History We ALL Love a DARE! PIX of TRULY Extinct Makes?

Here are some pictures of the same Duesenberg (J370) in the picture above taken at Pebble Beach 2009 sent to me by a friend.

 

What is it? Can't remember when or where I took the pictures? Definitely mid '30s. I'm leaning towards Hudson but I could be way off too.

 

Another picture of Duesenberg J370 with Mae West thanks to Alsancle.

 

Just a Cool Story;

Double Dandy: WA barn produces two keepers

<!--END Page Title --> <!--BEGIN Content Body //--> May 18, 2010

by Angelo Van Bogart, Old Cars Weekly
.


It was more than a decade into Jeff Walkley’s marriage before he
learned his mother-in-law was given this 1959 Impala when it was
new — and she still owned it.



Upon rescuing the Impala from nearly 35 years of barn storage,
Walkley and his father also uncovered the complete 1939 Cadillac
below, and saved it from a trip to the crusher.

The greatest automotive archaeology usually comes from years of building strong friendships, gaining a reputation for hunting certain models or types of cars and putting clues together to guess where the automotive “gold” is most likely hidden. But great finds can also simply land in a person’s lap.

In 2007, Jeff Walkley of Idaho Falls, Idaho, was celebrating his 12th wedding anniversary. It was also the year he first heard his mother-in-law had driven a new 1959 Chevrolet Impala convertible during her sophomore year of high school, and that she still owned the car.

Being an old car hobbyist, Jeff had to learn more about this desirable “bat winged” Impala convertible with cat’s eye tail lamps. It turns out that his mother-in-law had driven the Impala regularly, and when she was done using it, she left the car on her father’s farm for her brother and father to use. Her father continued to use the Impala until he parked it in his barn in 1975. When her father passed away in 2007, she decided it was time to wake up the Impala. There was one problem — the Impala was too big for her garage, so once it was awakened, there was no place to park it. Realizing Jeff, her son-in-law, and April, her daughter, would be interested, she gave the Impala to them. That was in 2007.



After cutting away brush from the barn door, the Walkleys discovered
the bottom four inches of the Impala’s tires and wheels had sunk
four inches into the dirt floor. Eventually, the convertible was freed
and winched onto the trailer for a better fate.



There was another problem, however. Jeff and April live in eastern Idaho, and the Impala was still located on the Washington state farm where Jeff’s mother-in-law had used it. Jeff and his wife were also busy chasing after their young children, so retrieving the Impala wasn’t their highest priority. After patiently waiting a year, Jeff and his father, Bud, were finally able to wake the Impala from its long slumber in late 2008.

“This barn happened to be in wheat country,” Bud Walkley said. “It took us a half hour with a weed wacker to get at the barn.” When they could finally open the barn doors, Jeff and Bud realized they had hit the old car lottery. For all of these years, the Impala had been keeping company with many other old cars, and much of that vintage tin was older than the finned Chevrolet.

“This old farmer was kind of eccentric and had his own airport and he just bought stuff and put things away,” said Bud of his son’s grandfather-in-law. “He collected lots of stuff. He liked convertibles — he had several Cadillacs in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. I saw a white Buick convertible — I believe an early-1960s model — that was like new.”




Jeff Walkley’s children were thrilled to wash grandma’s old Impala,
and hope to receive rides in the car soon.

Chevrolets from the 1920s, a 1940s tractor in beautiful condition, an old airplane and other cars from the 1960s and ’70s were found in several other barns on the property. But it was a stately prewar Cadillac with sidemount spares next to the Impala that really caught the eye of Bud and Jeff. Before they could dream about more cars, they had to retrieve the Impala, and the hard part of that task wasn’t over with the weed wacker.

“The soil is very soft, and right next to the shed a lot of grain trucks went by, so once we got into the shed, [we realized] the car had sunk four inches into the soil,” Jeff said. “We grabbed an air compressor and filled the tires with air, and they are still holding air. We had to dig some of the soil out to get [the car] at an angle, and we were able to use winches and a come-along to get it on the trailer.”

Once the Impala was on the trailer, the Walkleys quickly cleaned it off to get an idea of what they were dealing with.

“We took it through a car wash and it took an hour and $10 in quarters to clean and vacuum, but we couldn’t believe how nice it was,” Bud said. “It’s very solid, and there isn’t a dent in that car.”

“There is one little bit of rust under the passenger side door,” Jeff said, noting the rest of the body panels are rust-free. However, the floor pans will need replacement.

“My mother-in-law used to hose out the inside of the car, probably to clean out the dust and mud from being in farm country,” Jeff said. “The drain plugs in the floor are in place, but the rust is all around them. The trunk is in pretty good shape and the fender wells are not rusted out. In eastern Washington, they get 15 inches of rain yearly, so it is pretty dry and that helped preserve it.”
When it was new, the Impala convertible was a stunner, having a white body and complementing red interior to catch the eye of young co-eds. It was also a bit of a hot rod with its 348-cid V-8, an engine that would have caught the heart of horsepower-minded male classmates.

