The Amazing Story of a Twice Abandoned 1930 Cord L-29 Brougham! (8 photos)

Another very interesting barn find is a 1930 Cord L-29 Brougham. The Cord L-29 was introduced in 1929 and was intended to fill the price gap between the Auburn lineup and the top-of-the-line Duesenberg Model J. It was offered in just four body styles — sedan, brougham (with a removable rear end), phaeton, and convertible — with prices ranging from $3,095 to $3,295.





Under the hood was a 4.9-liter, 125-horsepower Lycoming inline-8 engine.

The L-29's layout was revolutionary for its time, featuring front-wheel drive.

The unconventional layout and rugged X-frame allowed for an incredibly dramatic design, with a long, elegant hood flowing smoothly into the body with a low roofline.



Production continued until 1931, with only 5,010 L-29s made. Today, an estimated 175 remain.

"This 1930 Cord L-29 Brougham is one of those 10. To be honest, we've known about it all along, but it was technically a barn find since few people had seen it for decades," says Sean Cody, the car's current owner.

As far as we know, the car was purchased new by a couple from an Iowa dealer in 1930. However, they didn't keep it for very long.





Apparently, the couple decided it would be a good idea to drive it from their Midwestern home to Florida a year later, but as they approached Mayfield, Kentucky, the car broke down and was towed to J.T. Hail Cadillac.

Parts for the Cord were hard to come by, so after a day or two of inspecting the L-29, the dealership mechanics told the owners they couldn't fix it. The couple then traded it in for a new Cadillac and continued on their journey.

Unable to fix the engine, the mechanics towed the car to the back of the dealership lot, where it was soon spotted by local resident Galen Hargrove.



Though his formal education ended in the fourth grade, Galen earned a reputation as a jack-of-all-trades, able to fix just about anything he touched. The dealership eventually sold him the car for between $25 and $60.

It took Galen just 90 minutes to get the Brougham up and running and drive it home.

The new owner later replaced the factory Schebler carburetor with dual Ford Model A carbs mounted on a custom cast aluminum manifold. Galen told people it gave him an extra 8 horsepower.



Galen used the L-29 until 1939, when he parked it in a tobacco barn on his farm in Farmington, Kentucky, next to his private airstrip.

During World War II, Galen served as a military aircraft repair instructor away from home. While the property was unattended, someone broke into the barn and stole the two spare tires from the front fenders.

After the war, the Cord was stored in Galen's barn until 1975. That's when another local man, Howard Brandon, bought the car and everything stored on the property.



Howard had a penchant for collecting low-mileage cars. It didn't matter if it was an Oldsmobile or a Cadillac. If he found something he liked, he'd buy it and put it in his barn.

When Howard saw the Cord, the odometer showed 53,000 miles (85 thousand kilometers), but it is likely that the odometer was off the charts, considering how much Galen had driven the car.

Howard bought it anyway, but he didn't restore it. He simply moved it from one barn to another, and that was it. He may have had the intention of getting the L-29 back on the road, because he bought a complete set of hubs, drums, and wheels for the car.



Instead, the car sat unused with a whole bunch of other cars until one day it occurred to Howard that he was getting old and none of his kids wanted cars. So he decided to sell the entire collection at auction in August 2007.

“When I saw the L-29 up for auction, it caught my eye. I’ve always loved the car, aesthetically and mechanically. They flipped the straight-8 180 degrees and put the transmission in front of it, giving the L-29 a long, elegant hood line. I like it better than most classic cars. I called the auctioneer, asked about its condition, signed up as a bidder, and bought it without even seeing it.”

Howard pulled the Cord out of the barn himself with his old tractor. The car was then loaded onto a tow truck and shipped to its new home. But the best part is that the restoration process began immediately!