Before I forget it all I wanted to do another topic on Brewster Fords. Brewster was very high end coachbuilder that was bought by RR of American in 1928 and helped them go bankrupt. Inskip bought them back in the 30s and tried to keep the company afloat by building a less expensive car on a Ford Chassis. Yesterday I got to meet a very knowledgeable Brewster owner who is doing a mechanical refresh on his car. He showed me some things I did not know:
1. Brewster lengthened the Ford chassis by 14.5 inches and then reinforced it (see photos. You can see the cut in the chassis) This was to accommodate the bigger bodies and extensive cowl.
2. The factory engines were dressed up like the high end cars of the day. The heads polished with touches of chrome on the accessories.
3. The wheels were not Ford but Kelsey Hayes which were more substantial.
There were 4 body styles with 150 total cars built. The most popular was the towncar and then they made a roadster, convertible sedan and sedan. The roadster below sold for insane money at the Mark Smith auction (like over 400k).
@alsancle
I didn't know the Brewster Fords were so rare.
@ShawnG According to Don Weir: there were Town Cars with an open chauffeur compartment, 5 and 7 passenger enclosed drive Limousines, 4 and 5 passenger Convertible Sedans, and 2 passenger Roadsters. Town Cars accounted for nearly two thirds of the Brewster's built.
@ShawnG Neither did I. But I didn't know they built models outside the towncar.
Here are photos I took at the Mark Smith Auction of the roadster. It sold for 577k.
@alsancle way cool!
@TomLaferriere I think there was universal agreement on that considering the final sale price.
There was a guy at Hershey that brought a towncar for years.
@Rambler0155 Yes. That is Don Weir. He had a website that was sort of a Brewster registry but it doesn't come up anymore. I need to send him an email.
@Hupp31 The towncar was the most popular style. You see them for sale once in a while. The roadster/sedan/convertible sedan you never see.
@alsancle I’m not sure if it’s just the wide whites making them look small, but that particular car looks to need bigger tires. Looks like a shopping cart with those tiny things on there.
@Hupp31 The tires are probably small. Those are 16" wheels. Replacement tires for years were not period correct on the tread and outside diameter. A bigger blackwall would solve the issue.
This is Don Weir's convertible sedan that is for sale. I don't know if he has a price I think he is looking for offers. Unfortunately I'm broke.
@alsancle A.J. this is a link to the for sale advertisement for that car.
https://www.oldcaronline.com/1934-Ford-BREWSTER-York-PA-for-sale-ID1166704.htm
@Royale835Sedan
Thanks! Some great photos. This shows the custom chrome on the engine.
Here is a picture of the sedan from Don's site. I guess they only made 2.
Brewster built a lot of bodies for RR, late became Inskip coachworks and built more into the 1950s.
Cool video showing Don Weir talking about his 5 passenger sedan.
This looks like the convertible sedan.
@Hupp31 Check out the custom treatment on the hood panel.
@alsancle I saw that. Wasn’t sure if this was something originally installed by Brewster or added later.
@Hupp31 I'm thinking later only because I've never seen it before. But you probably know as much as me about these cars. I was aware of them and sort of understood the basics but severely underestimated how much custom work went in to building them. Now I have to buy one. Just need a little cash from somewhere...
I just added this facebook listing to the marketplace. A 36 Brewster bodied Buick towncar for 59,500. Great car!
https://app.rumbleseat.com/marketplace/6950410