AUBURN Speedsters.com

I was originally contacted by Rowe Cavelli, the son of the Senior Rowe Cavelli, with a photo of a model Auburn Speedster that his father had built. I love models, especially those of the 851 / 852 Speedsters. Rowe Jr's. photo's immediately grabbed my attention, the Speedster in the photo's was very detailed for a model of the Hand Built variety. Until I started corresponding with him I did not realize just how large the model was. I ask for some more photo's and background regarding this wonderful piece. Rowe Junior had his Dad contact us and this is what Mr. Cavelli had to say...

I have always loved the 1930's era of automobile design. After graduation from High school I went to Art Center School here in Los Angeles for 6 semesters studying automobile design. Decided I didn't want to live in Detroit which is where the design studios were in the 50s. I went to work at Lockheed as a model builder, from desk top models to full size. I worked there 30 years. After retiring in '96, I, along with 2 other workers, built full scale airplanes for the movies. An F15 for the movie Air Force One, and an F22 for the Incredible Hulk. I needed another project so I decided to make the Auburn. As close as I can figure there is between 800 and 900 hours in it. The body is wood, the fenders are foam covered with fiberglass. I'm not sure of the scale, I made everything to fit the 10" wheels. The only items that were purchased were the wheels and tires, the head lights and the lens on the tail lights. Everything else is hand made out of wood, even the seat upholstery. The bumpers are aluminum hand formed. I tried to stay as close to a real '35 Auburn as I could using the internet to supply pictures and information. I searched the internet for the meaning of the 851 on the grill but could not find a meaning for it. I believe that 8 represents the number cylinders... 5 for year 1935.... 1 being the first year of the Supercharged offering

Rowe Junior followed up with a little more information regarding the his fathers Auburn. The overall length is 72" and after taking a few more measurements he determined that it's dimensions overall are very proportional

Thanks Rowe for sharing your Dad's Auburn with us. He is an Artist and a Craftsman