Handsome Graham Hollywood. Older restoration in good condition. Nice cloth interior, gauges work. Smooth 217 cubic inch inline-6. Distinctive styling that will always find appreciation. A neat footnote from the pre-war era and a rare find!

Your eyes are not deceiving you, the Graham Hollywood (and its cousin the Hupmobile Skylark) wear Cord 810/812 sedan bodywork. When Cord went out of business, Hupmobile purchased the tooling to manufacture the bodies. Hup sadly struggled to make it work, which is when Graham stepped into produce the bodies with the provision that they would also be able to market their own version of the car--the Graham Hollywood. Today, the Hollywood is a neat footnote to the ACD story and a cool car all by itself. Experts suggest that fewer than 200 remain, and the simplified drivetrain makes them quite appealing to enthusiasts today. Wearing period-correct cream paint over the handsome revised bodywork, this car is the ideal example of late-30s engineering and style. The sheetmetal was all-new ahead of the cowl, of course, giving the Hollywood a unique look that is every bit as handsome as anything else on the road at the time. It’s kind of puzzling why these cars weren’t more successful. The paint is probably 30 years old and shows minor signs of age and use, but nothing so serious as to need attention and it presents nicely. Fit and finish is good overall, with the only real demerit being that the driver’s door fits a little proud of the surrounding bodywork. Chrome and stainless trim is quite nice with minimal pitting on the cast grille, an important consideration with a rare car like this. Accessories include dual side mirrors, indicator lights on the headlamps, and headlight visors, which were a popular period add-on.

The brown cloth interior is welcoming and comfortable, and thanks to the Cord’s clever packaging, it’s quite spacious. Suicide-style front doors make getting in easy, and once you’re there, the view is bright and airy. The wide bench seats make this a 6-passenger vehicle, but it’s really most comfortable with 4 aboard. The big ivory-colored steering wheel is in fantastic shape, as are the other plastic knobs and gauge faces. All the gauges appear to be operational except the clock, and the original AM radio is in place but sadly not functional. There’s an accessory heater under the dash, and the way the rear-view mirror is mounted on the dash is a cool styling feature. Upholstery, carpets, door panels, and the headliner are in very good condition with no notable blemishes aside from a little wear on the driver’s seat piping where one would slide in and out of the car. There’s also a surprisingly spacious trunk that’s finished with a correct rubber mat.

Power comes from Graham’s reliable and torquey 217 cubic inch inline-6, which was rated at 95 horsepower. That may not seem like a lot today, but in the Hollywood, it feels energetic and the car cruises well at 55 MPH. It’s also incredibly durable, parts are readily available, and it makes pleasing six-cylinder noises. It’s finished in corporate green engine enamel and it looks like there’s been recent work on the ignition and electrical system. It starts easily, idles nicely, and pulls the sleek 4-door around with vigor, so you’ll never feel like a rolling road block in traffic. The 3-speed manual transmission has well-spaced gears and is conventional 3-on-the-tree with rear-wheel-drive, unlike the Cord’s complex and problematic 4-speed pre-selector FWD gearbox. The suspension is also conventional, with leaf springs and rigid axles fore and aft, with a drum brake at each corner. Steering effort is modest, braking is effective, and it tracks well. There’s a transverse muffler out back that gives it just the right pre-war sound, and it sits on factory steel wheels and 8.00-16 Firestone wide whitewalls of indeterminate age.

We love the look of the Hollywood, which offers all the style of the Cord without the complexity of its accompanying drivetrain. The combination of handsome good looks and rugged mechanicals makes this a good choice for touring, and we’re pretty sure you’ll never see another one at the same show. Call today!

Harwood Motors always recommends and welcomes personal or professional inspections of any vehicle in our inventory prior to purchase.