I recently finished up the series on cars I found at the Arizona auctions from 1903-1939, where there was an unusually deep inventory of these amazing early cars that one doesn’t often see. In the articles, in the interest of space I showed just exteriors and sometimes engines, not meaning at all to shortchange the interiors, which can be equally alluring.
I still have a desire to share some of the beautiful interiors, which gave me the idea to pick a number of dashes seen in Arizona not only of the pre-war era, but up through the 70’s, sequentially, illustrating how passenger-facing portions of cars changed over the decades. It’s basically a transparent excuse to indulge in looking at a bunch of sweet interiors. That’s OK, right?
I haven’t included any exterior context shots even though some are not cars I profiled earlier. Click on car titles to see the auction site photos of the cars if you desire. Today will cover the pre-war period, saving post-war delights for Part 2.
1903 Oldsmobile Model R Runabout ($45k). The oldest car this year is worth looking at because it doesn’t have any kind of dashboard at all, despite being called the Curved Dash Olds. In this earliest iteration of popular auto, no instrumentation, switches, or even windshield was needed.
1911 REO Thirty Touring ($44k). Cars were developing very quickly and while still very minimal to modern eyes, there at least is a rudimentary dashboard, a couple gauges (speedo/odo and clock), and a windshield. The seats look pretty inviting!
1916 Pierce-Arrow Model 48-B-2 Touring ($156k). More advancement, more gauges in this high-end Pierce. There’s even a bit of style with glove box doors curving to match the curve of the top edge of the dash and it’s probably not an accident that the instrumentation has an aviatic feel to it.
1917 Cadillac Type 55 Victoria ($44k). I did show this interior in the other article, pointing out the obsolete and unique seating arrangement. What is also notable is that at this point, Cadillac, not the very-most-expensive but still with a well-trimmed interior, has an extremely utilitarian dash with almost no style or frill.
1921 Mercer Series 5 Sporting ($50k). It’s not exactly styled, but the attractive wood panel has an appealing look. Gauge placement leaves some room for improvement with the dead center on the steering column spot given to the battery amps and the speedometer way to the right past the clock. Perhaps the passenger was supposed to monitor speed?
That steering wheel looks specially designed for maximum chest penetration in an accident!
1927 Cadillac V8 Sport Phaeton ($91k). Cadillac’s sense of dash style has finally developed in the Twenties. The ornate wood panel looks lifted from a piece of fine furniture and has the Cadillac coat of arms embossed in its center.
1930 Cadillac V-16 All-Weather Phaeton ($235k). By 1930, Cadillac’s dash became downright sporty, dropping wood in favor of engine-turned metal across the expanse and a fine lattice pattern around the gauges.
1930 Packard 740 Custom Eight Sport Phaeton ($114k). Packard brochures vaguely describe the instrument panel as “woodgrained”. I’m not sure because I couldn’t touch it, but I don’t think Packard used real wood here. It’s surprising to me that fake wood would show up this early.
1932 Lincoln Model KB Dual-Cowl Sport Phaeton ($151k). This Lincoln eschewed any wood or wood-look, with a high-gloss black panel with engine-turned oval instrument pod. Simple and attractive.
1934 Packard 1108 Twelve Sport Sedan ($291k). Plenty of wood paneling in the top-of-the-line Packard. The gauge cluster looks a lot richer than just a few years earlier and still follows the convention of bilateral glove boxes. It looks to me like there is a radio integrated into the dash.
1935 Auburn Eight Custom Speedster (no sale). Auburn deployed a much more modern style dash with primary gauges directly in front of the driver. Seems to me with minor tweaks, this dash wouldn’t look out of place on a car in the Sixties.
1936 Packard 1407 Twelve Five-Passenger Coupe ($95k). Packard’s 1936 dash is conventional and pretty with a line of gauges over a dark (probably not real) woodgrain panel. Trim over the top of the dash and around windows does look like real wood.
1937 Cord 812 Supercharged Sportsman Cabriolet ($489k). I think Cord had one of the most appealing and unique dashes of the era. It takes symmetry to the extreme, and doesn’t skimp on large, legible instrumentation. The cutout for the steering column is even matched on the right side. Cranks on the far edges of the dash are for the retractable headlights.
