Tag Archives: model J

Duesenberg J-562

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1935 Duesenberg Model J Dual-Cowl Phaeton

Offered by Auctions America | Auburn, Indiana | August 29-September 1, 2013

1935 Duesenberg Model J-562 Dual-Cowl Phaeton

This is an actual Model J Duesenberg but it’s had some work done to it. When new, it was delivered to the Vice-President of the Cord Corporation with a LaGrande Dual-Cowl Phaeton body that looked exactly like the one you see here.

Apparently he used the car for some time before putting a Willoughby Berline body on the car and selling it as a new car (nothing like being the head of an automaker and more or less just making up a car’s “newness” factor because it’s convenient to you). Anyway, it sold and the chassis/engine numbers are both near the very end of Model J production – almost as high as you can go as 1937 was the final year for Duesenberg.

Some time later, the car was re-fitted with the body you see here. It’s an exacting re-creation of the original LaGrande Dual-Cowl Phaeton. It is not original but plays the part very well. It has also had a supercharger added to it to bring the 6.9-liter straight-eight up to “SJ” specification and 320 horsepower. It is not a factory SJ car.

This is a very desirable body style, even though it is not original. But it should still bring a very nice price (in the $600,000-$1,000,000 range). Click here for more info and here for more from Auctions America’s Auburn Fall sale.

Update: Sold $858,000.

Update II: Not sold, Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2015, high bid of $700,000.

Update III: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Motor City 2015, $852,500.

Duesenberg JN-500

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1935 Duesenberg Model JN LWB Berline by Rollston (and Bohman & Schwartz)

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | March 8, 2013

1935 Duesenberg Model JN (500) LWB Berline by Rollston (and Bohman & Schwartz)

This Duesenberg is a Model JN – that is, it is one of 10 Rollston-bodied cars produced in 1935 with modern updates to the front of the car along with smaller wheels. They were among the last Duesenberg’s built at a time when the company was desperately trying to stay afloat and keep its aging flagship car relevant.

As was the case with JNs, this one came equipped with Rollston bodywork. This chassis and body originally had engine J-559 underhood, but that was replaced in the 1950s when its owner consolidated two different Duesenbergs. This car also received the larger Model J wheels at that time. The engine was unchanged – a 6.9-liter straight eight making 265 horsepower.

This car was delivered new to Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, the famous Hollywood tap-dancer who appeared alongside Will Rogers and Shirley Temple onscreen. When he took the car to California, he sent it to Bohman & Schwartz for some updates (only a year after purchase). When he passed, the car bounced between owners – its engine being swapped out along the way. It was restored in 1970 and has been maintained since, which is kind of remarkable considering its fairly nice condition and the fact it has covered more than 100,000 miles in its well-used life. It should sell for between $500,000-$700,000. You can read more about it here and check out the rest of Gooding’s auction lineup here.

Update: Sold $594,000.

Duesenberg J-338

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1931 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Sedan by LeBaron

Offered by Gooding & Company | Amelia Island, Florida | March 8, 2013

1931 Duesenberg Model J-338 Convertible Sedan by LeBaron

This Model J is an affordable way to get into the Duesenberg club. The pre-sale estimate is a paltry $350,000-$425,000. I happen to really like this bodystyle, but it isn’t really the most sought after. Part of the reason is that this is not the original body that went with this chassis/engine. And the restoration is an old one.

The body was originally a Derham Sedan but this LeBaron Convertible Sedan survived better on the chassis it was on. After sitting outside for a long time, the two Duesenbergs were turned into one complete car and this body made the transition. Ownership is known from new and this car has been in some big collections since the late 1960s.

If you’re looking for an easy way to get your hands on a Model J, this is your ticket. It’s a nice, clean, drivable car recognized by the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg museum. You can read more about it here and check out more from Gooding & Company in Amelia Island here.

Update: Sold $462,000.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Arizona 2023, $1,050,000.

Duesenberg J-530

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1935 Duesenberg Model SJ Convertible Coupe by Walker-LaGrande

Offered by RM Auctions | Amelia Island, Florida | March 9, 2013

1935 Duesenberg Model SJ 530 Convertible Coupe by Walker LaGrande

This awesome – and awesome is the correct word – Duesenberg Model J is actually an SJ – it has a factory supercharged engine. But it is not the original engine for this car. Let me try and trace this out…

Engine J-530 has an origin I am unfamiliar with. This car is on chassis 2405, which originally had a very cool Rollston Town Car body on it. This incredible Walker-LaGrande Convertible Coupe body was originally on chassis 2563. The bell housing is from engine J-515, the engine that was originally with this body on 2563. So at some point in time, the Rollston Town Car body disappeared and this body was separated from its original chassis. The body and bell housing came with it and was put on chassis 2405. Engine J-530 was brought in to get the thing running. And remember: this is the supercharged 320 horsepower version.