All of that ogling of the Impala abruptly ended when Jeff’s mother-in-law got into a fender bender, which led to an engine swap, color change and her end to driving the Impala.



“When my mother-in-law was driving it, she was hit in the front end by three nuns, so her father decided to replace the gas-guzzling 348 with a 283,” Jeff said. “He bought a front end from a Biscayne, and while they were at it, pulled the 348 and put in a 283.”

While the car was getting a make-over, it underwent one more change — in color.

“The Chevy was white at first, with red upholstery, but April’s uncle always wanted a red car, so he painted it red,” Bud said.

Jeff plans to paint the car white again someday, but for now, he’s concentrating on getting it running so he can take his children for rides.

“The kids want me to have it on the road as soon as possible,” Jeff said. “I replaced the fuel pump, cleaned the fuel lines and the gas tank, replaced the distributor cap and points, replaced the spark plugs and rebuilt the carburetor. After that, we put a battery in it and turned it over a few times and it starts, no problem. It starts better than my fuel-injected car does.”

Once the brakes are repaired, the car will be driveable and Jeff can begin work on the floor pans. His long-term plan calls for replacing the 283 with a 348, and he’s hopeful the original engine is still in one of the barns. If not, his father has already found a replacement engine. Hopefully soon, Jeff will be able to take his kids for rides.

“[My grandson] just loves that car,” Bud said. “He just thinks it’s cool. All he talked about for a week was he was getting the car from that movie ‘Cars.’”

With the Impala safely in the garage, Jeff and Bud could contemplate the fate of the prewar Cadillac they found parked next to the Impala.
“The more we talked, the more we thought we should get the Cadillac, because it was going to get crushed,” said Bud. “We thought it might be a V-16 — we didn’t know.”



The Cadillac

After investigating the model of the Cadillac, it became clear it was not a V-16, but a Series 61 touring sedan. Although this Cadillac had the relatively common flathead V-8 engine, the pair decided it was too good to be crushed and bought it from the estate. After all, the Cadillac was special to the father of Jeff’s mother-in-law.



The Cadillac Series 6119 was also being absorbed by the earth when
Jeff Walkley and his father discovered it next to the Impala. Since
it appeared incomplete, the barn’s overseer was going to crush it.
However, nearly all the removed parts were nearby.

In January of 1968, the Cadillac was transported from Montana to eastern Washington by trailer. The car was not running and was placed in a barn. Jeff’s grandfather-in-law was very fond of the car and kept asking the neighbor to sell it to him. Eventually, the car changed hands and was placed in the same barn as the Impala, where it sat for close to 39 years. As was the case with the Impala, air was put into the tires, the ground was dug out and the car was coaxed onto a trailer, according to Jeff.

The Cadillac was slated to be crushed, because it appeared to be missing parts and it had gathered a patina that made it appear more weathered than it actually was. Anyone not familiar with vintage cars might have confused it for crusher fodder, but to collectors like Jeff and Bud, the car’s potential was obvious. Since the odometer reading of 8,494 miles might even be correct, it would have been unconscionable to see it crushed.

“It just has surface rust. There’s not a crack on the hood ornament,” Bud said. “The interior is in bad shape... the rats ate it; it was like the rat Hilton hotel. The door panels are in good shape and there is not a crack in the ivory interior parts. And the door window trim and its wood is in good shape, but it does need to be restored and reupholstered.”

At first, it appeared some of the Cadillac’s trim parts were missing, but a quick look inside and around the car revealed it was almost 100 percent complete. In addition, all the exterior trim was in great shape and buffed up like new.

“The headlights and tail lights are missing, but the light bezels were in the trunk,” Bud said. One of the hood sides was also missing, but it was found inside the car.
Whether the Cadillac has 8,000 or 108,000 miles, it will certainly need to be restored to be road worthy, but it’s one more car Bud and Jeff saved to see another day on the road.

“We don’t know what we’ll do with it,” Bud said. “We might sell it, but at least it won’t get crushed.”

 

Now, SunRoof & AJ, this is the same Duesy coupe? I'm not familiar with Duesenberg serial system. Anyway, Mae West was something. She surely played up her sexy persona in a day when one had to walk a tightrope to pull that off! LOL

Amazing WHAT a huge role CARS played in the celebrity scene in the '20s and '30s, isn't it? On this thread we've had luminaries from Gable, McQueen & Arbuckle to Henie, Earhart and West -- not to menton business tycoons, presidents, etc. That really says something about the LUXURY car in culture during that period, doesn't it?

 

SunRoofJim, you are so right! TRUE barn stories are a delight. AND it's always keen to see an unabused 'vert that's been sheltered!



I'm not fan of '59 Chevys, but this red convertible was the best of the crop! Any production figures???

