Just got back from the estate sale of Mike and Rosalie Larson in Vancouver Washington. A lot of Durant parts still there. Myself, Phil Peters, Mike and Bert Babick were there scouring through the treasure trove. Bert got quite a bit and I got some trinket items. The problem is that the rest is going to scrap. There is a 1930 6-14 deluxe sedan that has many good parts left on it and could probably still be restored if were a visionary. But it still had the drivetrain(but really rough looking from the outside). But it will go to be made into new Hyundai(s) soon! The parts are going for sale to the general public next weekend(along with the collectibles from the house--huge amount of stuff). So if anyone is interested you better get on it.
Alot of late model durant parts there. My dad and I picked up almost all devaux parts. Dont know much on late model durants but, I wish i knew which model became the devaux. I guess i find out when i get home. Will be returning soon
Where Are You From? Calif
Do You own a car built by Durant? Flint,locomobile and durant
Think you are going to find very little De Vaux is Durant. Had its own body, own engine, lights etc Where that notion came from that De Vaux used up defunct Durant body's ??? Durant wasn't defunct as we know and being made after 1930. The interchange books good majority of parts are De Vaux only or other makes. I'm told in a pinch the 22A head will fit the 40A.
Carb J2A or J2B We used W8A or U2, the 619 used J5A, Can used W8A U2 but also J4A (mine)J6A and J7A. De Vaux Stabilite lights, Durant Glolite, Depress Beam. Twilite on the 617. And so on.
What I did come across was De Vaux handles were used by 1930 Peerless and US Austin. Halls 40A engine somewhat patterned after the 22A and all cast 1931 got used in the 1932 680 De Vaux with Hall name ground off. 1933 Ace has the same blocks / heads with Hall ground off but engine plate has 41A on it, the castings have 40A with 1931 date. That was another myth that got shot down that the 1932 De Vaux had a different Conny engine. Just like the myth all Ace's US / Can are model 81 with Hayes body plates 181 xxxx and vins go up accordingly. That's what vin books have. Now try again the Fronty Ace is model 91 with Hayes plates 191 xxxx and vins start at 91-1001. Once we got info off a Fronty Ace and it had the head 5-5-31 / block 4-27-31 40A with Hall ground off, plus the Hayes 191 vin plate 91 that tossed that myth right out the window. There was a rusty Ace on eBay in the US but looking more into it the Hayes plate had 191 so another Fronty Ace and yes the 40A with Hall ground off.
Where Are You From? Ottawa Ont Canada
Do You own a car built by Durant? 1932 614 sedan made by Dominion Motors
Hello norm
The 31 and 32 devaux had the same motor like you say except the I have as well as the extra 32 engine has the hall ground off while my 31 has the hall on it also if memory serves me right the later Massey Ferguson tractor used the same continental motor but was rebadged as something different,I know the complete gasket set works except the head gasket works but is for a larger bore,sorry I don’t know off the top of my head what the engine was rebadged as but I can look back thru my notes,I do know body wise 31 devaux is completely different from 32,32 although still being a Hayes body was shared with other cars with minor changes
Yes the 675 and 680 are completely different bodies. The 680 De Vaux, 685 Frontenac, 633 Durant share the same body fenders, dash etc. Of course names different and the engines were 32A in the 685 / 633. The rad / shell on the 633 is E 680 Frontenac. Reo and Franklin have very close bodies to the our three models.
It would be interesting to get Hayes body numbers to confirm how close. The 675 De Vaux has body numbers 150's range. The 680 with so few surviving we have standard sedan 166, custom coupe 170, custom convertible coupe 168. Now look at this 1932 Reo RS coupe 163. Its in the same ball park.
In Coachbuilt site under one of the Hayes Co's
In 1930 Hayes signed a three-year contract to build bodies for the American Austin/Bantam that were designed by deSakhnoffsky, and later made a deal to supply bodies for the 1931-32 De Vaux. Although DeVaux advertisements stated that deSakhnoffsky had designed the cars coachwork, in reality the bodies he designed weren’t actually used.
(This probably accounts for the 1930 Peerless and American Austin having same door handles as the De Vaux)
In fact the De Vaux was built in a leased portion of Hayes huge Grand Rapids plant, and the bodies were transported across a second floor bridge that ran over the street that separated the two buildings. De Vaux’s successor, Continental, continued to utilize various leftover Hayes-built bodies.
In the early Depression era, many manufacturers shared bodies to help reduce. The Peerless Custom Eight and Marmon Big Eight shared the same Hayes-built body between 1930 and 1932, and the 1932 Marmon 8-125, 1932-34 Reo Flying Cloud 6S and 1933-34 Franklin Olympic shared a different Hayes design. Automobile customers rarely compared the actual bodies, and addressed their attention to a vehicle’s front end, which could be easily disguised using a different grill or front fenders. General Motors started doing it at the same time, and the practice continues today.
Where Are You From? Ottawa Ont Canada
Do You own a car built by Durant? 1932 614 sedan made by Dominion Motors
An interesting tidbit that I found when replacing the wood top rails in my '32 DeVaux was that they were double notched for the 5 top bows, my thoughts were that Hayes repurposed leftover rails from the '31 DeVaux to accomidate the '32 DeVaux having the sloped windshield and evidently a different bow spacement ?
Oops my blunder it should read 633 used E 670 Frontenac rad / shell, not 680.
Might well have Bill. Just like using up the over produced 1931 40A's in 1932 and 1933. Remember De Vaux ordered 8000 bodies from Hayes March 24 1931 and only 1001 - 5609 675's made. That's 3400 extra bodies or perhaps wood for turned out and ready for.
Oh to have a time machine to go back and answer so many questions on our vehicles.
Where Are You From? Ottawa Ont Canada
Do You own a car built by Durant? 1932 614 sedan made by Dominion Motors
I went back to Mike Larsen's Durant stash yesterday and helped members Jim and Adam Colbert load up the 1930 6-14 parts car(6 wheel deluxe sedan) for it's trip back to eastern Washington. So this will not be crushed! Someone else bought the loose parts last weekend and they may end up on ebay.A classic car dealer here in Portland (Charvet's Classic cars), will be listing Mike's cars on ebay.I think that will be a 6-12 business coupe(looks like driver quality),the prize winning 6-17 coupe that Mike's wife Rosalie had restored after his passing (reportedly for in excess of $100,000), and some other classics.Keep your eyes peeled.