The Walker-LaGrande body is one of three like it built and the only one with a supercharger on it. It’s actually one of only seven bodies built for Duesenbergs by Walker-LaGrande in total. This car was delivered new to a banker in Chicago before going through the hands of several well-known collectors. Among Model Js, this is one of the big ones. It should sell for between $3,500,000-$5,000,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $4,510,000.

Duesenberg J-255

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1930 Duesenberg Model J Torpedo Phaeton by Fran Roxas

Offered by Bonhams | Boca Raton, Florida | February 23, 2013

1930 Duesenberg Model J255 Torpedo Phaeton by Fran Roxas

Photo – Bonhams

Back-to-back Dueseys. This Model J has the special distinction of being used by the wife of Duesenberg owner E.L. Cord. The car was delivered to a customer in 1930, but was returned for whatever reason and used by Mrs. Cord. She used it for two years before it went to Hollywood.

That’s right, this car – which is the original chassis/engine combination, although not the original body – was in some movies. It was part of the Pacific Auto Rental fleet (which loaned cars to movie studios) for 48 years and appeared in numerous films.

The body was originally a Judkins Limousine. When Pacific Auto Rental closed up and sold off their cars, this one went to a new home in St. Louis. The new owners removed the original body (the horror!) and sent the chassis and 265 horsepower engine to Fran Roxas in Chicago and asked him to build this stunning Torpedo Phaeton body in the style of Walker LaGrande. The Judkins body also found a new home on a different chassis. This car spent time in the Blackhawk Collection on its way to being sold at a Bonhams auction in 2010. The sale price is unlisted for that sale, as I guess it didn’t meet its $800,000 reserve. The market has improved since then and it should do okay this time around.

Click here for more info and here for more from Bonhams in Boca.

Update: Sold $698,500.

Update: Failed to sell at Mecum, Monterey 2013 (high bid of $800,000).

Update: Failed to sell at Mecum, Dallas 2013 (high bid of $950,000).

Update: Failed to sell at Mecum, Kissimmee 2014 (high bid of $1,100,000).

Update: Not sold, Mecum Monterey 2016, high bid of $800,000.

Update: Not sold, Mecum Monterey 2018, high bid of $900,000.

Update: Sold, Mecum Kissimmee 2019, $935,000.

Duesenberg J-444

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1931 Duesenberg Model J Tourster by Derham

Offered by RM Auctions | Amelia Island, Florida | March 9, 2013

1931 Duesenberg Model J-444 Tourster by Derham

This is the second Derham Tourster (of the eight originally built) to be offered at an RM auction in 2013. The other one, J-423, sold for $1.32 million. That one had kind of an interesting history, being owned by an Italian Count and all. This one is slightly more interesting.

J-444 was delivered new to film comedian Joe E. Brown, who was known for his comedic roles in the 1930s-1950s (and he was the rich gentleman who hilariously courted Jack Lemmon (in drag) in the near-perfect film Some Like It Hot. He delivered the classic line “Well, nobody’s perfect”). By the time World War II came around, the car was passed around before it came into the hands of a Mr. Howard Hughes.

Hughes liked powerful things and the Duesenberg Model J fit that bill. A 265 horsepower straight-eight engine was about as good as you were going to do in the day. He, apparently, wasn’t so concerned with the gorgeous Derham Tourster body on the car – as he cut the rear half of the car off and used the car to tow gliders up and down a runway – aircraft, after all, were his business.

The car was later in the Otis Chandler collection and then the John McMullen collection and a replica of its original body was fitted at some point. This is a real Derham Tourster, but it just doesn’t have the original Derham Tourster body it came with. It is remarkable to look at nonetheless. John O’Quinn acquired it after that.

This car has been in the hands of some seriously famous people and well-respected car collectors who obviously didn’t let its “replica” body scare them (as it shouldn’t). This car sold in 2007 for $1.35 million. It won’t bring less than that this time around but that is, apparently, the going rate for a Derham Tourster today. Click here for more info and here for more from RM at Amelia Island.

Update: Sold $825,000.

Duesenberg J-219

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1929 Duesenberg Model J Cabriolet by Murphy

Offered by Artcurial | Paris, France | February 8, 2013

1929 Duesenberg Model J-219 Cabriolet by Murphy

Well isn’t this a pretty car. This Model J was introduced for 1929 and it used a 265 horsepower Lycoming straight-eight engine of 420 cubic inches (6.9-liters). Top speed was about 115 mph – depending on what body was attached to it.

