Yeah, thats great and all - but how was the brisket? Seriously - thats just a completely crazy scene in that parking lot - wow. The Gable roadster is just a jaw dropper, and its super cool that it gets driven.
Absolutely! I haven't been there in a long time, but it's a great place. It's located at the old Auburn factory!
Wow! The Jordan not only sports Woodlite headlights but mini-Woodlites on the fender tops. Try to find THOSE at the local swap meet.
This might seem like BS, but I actually got into a a little stoplite, to stoplite drag with a 28 or so Duesy pheaton. When I lived in Riverside there was a guy that drove one to his work sometimes at the Motorola lab in town. Some say he had several of 'em, in his little car collection. This was early 60's. It was like an original barnfind look with red oxide paint, no top and raggedy interior. But it was a supercharged model. So I was jus sittin at the lite when out of the corner of my eye I see this big ol' hood coming up next to me, and it kept coming! I recognized it right away, the 'duesy guy'. gads he didnt look at me at all, and so then the light changed, so whats an rodder goin to do? I,ll just stay with him , so away we go and now i,m kinda pushin' the pedal and he,s walikin away, finally I had it to the floor so lookout! my 55' ,272, fordomatic, had both barrels open! That duesey just walked away with smoke pourin out that 3 inch tailpipe! really! I,ll never foget that!
i was born and raised in burbank, ca and i used to go to the bobs big boy just down the street from me. i would say about once a month or so jay leno would drive on through and one day he drove through in that one duesy that he got for really cheap off some little old lady. that thing had people around it like flies on shit and i was one of them. all the paint for the most part was oxidized or just completely gone but it was a beautiful sight that i will never forget.
Yes the Duesenberg bug! I got mine when I was young and my Dad took me to the then Duesenberg room at the Imperial Palace here in Vegas. I was about 10. I told him someday I would have a Duesy! I will too!!!!
I'm proud and honored to say I'm one of the fortunate few who has actually driven and serviced a few of them. There truely is nothing like it. The feel belies what's actually happening. The RPMs are loafing at about 12-1500 but you're rolling along at 40-45MPH. Just takes a bit to get used to. The steering is faster than you'd expect. Just think about changing lanes damn near and it does it. Power brakes too. Shifting a Deusey the proper way can be an art form in itself. Considering that big box of gears can run near 6 figures you want to be on your game. But the engine. That gigantic twin cam 4 valve engine. An offy on steroids maybe? The power up can be seamless and again before you know it you're flying at well over 50 whether you want to or not. All of em the same? No, but the one I have the most seat time in was. I agree Ryan, everything about a Deusy is nearly an art form in itself. There's a series of 4 colored lights on the instrument panel also. They work off of a timer near the fuel pump and remind you when to change oil, check the battery, when the chassis is being lubricated, all way back then. Today we take our digital reminders for granted in newer daily drivers. No secret here, I'm by and large a Packard guy and many a time my fellow Packard enthusiasts will start a comparison discussion. No comparison. They're different. They're both amazing in many respects. One can't be better than the other. My answer is always the same when asked which I think is better. "Red wine or white wine? Frank or Dean? Steak or Lobster?" I'll take a Murphy roadster and an 1101 coupe please. I'm already working on the latter, but like many have said some seriously good fortune may have to come my way before I get that Murphy. Thanks for brining some of my daily life to my fellow brothers here. Great write up and I'm happy you got to experience it. You shoulda asked for ride. Bet you'd have got one...
Even during the great depression a duesy ran aynwhere from $5000.00 to $7000.00 and that was before you had body built and installed ! That was as much as a nice home, and times were so bad, even the dusenberg brothers could not buy one of their own cars !
This is sorta common knowledge, but Fred and August (Augie) Duesenberg were racers. Their cars won numerous Indy 500 races back in the 1920s. Harry Miller was so determined to beat the Duesenbergs at Indy that he copied the cam profile from one of their engines that came into his shop for repair. So in a way the Duesenbergs were responsible for the success of the Miller...and later Offenhauser...engines we know and love. Used Duesenberg engines were also stuffed into a few Model As and Deuce roadsters and run at the lakes.
It was... I think when I went there were at least 20+ if I recall. It was truly spectacular, and be that young they looked larger then life.
