Grahams came to Australia in two ways, some cars were fully imported, others came out without bodies, this was done because of a tax exemption. To improve the local body building industry there was a large tariff on fully imported cars. So in Australia we have some vehicles that you wont see any where else. Some may look similar, 612 sedans for example (See below), others will look completely different, like Crusader series cars with suicide doors. I will put together what differences I know of, and if anyone else knows of any others let me know and I will add them. This should improve the knowledge base of all Graham owners.
One thing you will find, is that Australia seems to have more 1920's cars, then 1930's.
Odd Fact : QANTAS, Australia's largest airline once had a plane called Miss Graham Paige, see Here
Model 610 Series 1 and 2
610's came in two "Series". there doesn't seem to be a particular cut over point for the change in series, it seems that some of the changes were done during production as better solutions came to hand, and the remaining they used what they had at hand, and some of the early cars we believe used up loft over Paige parts. so you will get most cars with a mix of first and second series bits. With that in mind i will attempt to list what was changed over the years. Though if you look at the parts lists, it does list the different parts, and an engine number as a change over point, but that engine number changes depending on what part.
Front Axle
In the very early cars, the front axle plates were welded to the axle, this was changed very quickly in the production cycle. (Our first car was an early sedan and when we first looked at it we thought that the local blacksmith had got to it...)
Hand Brake
The early 610s also had a solid cast handbrake (No separate Handgrip). This was also changed early one, and then a kink was added to the hand brake lever to save the drivers knuckles. (I Highly recommend the fitting of the later kinked handbrake lever, otherwise every time you release the handbrake, you bang your knuckles on the dash)
Steering Wheel
We have found a number of 610s with wood rim steering wheels,
but no other models seem to have this, so we are guessing this was an
optional extra, It may have been a local thing, it may also have
been using up old Paige parts
Electrical's
The early 610s used North East Electrics, whereas the later ones used delco, exactly like the 612's. The north east distributor is extremely vulnerable. This is because it was made out of Die-cast or pot metal. This doesn't last very well, as such they tend to break very easily. You can get new cases made AT A COST, but it is easier to convert to the later delco electrics.
Gearbox
Early 610 gearbox's castings had a lump out of the right side at the rear, This was called the Borg Warner T-2. we haven't worked out what it was for, but it is there. These also had different ratios to the latter boxes, Known as the Borg Warner T-2C, that were also used in the 612s. The early boxes were also longer that the later, this means the earlier tail shaft is shorter.
When the gearbox casting was changed the speedo drive was also changed, so they are not interchangeable easily.
Rear Axles
We have so far found two different rear axle ratios, but the Parts manual lists three. They are listed as follows (The ratios are Pinion to Crown Wheel).
Steering Boxes
the 610s used a GEMMA steering box as opposed to the 612 ROSS box. We have found two different types of GEMMA boxes. One was of the Peg and Worm type, the other was a Quadrant with three teeth and worm type. We still aren't sure what came first, or if it was just what they had on the shelf, or even were just using the left over Paige bits.
Bumper Bars
The early cars had wrap around bumpers, that curl around and bolt to the rear support, whereas the later cars had the Pin ended bumpers like the 612's, so the end of the bumpers looked like a hinge (One of these days I Will upload pictures showing the difference)
Model 612
Sedan Bodies
One thing that was noticed early on by Graham owners in australia was the difference in the Australian and American sedan bodies. These are listed below. The sedan we are building at the moment will be a mixture of the best of each of these, as they are mostly not visible.
| Australian Body | American Body |
| 1. Windscreen pillars are wood wrapped in steel (Like the centre pillar) | 1. Windscreen pillrs are Hollow steel tubing |
| 2. Side edge to the roof is solid wood shaped into the same form as the roof, this is then covered with the roof fabric | 2. Side edge to roof has ribs and a thin sheet metal cover that is then covered with the roof material. see this picture |
We have so far only found the one rear axle ratio, but the Parts manual lists Two. They are listed as follows (The inital ratios are Pinion to Crown Wheel).
Other Variations We Have Seen
Cowl Vents
There is a 614 sedan in Melbourne that has no cowl vent and doesn't
seem to have ever have had one in the past. (See Here for an image of the car)
Odd Roadster
We purchased a 1929 612 Roadster with large centre wire wheels, no cowl vent, a wooden firewall, and a wooden dash that the standard instrument panel fits into. (See Here). The bulkhead was just a U shaped piece of steel with the moldings pressed into it. This same car also has doors that curve up to meet the the bulkhead in the English style, the bottom of the doors are also rounded in the English style. (See Bones we Have Recovered 612 section). The story we were told of this car was it was a racer somewhere in Queensland in the 1930's. If anyone has any information to that effect we would love to hear from you.
In 1928 there are two types of doors, We haven't worked out any logical pattern to who did what. The first style comes all the way down to the valance panel. the other type doesn't and has a filler between the bottom of the door and the valance. If you look at the Period Photos you will notice all of the tourers there have the filler panel between the valance and the door, but our car The mistress doesn't.
Sloped Front Windscreen Cars.
One other oddity that has been discovered here in Australia is the sloped windscreen cars. There have been a number of 612 sedans found that the windscreen pillar has been angled at the bottom towards the front. We have surmised that this was an attempt the make the cars look more modern in the 1930's. I will post a picture as soon as I uncover one from the pile of photos I am digitizing. The story that was told to us by the son of the local agent, was that they still had unsold cars in a warehouse in the early to mid thirties. To move them they modified them to look newer. This story seems plausible as out 610 tourer was first registered in 1934. These cars had no fabric infill in the roof it was solid steel. A simple explanation was to what it looked like is they cut the body off at the bottom of the windscreen and welded on a 34 Chevrolet sedan top.
Other Odd Bodies.
As we had our own body manufacturing industry here, most cars were bodied locally, so we have some variants, that were not available in the US, also some variants available to american customers, were not available here (Or haven't survived). Of these I am aware of a 612 Cabriolet, I have just been advised of a 610 cabriolet as well. One of the regular bodies we don't seem to have got, was the two door sedan (Though a one was imported in the last 20 years see here).
If you have any knowledge that you think should be added here or just want to Talk Graham Paiges contact us at Contact us
This Page was last Updated : 01 November 2006
