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J-426/2452: Trying to complete the history of my Grandfather's Duesenberg

  • J426
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11 Mar 2021 16:22 - 11 Mar 2021 16:47 #42595 by J426
Here are some pictures from Bill Dreist
Last edit: 11 Mar 2021 16:47 by J426.

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11 Mar 2021 16:20 #42594 by J426
Here are some more pictures from Pebble Beach, 2015.

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11 Mar 2021 16:18 #42593 by J426
Good morning, everyone! I also wanted to share some of the incredible information and pictures I received from Bill Dreist. He was even generous enough to send me a portion of the car's original headliner. The car was long gone- in pieces- before he even acquired the rear section for his Duesenberg, so the fact that he had it- and was willing to gift it to me- is really remarkable to me. It is as close as I will ever get to my grandfather's car and it is no doubt the original material from Derham, when the car was built. I have it in safe storage with all of my other Duesenberg literature, pictures, and documentation.

I would love to ride in a Model J Duesenberg one day...just to feel what it was like. I am in Lake Elsinore, California and would love to hear back from anyone if that is even a remote possibility. I know Jay Leno has a bunch about 60 miles away...LOL. I was fortunate to meet him at Pebble Beach in 2015 when I was there for the historic kustom Mercury gathering, put on by Ken Gross. I caught Jay Leno in the unloading lot while he was looking at a few Duesenbergs and showed him pictures of my grandfather's car on my phone and told him what I knew about it. He asked if it was still around and that was about it...got a cool picture with him and had him sign my map to the parking area, upside-down. I didn't see him at the Concours afterwards, but as I was driving home, here comes Jay, flying onto the freeway in his Bentley, just north of LA.

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  • J426
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10 Mar 2021 18:25 #42572 by J426
Check out what I just found:

History of Rumplik's Garage, where our Duesenberg was bought:

www.eastislip.org/Pages/Memory%20Lane/Rumplik/rumplik.htm

ENJOY!

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29 Aug 2020 02:10 #40808 by J426
Just wanted to check in and see how everyone is doing?

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  • Jonathan Richards
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08 Sep 2018 00:24 #35372 by Jonathan Richards
Beautiful kustom body work. Thanks for sharing with us ACD Club members.

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  • 1748 S
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08 Sep 2018 00:23 #35371 by 1748 S
Thank you for sharing a wonderfully built custom. Its very impressive looking. Wish I had your metal working skills.

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  • Joe Holderman
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07 Sep 2018 23:27 #35369 by Joe Holderman
Nice ol' custom!

Future Cord owner.

Messenger Link: m.me/hotrodjoe

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07 Sep 2018 19:39 #35367 by J426
I wanted to add a few pictures of my Barris-style 1950 Ford kustom that I built. My goal was to emulate something that would have rolled off the Barris Kustoms Lynwood lot in late 1953 to early '54. This was a long build that was often on the back-burner after a garage fire, head-on collision, finishing college, and doing metalwork on customers' cars. I have had a small shop called King Kustoms since 2001 and recently moved from Temecula to Lake Elsinore. I continue to build kustoms on the side, but one at a time these days because I am a full time history teacher.

I started with a stock '50 Ford Tudor Sedan and chopped it six and a half inches in the front and about eight in the rear. Tail lights are '53 Pontiac set inside '52 Ford bezels that were blended into the stock windsplits- a nod to the Barris-built Chuck DeWitt '50 Ford. Grill is narrowed '54 Ford with '51 end bullets set inside of a modified and molded '50 Merc grill shell. Side trim is NOS '54 Dodge that I modified to fit the Ford body.

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07 Sep 2018 04:39 - 07 Sep 2018 18:00 #35366 by J426
Hello everyone! The recent pictures from Pebble Beach have inspired me to post an update on my grandfather's Duesenberg. I was fortunate to attend Pebble Beach in 2015 at the invite of my friend Bill Worden, who owns the historic Barris Kustoms built Ralph Testa '50 Merc convertible. It was part of an historical custom Mercury gathering curated by Ken Gross.

Since my last post, I have spoken with Bill Dreist on the phone and had a number of back and forth letters that shared some exciting information and pictures. My friend Megan has also put me in touch with pictures of Bill's Duesenberg at the ACD meets. I hope to attend next year for the celebration of the Model J.

Randy Ema was very graceful to give my parents and me a wonderful tour of his shop in Orange and he had some fascinating letters my grandfather wrote about the Duesenberg as well as old repair invoices from work by Jim Hoe. My dad said he remembers going to Jim Hoe's shop as a kid and visiting for family dinners during the holidays. He recalled doing over 100 mph in a Duesenberg touring car (not sure exactly which one) and having a blowout...which ended safely, apparently.

When I have some more time, I will share more detailed information.

drive.google.com/open?id=1cuDg3i5mZU_SF7q9yciSODIjB2Op89bU
drive.google.com/open?id=1RowPSgznO2Oy1iS-2YQrcjcNZUI-l6mW
drive.google.com/open?id=1ZAU54oa0od95mGDS2k6WQ_hPakvfE2pn
Last edit: 07 Sep 2018 18:00 by J426.

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  • Jonathan Richards
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17 Sep 2017 14:58 #33576 by Jonathan Richards
Hi, Mike, This subject properly belongs under Cord 810/810 Forum but, yes , the problem with 32410S has been diagnosed and corrected.The screw which affixes the upper collar ( with slot for distributor drive shaft) to the intermediate drive shaft in the cam driven oil pump/distributor system came loose causing distributor rotor to stop. End result, no ignition and engine stops. A coat of Permatex Blue anti-seize on the threads of the screw and proper re-assembly did the trick and the Cord re-started. Today she takes a 60 mile trip to Millstadt, Illinois to the home of the daughter of the late ACD Club member Col. Leonard Redburn. It was Leonard who completed most of the restoration on Geneva in the 1990s. Thanks for inquiring, Jack Richards.