 

Hey Sunroof,
Thanks for that story, and the great pics. That went well with my morning coffee. Just motivated me to get to the garage and back at my latest project, my '40 LaSalle.

 

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A star wherever she goes! Thanks to ConceptCarz, the 1907 Thomas
Flyer Model 35 four-cylinder 70-horse, as she appeared at the 58th Pebble
Beach Concours d'Elegance.



Thank goodness this one isn't extinct! Though the one-and-
ONLY "Great Race" of 1908, from New York to Paris has been
covered on this thread, it bears yet another reprise, in view of
recent days' Thomas coverage!

Amazingly, the Thomas was plucked from the regular 1907
factory run and, with very few modifications, was the ONLY car
out of an international eight entries to finish the seemingly
impossible 'round-the-world trek (without cheating, that is).
And she did so, with triumphant George Schuster at the wheel,
in a grueling 169 days -- nearly six months! So tough was this
challenge that it was NEVER repeated, leaving Thomas the all-
time undisputed champ!

This fine car is a near-monumental symbol of national pride.
Anyone in HAMBland who hasn't heard the details of the car and
The Great Race: PLEASE search THOMAS FLYER CONCEPTCARZ,
and you should quickly find the ConceptCarz entry. It has
several detailed write-ups, as well as eye-popping views of this
car, from every angle! Thanks, ConceptCarz, for keeping this
patriotic automotive memory in the forefront of public attention!


Search THOMAS FLYER:

1907 Thomas Flyer Model 35 Images, Information and History ... www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z15120/Thomas-Flyer-Model

 

And anyone looking to purchase a copy of the documentary of the Great Race of 1908, check this out!
http://www.thegreatautorace.com/update.htm

I was at the Premier of this documentary in Springville NY, and had to wait a year to purchase a copy on DVD.
Watched it 3 timnes already, really tells the story, and re-creates sections of it.

Look at that Thomas pictured above.
Mostly no paved roads, no windshield, no heater, mostly cross country, in the dead of winter drove around the world.
Could you do that even today with a modern car? (remember, cross country, not on roads).

 

Look at that Thomas pictured above. Mostly no paved roads, no windshield, no heater, mostly cross country, in the dead of winter drove around the world. Could you do that even today with a modern car? (remember, cross country, not on roads). <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

SWI, you said a mouthful! From my read, it didn't even sound as though the ROUTE had been properly scouted in ADVANCE, either! (They thought they could DRIVE from Alaska to Russia? Yike.)

But though the GREAT RACE was the LONGEST of the early endurance events, it surely points up OTHER major endurance/reliability races that involved extreme hardship for the drivers and mechanics. One in particular that still bothers me is the New-York-to-Seattle race technically (properly) WON by the ONLY Shawmut car to survive the factory fire. But a Model-T was declared winner. Henry Ford enjoyed the sales-generating publicity -- despite the fact that races official determined -- months too late -- that the Ford crew had swapped out a spent motor somewhere around the Continental Divide. By then, Shawmut -- which had WON far and square and NEEDED the public notariety more desperately than Ford . . . had been forced to close doors for good.

 

This is a follow-up on Post #376 from HJManiac in November.

The nimble body lines of the 1927 McFarlan boat-tail roadster below would seem to belie the large 131-wheelbase and weight of nearly 3,500 pounds. The long-running and versatile McFarlan line (1909-1921, Connersville, IN) offered an array of quality mills during its time on the American auto scene, including Wisconsin, Teetor-Hartley, Lycoming and engines of McFarlan's own design. It is possible that the Peterson's example below used a Lycoming straight eight this late in the company's run. That engine displaced over 298-CID, and with Shebler carb it generated a conservative 34 hp. At a little over $3,000, the roadster was the cheapest McFarlan available, and that says a lot about the make's market niche (A town car would tip the scales at over 4-and-a-half Gs!).

How does one put a make like McFarlan into proper perspective nowadays? Most lay people see the fact that a make expired long ago and seem to assume automatically that it was flawed, out of step, doomed for extinction anyhow. And, thus, they simply dismiss the name. I think the best compliment I can think of is to compare the McFarlan, at least generally, to other expired makes contemporary with McFarlan. Makes that come to mind include Moon, Velie, Locomobile, Duesenberg, Packard, Jordan and Kissel. By accounts, many actually referred to the McFarlan as "America's Rolls-Royce." All these makes enjoyed good reps with the car-buying public for their reliable engineering and sharp style -- that is, as compared to mainstream cars like Chevy, Ford or Dodge.

McFarlans were so well regarded that, in the '20s, they were bought by luminaries such as boxing champ Jack Dempsey and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, the biggest movie comedy star of the early '20s. Gangster Al Capone bought one for his wife, one for himself.

It always strikes me as sad -- and a little curious -- that a make in business for some two decades could leave so few examples behind for us to see with human eyes . . . and not just read about them. Yet, apparently, only about 20 McFarlans survive today. That's only an average of about one car per McFarlan production year!


