'Cursed' 1937 Cord 812 coming up for auction hides a political history
A ‘cursed' 1937 Cord 812 coming up for auction, but beware, its checkered past could cost you.
It’s a historic car in many ways.
(Barrett-Jackson)
The sleek lines of a 1937 Cord 812 Beverly coming up for auction conceal its once-hidden past.
(Barrett-Jackson)
Not only was the bespoke silver sedan one of just two 812s built that year with spare tire carriers on both fenders, but it also has bulletproof plates inside the doors and behind the rear seats, making it the only armored 812 ever built by the factory.
Long was a rising national figure at the time of his assassination. (Getty Images)
According to BarnFinds.com, the car was originally ordered by the Louisiana government in 1935 with the intention to protect Senator Huey Long, the popular and controversial politician who previously served as governor of the state. It was an eerily prescient purchase, as the presidential hopeful was assassinated just a few months later in Baton Rouge, before the car could be completed.
(Barrett-Jackson)
The small automaker eventually delivered the automobile, but it was hardly ever used and eventually made its way to the U.S. Coast Guard, where it was assigned to an officer who was later killed in World War II, The Abbortsford News reports, giving it the reputation that it was cursed. After sitting in storage for several decades, the Cord was purchased in the 1980s by Canadian collector Gary Morgan who discovered the armor and its history while he was working on it.
(Barrett-Jackson)
Now fully restored by Morgan and 360 Fabrication, the V8-powered, front-wheel-drive four-door is set to cross the block at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction in January. The auction house hasn’t put an estimated value on it, and while typical 812s often change hands for under $100,000, the doubly-unique nature of this one makes it almost impossible to predict what it will go for.