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Hearts of iron 5 sale4/7/2023 ![]() It has enjoyed continuous care and attention from its enthusiast owner along with careful use and enjoyment on tours and events. The car has been maintained in ready to drive touring condition, and is a pleasure to drive. Nothing else is known of the car's early history, however, not surprisingly given the quality of the automobile and its comprehensive restoration, it is a 1984 AACA prize winner. DeAngelis purchased the car from a Greenwich, CT collector who told him he purchased it at an auction in Rochester, NY in the 1950's. The current owner acquired the car from Ralph DeAngelis of Stamford, CT, who restored the car after he acquired it in the late 1970's. The cream-colored centerlock wire wheels are an unusual and distinctive feature which complement the coachwork Finished in a green/blue hue throughout, the interior is beautifully upholstered in black leather and features a remarkable complement of leather compartments on the rear doors and behind the front seat to hold side curtains, robes and other accoutrements of touring. This splendid example of the Cunningham V-1 has received a thorough, sympathetic older restoration that presents today in exceptionally well-preserved condition. Legend has it that in the Series V's early years the marker lenses were cut from the bottoms of imported liquor bottles, a source which literally dried up with passage of the Volstead Act and Prohibition. ![]() Cunningham's are unique, being faired into the fender top itself, not mounted separately, in contrast to the large nickel-plated drum headlights set low between the radiator and fenders. Particularly notable on this example is the rakish profile of the rear of the tonneau and the sharply raked rear-mounted spare tucked under it that mirrors the rake of the windshield.Ĭunningham was one of the first coachbuilders to abandon cowl lights and replace them with markers atop the front fenders. The Cunningham-designed and built coachwork is exceptional, particularly for its period, with a rounded radiator shell, sloping front fenders, a sleekly raked opening windshield and a continuous break molding from the curve of the radiator shell straight back through the tonneau and around the rear. Contracting band mechanical brakes on the rear wheels are foot-operated in regular service while expanding shoes on the inside of the rear wheel drums are hand-operated for emergencies. The chassis employs semi-elliptical front springs and three-quarter elliptical rear springs with rebound snubbers. ![]() Electric starting was standard.Ī Brown-Lipe three-speed transmission is driven through a multi disc dry clutch from the same supplier, then shaft drive to the spiral bevel drive, fully floating rear axle. Lacey left little to chance in designing the Cunningham V-8 for reliability, incorporating full pressure lubrication and pumped cooling for the large cellular radiator. ![]() Its two cast iron side valve four cylinder blocks are mounted at a 90° included angle on a cast aluminum crankcase with three main bearings. Its 3¾" x 5" bore and stroke dimensions gives it 442 cubic inches displacement and a rating of exactly 45 horsepower on the NACC formula. Designed by Volney Lacey and introduced the year before, 1916, it is as sophisticated as any engine built for road use in the United States or Europe at the time. Priced at some $3,750, this 1917 Cunningham Series V-1 Four-Passenger Touring car is the finest example of its type that money could buy in the United States in 1917.Įvery important component was built in Cunningham's large six-story factory complex in Rochester, New York and the company, famed as coachbuilder to the upper class since the nineteenth century, designed and built all its own coachwork.Īt the heart of the Cunningham is its proprietary V-8 engine. ![]()
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