1927 McFarlan boat tail roadster, Peterson Museum, L.A., Cal.


Though fuzzy, this pic was posted on an AACA forum by AACA member Dave Fields and does show what opulent -- and sizeable! -- cars McFarlans had
grown to be in the 1920s! THANKS to AACA and Mr. Fields!

 

At that time, they could not even reach the Bering Strait with anything wider than a dog sled without widening a mountain pass. They were actually looking at widening pass to get through!
And even then, snow was deep, no roads, certainly no plows. They may have had to disassemble the car to get it to the strait.
But first scouting the route, they discovered what the Bering Strait really looked like. Mountains of ice that moves and heaves, chasms opening and closing as the ocean moves underneath the ice.
Attempting to cross would have meant certain death.
The promotors thought the Bering Strait was like a lake and the participants could surely drive across.
Not many people had even seen the Strait in winter.

 

The sad story of how the Shawmut team was gyped out
of a championship for winning the five-month 1909 New
York/Boston/Seattle cross-country race is on Post #1453.
Apparently, that old racing truism, "It ain't cheating if ya
don't get caught!" was around in the early 20th Century!


Sincere appreciation is expressed to internet resource Car Lust
for this photo of the 1908 Shawmut "Roundabout" in race trim, and
with F.A. Pettingell at the wheel, for the mid-1909 transcontinental
version of the "Great Race."

 

Photo comes from the Brockman collection which is posted on the ACD Forum here.

 

Funny when i was a boy i passed the news paper to Mae West here in So cal. Nice lady and a not bad tipper

 

DaveyBoy, GREAT first-hand account, man! Thanks for that!!! Mae West was one of a kind! And a car-lover, too!

Now I ask ya: What would the car scene be without babes? Like many other big stars of the '30s, Mae West did her part to provide for the struggling masses a foil for the gloom gripping most folks in those hard times. Movie stars were some of the few who still bought over-the-top cars as part of their public images.


"Why don't ya come up and ... see me some time?"


"Is that a pistol in your pocket? Or, are you just glad to see me?"

Mae had a considerable stable of fine machinery to make the scene in, too! Here's one that she ALMOST bought. But she opted, instead, for the Duesenberg convertible coupe that SunRoofJim and AJ just discussed.

This is a one-of-kind car, folks. Riding on a bodacious 153-inch wheelbase and powered by a supercharged Lycoming straight eight, the '35 Duesy SJ was designed with already-iconic Mae West in mind by Bohman & Schwartz but eventually owned, instead by Ethyl Mars. West bought a Duesenber convertible coupe instead AND stuck with her Caddy V-12s and V-16 -- her favorite make!

TIME in 1936 reported that the car cost $20,000 new. Changing hands during the decades ensuing, the Duesy was the star of the show at the 2007 Monterey Sports & Classic Car Auction presented by RM Auctions, selling for $4.4 million. Like Mae West, the car is an all-time icon!

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1935 Duesenberg Model SJ custom-designed for Mae West but bought instead by Ethyl Mars, sole heir to the Mars candy fortune. You cannot beat ConceptCaz for quality photos and info on rare or unique cars, and we THANK them for this great image of a car that helped define a larger-than-life Hollywood era!​

 

Though Arbuckle did have a McFarlan Town Car (Now in the J.D. Nethercutt Collection), this car is actually Arbuckle's 1919 Peirce Arrow Model 6-66 touring bodied by Don Lee Coach & Body Works of Los Angeles, CA. This car was designed designed by Harley Earl (who worked for Don Lee at that time)

 

A friend of mine sent me this email. I'll bet someone on here knows. To me it looks kind of Studebaker and maybe some Lowey Design.

Howdy,

If you happen to pick up (or read in a book store) the July issue of Hemmings Classic Car, turn to page 10 - their Lost & Found section - and see if you can ID the car in the "Mystery in Clay" photo's. If you can, let me know, I'd certainly appreciate it.
I found those black and white pics in a KF folder at Walter Miller's in Syracuse NY years ago and after asking a bunch of people, can't find anyone who identifies it.
I had expected a reply from them via US mail, not as a Lost & Found item, what a surprise this was.
Thanks. Cheers. TQ

 

<CENTER></CENTER><CENTER>Mae's 1938 Cadillac Fleetwood V-16 Limousine</CENTER><CENTER> </CENTER><BASEFONT><CENTER></CENTER><CENTER>Mae West's 1934 V-12 Fleetwood Town Cabriolet</CENTER><CENTER> </CENTER><CENTER>Sincere thanks is expressed to "Dave's Classic Limousine </CENTER><CENTER>Pictures" site on the internet. THANKS for this peek, Dave!!!</CENTER></BASEFONT>

 

Thanks, MrModel-T! My bad. I don't want to pervay misinformation, so I really appreciate it when I make a mistake & another -- more knowledgeable! -- HAMBer covers my back! Thanks again -- Jimi (coulda sworn I borrowed that from the Nethercut site, but I've been wrong before!!! LOL)

 

No bites on what the car in the pictures in post 3380 is????

