A 75¢ Hupmobile named Herby

When you’ve been in the historic car hobby long enough you’ll know the stories of missed opportunities, ‘ones that got away’ and near-purchases that wrack you with guilt to this day. If you haven’t, you will have heard other people's tales.

A car instead of a pint of milk

How about this one? The caption with this picture reads: “Mel, 15 years old, just bought a Hupmobile for 75¢ - 1944”. Yes, boys and girls: 75 cents. You could buy a pint of milk for that and use the change for a loaf of bread. Mel didn’t do that. He bought a Hupmobile that must have been about as old as he was himself at the time, even though it came without tyres and a windscreen.

It seems that our teenager was a real car nut as there are a few more photographs of him standing next to cars of different kinds. One of them shows the same Hupmobile in what looks to be a drivable condition. It mentions: “Melvin James Coolbaugh standing next to his first car, a 1929 Hupmobile. The name Herby is painted on the door. Mel paid 75 cents for this car. Mel is wearing his Civil Air Patrol uniform.”

The love of his life

Armed with that information, Melvin’s story is just a few clicks on the internet away. It turns out he passed away at the age of 91 in June 2020: “Mel was born on April 22nd, 1929, in Golden, Colorado to parents Frank and Evelyn Coolbaugh and grew up in the towns of Golden, Climax, and Leadville, Colorado, while his father worked in the mining industry. He had a great interest in all things mechanical, especially automobiles, as evidenced by rebuilding a car with spare parts as a teenager during WWII, at a time when functioning automobiles were hard to come by, especially for boys scarcely old enough to drive. He first met Carolyn, the girl that would become the love of his life, in the second grade, but they didn’t marry until he returned from military service in the Korean War.” He received a purple heart for his duties there.

Great story, great guy, it seems. How about you? Have you ever had the chance to buy a car for the price of a pint of milk? And did you do it?

(Words by Jeroen Booij, picture Golden History Museum & Park)

Published:

Monday October 24th, 2022

Terry Cockerell

30 October 2022, 23:47

75 cents for a 1929 Hupmobile ...................... what a rip off!
Back in 1964 when I was 13, I was given an extremely rare 1926 12 HP BEAN roadster.
To top that off when it was delivered to my home my father said "Whay did you bring that thing home ?............. They weren't any good when they were new! Talk about take the wind out of your sales.
He had forgotten about Frank Birtles epic trips in a 14 HP BEAN across Australia then from London to Australia in the same car.
The famous BEAN was called the Sundowner and still exists in the national museum collection in Canberra.
Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of my old 12 HP BEAN.

Roger Armstrong

30 October 2022, 12:00

My first "modern" car was a 1967 Saab 96 V4 sold to me for £5 because it had no tax or MOT and was going to be towed and scrapped. It was very rusty and dented but was a superb drive, with a freewheel making clutchless downward changes simple. The engine note was captivating and the outlay of £14 to replace a missing rear lamp cover was well rewarded when it scraped through the MOT. I drove that car for 29 years and spent money keeping it going. I only sold it due to the difficulty of getting spares because SAAB virtually redesigned the whole car in 1969, and I was offered a scrap 2CV for nothing. I am still driving the 2CV 21 years later so I am no stranger to minimal motoring.

John Bates

24 October 2022, 12:27

My first car, in 1959), a Morris 8 Tourer (series 1, 1936 model), cost £7.10s. Od. (£7.50) but the insurance was £11 and road tax £12.10s. 0d. (£12.50). While I owned this car I was given an Austin A40 Devon (1950 model). The Devon needed welding but was otherwise sound. I sold it for £5.

Larry Lewis

24 October 2022, 03:29

I"bought" a Citroen Light 15 that technically cost nothing for the car itself. I had to get it out of a barn in Quebec where it was marooned on the second floor. The ramp to the second floor had rotted away. The owner said that if I got it out of the barn it was mine for nothing. I paid to have a construction company build a ramp and extract the car. I restored it and drove it for several years and sold it to a man in California. I did not give it to him. It did cost more than a pint of milk but what the hell.

A 75¢ Hupmobile named Herby

A car instead of a pint of milk

The love of his life

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