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17/04/2020 12:03 pm
Minimarque 43 Tom Mix 1937 Cord SC Phaeton
Richard Briggs, proprietor of Minimarque 43, liked to produce models once owned by celebrities.
One such car, is the Tom Mix 1937 Cord Supercharged Phaeton. Mix was one of the best known cowboy stars of the silent film era. He made a grand total of 291 motion pictures, and was known as King of the Cowboys. He was born in 1880 in Penna. He had a ranch in Arizona, and while traveling near Florence, Arizona at a high rate of speed, he came upon construction barriers. and a washed out bridge. He slammed on the brakes and flipped the car landing in a ditch. A heavy metal trunk rested in the back seat of the car. It flew forward and hit him, breaking his neck. He had been married 5 times and was 60 years old, when he died.
The accident happened on October 12, 1940.
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As you can see, Mix was flamboyant, adding a number of accessories to his car.
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The car has been restored and resides in Arizona today.
17/04/2020 12:06 pm
I like your cars and the stories
17/04/2020 12:54 pm
+1.
17/04/2020 12:58 pm
This must be an early version. Mine is from 2012, one of 90 made.
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Simulated cowhide splash panel on rear fender
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Covered spare tire. You can just see a six-shooter hanging below the dash.
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Dutch auto club badges that Mix admired.
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The letters MIX on the steering wheel and correct license.
17/04/2020 3:00 pm
Tom Mix 1937 Cord
Harvey, my car is much older. I've had it for at least 25 years, if not more. It is the first run of this model, and is numbered 12 of 250.
Your car is definitely the restored car, as it appears today. I believe mine is as it was when the accident occurred. From my research, not a lot to go on, the car had no tire cover back in the 1930s. It also had a Black leather interior. The rear fender scuff plates were chrome. I have generic license plates. So there is a difference between the two models.
Original as in 1940 and restored, as of today.
That's my story.
17/04/2020 4:10 pm
Tom Mix Cord
Ray - thanks for sharing the story. Ironically, I was just in Arizona visiting friends in February (just before the coronavirus broke). I had heard about the Tom Mix Cord on this Forum some years ago (I think from Dick Browne, actually), but had forgotten the story.
My wife and I were driving from Tucson to Phoenix, via the "backgrounds" - through Florence, Arizona - when suddenly I saw a sign for the "Tom Mix Wash", followed immediately by another sign for the "Tom Mix Monument". I told Betty, we HAVE to stop and check this out.
Turns out, we were at the spot of the crash (the "Tom Mix Wash"), and a monument had been erected as a memorial to him (there were newspaper articles, etc. about the accident spread on a table nearby). Have no idea who staffs this location, but it was actually rather impressive - believe it or not, out on a lonely two lane road in the middle of nowhere. Here are two pictures I took (appears one is posted sideways - if any of you picture posting experts can fix it - have at it - I couldn't!)
Was tempted to bid on Dick Browne's Tom Mix Cord when it came up for auction in March, but passed. Maybe I'll get it one of these days.......
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Skip Johnson
Tonawanda, New York
17/04/2020 4:15 pm
Another vaguely Tom Mix memory.
In college I took a computer programming course. One of the earliest languages was "MIX". My "manual" was a xeroxed copy with huge staples binding it, but on the cover was a blurred photo of Tom Mix. As old as I am, I had never heard of him until then.
17/04/2020 5:59 pm
Harv..... Are you telling us that they had computers way back then??? LOL
17/04/2020 7:11 pm
Tom Mix monument
Skip. good story. You know, I just happened to be looking through models I had photographed for one reason or another, I have quite a few Cords, and I picked the Tom Mix car to photograph. Cord 810 and 812 are favorite cars, always have been since I saw my first one in the late 1940's. That's another story.
I did not know that just about all of the Tom Mix movies were silent films, but when you think about it, he was 60 in 1940, and the first talkie was in 1929(I believe, Al Jolson, the Jazz Singer), so he was already 49 years old, and kind of rough to be fighting and riding horses in movies during the 1930s. He did ride, because he had the Tom Mix Circus in the '30s. I did not know that. You learn a lot, just posting some photos.
18/04/2020 11:02 am
That was a great story too Skip!