1933 Continental—3 Owners, 50,000 miles!

A gorgeous example of Art Moderne sculpture, the hood mascot for the 1933 Continental Flyer. The Continental's motto printed underneath this ornament states, "Powerful as the Nation." All photos in this post are clickable thumbnails and enlarge nicely.

Last October my friend Barry Wolk from Michigan, asked me if I would take a look at a car for him. It was located in nearby Deep River, Connecticut, and was a one family-owned 1933 automobile, a Continental Flyer sedan. What I found was not to be believed, outstanding in almost every way for a 77-year old manufactured item.

Now right off the bat, it's not a Lincoln Continental, it has no affiliation with Lincoln whatsoever. It was built by the Continental Motors Company, and was produced in Grand Rapids and Detroit, Michigan, in 1933 and 1934, The Continental was an offshoot of the DeVaux automobile, and was available in a 4-cylinder Beacon, a 6-cylinder Flyer and a slightly larger 6-cylinder Ace. Less than 4,500 were produced in those two years. The Flyer sedan I looked at in Deep River, which Barry bought shortly afterwards, has to be the best one in existence today. It was owned by one family from new, had been garaged and cared for by a very meticulous man, an engineer of sorts that kept the car in immaculate condition and spent years improving some of the mechanical parts, and was passed down to his equally fastidious and caring son in the 1960s. When Barry asked me to go take a look at it, he told me it was in good condition, but I had no idea it was going to look the way it did. It was truly a time warp. 

And since he has owned it, Barry has been bringing every single piece of it back to like-new, or better, condition. Barry is a collector of art and cars, and his "Continental Collection" includes Lincoln Continentals, a Continental Mark II convertible, a Mark III convertible, a mid-fifties Chris-Craft Continental motorboat, a '55 Porsche Continental cabriolet and now, this 1933 Continental Flyer sedan. For much more about Barry's collection, click here. For a piece of art I've created for Barry, click here.

Kit Foster, a renowned freelance writer in the automotive history world, has blogged about the '33-'34 Continental automobile before. For his piece on this car, click here. 

Hemmings Motor News' Daniel Strohl, has written about Continental Motors and the Continental cars, here. And for a bit more about the DeVaux automobile, the predecessor to this Continental, click here. 

Now, let's get to the good part, lol, the photos!  These were taken in Connecticut the day I saw the car. I sent these to Barry, and he made his decision. He writes that the car is REALLY shiny now, and the mechanicals have been given a thorough going over as well. Keep in mind this 77-year old car is almost all original, although the upholstery was redone at some time in the past.

The odometer shows just slightly more than 50,000 original miles! I've helped Barry with the typography to restore the center gauge, which is for gas level and engine temperature.

The famed Continental "Red Seal" engine, versions of which powered some of the most revered cars of the 1920s and '30s.

The original brochure.

For more photos of this outstanding automobile, click "Read More" and jump to the next page.