Inside a 1935 Tatra T77a

Streamlined Czech Tatras of the 1930s fascinate, seeming more pure than their post- World War 2 successors.  I wrote about the first and last streamline models here.

The first production Tatra streamliner was the T77, only 249 T77 and T77a models being built over 1934-38.

Despite the small production count, a few T77s survive. I saw a 1935 T77a in May at the Tampa Bay Automobile Museum and took a few few photos of it in a state of preliminary restoration.

Gallery

Tatra T77 from about 1934.

Tatra T77a.  The main exterior differences are the placement of the headlights on the fenders and the addition of a central light.  The museum's 1935 Tatra T77a is in the images below.  Click on them to enlarge.

The car is in sad shape, but these views provide a sense as to its construction.

It has a steel "turret top," but the doors are wood-framed.

Czech cars drove on the left sides of roads until the 1939 German occupation when German right-side practice was dictated.

Hub caps differ from those in the period photos.