This one has a gorgeous cabriolet body by the Walter M. Murphy Company of Pasadena, California. It was sold new to a partner in the Standard Oil Company for an astonishing $14,500 in pre-Depression-era American dollars. It passed between a few owners and was restored for the first time in 1957 and again 20 years later and won Best in Show at Pebble Beach in 1981. Shortly after the dawn of the new Millennium, this car was sold to a Belgian collector and it has remained in Europe since. It currently sports Dutch registration.

Duesenbergs pop up often at collector car auctions but finding the right one can be tricky. You surely can’t go wrong with this Murphy Cabriolet. It is expected to sell for between $1,130,000-$1,450,000. Click here for more well-shot pictures and info. And here for more from Artcurial at Rétromobile.

Update: Sold $1,319,888.

Duesenberg J-429

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1933 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing-Top Convertible Coupe by Murphy

Offered by Gooding & Co. | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 18, 2013

1933 Duesenberg Model J-429 Disappearing-Top Converibly Coupe by Murphy

I’m not sure why, but every exterior photo available of this car was taken at ground level, so you really can’t see how grand the rear of this car is from above. How slick and sloped it is – no evidence of a top whatsoever. Which is why it’s called a “Disappearing-Top Convertible Coupe.” It completely stows away under the bodywork.

Underneath are the standard Model J mechanicals – a 265 horsepower straight-eight Lycoming engine of 6.9-liters. And this is a numbers-matching car. It has the actual engine, chassis and bodywork that were all packaged together way back in 1933.

This was one of the last cars bodied by Murphy before they closed and they did it in high-style – the Disappearing-Top Convertible Coupe being atop the list of desirable Duesenberg bodystyles for many people.  It was two Murphy employees (a designer and the general manager) who came up with the idea that the convertible top could be stowed away out of sight. What a fantastic idea it was – and the execution of it was perfect.

This car bounced around between owners early in its life before coming into the hands of the Bob Estes, who owned it for 40 years. It has had three owners since 2001 and was restored to perfection about 10 years ago. This is an exceptional car and it can be yours for between $2,000,000-$2,400,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding in Scottsdale.

Update: Sold $2,659,000.

Duesenberg J-423

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1931 Duesenberg Model J Tourster by Derham

Offered by RM Auctions | Phoenix, Arizona | January 18, 2013

1931 Duesenberg Model J-423 Tourster by Derham

It’s been a little while since we’ve featured a Model J. But luckily, the sales in Arizona are upon us and these sales are one of three or four places annually awash in high dollar cars like this. It’s a normal Model J with the big straight-eight engine making 265 horsepower.

The car wears a “Tourster” body from Derham – making it one of only eight Derham Toursters. Also cool is the fact that this is the original engine and chassis combination – a feat of which many Duesenberg’s cannot boast. Derham was founded in 1887 in Rosemont, Pennsylvania as a carriage builder. Like many, they made the jump to automobiles, becoming the longest-lasting coachbuilder in America – the only “classic-era” company to make it through the Depression.

This car was, for a time, owned by an Italian Count and located in Italy. It has since, obviously, come back to the United States where it will sell for somewhere around $1 million (give or take a few $100,000). For more information, click here. For more from RM in Arizona, click here.

Update: Sold $1,320,000.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2023, $1,710,000.

Duesenberg J-468

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1934 Duesenberg Model J LWB Custom Beverly Sedan by Murphy

Offered by Barrett-Jackson | Scottsdale, Arizona | January 19, 2012

This long-wheelbase Model J has a “Beverly Sedan” body from Murphy. I really don’t know what “Beverly” refers to, but it was used on a few Model Js and a number of Cords. If anyone knows, please share.

In any case, this car (engine no. 468), painted in an ostentatious (and, in my opinion, pretty ugly) shade of gold, is one of 12 Murphy Beverly Sedans built. Of course, it is claimed that this is the “finest in existence,” but then again, who would claim that they car they are trying to sell is “meh, maybe the fourth or fifth finest in existence?”

It is being offered as part of Barrett-Jackson’s second-annual “Salon Collection” (it even has its own website) at their Scottsdale auction in January. The car is coming from the Imperial Palace Collection where it has been on display for some time. Barrett-Jackson doesn’t publish pre-sale estimates and it’s hard to guess, as their prices are all over the place. I expect this car to either A. not meet its reserve or B. go for more than it should after the crowd is prodded by being told it’s “way under the money.” Watch and see. You can read more here.

Update: Sold $1,430,000.