graham Hollywood

1941 Graham Hollywood Roadster

In 1937. which was the last year of production for Cord. they built a Westchester sedan and the 810/812 Sportsman convertibles. The molds and dies for these cars were sold to Graham-Paige. Grahams last year model was a 1941. using the Cord dies. they built the Graham Hollywood. A model they hoped would save them. Only 2859 1941s were built and the Graham name was history. The Hollywoods came with an inline 6 cylinder engine . with/without a factory supercharger.

Graham NEVER made a Hollywood roadster!

I've owned this car for over 10 years and the following information has been gathered from. old magazine articles. information passed on by the previous owner and examination of the car. If you have any additional info. knowledge. or history. PLEASE let me know.

All Graham Hollywoods are 4 door sedans. This car sold new in either Pennsylvania or Maryland. one account alledges that a race car driver was the original owner. His name does not Google anywhere. The next story reports that in the early 50s a large tree fell on the car crushing the roof. and the car was placed in storage for several years. By identifiable parts the next transformation had to be no earlier then the late 50s.

The roof. the back doors and trunk were removed. all 4 fenders appear to be original. The roof of either a 47 Buick or 49 Cadillac sedanette was used to form the massive rear deck that goes from the front seats to the back bumper area. That deck houses 1949 Lincoln taillights and has 40 inch chrome spears from a DeSoto Sportsman Adventurer convertible. also a racing style  aluminum gas filler. The front doors were scalloped. have no handles or windows and open from a push button mounted inside(true roadster style). The front grill. which was in the hood was removed. headlights were relocated. Early photos (which I don't have) in a magazine article show Nerf bar bumpers front and back. I don't have or have never seen the bumpers. Hood side trim includes Pontiac stars(55/56) and some short trim pieces ???. Knock off adapters were fitted to the Graham hubs with chrome wire wheels. The windshield is reportedly from a 50s Chris Craft boat. The power train at this point is unknown. previous owner thought Nailhead. A magazine story says in 1971 the original owner installed a small block Chevy. When I acquired the car it had. and still has the small block. a turbo 350 automatic. with floor shifter. and Chevy rear end. I'm not sure what the dash is. one article said 51 Kaiser(don't think so). Gauges are now Dolphin. which is how it was in 2006. Front seat was a small bench. The car did have dual exhaust with nice chrome extensions and a pair of FLAMETHROWERS. these are operated by a Model T coil near the rear.

At some point(70s) the car ended up in a Florida warehouse and was lost under boxes of stuff. When revived in the 90s it was painted red. all previous photos and info indicate it had always been in black primer.

Updates and modifications since 2006

Wire wheels removed. replaced with early Ford rims. narrow fronts with 205 75/R15s and slightly wider rears with 215  75/R15s. Coker whites. trim rings and smooth caps. The front suspension was original. now a 1949 Ford PU dropped axle with front discs. I also had new springs made that matched the originals. The exhaust system is all new. I did keep the flamethrowers. Added Swan mirrors. Changed the front seat to 1965 Impala SS buckets. changed the shifter. Had a full. snap on tonneau cover made which zips down the center. Radiator is now aluminum. Hood had no latch. now has a nice leather strap tie down.

General info

One magazine says this car was featured in numerous publications and was known as THE BLACK PANTHER. when you Google black panther there are mega tons of hits but none on this car. All agree how nice the styling changes are. ahead of its time. some believe the changes followed the lines of the Cord 810/812s.

How did I arrive at a price????

If it was a Cord 810/812  $200K-$300K. span >  A Graham Hollywood $30K-$60K

I tried to find a reasonable mid price

Of all the times I've shown the car NO-ONE has known what it is. some are close . but no cigar. However it draws tremendous attention anywhere or anytime it gets out and about. If you want a one of a kind . here it is.

Note on photos

Some of the photos may be older and show knock-offs. bench seat. no hood strap. wrong shifter. old headlamps. wrong mirrors. no tonneau cover. rong gas filler. incorrect tires and wheels. All of these items have been upgraded

Also published at eBay.com

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