1929 Hudson Model L Club Sedan

The Hudson Motor Car Company commissioned a series of prototype cars from the Walter M. Murphy Company in 1927. The cars were to be designed using Murphy's thin-pillar construction technique, a style adapted from the coachbuilding firm Gangloff by Murphy general manager Frank Spring. Murphy delivered six cars to Detroit, a landau sedan, a victoria, a seven-passenger sedan, a convertible coupe, a convertible sedan, and a fixed-head coupe. Hudson's management was impressed, but Murphy was unable to produce the vehicles in the quantities that Hudson was requesting. The prototype cars were sent to the Amesbury, Massachusetts coachbuilders Biddle and Smart, which had been building closed cars for Hudson since 1923.

The closed Murphy styles, with the exception of the coupe, were put into production on Hudson's 1928 Model O chassis, which was the longer of two wheelbases. For 1929, the Murphy-designed cars were carried over, with the victoria and landau sedan resting on the short Model R chassis. The seven-passenger sedan rested on the new, extended wheelbase Model L line, along with the seven-passenger limousine and a club sedan.

Sadly, the new styles were short-lived for several reasons, perhaps worst of all was the impending Great Depression. Biddle and Smart was in dire straits, and Hudson declined to renew their contract for 1930, transferring all body construction to Detroit. By September 1931, Frank Spring left the struggling Murphy company to become Hudson's first 'style engineer.'

This vehicle is a Murphy-designed club sedan. It was acquired by the present owner in 1994 from the Mel Sothan of Garden Grove, California, who discovered it on a farm in Washington State in the 1950s. The car, in need of a restoration, was treated to a four-year, ground-up restoration. Upon completion, it made its debut at the Salt Lake City Pioneer Day parade in July 1997.

In 2011, this vehicle was offered for sale at the Hershey Auction presented by RM Auctions. It was estimated to sell for $70,000 - $90,000. As bidding came to a close, the vehicle had been sold for $77,000, including the buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2011