1940 Graham Hollywood Convertible Coupe

The three Graham brothers began producing kits to convert Ford Motor T's into trucks in 1919. This successful venture allowed them to build their own trucks using dodge engines and sold through Dodge dealers. Dodge acquired the company in 1925. In 1927, the brothers decided to enter the car business by acquiring the Paige-Detroit Motor Company and offering a line of Graham-Paige cars. Company sales faltered in 1938 when a critically acclaimed 'shark-nose' design flopped with the public.

In 1939, Graham agreed to build the Hupmobile Skylark on a contract basis, provided they could use the ideas to produce their own version of the car. The Hupmobile Skylark was conceived as a last-ditch effort to save the Hupp Motor Company as their sales dwindled. Hupp had acquired the dies for the defunct Cord 810/812 and John Tjaarda, the designer of the Lincoln Zephyr, was commissioned to facelift the car. The Cord tooling was not intended for high-volume production and Graham/Hupp production only reached 170 per week, not nearly enough to support the two companies. By September 1940, both companies called it quits after building just 319 Hupmobiles and 1,859 Grahams.

The unibody Graham was equipped with a supercharged 217 cubic-inch 6-cylinder engine producing 120 horsepower and, with a weight of only 3,000 lbs., offered the highest power-to-weight ratio of any 1940 American car.

This car is the only known Graham Hollywood 2-passenger convertible known to exist and was the first Graham Hollywood produced according to the serial number. It has been in storage since 1952. It has never been restored and is a 'more or less' complete original.