 

Honestly, I'm not that good for Post #2280, but HJ got Dodge just from examining a car's semi-eliptical rear springs!

And RE #3296, I don't have access to that mag, but I'd surely love to see the clay prototype being discussed! It doesn't say year, but I gather it's shortly before WWII ?

 

1931 "lounge car," custom built for Mae West on a Chevy
chassis. More a mobile hotel than a camper, the car was
a gift from her studio, Paramount, as West detested flying.
Like its owner, the trend-setting car still dazzles audiences! ​

 

<table class="details fullwidth"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2">More on the Mae West - Ethel Mars Duesenberg SJ553 from the Monterey Sports & Classic Car Auction Catalog Friday, August 17, 2007 - Saturday, August 18, 2007

Considered the most beautiful formal town car of the period, this outstanding one-off creation was penned by Christian Bohman and Maurice Schwartz. Commissioned by Mars Candy Company heiress Ethel Mars, SJ553 is one of just 36 factory supercharged Duesenbergs, and one of the few to retain its original coachwork, drive train, and chassis. It remains a superlative example of the art of custom coach building in America.

Specifications:

320bhp, 420 cu. in. four valves per cylinder twin overhead camshaft inline eight-cylinder engine with Schwitzer-Cummins centrifugal supercharger, three-speed transmission, semi-elliptical leaf spring and solid axle front suspension, semi-elliptical leaf spring and torque tube live axle rear suspension, and vacuum-assisted four wheel hydraulic brakes. Wheelbase: 153.5"

The Inimitable Model SJ

The story of Fred and August Duesenberg and E.L. Cord is among the most fascinating in automotive history. The Duesenbergs were self-taught mechanics and car builders whose careers started in the Midwest at the beginning of the Twentieth century. Fred, the older brother by five years, was the tinkerer and designer of the pair. Augie made Fred’s ingenious and creative things work.

Performance was at the heart of everything they did. In 15 consecutive Indianapolis 500s starting with their first appearance in 1913, 70 Duesenbergs competed. Thirty-two – an amazing 46 percent of them – finished in the top 10. Fred and Augie became masters of supercharging and of reliability; their engines, because engines were Fred’s specialty, were beautiful and performed on a par with the best of Miller, Peugeot and Ballot.

In 1925, Errett Lobban Cord added the Duesenberg Motors Company to his rapidly growing enterprise, the Auburn Automobile Company. Cord’s vision was to create an automobile that would surpass the great marques of Europe and America. Cadillac, Isotta Fraschini, Bugatti, Rolls-Royce, Hispano-Suiza were his targets and Duesenberg was his chosen instrument. He presented Fred Duesenberg with the opportunity to create the greatest car in the world, and the result was the incomparable Model J.

This new chassis was conceived and executed to be superlative in all aspects. Its short wheelbase chassis was 142.5 inches, nearly 12 feet; the long wheelbase car added almost a foot more. The double overhead camshaft straight eight-cylinder engine had four valves per cylinder and displaced 420 cubic inches. It made 265 horsepower. The finest materials were used throughout; fit and finish were to tool room standards. Each chassis was driven at speed for 100 miles at Indianapolis.

After the Model J’s introduction Fred Duesenberg worked on making it even more powerful, applying his favorite centrifugal supercharger to the Model J’s giant eight just as he had done so successfully to his 122 cubic inch racing eights a decade earlier. He died following a Model J accident in 1932 and Augie, until then independently and very successfully building racing cars, was retained to put the final touches on the supercharged Duesenberg. The result, christened “SJ,” was then – and remains today - the pinnacle of American luxury performance automobiles. The outside exhaust pipes inspired generations of auto designers and remain, 70 years later, a symbol of power and performance.

The Duesenberg SJ delivered 320 horsepower at speed while retaining the outstanding naturally aspirated performance of the original Model J at lower rpm. Duesenberg built just 36 SJs at the factory; converting a standard J to SJ specification was no small job. The engine required complete disassembly to fit stronger valve springs, high-performance tubular connecting rods and numerous other components.

The effect of the Duesenberg J on America can’t be minimized. Even in the midst of the misery of the Depression, the mighty Duesenberg was a symbol of American ingenuity and engineering excellence. Duesenberg’s advertising became a benchmark, featuring the wealthy and privileged in opulent surroundings with only a single line of copy: “He drives a Duesenberg.” In an early nod to gender equality, others read “She drives a Duesenberg”. The phrase “It’s a real Duesy” has become a permanent part of our language, referring to an object with exceptional quality or performance.

Even now, at the start of the next century, the Duesenberg remains the ultimate symbol of performance and luxury.

