1929 Duesenberg J
edited by David Barth, 23 November 2008.
Courtesy "The Auto Collections" showroom at the Imperial Palace Hotel and Casino in Las, Vegas, Nevada, USA. Photos were
taken 18 November 2008.
Some of the information presented below is from "Imperial Palace Auto Collection" by Ralph Engelstad, owner of the
hotel/casino and the automobiles until his death in 2002.
Chassis number: 2143.
Engine number: J-118.
- 1929: This fine automobile was originally purchased by Mr. Art Kiel of Southern California.
- 1934: The car was purchased by Mr. M.K. Barbie, the head of the Coca-Cola company. Mr. Barbie commissioned
Bohman and Schwartz of Pasedena, California to restyle the car to its elegant form seen in the photos.
- 1947: The car was then sold to Mr. Fred Buess, Jr. of Venice, California.
- 1963: The car was purchased by Mr. Homer Fitterling, a well known Duesenberg collector in Indiana. Mr.
Fitterling.
- 1983: The car was purchased by Mrs. Geri Brown.
- 1993: She sold the car to Mr. Ed Weaver.
- 1996 and 1997: The car was completely restored by one of the finest restorers in the U.S. which resulted in it
earning First in Class at the 1997 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
- 2008: As of the date of the photos, 18 November 2008, the car was being offered for sale at the price of
$1,250,000.
Duesenberg achieve fame for being the first and only American car to win the French Grand Prix. But the commercial version
of the Duesenberg didn't live up to the performance or excitement of the competition model. A major problem was
uninspired coachwork styling.
In 1926 E. L. Cord took over the failing company to add it as the top-of-the-line car to his other companies. Fred
Duesenberg was an engineering genius who designed the mechanicals and E. L. Cord provided financing for the company.
Styling was undertaken by Gordon Buehrig, a twenty-five year old designer who helped make Duesenberg "The World's Finest
Motor Car."
The chassis cost $8,500 and the body added $4,000 to $6,500. Bodies were built by the Union City Body Company of Union
City, Indiana. It was not a particularly prestigous coach house. The bodies were delivered to Duesenberg's Indianapolis
factory where they were finished by in-house craftsmen.
