Seldom is an automobile more closely linked with its original owner than this 1931 Chrysler and Dr. William F. Whelan. A respected Philadelphia ears, nose, and throat doctor, he served for years both in private practice and as an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School before his retirement in 1963. His success in business and life enabled him to drive a grand automobile, and he did just that, acquiring a new Chrysler CG Imperial Roadster with LeBaron coachwork.
Most men who bought a CG Imperial Roadster new simply drove it. For the first six years of his ownership, Dr. Whelan never left his alone, steadily evolving its appearance to suit his taste. According to a written recollection on file from the car’s second owner, Dr. Whelan’s vision involved chroming the front axle and removing leaves from the suspension to make the chassis sit lower; installation of a custom hood ornament and Sun tachometer; lowering of the seats; modification of the top well to allow the top to fold flush with the rear deck; and fitting a new dramatically raked and lowered V-windshield, believed to have been courtesy of R.C. Wall Manufacturing of Philadelphia, PA.
Some of this work seems to have been supported by ongoing improvements to Chrysler’s engineering, which Dr. Whelan admired. Chrysler Airflow taillights from 1934 were fitted, and according to this correspondence, the original powerplant was changed for a CW unit, which displaces the same 385 ci but produces 150 horsepower, for an additional 25 hp.
In 1952, following two decades of creativity, Dr. Whelan sold his prized Chrysler to Thomas Dickinson, then of New York, who had known the doctor while in his own medical school residency. It was shown that same year at the International Motor Sport Show at the Grand Central Palace in Manhattan, sporting fenders which by this time had been bobbed. The show’s organizers had invited several members of a newly formed organization, the Classic Car Club of America, to take part. Thus, this Chrysler has been taking part in CCCA events for the entirety of the club’s existence.
Mark Smith was utterly smitten with the Whelan Chrysler, and in 2001 secured the car for his collection, in a trade involving a closed Duesenberg — indicative of the esteem in which he held this car. It has remained in the collection now for another two decades and has been preserved in the same patinated condition.
Mr. Smith exhibited the Chrysler on rare occasions, including in 2004 at the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance, earning a trophy for the Most Significant Chrysler Product, and as an entrant in the Prewar Preservation class at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in 2007 and 2021.
SCM Analysis
Detailing
| Vehicle: | 1932 Chrysler Imperial Series CG |
| Years Produced: | 1931–32 |
| Number Produced: | 129 |
| Tune Up Cost: | $600 |
| Chassis Number Location: | Right front door post |
| Engine Number Location: | Top of timing gear cover |
| Club Info: | Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) |
| Website: | http://www.classiccarclub.org |
| Alternatives: | 1930–35 Cadillac Series 452 V16 Roadster, 1929-1936 Duesenberg J roadster, 1934–39 Mercedes-Benz 500K/540K Roadster |
This car, Lot 27, sold for $1,600,000, including buyer’s premium, at Gooding & Company’s Estate of Mark Smith Auction on April 7, 2023.
In August 2021, I rode on the Pebble Beach Tour with Mark Smith in this very car. As we waited at the start, onlookers smiled, took photos, and commented favorably. The big Chrysler drew people like a magnet, even amidst so many shiny fresh restorations.
Mark was profoundly knowledgeable. You could ask him about a car that had sold decades ago and he would remember who’d bought it, and the price. Over the years, he bought and sold hundreds of incredible cars, along with an immense number of vintage signs and automobilia.
An American original
Mark favored original cars or older restorations. He was something of an original himself, with salt-and-pepper hair, a faded Pendleton wool shirt and a wry smile. He traded Ferraris in the bubble years, as well as collecting Duesenbergs, Rolls-Royces, Pierce-Arrows, Bentleys, Bugattis and supercharged Mercedes-Benzes. He especially favored Stutzes, Mercers, Locomobiles and Studebaker Presidents. One entire floor of his multi-level garage in Lynchburg, VA, was filled with Model T and Model A Fords. He never missed an AACA Hershey Eastern Fall Meet. Sadly, Mark suffered a stroke there in October 2022 and died shortly afterwards, hence Gooding & Company’s sale of his vast collection.
Most of Mark’s cars had a wonderful patina, including this rakish, LeBaron-bodied roadster. He owned it for 20 years; I once told him that if I could have anything in his collection, this would be the car. Many of its custom modifications, like the chopped split windscreen, snug canvas top and cutaway front fenders, were done in-period. However, the weathered black paint, faded plating and worn leather had that perfect patina that occurs over time when a car is simply left to age gracefully.
A sale for the ages
Nearly all the cars at the auction were stored in one of Mark’s buildings, in this case, on Concord Turnpike. Most hadn’t run in years. It rained during the preview. Sheets of rainwater leaked through the tin roof between the rows of cars. But the CG Imperial roadster and a well-weathered Mercedes-Benz 500K Offener Tourenwagen were displayed at the auction site in Mark’s old Midland Motors showroom. Fittingly, this was a former Chrysler dealership on Main Street in Lynchburg. There was an eager buzz about the Chrysler, the no-reserve auction’s undisputed star.
Spirited bidding, encouraged by Charlie Ross, Gooding’s effervescent British auctioneer, quickly reached the $1m mark. This eclipsed the price of a similar customized Chrysler CH Imperial, originally owned by vaudeville star Lincoln Perry, which Worldwide Auctioneers sold for $970,000 in 2022. Nobody was surprised here, although the question remained: How much higher would the bidding go?
The duelists
The two finalists were both serious players in the collector-car world — a Duesenberg collector from New Jersey was bidding against the owner of a mid-Atlantic museum of classics, race cars and hot rods. They were a contrast in style. One was hunched over like “The Thinker,” Auguste Rodin’s sculpture, while the other sat back with just the flick of a finger confirming his intentions. Auctioneer Ross painstakingly eked out bids in $50,000 increments. The pensive bidder paused between each of his responses while his challenger countered immediately. The suspense was palpable, with the crowd hushed at the intensity of the moment, everyone aware that the bidding was well past record territory.
At last, after several agonizing exchanges, the meditative one slowly shook his head. The other man smiled as the crowd burst into applause. Then the two gallantly shook hands.
The winning bidder was Ross Myers, owner of the 3 Dog Garage Museum, in Boyertown, PA. Hours after the sale, I asked him how high he had been prepared to bid. “I exceeded my limit,” he smiled. “But I really wanted that car.”
If you want the best
How do we explain a new record result, over $600,000 higher than the Lincoln Perry car?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but this example is particularly stunning. Its history and well-documented provenance, lovely patina and that exquisitely faded chopped canvas top and dramatic split-windscreen make it exceptional. Its superb mechanical condition means it can be enjoyed immediately. It is also rare — just one example in this configuration was built.
As one of a few special cars that were tastefully customized in-period, it is no wonder that it achieved such a record number at this sale. This is a reflection of a market that often values preservation above and beyond perfect restoration, and where uniqueness always demands top money. This car was certainly well sold, but the result is also a win for Myers, who now owns a truly peerless automobile. ♦
(Introductory description courtesy of Gooding & Company.)