The new Duesenberg was tailor-made for the custom body industry. It had the power and stance to carry imposing coachwork, and the style and grace of the factory sheet metal was ideally suited for the execution of elegant custom coachwork. While most of the leading coach builders of the day were commissioned to clothe the mighty J, many modern observers believe it was the Pasadena, California based firm of Bohman & Schwartz that consistently produced the most beautiful – and outrageous - designs.

Bohman & Schwartz

The coach building business was difficult, requiring outstanding design and creativity, exceptional salesmanship, superb craftsmanship, and careful cost control. Weakness in any of these areas could – and often did – result in the demise of an otherwise promising firm. Fortunately, the principals of Bohman and Schwartz understood these principles well, and their company survived until the market for their products vanished – even as the Great Depression came to a close.

Christian Bohman was a Swedish coach builder who emigrated to America where he found work at several northeastern firms, including Holbrook and Brewster. In 1921 he moved to Pasadena, California, recruited by Murphy, Inc., whose wonderfully light and stylish coachwork had made the firm a leader in the industry.

Maurice Schwartz learned the business in Vienna at Armbruster, the carriage-maker to the Viennese royal family. By 1924 he had emigrated to America, also joining the Murphy body company.

In 1932, after Murphy failed, Bohman and Schwartz teamed up and purchased much of their former employer’s equipment. They set up shop, and quickly began work – which was initially mostly repairs and updates – but soon they found they were being approached by those among Murphy’s clientele who could still afford to commission elaborate coachwork. Examples include Clark Gable, Barbara Hutton, Jeanette MacDonald, Bill Robinson (“Bojangles”), and Philip K. Wrigley. Ultimately, Bohman and Schwartz would be credited with nine complete Duesenbergs, five of which were rebodies, leaving just four clean sheet original designs, of which SJ553 is perhaps the most unique.

Although many of their designs were developed in house, as the business expanded, the partners called on a variety of talented designers they had worked with at Murphy – including Herb Newport and W. Everett Miller.

Modern observers credit Bohman & Schwartz with some of the most beautiful - and outrageous - coachwork on the Model J chassis. The Duesenberg was itself larger than life, and its owners were some of the most interesting and charismatic personalities of the time. They were not shy, and they wanted cars that reflected their love of life.

Provenance

In the mid 1930s, SJ553 was listed as a bare chassis in the inventory of the Duesenberg Factory Branch in Los Angeles, CA. It is widely acknowledged that the car was designed by Herb Newport expressly for screen star Mae West. She never took delivery, although she did buy another Bohman & Schwartz Duesenberg – J370, a convertible coupe. It was much less expensive, and many believe that was the reason she chose it – though given her enormous income, it is equally likely that having made up her mind to have a Duesenberg, she simply couldn’t wait for the completion of J553.

As it turned out, J553 was destined to become the prized possession of one of the country’s most influential businesswomen when Ethel Mars took delivery of her astonishing new Duesenberg on April 14th, 1935. Her purchase must have made waves in the business and financial community, telegraphing her arrival as CEO of the Mars Candy Company – and sole heir to one of America’s great fortunes. So significant was the car that it was featured in the November 16th, 1936 issue of Time magazine, over the caption “The costliest car in the United States is Duesenberg, a Cord product”. And expensive it was, with Ethel Mars having paid more than $20,000 for it.

She kept the car at her home in the Chicago area for several years, where it was often seen – uniformed chauffeur at the wheel – in Chicago’s financial district. Eventually, Mrs. Mars sold J553 to to Edward Engle Brown, who was chairman of the board of Chicago’s First National Bank and Trust. Brown owned the car until the late 1940s, eventually selling or trading it to Harry Felz, a Chicago area Cadillac dealer, who resold it – for $2,500 - to Edward D. Jaffe and his brother Oscar, both of Chicago. In the early 1950s, SJ553 went to John Troka, a well known early Duesenberg specialist in Chicago. Three more Chicago area owners followed in the late 1950s and early 1960s - Frank H. Croke, Mrs. W.P. Doyle, and Mrs. Walter J. Podbielniak.

Mrs. Podbielniak sold SJ553, along with two other cars to famous Reno collector Bill Harrah in March of 1966. The car remained in Harrah’s collection until his death, when it became one of the highlights of a three part auction of the collection by Holiday Inn Corporation, which had purchased Harrah’s casino and hotel operations. While at Harrah’s, the car underwent its first restoration – which was not completed in time for the catalog photography.

Richard Dicker, retired chairman of Penn Central Corporation, now living in Scarsdale, NY, bought the big Duesenberg at the Harrah’s auction in the mid 1980s for the then princely sum of $860,000.

He commissioned Hibernia Restorations to undertake the car’s second restoration. A comprehensive and staggeringly expensive restoration, the car was finished in a fine metallic silver gray. Dicker kept SJ553 until he died, at which point it was offered for sale by Sotheby’s in June of 1995, where it was purchased by RM Classic Cars, who ultimately sold it to noted collector John Groendyke of Enid, Oklahoma in 1997. The vendor, a serious and knowledgeable collector, acquired the car from Groendyke in 2000.

