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Car pics too cool not to share
- Thread starter Squatch
- Start date
1930 Duesenberg Model J Murphy
In 1925, Errett Lobban Cord added the Duesenberg Motors Company to his enterprise, the Auburn Automobile Company. He purchased the company because he felt it could surpass the great marques of America and Europe. The individuals who ran the Duesenberg Company were Fred and August Duesenberg who were both self-taught mechanics and car builders whose careers started in the Midwest at the beginning of the twentieth century. The older brother (by five years), Fred, was the designer and tinkerer of the two. Augie was able to make Fred's ingenious creations work. Among the list of accomplishments by the Duesenberg Company were 70 starts at 15 consecutive Indianapolis 500s, starting with their first appearance in 1913. Of those 70 starts, 46 percent finished in the top 10. In 1922, eight of the top 10 cars were Duesenberg powered, including Jimmy Murphy's Duesenberg.
On December 1st of 1928, at the New York Auto Salon, the Duesenberg Model J was introduced. Duesenberg ordered enough materials and components to build 500 examples while development continued for six months after the Model J's introduction. Barely five months before Black Tuesday and the start of the Great Depression, in May of 1929, the first customer delivery of the Model J transpired.
Since it was intended to be the ultimate automobile, its customer base was the social elite and those who could afford the staggering price. At the heart of the Duesenberg was a twin-cam race-bred engine. It was a purpose-built 32-valve Lycoming 6,876cc straight-eight delivering 265 horsepower. When fitted with lightweight coachwork, the Model J could achieve 90 mph in second gear with a maximum speed of around 110 mph in high gear. The ride and handling were exceptional, and 15-inch hydraulic brakes were placed at all four corners. Every chassis built was tested for 100 miles on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before being handed over to a leading coachbuilder for the construction of custom bodywork.
The short wheelbase Model J chassis measured 142.5 inches, nearly 12 feet. The long-wheelbase version measured 153.5 inches.
The Model J was designed to carry imposing coachwork with style and grace. Among the list of coachbuilders who clothed the Duesenbergs was the Walter M. Murphy Company of Pasadena, California, which produced roughly 100 Duesenberg bodies, a little more than one-fifth of total production. Walter Murphy was assisted by Frank Spring and J. Gerard Kirchhoff, who supervised the projects of in-house designers and veteran freelancers.
The most popular Murphy style was the two-passenger Convertible Coupe with a rumble seat, now universally dubbed the Murphy Roadster. Approximately 60 were made and since they had custom coachwork, they are not all alike. Initially, about 25 came with a non-disappearing top; this was followed by a series of interim cars with several being one-offs, where the top folded down into a well behind the seat and could be covered by a snap-on tonneau in leather. The final iteration of this style was the 'disappearing top,' where the tonneau was replaced by a flush-fitting metal lid. This style, along with Murphy's signature ultra-thin windshield pillars and disappearing side windows, transformed the Convertible Coupe into the appearance of a Roadster. Errett Lobban Cord would later copy this Murphy design for the subsequent Cord L-29 and Auburn V-12 Salon series.
In 1925, Errett Lobban Cord added the Duesenberg Motors Company to his enterprise, the Auburn Automobile Company. He purchased the company because he felt it could surpass the great marques of America and Europe. The individuals who ran the Duesenberg Company were Fred and August Duesenberg who were both self-taught mechanics and car builders whose careers started in the Midwest at the beginning of the twentieth century. The older brother (by five years), Fred, was the designer and tinkerer of the two. Augie was able to make Fred's ingenious creations work. Among the list of accomplishments by the Duesenberg Company were 70 starts at 15 consecutive Indianapolis 500s, starting with their first appearance in 1913. Of those 70 starts, 46 percent finished in the top 10. In 1922, eight of the top 10 cars were Duesenberg powered, including Jimmy Murphy's Duesenberg.
On December 1st of 1928, at the New York Auto Salon, the Duesenberg Model J was introduced. Duesenberg ordered enough materials and components to build 500 examples while development continued for six months after the Model J's introduction. Barely five months before Black Tuesday and the start of the Great Depression, in May of 1929, the first customer delivery of the Model J transpired.
Since it was intended to be the ultimate automobile, its customer base was the social elite and those who could afford the staggering price. At the heart of the Duesenberg was a twin-cam race-bred engine. It was a purpose-built 32-valve Lycoming 6,876cc straight-eight delivering 265 horsepower. When fitted with lightweight coachwork, the Model J could achieve 90 mph in second gear with a maximum speed of around 110 mph in high gear. The ride and handling were exceptional, and 15-inch hydraulic brakes were placed at all four corners. Every chassis built was tested for 100 miles on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before being handed over to a leading coachbuilder for the construction of custom bodywork.
The short wheelbase Model J chassis measured 142.5 inches, nearly 12 feet. The long-wheelbase version measured 153.5 inches.
The Model J was designed to carry imposing coachwork with style and grace. Among the list of coachbuilders who clothed the Duesenbergs was the Walter M. Murphy Company of Pasadena, California, which produced roughly 100 Duesenberg bodies, a little more than one-fifth of total production. Walter Murphy was assisted by Frank Spring and J. Gerard Kirchhoff, who supervised the projects of in-house designers and veteran freelancers.
The most popular Murphy style was the two-passenger Convertible Coupe with a rumble seat, now universally dubbed the Murphy Roadster. Approximately 60 were made and since they had custom coachwork, they are not all alike. Initially, about 25 came with a non-disappearing top; this was followed by a series of interim cars with several being one-offs, where the top folded down into a well behind the seat and could be covered by a snap-on tonneau in leather. The final iteration of this style was the 'disappearing top,' where the tonneau was replaced by a flush-fitting metal lid. This style, along with Murphy's signature ultra-thin windshield pillars and disappearing side windows, transformed the Convertible Coupe into the appearance of a Roadster. Errett Lobban Cord would later copy this Murphy design for the subsequent Cord L-29 and Auburn V-12 Salon series.
Cool story, nice graduation present and US made.
Mr. Allen Swift died in 2005 at the impressive age of 102, but his automotive story is even more remarkable. Not only is the gentleman credited with owning a Rolls-Royce automobile longer than anyone else in the world, but he had the forethought and funds to ensure its future preservation after his death.
In 1928, while living in Springfield, Massachusetts, Swift's father gave him a 1928 Rolls-Royce Piccadilly P1 Roadster as a graduation present (Springfield and Rolls-Royce have a history – from 1920 to 1931, the British automaker built 2,944 vehicles in the city as part of its attempt to establish a US plant). The young man was passionate about his green-over-green softtop convertible, not only driving it on a regular basis, but maintaining it meticulously over the decades (the two door-received a complete body-off restoration and engine rebuild in 1988).
Rolls-Royce acknowledged Mr. Swift in 1994, awarding him a crystal Spirit of Ecstasy award for his length of ownership. By 2005, Swift had logged more than 170,000 miles on its analog odometer and he was recognized as the oldest living person to have owned a car from new. He passed away that year.
But the story doesn't end there. Swift left the Lyman & Merrie Wood Museum of Springfield History a $1 million gift to create a new exhibition to care for his roadster and tell the story of Rolls-Royce manufacturing in the Massachusetts town. Today, Mr. Swift's beautiful Piccadilly P1 Roadster is prominently displayed in the museum's Transportation Collection.
1967 Ford Custom 500 Coupe 429 CI six pack. This car was a sleeper. Not flashy, but a true beast!
Possibly the Raddest1929 Ford Model A Sedan Tudor you'll ever see!
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