1937 Chrysler Airflow Eight Sedan ($33k). The Airflow may be the most Art Deco mainstream car of the 30s and the dash well reflects that, especially the gauges. The dash design has typical period priority placed on symmetry. Dash cranks are for the tilt-opening windshield for excellent ventilation in the pre-AC era.
The speedometer is worth a closer look. It’s a triple dial job with speedometer and separate tachometers, one for high gear, one for overdrive, all in a cool 1930s-appropriate font.
1937 Ford Deluxe Club Cabriolet ($55k). Entry-level cars were developing aesthetically enhanced dashes, the 1937 Ford featuring painted woodgrain for the first time. They were ahead of many expensive cars in putting gauges directly in front of the driver.
1939 Lincoln-Zephyr Three-Window Coupe ($77k). From 1937-39, the Lincoln Zephyr featured one big dial in the center of the dash containing all the standard gauges (no tach). I’ll call that the Cyclops dash and it’s kind of the ultimate in obsessively symmetrical dash design.
1941 Packard Custom Super 8 180 Convertible Victoria ($236k). The early Forties saw the first extensive use of plastic on dashboards. It probably seemed really modern at the time, I don’t think it helped this Packard to age well. Bidders didn’t seem to mind.
Come back tomorrow when we’ll look as more great dashboards take off at jet speed in the postwar period!
I like the starting instructions affixed to the 1941 Packard, particularly the part where it tells you to turn off the (I assume axillary electric) fuel pump once it starts. I conclude this because the car would not keep running if you turned off its stock pump.
But $236,000! I will pass on owning one, ever.
Starting instructions are something you see a lot at auctions, they can get pretty detailed! Most 41 Packards wouldn’t be this expensive, it’s just because this is a special model with custom a custom body.
Beautiful, colorful interiors. Today’s manufacturers seem to have gone back to Henry Ford’s idea: “You can have any color you want, as long as it’s black.” It’s one of my pet peeves. Black hard to keep clean, and it’s always hot.
Spectacular work Jon, thank you. Just gorgeous workmanship, and elegance.
Thank you. I agree!
Symetrical dashboards had the advantage of being easy to build right or left hand drive without looking wrong, some of those are very ornate, and of course mechanical gauges are always nice to see.
I could look at dashes from this era all day long. ACD had some of the most beautiful IPs in the industry. That Cord panel has always been a favorite, and the one from a Dusenberg J is just fabulous. I look forward to the next installment!
I wish there had been a Duesie there!
Thanks for the tour, Jon. Great stuff. I’m looking forward to the next installment as well.
I like your comment regarding the 1916 Pierce-Arrow, “it’s probably not an accident that the instrumentation has an aviatic feel to it.”
That instrument cluster would look right at home in a Curtis Jenny or a Steerman. In fact, it mimics the typical “Big-Six” arrangement of an older Cessna 172 (just before they went all digital).
With its elliptical instrument surround, that ’32 Lincoln looks as though it’s previewing the ’96 Taurus with its “Oval” themes. LOL.
“That instrument cluster would look right at home in a Curtis Jenny or a Steerman. In fact, it mimics the typical “Big-Six” arrangement of an older Cessna 172 (just before they went all digital).”
That was my thought, replace the steering wheel with a control stick and it would look totally appropriate for a cockpit.
Thanks for this! Usually, when I see cars of this era, they’re roped off to the point where it’s tough to admire the interior. I agree with JPC above that I could look at dashes from the ’20s and ’30s all day long.
It’s impossible to pick a favorite from this collection, but one that stands out to me is the 1932 Lincoln with the oval instrument cluster – it’s distinctive in many respects.
Plastic was indeed considered a luxury item in the Thirties and early Forties. Not only was it easily formed, it was lightweight and could be made in a variety of colors. Bakelite, the commonest and I guess the cheapest, was fairly dull looking, but there were others such as Catalin, that had an amazing jewel-like appearance. You may have seen the ivory colored Tenite steering wheels on Buicks, for instance, or the clear Lucite knobs on Chryslers.
Today we automatically think plastic=cheap but that wasn’t the mindset for a decade or so.
Thanks for the added details. What type would you say the 41 Packard at the end has?
Jon, did you receive my email? Please contact me.