Not my cuppa but I’d take it for a spin around the block.
Cryin’ shame, idn’t it?, the way nobody respects anyone else these days. That vehicle would have to be parked in the distant edge of any parking lot in an effort to avoid the malcontents. What’s the point in having a ride if you still hafta walk? I remember when that wasn’t so.
Look how far everything has fallen, just in my lifetime.
Snakepit Kansas
19 days ago
What on earth is that car? What is under the hood? It has four horns and I want to know how loud they are. I’d sure give it a spin!
It’s a Duesenburg (“It’s a doozy”), a very high end luxury car from the 1920s/30s. Built in Indianapolis. Went out of business in 1937. I’m not sure but I believe this is a mid-30s Model J possibly with a 420ci straight 8. I saw this car in Colorado – Loveland as I recall. Some consider this to be the best American car ever built. They go for well over $1M today. I happened to be walking by and there it sat. No one around; I know nothing more than what I speculate.
ghostsniper
19 days ago
Gary Cooper’s 1929 Duesenberg Model J-431 Derham Tourster. The chassis of the vehicle was assembled at the Duesenberg Indianapolis factory in 1928, with a J-403 engine.
It would remain in the factory inventory until 1930 when it was shipped to the Derham Body Co. in Philadelphia. Derham fitted a body on the chassis that was designed by Gordon Buehrig, and was initially built with a green ostrich leather interior. It was then sent to Chicago to be shown as the Duesenberg show car at the 1931 Chicago Auto Salon, held in October of 1930.
Gary Cooper was in attendance and fell in love with the Duesenberg. When it arrived a short time later at the Los Angeles Auto Salon, Cooper bought it for $15,000. Before he took delivery, the engine failed. Duesenberg replaced it with a more modern J-431 engine. Cooper would then use the car to race fellow celebrities on the Mojave Dessert. Almost sacrilegiously, he removed the fenders, spare tires, trunk, bumpers, headlights, and running boards. This was done to shed excess weight.
In 1932, Cooper sent the car back to the Los Angeles branch of Duesenberg to have the vehicle restyled. He would send it back again in 1935. At that time, a short wheelbase SJ-563 Roadster was on display in the showroom. Cooper decided against restyling (again) the J-431 and traded it in on the 1935 SSJ-563. He gave them his old Duesenberg plus $5000.
The only other SSJ built was sold to his friend Clark Gable. Since 1935, Cooper’s 1929 Duesenberg has been with several collectors. It has been owned for some time by the Heritage Plantation Museum in Sandwich, Massachusetts. Heritage performed a frame-off restoration restoring it to its 1932 appearance.
Gary Cooper, one of the biggest stars of his time, had many exotic cars over his lifetime. He passed away at a relatively young age of 60 in 1961. The 1935 Duesenberg he traded this car in on sold at auction in 2018 for $22,000,000.
Not my cuppa but I’d take it for a spin around the block.
Cryin’ shame, idn’t it?, the way nobody respects anyone else these days. That vehicle would have to be parked in the distant edge of any parking lot in an effort to avoid the malcontents. What’s the point in having a ride if you still hafta walk? I remember when that wasn’t so.
Look how far everything has fallen, just in my lifetime.
What on earth is that car? What is under the hood? It has four horns and I want to know how loud they are. I’d sure give it a spin!
It’s a Duesenburg (“It’s a doozy”), a very high end luxury car from the 1920s/30s. Built in Indianapolis. Went out of business in 1937. I’m not sure but I believe this is a mid-30s Model J possibly with a 420ci straight 8. I saw this car in Colorado – Loveland as I recall. Some consider this to be the best American car ever built. They go for well over $1M today. I happened to be walking by and there it sat. No one around; I know nothing more than what I speculate.
Gary Cooper’s 1929 Duesenberg Model J-431 Derham Tourster. The chassis of the vehicle was assembled at the Duesenberg Indianapolis factory in 1928, with a J-403 engine.
It would remain in the factory inventory until 1930 when it was shipped to the Derham Body Co. in Philadelphia. Derham fitted a body on the chassis that was designed by Gordon Buehrig, and was initially built with a green ostrich leather interior. It was then sent to Chicago to be shown as the Duesenberg show car at the 1931 Chicago Auto Salon, held in October of 1930.
Gary Cooper was in attendance and fell in love with the Duesenberg. When it arrived a short time later at the Los Angeles Auto Salon, Cooper bought it for $15,000. Before he took delivery, the engine failed. Duesenberg replaced it with a more modern J-431 engine. Cooper would then use the car to race fellow celebrities on the Mojave Dessert. Almost sacrilegiously, he removed the fenders, spare tires, trunk, bumpers, headlights, and running boards. This was done to shed excess weight.
In 1932, Cooper sent the car back to the Los Angeles branch of Duesenberg to have the vehicle restyled. He would send it back again in 1935. At that time, a short wheelbase SJ-563 Roadster was on display in the showroom. Cooper decided against restyling (again) the J-431 and traded it in on the 1935 SSJ-563. He gave them his old Duesenberg plus $5000.
The only other SSJ built was sold to his friend Clark Gable. Since 1935, Cooper’s 1929 Duesenberg has been with several collectors. It has been owned for some time by the Heritage Plantation Museum in Sandwich, Massachusetts. Heritage performed a frame-off restoration restoring it to its 1932 appearance.
Gary Cooper, one of the biggest stars of his time, had many exotic cars over his lifetime. He passed away at a relatively young age of 60 in 1961. The 1935 Duesenberg he traded this car in on sold at auction in 2018 for $22,000,000.
coops dues