1933 Graham coupe sold to buy a ring

THE OLD CAR DETECTIVE

Bill Sherk

An email arrived recently from my good friend Kent Weale in Port Credit, Ontario: “Hi Bill. My friend Dave Waite found two photos in his family album. He thinks the car is a 1933 Graham 3-window coupe.

It was owned by Dave’s father and he sold the car to get the money to buy an engagement ring for his lady (Dave’s mom). She was waiting for him to pick her up for a date when there was a knock on the door. There was no car in the driveway so she did not know what to expect. He had to walk over because he had sold the car!”

And who built the Graham?

Three Graham brothers in Detroit built trucks in the mid-1920s and were very successful. Eager to get into the car business, they bought the Paige Motor Company in 1927 and brought out their first cars with the 1928 Graham-Paige. After 1930, all their cars were called Graham.

Dave Waite’s father with his 1933 Graham 3-window coupe.

In July, 1931, the Graham brothers opened a plant in Walkerville (now part of Windsor) and built cars there until the Great Depression forced them out in the mid-1930s.

My copy of the 1935 Used Car Sales Handbook of Features published by GM of Canada for its used car sales people devotes three pages to the 1933 Graham. Two models had six cylinders and one model had a straight eight.

Only the Series 65 six cylinder Graham had a divided front bumper and that matches the car in the photo. The Walkerville factory list price of the 4-passenger 3-window coupe with rumble seat was $1170 when a new Ford coupe had a Windsor factory list price of $590.

The 1933 Graham had advanced streamlining with its V-shaped grille. It also had hydraulic brakes, interior sun visors, and outboard spring suspension for a low centre of gravity. Restored examples are highly prized today.

I’m always looking for stories. Email billtsherk@sympatico.ca.