Tag Archives: murphy

Duesenberg J-119

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1929 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing Top Convertible Coupe by Murphy

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Plymouth, Michigan | July 30, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

This is one of the earliest Model J Duesenberg’s we’ve yet featured. The car that took the world by storm in late 1929 still gets people’s attention today. The Model J is undoubtedly one of America’s greatest automotive achievements.

This is a “Disappearing Top” Convertible Coupe, built by the Walter M. Murphy Company of Pasadena, California. They built 60 Convertible Coupes, with only 25 of those being of the Disappearing Top variety. As a Model J, it is powered by a 265 horsepower, 6.9-liter straight-eight engine.

This car was sold new with a Derham Sedan body attached to it. The original owner in Chicago sent it back to Duesenberg to have this body installed. This happened in 1934 and then it was resold. It has had many owners, but the current owner has had it for many years and used it often. In fact, he has driven this car round trip from Florida to Auburn, Indiana. The car’s second restoration was completed under his care and is being sold to benefit a liberal arts college. Read more about it here and see more from this sale here.

Update: Sold $1,540,000.

Duesenberg J-295

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1934 Duesenberg Model J Town Car by Murphy

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 28-29, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

This Model J Duesenberg sports a fairly low engine number but a relatively new model year designation. The Model J was introduced in 1929 – before the stock market crashed. Money was flowing, orders were placed. Then things went south and the company was stuck with a lot of inventory (in the form of engine/chassis combinations) that took years to move out to the door to coachbuilders.

This car was first sold in 1934, hence its model year. In that year, the widow of the head of Campbell’s Soup ordered this Duesey sent to the Walter M. Murphy Company of Pasadena, California, to be fitted with stately Town Car coachwork. The engine is the standard 6.9-liter straight-eight making 265 horsepower.

Only 1,800 miles were put on this car before it was acquired by its second owner in 1947. Currently, the mileage stands at a tick under 40,000. It has been restored twice, and shown at Pebble Beach twice (in 1990 and 2010). It’s a matching numbers car and is thought to be one of six Murphy Town Cars. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.

Update: Sold, Gooding & Company “Geared Online”, August 2020, $1,012,000.

Duesenberg J-414

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1929 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing Top Torpedo Convertible Coupe by Murphy

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | Phoenix, Arizona | January 28-29, 2016

Photo - RM Sotheby's

Photo – RM Sotheby’s

We should all know by now that cars don’t get better than Duesenberg Model Js. The Walter M. Murphy Company was the most prolific body supplier for the Model J and their Disappearing Top Convertible Coupe is one of the most popular body styles. But this is a little different.

This is a Disappearing Top Torpedo Convertible Coupe. That means it is a convertible where the top is completely hidden when retracted and it has a pinched rear end like a boattail speedster. It even has a one-passenger rumble seat. It’s an awesome combination of design. And as this is a Model J, the 265 horsepower 6.9-liter straight-eight is standard.

This car originally was fitted with engine number J-178 but that engine was removed from the car at some point (likely in the 1940s as a source for parts). In the 1950s, the new owner acquired engine J-414 and put it in this car – that’s why the engine number is so high and the model year is so early. The body work had slight updates in the late-1930s to the “JN” style.

This car has been with its present owners for over 20 years. It is one of six Disappearing Top Torpedo Convertible Coupes ever built and one of four to actually still have their original coachwork. They never come up for sale and it should be pricey. Click here for more info and here for more from RM.

Update: Sold $3,000,000.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island 2021, $5,725,000. Updated look below.

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby;s

Duesenberg J-330

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1930 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing Top Roadster by Murphy

Offered by Bonhams | Ebeltoft, Denmark | September 26, 2015

Photo - Bonhams

Photo – Bonhams

That’s quite the profile you see above. The term “Disappearing Top” was no misnomer – the top is completely hidden, resulting in a sleek rear end interrupted only by the rather functional trunk (when trunks were literal trunks).