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  • J426
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07 Sep 2017 22:48 #33521 by J426
Thank you for the kind reply! I was fortunate to speak with Randy this week and hope to get my dad up to his place soon to share even more pictures we found last night...when I get a chance, I will post some more on the car :)

I was wondering if I should join the club- I am extremely proud to be able to say my grandfather owned a Duesenberg. Our grandfathers definitely had great taste in cars!

Rob Radcliffe

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  • mikespeed35
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07 Sep 2017 04:10 #33518 by mikespeed35
Jack, Have you found anything with your Cord yet? Would be curious as to the solution. Hope you bought the right parts.
CORDiallyMike

Mike Huffman

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  • Jonathan Richards
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07 Sep 2017 03:37 #33517 by Jonathan Richards
You have provided a fabulous J Duesenberg history to our website. The ACD Club just completed the 61st Annual Reunion/Festival over this past Labor Day weekend and after Randy Ema and Bill Dreist have read your posts I am sure they will be in touch with you. As usual Chris Summers has been informed and helpful to an ACD enthusiast. My grandfather bought new in 1932 an Auburn 12-160A Brougham which is still on the road in largely original and unrestored condition belonging to an active West Coast Club member. Our grandfathers certainly had good taste in automobiles. I cannot know if you are an ACD Club member but I highly recommend you join. One does NOT need to own an ACD vehicle to belong, Best Regards, J:onathan (Jack)} Richards #1080 at Chesterfield, MO /Cell Phone 712/621-1854

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01 Sep 2017 18:29 #33492 by J426
I just went through the registration stubs from NY for my grandfather's Duesenberg and noticed the serial number stating 2456, which must be incorrect. That number belongs to J-444, which is the Joe E. Brown/Howard Hughes car...interesting to see why that number was used instead of the correct 2452. Perhaps a typo by Rumplick's Garage or is there more to the story???

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01 Sep 2017 01:34 #33491 by J426
This is the car that I believe was a counterpart to my grandfather's Duesenberg: J-183/2201

Please correct me on any information regarding this car or J-426/2452

The red and silver car is J-237/2257 owned by Bill Dreist. This car has the rear section of my grandfather's J-426/2452.
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01 Sep 2017 01:28 - 05 Sep 2017 16:48 #33490 by J426
It had a new top and paint job closer to 1950, I believe. My dad said the top leaked and at one time, the open chauffeur's compartment was filled in.

The dark picture below shows the car as it looked when my grandfather bought it- the lighter (tan) top was the new top. The picture with the dark top shows the seam where the open chauffeur's compartment would come off.

My grandfather also found a Duesenberg trunk and added it to the car, thinking the original was missing. It is my belief that the Derham body did not originally have a trunk as part of its design...
Last edit: 05 Sep 2017 16:48 by J426.

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01 Sep 2017 01:23 - 01 Sep 2017 01:24 #33489 by J426
More pictures from the family albums
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Last edit: 01 Sep 2017 01:24 by J426.

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01 Sep 2017 01:17 #33488 by J426


Hello everyone!

I am new to this forum, but not new to growing up seeing and hearing about the mighty Duesenberg. Although I never met my grandfather nor saw his Duesenberg in person, my dad has shared many fond memories about the car.

1929 Duesenberg Model J Derham Town Car J-426/2452 LWB

On May 23, 1947, my grandfather, Robert A. Radcliffe of Hempstead, New York bought a Duesenberg from Rumplik's Garage in East Islip, New York for the sum of $800 cash. This car was J-426/2452. I have NY registration receipts and the "car invoice" from Rumplik's Garage to this day. The NY registrations end in 1951, and that is when my dad believes my grandfather sold it. Not long after, it was hit by a logging truck in the Pocono Mountains in NY (or so the story goes...).

About six years ago, I reached out to Chris Summers and he had some very interesting information. Apparently, a portion of the body, the engine, and the chassis were all salvaged. The chassis (2452) was repaired and sold to a buyer in Texas. The engine was in MD in the 1970s. The rear half of the body was restored by Bill Dreist of MI and used on J-237/2257. Summers told me it had been incorporated with the front half of that car's original Willoughby Berline body. I have now seen pictures of this car as it exists today, thanks to Summers. I found Bill Dreist's contact info online but have not been able to reach him by phone yet.

We have always known the original owner was Antonio Chopitea of Lima, Peru. I have now learned that Antonio and his brothers had a slew of Duesenbergs, both new and used, as well as custom Packards. They had cars stashed all over their properties in South America and the eastern United States. I have found pictures of Antonio and his Packards and learned of the other Duesenbergs that have been confirmed of his ownership.

What we would like to know is if J-426 was a 1929 or 1932 (which is what the NY registration and Rumplik's receipt state). We think it was a 1929 that went to Lima, Peru until it was brought to NYC in 1932. My dad said his father always said the car spent time in South America when it was brand-new.

I recently learned that Derham built a "sister car" (if you will) to J-426, which is J-183/2201. I would like to know if it was built at the same time as J-426, as the bodies are very similar, if not identical. I have compared it to pictures of my grandfather's car. The J-183 car has quite a history as it became Jim Hoe's racer after its 1933 wreck...then went on to receive a beautiful restoration with a replicated Murphy touring body.

I would like to share the pictures of when my grandfather owned J-426/2452 from 1947-'51.

Any possible information that we do not know is greatly appreciated! I would also like to get in touch with Bill Dreist and Randy Ema to see what they can share about the car.

Thank you,
Robert A. Radcliffe III
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