Nick Dunkavich's 1940 Hupmobile

Nick's Hupmobile as it appeared in the souvenir program from the 1956 Hartford Autorama.

Nick's Hupmobile as it appeared in the souvenir program from the 1959 Hot Rod & Custom Car World's Fair.

The engine in Ed's Hupmobile as it sat before he removed and rebuilt it. Photo courtesy of Ed Moore.

Photo courtesy of Ed Moore.

The car as it sat while the engine was rebuilt. Photo courtesy of Ed Moore.

The Hupmobile out of storage. Photo courtesy of Ed Moore.

Photo courtesy of Ed Moore.

Photo courtesy of Ed Moore.

Photo courtesy of Ed Moore.

Photo courtesy of Ed Moore.

Photo courtesy of Ed Moore.

1940 Hupmobile roadster owned and restyled by Nick Dunkavich of Nick's Auto Body in Meriden, Connecticut in the early 1950s. Originally a "Skylark" sedan, Nick converted the car into a sports roadster through hand-formed side panels and a 1949 Dodge roadster trunk lid. The stock bumpers were replaced by 1940 Plymouth bumpers. In 1956 a red version of the car was shown at the 6th annual Hartford Autorama. This version featured a rebuilt 101 hp Hupmobile engine good for more than 100 mph.

In 1959 the roadster was shown at the Hot Rod & Custom Car World's Fair in West Springfield, Massachusetts. By then the car had been painted "Aztec Gold", and the Hupmobile engine had been replaced by a 1948 Mercury 3/4 race engine. The engine was stroked and bored 3-3/8", and fit with Edmund heads and an Offenhauser manifold. According to the souvenir program from the show, the chassis on the car was also modified for better handling. The top, seats and dash were custom made. The dash featured Stewart-Warner gauges and a Thunderbird speedometer. The interior was upholstered in red and black. The hubcaps were 1953 Studebaker.

In the 1960s, Donald Moore of Bellingham, Massachusetts bought the car from Howard Baski, a dealer in Maynard, Massachusetts. Donald's son, Ed Moore, inherited the car in the 1960s. Ed put it in storage, and it sat like that until 2011. When Ed took the car out of storage he had to remove the engine and rebuild it. At the same time, he replaced the old three speed transmission with a five speed one. He also converted the car to 12 volts, installed new dash gauges, Lincoln Zephyr taillights and a new front seat. The new front seat tilts forward so Ed can have storage behind the seat.

Ed is currently looking for old photos of the Hupmobile from before his dad bought it. If you have anyone, feel free to mail them to Kustomrama at mail@kustomrama.com.