Aviation · United States · Former owner · not current ownership

Amelia Earhart

1937 Cord 812 Phaeton Convertible

The individual car1937 Cord 812 Phaeton ConvertibleIndividual 1937 Cord 812 Phaeton Convertible · VIN 1501H · NHVR no. 33 · restored after original body, frame and engine were reunited

A verified photograph of this individual car is still needed.

Amelia Earhart seated in the cockpit of an Electra in 1937.
Amelia Earhart1937 · Identification portraitAcme Newspictures · Public domain in the United States. Joyride serves the current 937 × 740 Commons JPEG byte-for-byte. No crop, resize, retouching or generation; a responsive frame may crop displayed edges. This identification portrait is separate from the Cord photograph gap.

A Cord whose pieces found one another again

Connection
Former owner · not current ownership
When
Acquired before September 20, 1936 · sold after Earhart disappeared in July 1937
Identity
Individual 1937 Cord 812 Phaeton Convertible · VIN 1501H · NHVR no. 33 · restored after original body, frame and engine were reunited

Amelia Earhart owned this individual Cord, but Joyride does not present it as a current-ownership story. The Hagerty Drivers Foundation identifies the 1937 Cord 812 Phaeton Convertible as VIN 1501H and National Historic Vehicle Register no. 33. Its record says Earhart acquired the car less than a year before her July 1937 disappearance; the JBS Collection dates a photograph of her with it to September 20, 1936. George Putnam sold the Cord afterward.

The survivor is not untouched from Earhart’s time. The register says the car was disassembled and its major components separated before collector Ray Foster reunited the original body, frame and engine in 2004. JBS later commissioned LaVine Restorations to return the Cord to its documented Palm Beach Tan and Deep Maroon presentation. Joyride therefore describes the current car as a restored reunion of documented original components, not as an unaltered 1937 time capsule.

The JBS Collection remains the documented current owner in records reviewed October 6, 2026. Its current exhibition notice places the Cord at Georgia’s Savoy Automobile Museum from August 4 through December 6, 2026. That recent custody evidence does not revive Earhart’s ownership. Modern photographs at the register, collection and museum-linked sources identify the exact car, but no located file grants Joyride reuse rights; the page keeps an explicit photo gap instead of substituting another Cord.

Documented custody

Where the car went next

  1. By September 20, 1936Earhart and the Cord

    JBS dates a photograph of Earhart with the light-colored Phaeton to September 20, 1936; the register says she acquired it less than a year before her disappearance.

  2. After July 1937Putnam sells the car

    Both the register and collection history say George Putnam sold the Cord after Earhart disappeared. Joyride does not extend her ownership beyond that sale.

  3. 2004Original components reunited

    Ray Foster reunited the car’s documented original body, frame and engine after the Cord had been disassembled and dispersed.

  4. 2018Restoration commissioned

    The National Historic Vehicle Register says the JBS Collection commissioned LaVine Restorations to begin the car’s restoration in 2018.

  5. August 4–December 6, 2026Savoy museum exhibition

    JBS’s current notice places the restored Cord in Savoy Automobile Museum’s National Treasures exhibition while identifying the JBS Collection as its owner.

Follow the evidence

Sources for this story

The Hagerty Drivers Foundation binds Earhart’s former ownership, VIN 1501H, NHVR no. 33 and the reunited original body, frame and engine to one individual car; JBS documents current collection ownership and its 2026 Savoy exhibition. JBS pages conflict on whether its acquisition occurred in 2018 or 2019, so Joyride does not state an acquisition year. No current Earhart ownership, untouched-original condition, complete Cord family coverage, exact Joyride catalog link, game compatibility or reusable actual-car photograph is claimed.

  • 1937 Cord 812 Phaeton ConvertibleHagerty Drivers Foundation · National Historic Vehicle Register · NHVR no. 33 · reviewed October 6, 2026 · external source

    Earhart’s ownership, VIN 1501H, post-disappearance sale, separation and 2004 reunion of the original body, frame and engine, restoration, specifications and current JBS Collection ownership.

  • 1937 Cord 812 Phaeton ConvertibleJBS Collection · Collection record · reviewed October 6, 2026 · external source

    The September 20, 1936 Earhart photograph date, post-disappearance sale, component reunion, restored colors, Pebble Beach result and current collection identity. Its stated 2019 acquisition year conflicts with another JBS page and is not adopted.

  • Earhart Cord at SavoyJBS Collection · Current exhibition notice · reviewed October 6, 2026 · external source

    Current JBS ownership, NHVR no. 33 and the August 4–December 6, 2026 Savoy Automobile Museum exhibition.

Reviewed