This Model J has known ownership history back to brand new, when it was first bought by (or actually for, as it was a gift) the great-grandson of Cornelius Vanderbilt. The car has had many owners since and in 1959 it sold for $6,000 (which was a lot then but seems awfully cheap today). This Duesey has been in the current collection for about a decade or so. It has never been restored.

The 265 horsepower 6.9-liter straight-eight engine is all original. This car looks restored and has been scored in the highest possible category of Duesenbergs. It’s one of, if not the, best, original survivor Model J in the world. It should sell for between $2,500,000-$3,100,000. Click here for more info and here for the rest of this sale’s lineup.

Update: Sold $2,664,538.

Duesenberg J-147

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1929 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Coupe by Murphy

Offered by Auctions America | Auburn, Indiana | September 5, 2015

Photo - Auctions America

Photo – Auctions America

It’s amazing the history that can be found when you have the right car. It’s sort of like a royal bloodline – you can trace it all the way back. And this car has known ownership history from new.

This Model J (powered by the 6.9-liter straight-eight making 265 horsepower) is not wearing its original clothes. When it was new, it had a LeBaron Sweep Panel Phaeton body on it. The body you see here was originally on J-121, which was owned by one of Chicago’s Wrigleys.

Murphy was the most prolific of Duesenberg coachbuilders and this was their most popular two-door body style. Since its original owner (who owned a radio station in Chicago), this car has spent time at the Blackhawk Collection, the Imperial Palace Collection, and the collection of Dean Kruse. It’s been restored since 2007 and is immaculate. It should sell for between $1,500,000-$1,750,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $1,402,500.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Monterey 2017, $1,430,000.

Duesenberg J-395

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1931 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing Top Convertible Coupe by Murphy

Offered by RM Auctions | Fort Worth, Texas | May 2, 2015

Photo - RM Auctions

Photo – RM Auctions

Here is another Duesenberg from the Andrews Collection. This is also a highly desirable version. The Disappearing Top Convertible Coupe is a very attractive, very sporty body style and it was done by the Walter M. Murphy Company, the most prolific Duesenberg coachbuilder.

Unlike the car we featured a week ago, this is an un-supercharged Model J, meaning that the 6.9-liter straight-eight puts on “only” 265 horsepower. This car has an interesting history as, for a large portion of its life, it was in collection of Pacific Auto Rentals – who provided cars for movies. This car has a number of credits to its name, regularly showing up on screen between 1949 and the late 1970s.

In the 80s, it became part of the Imperial Palace Collection and was eventually acquired by Dean Kruse of Kruse Auctions. It has been in the Andrews Collection likely since 2008, when it sold at an RM sale for $2,640,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $3,520,000.

Update: Sold, RM Sotheby’s Amelia Island 2023, $4,295,000.

Duesenberg J-173

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1929 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Sedan by Murphy

Offered by Gooding & Company | Pebble Beach, California | August 16-17, 2014

Photo - Gooding & Company

Photo – Gooding & Company

Yay! Finally a Duesenberg at auction – it’s been a while. In fact, this is the only Duesenberg being offered during the Pebble Beach-weekend sales. What is fantastic about this Model J is that it is all-original.

The 6.9-liter straight-eight puts out 265 horsepower at a low-revving 4,200 rpm. This thing is just a big, tall-geared locomotive. And it was about the most luxurious thing you could buy in 1929. This car was bodied by Murphy, Duesenberg’s most-popular coachbuilder. The convertible sedan is both elegant and sporty, and it was the most-popular style.

First used as a demonstrator, J-173 has bounced between owners recently after spending 60 years in the same family. It’s remarkably original and a natural shoo-in for any preservation class awards you would want to win. You can buy it for between $1,350,000-$1,750,000. Click here for more info and here for more from Gooding & Company.

Update: Did not sell.

