Hupmobile Skylark and Graham Hollywood: a breif history and some technical specifications

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By the end of 1930s both Hupmobile and Graham (Graham-Paige) were in severe financial situation. Hupmobile closed production in early 1936 and did not resume it for 18 month. Graham sold some of the tooling to Nissan of Japan.

To revive the company, Norman deVaux, general manager of Hupmobile, bought the body dies for then defunct Cord 810/812 with the view of manufacturing Hupmobile rear-wheel drive low-cost versions of the Cord cars. Reportedly 6000 advance orders were placed. A 115 inch wheelbase was used, 10 inch shorter than that of the original Cord. Plans were made to manufacture a four-door sedan and a two-door phaeton (convertible sedan). However, only one or two prototypes of the phaeton were ever built.

From cowl back the production cars were virtually the same as Cord Westchester sedan. The attractive front end of the prototype was redesigned by John Tjaarda, known for i.e. the futuristic prototype for the Lincoln Zephyr. In 1939 Hupmobile build 4 (5?) hand-made prototypes to display them at different automobile shows. The same year the dies were brought to Hayes Body Corp., which stamped out a trial run of bodies for 30 cars.

Later, Graham agreed to start production of the bodies for Hupmobile, provided they could build their own version of the car. However, because of the extreme complexity of the Cord dies it took Graham nine month to start production (May 1940), when most of the advanced orders have already been cancelled. In fact, only the top for the Cord sedan was comprised of seven metal pieces, and it doubted that a large volume production was possible at all.

The production four-door sedans were called Hupmobile Skylark and Graham Hollywood respectively. Both companies used their own engines. Graham had a supercharged version of their engine and built five times more cars than Hupmobile. The major exterior difference between the two cars was the grill: a one-piece painted for Hupmobile, and a two-piece plated for Graham. In October 1940, just after the start of the model year 1941, Hupmobile gave up car production. Graham in turn seized car production in November 1941.

Total 1940-41 Hupmobile Skylark production: 319.
Total 1940-41 Graham Hollywood production: 1859 or 1597, according to other sources.

Specifications:
Model: Hupmobile Skylark Graham Hollywood Graham Hollywood
supercharged 		Graham Hollywood Graham Hollywood
supercharged
Year: 1939 - 41 1940 1940 1941 1941
Engine
Type: Inline, six cylinders Inline, six cylinders Inline, six cylinders Inline, six cylinders Inline, six cylinders
Bore and stroke: 3.50 in x 4.25 in 3.25 in x 4.38 in 3.25 in x 4.38 in 3.25 in x 4.38 in 3.25 in x 4.38 in
Displacement: 245 c.i. 217.8 c.i. 217.8 c.i. 217.8 c.i. 217.8 c.i.
Maximum power: 101 bhp 93 bhp 120 bhp 94 bhp 124 bhp
Weight: 3.000 lbs. 2.915 lbs. 2.965 lbs. (4d. sdn.)
3.075 lbs. (conv. cpe.)? 		2.915 lbs. 2.965 lbs.

Detailed Specifications:
Model: Graham Hollywood
supercharged
Year: 1941
Engine
Type: Inline, six cylinders
Construction: Cast-iron block and alloy head
Valve gear: Two inline side valves per cylinder operated by a single block-mounted camshaft and solid valve lifters
Bore and stroke: 3.25 in x 4.38 in
Displacement: 217.8 c.i.
Compression ratio: 7.1:1
Induction system: Single Carter carburetor with Graham supercharger
Maximum power: 124 bhp at 4000 rpm
Maximum torque: 185 lb-ft at 2400 rpm
Top speed 89 mph
Acceleration 0-60 mph 14.6 sec.
Transmission: Three-speed manual
Body / chassis: Separate box-section steel frame with four-door sedan body
Running gear
Steering: Worm-and-roller
Front suspension: Beam axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs and telescopic shock absorbers
Rear suspension: Live axle with semi-elliptic leaf springs and telescopic shock absorbers
Brakes: Drums (front and rear)
Wheels: Dressed steel discs, 5 x 16 in. dia.
Tires: Bias-ply, 6.00 x 16
Dimensions:
Length: 190.5 in.
Width: 71.0 in.
Height: 60.5 in.
Wheelbase: 115.0 in.
Track: 57.5 in. (front), 61.0 in. (rear)
Weight: 3.240 lbs. (?)
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