1936 Cord 810 Westchester Ray Extons Resto Rod Rarity
There are classic cars... and then there’s the Cord.
Ray Exton’s 1936 Cord 810 Westchester isn’t just a head-turner — it’s an icon, reborn with style, grit, and a whole lot of heart. It’s the kind of build that makes grown gearheads stop mid-sentence and whisper, “Is that a Cord?”
Yep. It is.
And not just any Cord — one of the most groundbreaking, jaw-dropping, ahead-of-its-time machines ever to roll off American soil. Designed by Gordon Buehrig and launched by the Auburn Automobile Company at the 1935 New York Auto Show, the 810 Cord landed like a UFO in a world of boxy sedans. It was that far ahead of the curve.
The car was all innovation and art deco attitude. From the hidden door hinges to the coffin-nosed hood and those massive flared fenders housing the first-ever disappearing headlights, the Cord wasn’t just a car — it was a revolution. Front-wheel drive, unibody construction, and that wild “Finger-Tip” electric shifter mounted on the column? Pure science fiction for 1936.
But for all its brilliance, the Cord had a short and rocky ride. High price tags, a tough economy, and mechanical quirks meant only around 3,000 were ever built. Of those, just 1,174 were 810s — and only 17 ever made it to South Africa.
Ray Exton remembers the first time he saw one — in a photo back in the 1950s. “It just stuck with me,” he says. “I knew I had to have one someday.” And he meant it.
After years of owning and wrenching on classics — a ’34 Chevy, a ’56 Bel Air, a Stingray, a ’48 Chevy pickup street rod, and a mean 1950 Hudson Pacemaker — that Cord dream still burned bright. Eventually, fate (and a few good friends) helped make it real.
Cue Mike Otto, owner of a stunning 1937 Cord Beverly and fellow Cord junkie. Through Mike, Ray met Ced Pearce — another legend in the South African Cord scene. Ced had a 1936 Westchester body sitting in a barn for over two decades. It needed work — a lot of work — but it was the real deal. The car that had haunted Ray for decades was finally his.
To fund the build, Ray sold his beloved Corvette Stingray. Then came the hunt for rare-as-hen’s-teeth Cord parts, most of them tracked down in the U.S. What followed was a full-blown resurrection, led by master craftsman Vic Hattingh — a man who knows how to make metal sing.
Ray and Vic decided to go resto-rod with the build — keep it real, keep it respectful, but make it drive like a dream. A Jaguar XJ6 donated its suspension and frame, paired with a 350 Chevy small-block and a TH350 auto transmission. The original Cord wheel pattern was welded onto Jag rims, and as much of the original hardware as possible was brought back to life — gauges, steering wheel, even the crank-operated headlight covers.
A replica gear stalk (props to Mike again), new woodwork inside, and a ring-polished stainless dash finished things off. The paint? BMW Mini Pepper White. The interior? Beige leather stitched to factory specs. Clean. Classic. Cord.
The result? A machine that rides smoother than most modern metal, but looks like it just drove off the floor of the 1935 Auto Show. At every car event, crowds gather. Cameras come out. People point and stare. And when they find out it’s one of only a handful left in the country — and that it drives — their minds are blown.
Ray’s Cord isn’t just a rare resto. It’s a love letter to the golden age of American innovation, brought back to life by a guy who never let the dream go