I stopped by the museum one day a few years back. Very cool. Next time I hope to make it a double-header at about the same time as the James Dean show. Gary http://acdfestival.org/ http://www.automobilemuseum.org/About/Pages/default.aspx
Duesy's and Allards have always made my blood boil. I'd love to open an old barn and find one covered in dirt and bird poop! The craftsmanship is awesome and it would be like driving the "Queen Mary" on the streets. Always have evil thoughts in the back of my mind... V10, sports susp, twin turbos... you know!!!!
So, was it a duesenberg reliability run or something?? I've looked at hundreds in museums or auctions, but I've never seen one actually driving... unless I count watching Leno drive his on TV... I would've taken the day off and drove the 3 hours to Austin just to see that car!
My grandpa was born and raised in Chicago and he was telling me stories about his first car, a '29 A sport coupe. He would go to the local junkyards and buy A boxes for nothing with he would blow one up, they were filled with Model A stuff. He said there were a few Duesenbergs in the local yards when he was picking. He mentioned some of local guys would use the carbs off them. He said at the time they were just considered old junk cars and nobody thought any different. This was in '48 or '49.
First one in this post started by Ryan is a custom. Chopped windshield, skirts, dual spare tires. I'm pretty sure this was the Clark Gable Deusenberg.
Yeah, that detail is just flat out stunning. For anybody who missed it, go back and look at image #6 now. Check out how well that fender skirt is fitted to the fender, especially down at the bottom. Now imagine the hours that went into getting that just exactly right.
Here's an ultimate Deusy for al of us speed freaks. The "Mormon Meteor" driven by Ab Jenkins and another guy whom I can't recall right now to a 24hr record of over 150MPH back in 1935. Enjoy. And BTW, that "hiboy" pic is a Mercedes SSK or similar model. There's a bit of Deusy folklore that describes Gary Cooper having the new supercharger fitted to his Derham Tourster bodied Deusy. He called out Groucho Marx for a race, removed his fenders and beat Groucho's mercedes. I don't remember what model Mercedes he had but it didn't matter. He got beat by a car that was much bigger and clearly faster. Coopers car was primrose yellow with apple green fenders. Sounds like a nightmare but it was actually quite stunning. Enjoy the "Meteor". I may get detailed shots up close of it in a week or 2, no promises, but it may happen.
Love this story! How many cars do we see at shows with the ever-annoying "DO NOT TOUCH" signs? So the owner of $10KK car says, put your 3-year old in the driver's seat! Hats off to Mr. Jordan Owner!
The Clark Gable roadster was one of the prized autos in the Gene Zimmernam collection in the 60's and 70's. The Museum was south of Harrisburg, PA attached to Gene's Holliday Inn Motel on US 15. It was easilly seen from the PA Turnpike. The car was often parked outside, without any security, to help draw interest in the collection. I believe most of the collection was sold in the early 80's when Zimmernam sold the property and retired to Florida.
So, one morning about 19 years or so ago, I sat down at my desk in my family's sewing machine shop for another exciting round of "what bills should I pay today". As I sat down and poured a cup of coffee my phone rang. I picked it up and a hysterical voice on the other end of the line said "get over here and help me today, you won't regret it!!!" It took a second or two to recognize the voice, but it was that of our own Elpolacko, and the reason for his excitement had just been rolled out of an enclosed transport truck and trusted to him - One of the last original "barn find" Duessys on the planet! His boss figured he was the one for the job of recommissioning it for use. My reaction? Drop my jaw and my coffee, explain to my employees that I had much more important things to do that day, and please don't burn the place down goodbye!!! my god what a beautiful piece of automotive sex... Working on that was truly one of the best days I have ever put in... To bad I had to be responsible the rest of the week and never got to take that ride in it. Ask Elp about that one!
I was just a teenager, back in McKees Rocks, Pa. Lloyds Auto Parts had a small 2 stall shop, and at the time, Roger worked as a mechanic. Roger was a strange little guy, but a great Mechanic. He taught me a lot of good stuff. He had a (car) to overhaul and this thing was a beast. Two windshields, two dash boards, took two chain blocks to lift the engine out, and he did a major overhaul. Every one said why would some one fix that beast, why spend the money, they should junk it a get a new one. Well I was just a learning mechanic and I was intreagued with this old girl. Got it running and it was a real runner, this was 1953 and that was my first experience with a Duesenburg. Would love to relive that one again.
Just to clear something up.The Carole Lombard Duesy shown in the beginning of this thread,is owned by a collector here in NJ.The car has won at Pebble and Amelia Island.Go to conceptcars.net and it should be on there.
The Jalopy Journal
