1941 Graham Hollywood joins ACD Museum permanent collection

A spectacular and rare, supercharged 1941 Graham Hollywood has been given a permanent home at the prestigious Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum in Auburn, Ind.

Ken and Stephanie Dunsire, Fort Wayne, Ind., donated the beautiful and significantly historic Graham automobile. This fine example of a fully restored 1941 six-cylinder Graham Hollywood, scored 396 out of 400 possible points at the Antique Automobile Club of America meet in Hershey, Pa. It also won a first place at the Antique Automobile Club of America Grand National meet. This Graham Hollywood carries with it a sense of romance and history for the Dunsires and evolution for the Auburn Automobile Company.

A passion for Graham automobiles began for Ken Dunsire at the tender age of 9. When his father served in the Canadian Airforce during WWII, Ken lived in Vancouver, Canada, with his grandfather, who owned a 1937 Graham Sedan. After the war, Ken’s father purchased a 1935 Graham Sedan and, in 1949, Ken purchased his first Graham, a 1940 Graham Sharknose. Later in the U.S., Ken and his wife, Stephanie, wanted to find a Graham Hollywood worthy of a ground-up restoration. Ken had seen the Graham Hollywood they would eventually purchase in Harrah’s Auto Collection in Reno, Nev.

Over the years, the Dunsires have collected several significant Grahams and have been instrumental in making the public aware of Graham automobiles and their significance in history. The Dunsires continue to bring awareness to Graham automobiles by donating this Graham Hollywood to the museum.

The Graham Hollywood is particularly significant to connecting the dots of the Auburn Automobile Company’s automotive history and the evolution of automobile design. The Auburn Automobile Company manufactured Cord automobiles and the Graham Hollywood is a direct descendant of the notable Cord 810/812 design. In 1937, when the Auburn Automobile Company went out of business, another automobile manufacturer, Hupmobile of Detroit purchased the dies, jigs and tools used to manufacture the front-drive 810/812 Cord and converted them for use in a rear-drive Hupmobile. Struggling financially, Hupmobile soon granted the right to use the Cord dies to Graham of Dearborn, Michigan, for a similar car of its own, the Graham Hollywood.

The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum is housed in the former international headquarters building of the Auburn Automobile Company making this Graham Hollywood particularly significant to its collection.

"With the support of donors, like Ken and Stephanie Dunsire, the Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum is able to connect the fascinating history of this nation’s early automotive manufacturers,” said museum executive director Laura Brinkman. “Museum visitors enjoy stepping back in time and experiencing history in the actual location where it took place.”

The Auburn Cord Duesenberg Automobile Museum is located in the original 1930s national headquarters of the legendary Auburn Automobile Company and is a National Historic Landmark. Admission is charged, with group and family rates available. The museum is open daily from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. year-round.

Visit www.automobilemuseum.org.

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