1935 Brewster Ford

The 'House of Brewster and Company' began in 1810 as a builder of high-end carriages. Starting in New Haven, Connecticut, the company continued through three generations of Brewsters and at the turn of the 20th century, was the pre-eminent American coachbuilder, known for its construction and designs. Willie Brewster began building automobile bodies in 1905 in New York City and eventually expanded to a larger facility in Long Island City, New York, in 1911. The bodies they built were elegant and extremely expensive.

In 1914, Willie Brewster became a Rolls-Royce sales agent, importing chassis from England and building bodies for Brewster's established clientele. A total of 46 Brewster-bodied Rolls-Royces were built before the company's operation was interrupted by World War I. When peacetime resumed, Brewster returned to coachbuilding but added chassis construction as well. The vehicles they built were compact enough to traverse the streets of New York City yet elegant and formal in keeping with the company's heritage. Later models utilized the Knight sleeve-valve patents and were known as Brewster-Knights.

The company continued to build coachwork for the Springfield Rolls-Royce and in 1925 was acquired by the Rolls-Royce marque, making Brewster the primary source for the marque's coachwork. Brewster would body over 400 examples of the Springfield-built Rolls-Royce. After Rolls-Royce returned production to England in 1934 and closed the Springfield Works, the Brewster building returned to the family, and long-time Brewster director J.S. Inskip remained in charge. The company was free once again to build cars, and Inskip decided that, despite the Great Depression, a market still existed for their exclusive product, a compact formal car with a more affordable chassis and Brewster's coachwork.

Brewster placed an order for approximately 125 new Ford chassis. The wheelbase measured 112 inches, stretched to 127 inches and clothed with new bodies designed by Inskip. In the front was a heart-shaped grille that was distinctive and striking, with modern bumpers and fenders. Among the list of body styles included five- and seven-passenger sedans, four- and five-passenger convertible sedans, open-front town cars, and two-passenger roadsters. With a price of approximately $3,500, the Brewsters were more affordable than any Rolls-Royce, yet were priced well above what most families could afford due to the economic conditions of the era. The cars proved difficult to sell and the end came quickly, ending in 1936. Brewster's assets were sold at a public auction on August 18th, 1937.

The Brewsters with Ford chassis were powered by a 221 cubic-inch side-valve V8 engine with Stromberg downdraft carburetors delivering 85 horsepower and backed by a three-speed manual transmission with a single dry plate clutch. Braking was handled by internal expanding brakes on all four wheels.

by Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2011