SJ553: Two Women, One Car

The history of SJ553 – designed for one woman, but delivered to another – is unique in Duesenberg history.

Mae West, of course, is well known. Born in 1893, her good looks, creativity, and comedic talent made her an international star. Signed by Paramount, she starred in several movies with Cary Grant, including “She Done Him Wrong”, and “I’m no Angel”. Her talent for the double entendre was legendary, and modern popular culture is filled with her lines – perhaps the most famous of which was “Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?”, delivered to a police officer who had been assigned to provide security at one of her public appearances.

She was renowned for her wit – she popularized the double entendre. She also used her talents to champion sexual equality. A believer in human sexuality, she fought censorship and campaigned for sexual freedom in any form. Her stunning good looks and flair for publicity made her a media darling, and she used that platform to promote her beliefs.

Mae West continued to perform on stage, screen, radio, later television until late in the 1970s, as she neared 80 years of age. Her last film was “Sextette”, which remains a cult classic today.

Ethel Victoria Mars was the second wife of Franklin Mars, founder of the Mars Candy Company, and inventor of the Milky Way and Snicker’s chocolate bars.

The couple was among America’s wealthiest families, both then and now. In 1930, they purchased 2,800 acres of land in Tennessee and proceeded to build a farm and lavish home – which boasted 21 bedrooms and the largest private dining room in the state. For three years, the construction of the home and farm was the largest employer in the county, with a payroll of more than 900 men.

Franklin Mars died in 1934; Ethel began raising and training racehorses on the property, under the name “Milky Way Farms”. Her ability to judge horses, and her willingness to take risks quickly made Milky Way the top income earning stable in the country.

She produced many championship winning horses including the 1940 Kentucky Derby winner, Galladion.

In a fascinating coincidence linking these two very interesting women, a 1937 article in Time magazine listed Ethel Mars as the highest paid businesswoman in America, with a salary of $120,000. The only woman who earned more that year was a Hollywood star – Mae West!

Condition Report

Today, SJ5553 remains in excellent condition. Refinished and retrimmed by RM Auto Restoration several years ago, the black paint holds a deep gloss, and is very close to flawless in condition. The car’s chrome plating is similarly excellent, showing little or no evidence of aging. The driver’s compartment is trimmed in black ostrich leather, which seems utterly appropriate in a car of such grandeur.

The rear compartment is a masterpiece of Art Deco design, with the door and division wood trim accented by a classic waterfall pattern, and finished in a deep, high gloss burgundy. The upholstery – in a matching deep red – is expertly fitted, showing dead straight stitching and no puckering or awkward corners. A radio is installed behind a lovely pair of cathedral-shaped doors on one side, while a vanity is fitted behind the other.

The instrument panel is in excellent condition, and the instruments are both correct and in near perfect condition. A complete engine rebuild was recently carried out by Steve Babinsky, a noted New Jersey restorer. The engine bay has been detailed for concours presentation, and shows no evidence of soiling or age since restoration. Similarly, the chassis is nearly perfect, although upon close examination, minor evidence of careful use can be found.

A recent road test revealed that the car starts easily and runs well. There were no indications of mechanical faults, and the big supercharged engine pulls strongly in all three gears. The steering, while not light, is pleasant and accurate. The brakes are quick acting and pull evenly. Although the weather was pleasant, there was no indication of overheating.

The Mae West Duesenberg: The Ultimate Statement?

The SJ must surely represent the ultimate Duesenberg. Cars have been personal statements for many years – but nothing can be more personal than a spectacular one-of-a-kind design, fitted to the ultimate chassis.

In the midst of the horrors of the Great Depression – a time of hardship, economic tragedy, and personal sacrifice, Mae West ordered her Duesenberg. It was not to be just any Duesenberg, and certainly not a somber, conservative limousine, as most would have done. Rather, it was to be an extravagant statement, something that suited her personality – a design her fans would both understand and expect.

And extravagant is perhaps an understatement. At a time when many felt wealth was to be hidden, the Mae West Duesenberg is an open front town car – not only a chauffeur driven style, but one in which the driver is clearly on display – in his ostrich-lined open compartment – for everyone to see.

Of all the Classic Era bodies, open drive town cars were normally the most conservative; they were the automotive equivalent of a white tie and tails. Coachwork tended to be both traditional and understated.

The brilliance of Mae West’s Duesenberg is that it was none of those things. It was flashy and stylish. Town cars were expected to blend into the streetscape; Herb Newport’s design could not be more distinctive.