Duesenbeg J-391

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1930 Duesenberg Model J Torpedo Berline Convertible by Murphy

Offered by Mecum | Kissimmee, Florida | January 24, 2014

1930 Duesenberg Model J Torpedo Berline Convertible by Murphy

Duesenbergs were cars for the rich – and famous. This is one of many Duesenbergs that had famous owners. It was sold new to the undersecretary of the Navy, Gene Markey (he isn’t the celebrity I was thinking of, however).

It passed through a number of owners in the 1940s and by the end of the decade it had been acquired by James Talmadge – son of Buster Keaton. In 1952, he traded the car straight up for an MG to famous actor Tyrone Power. Power owned it until his death, at which point it ended up in the hands of J.B. Nethercutt. From his collection it found its way into Bill Harrah’s.

The restoration was carried out in 1986 by a private owner in Indianapolis. He sold it to the Imperial Palace Collection in 1991. The engine is the standard Duesenberg straight-eight making 265 horsepower and 374 lb-ft of torque. The convertible sedan body is by Murphy. This car can be yours for over a million dollars. Click here for more info and here for more from Mecum in Kissimmee.

Update: Not sold, high bid of $1,400,000.

Update: Sold, Mecum Monterey 2014: $1,425,000.

Duesenberg J-357

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1930 Duesenberg Model J Disappearing Top Convertible by Murphy

Offered by RM Auctions | Phoenix, Arizona | January 17, 2014

1930 Duesenberg Model J-357 Disappearing Top Convertible by Murphy

Photo – RM Auctions

Well this is a beautiful car. What is strange though is that this was the cheapest Model J by Murphy you could buy in 1930. It cost a wealthy lumber baron in West Virginia $13,500 that year. It’s a short-wheelbase chassis and uses Duesenberg’s signature Lycoming 6.9-liter straight-eight engine making 265 horsepower.

The original owner sold it in 1946 to a man named Melvin Clemans who regularly drove the car from West Virginia to Auburn, Indiana, for the annual ACD gathering. A friend of Clemans worked on the car for him and became the cars’ third owner in 1998.

Luckily, he never restored it. He rebuilt the mechanicals (and so did RM Restorations, more recently) but the body, paint, wood, interior, and chrome are all-original. This is a 30,000 mile car that has been driven a lot by every owner it’s ever had. It’s really nice to see a car like this still being driven hard and on the road to local car shows and not across putting greens at big, fancy concours.

This is 1 of about 25 “Disappearing Top Convertibles” built by the prolific Walter M. Murphy Company. It is arguably among the coolest as it remains as it did the day it left the showroom floor in Huntington, West Virginia, back in 1930. This car should bring between $2,000,000-$2,400,000. You can read more here and see more from RM here.

Update: Sold $2,200,000.

Update: Sold, Gooding & Company Amelia Island 2016, $2,640,000.

Duesenberg SJ-512

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1933 Duesenberg Model SJ Beverly Berline by Murphy

Offered by RM Auctions | New York, New York | November 21, 2013

1933 Duesenberg Model SJ-512 Beverly Berline by Murphy

This is one beautiful Duesey. The SJ variant of the Model J was first available in 1932. It offered a factory supercharger for the Lycoming straight-eight. Horsepower jumped to a whopping 320. There was nothing else like it.

There have been a number of normal Model Js that have been upgraded over the years to SJ specification. But this is the real deal. This is one of just 36 factory SJs built and one of only five that has an enclosed body on it. The body in this case is from Murphy and it’s a stunner.

This car was delivered new to Powell Crosley, Jr. in Cincinnati. He would later build his own cars – but they were no match in size or power. More recently, this car was restored by RM and is being sold from the ownership by Joseph Cassini (who has won top honors at Pebble Beach twice). This will be a very pricey car. You can check out more here and see more from this impressive sale here.

Update: Pre-sale estimate $2,000,000-$2,500,000.

Update II: Sold $1,760,000.