SJ553’s ultramodern design begins with a lovely swept back radiator shell, banishing the upright and conservative Duesenberg radiator inside the engine compartment, flanked by a pair of up-to-date streamlined headlights. The twin side mounted spares are sculpted into the fenders, and topped with aerodynamic covers. The windshield is a work of art, with narrow pillars in a vee configuration, sloping gracefully to the rear. Finally, the body itself is softly curved, without hard edges or right angles, and finishes with a gently sloping tail.

There is no doubt that the body Bohman and Schwartz crafted for SJ553 was both beautiful and outrageous at the same time – but the coup de grace was the chassis. One of just 36 factory supercharged cars, this was also the most powerful town car ever built. Its signature external exhaust ensured that no one could miss it, or confuse its owner with anyone else, then or now.

Perhaps the signature element of the design of SJ553 is its stunning Art Deco interior. The style – known in the period as Art Moderne – was popular from the early 1920s until the advent of WWII, although for most observers today, its heyday was the 1930s. Seen today as nostalgic, at the time Art Deco was sleek and modern, featuring clean lines, strong colors, and modern materials. It was also highly unusual in automotive interior design, as the buyers of the most expensive cars tended to be older and much more conservative in their tastes. Seen from this perspective, Ethel Mars’ choice of such a contemporary design ethos reflects her youth and implies an exceptional aptitude for the arts.

Today, we are grateful that her strong will and exceptional taste resulted in the creation of what many see as an icon of the period, combining outstanding exterior design with exquisite interior appointments.

SJ553 – Among the Rarest of the Rare.

The survival rate of normal Duesenbergs is remarkably high – a reflection of the high regard their owners have had for the cars throughout the years. They are wonderful cars, offering the finest engineering of the time, a testimonial to the ingenuity and innovation of the American spirit.

As good as the standard chassis was, it is the mighty SJ that will always be remembered as the rarest and without question the most desirable of all the Duesenbergs. Massively powerful and frighteningly expensive, less than ten percent – about 36 cars by most counts – carried the ultimate Duesenberg engine.

Of these, less than thirty survive. Of the survivors, many have suffered the indignities of engine, body, and even chassis changes. Even so, most carry fairly standard coachwork, similar or identical to bodies mounted on other, non supercharged chassis.

Only ten cars exist with true coachbuilt one-off bodies originally fitted to supercharged chassis.

Surely, then, these must be the “top ten” Duesenbergs. SJ553 is one of these – and the only town car. It has an unbroken chain of ownership since new, and a fascinating provenance involving two of the most important women of the time. It retains its original body, chassis, and drivetrain – and the quality of the restoration is second to none.

Of the ten, some have joined permanent collections, never again to be in private hands.

Even in the best collections, other cars may come and go, replaceable at any time. Only the very best can never be replaced; they are only rarely offered – perhaps just once in each generation. SJ553 is one of these rare and beautiful jewels.

 

Jim, after ACD closed shop, what became of Duesenberg technology? Did Duesy engineering know-how CONTINUE as an element of another company. By that I mean, can we say that, e.g., General Dynamics (or whoever) has some roots in good ol' Duesenberg?

I guess I ask because I'd hate to think Fred & Augie's achievements (plus race-proven) wouldn't just blow away in the wind when the make went under for good.

 

Dallas Winslow bought Auburn/Cord/Duesenberg in 1937 and added them to his parts empire for defunct auto manufacturers. Marshal Merkes bought Duesenberg from Winslow in the 1950s and Glenn Pray bought Auburn/Cord from him in 1960.

 

Favorite thread on the HAMB, banger thread a close second.

Thank you to those that are knowledgable and contribute to make the rest of us just a little more aware of these unique and extinct makes.

 

Thanks, AJ, for that info. GOOD to know that tech know-how and parts inventory didn't get wasted. I've heard of Glenn Pray only. Winslow surely showed foresight when buying A-C-D when EL decided to get out of the business, didn't he? I remember wincing when I read that Packard had most every part back to 1899 that any owner might ever need. And Jim Nance (I think it was) deeped-sxed ALL of that when "streamlining" ops in the early-mid '50s. But that's an aside to my first question.

Can you say what some of the other makes were whose holdings he bought up in the '30s? (I remember that Seagrave bought rights to the Pierce gas V-12 design, though.)

And, BTW, I think I goofed discussing the Mars '35 Duesenberg yesterday. I said Lycoming which, of course, Auburn and Cord would have used. But the Duesy would still have been running Duesenberg enignes, correct???

 

Off the top of my head, Winslow owned Graham, Hupp, Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg, Pierce, RR of America and I think a few others.

Duesenberg engines were manufactured by Lycoming and then torn down and rebuilt at the Duesenberg factory.

 

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By <!--META START NAME="author"--> Julie M. Fenster <!--META END-->

<!--META START NAME="copy"--> Chronicles one of the early and great achievements in the history of the automobile, when seventeen men attempted to drive from New York to Paris, through desert heat and arctic cold. At the time, there were no gas stations, no garages, and many people along the route had never even seen an automobile. <!--META END-->

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