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Auberg Duesenburn

  • Josh Malks
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24 Feb 2011 16:38 #19382 by Josh Malks
Replied by Josh Malks on topic Auberg Duesenburn
Herb Shriner also owned the Phantom Corsair, Rust Heinz's prototype that used a Cord 810 stub frame and mechanicals. He had the car restyled to an Albert Goetz design, and used it as a centerpiece of his Third Annual New York International Auto Show in 1954. (The Mercedes 300SL and 190SL were introduced at this show.) Shriner and his wife were killed in their Avanti in 1970.

Shriner's Will Rogers-style humor was mostly based on his growing up in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

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  • memaerobilia
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24 Feb 2011 16:22 #19381 by memaerobilia
Replied by memaerobilia on topic Auberg Duesenburn
Hi Josh;
I'm very much looking forward to discussing growing up in The Bronx, and my Dad's Raceway Garage race, custom and classic cars, back in the 50s etc. in some emails.
But to keep related to this thread, and interest of the ACD forum viewers, I can add these two Auburn photos of supercharged boat tail speedster that was done at Raceway Garage. For years, I had it in my head that the above stretched car, was a deep blue color, because I had remembered seeing a color transparency of that color. Having sorted through most of the original negatives, I finally realized, decades later, that the blue car was the one in These photos, alongside the beautiful Auburn, taken on street outside of Raceway Garage.. The full custom was built for radio celebrity Herb Shriner. It was not quite finished in these photos, as the end result had front cycle fenders.( Believe he owned a Cord at one time? Perhaps you will know. I KNOW he did own some Classics) Herb was also the main promotor of some of the 1950s New York Auto Shows, and and avid car buff. This is the blue car, and now, I finally am reminded, that the stretched Auburn was maroon color (or possibly red, if color is off that much, now)


Joe G.
hundreds of our early photos or planes, racecars, customs classics @ www.memaerobilia.com

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23 Feb 2011 17:36 #19372 by Josh Malks
Replied by Josh Malks on topic Auberg Duesenburn
Joe, I grew up in The Bronx (1935-1958) and do remember the Raceway Garage. In today's nonsensical values, there were often a million dollars or more in vehicles sitting around or being worked on.

Living in my beloved Bronx meant that I had easy access to places that are today legendary: Raceway, Sam Adelman's place, Gus Reuter's shop, and more. Also the little-known Marty's Cord Garage, which maintained most of the driving Cords in the NYC area. Too bad I was too young and too ignorant to appreciate them.

Josh B. Malks
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  • memaerobilia
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23 Feb 2011 04:06 #19365 by memaerobilia
Replied by memaerobilia on topic Auberg Duesenburn
Thanks very much, Randy;
Any chance of a current photo?
I am delighted to share this original 4 x 5 color transparency (NOT a negative) that was in with some of Dad's other original negatives of these cars when they were at his shop in the Bronx. Here is the beautiful car, after the conversion. *Note that this is/was an almost 60 year old transparency, and when I just scanned it in, I had to use a major '*"automatic color restoration" feature, which is STILL a bit off, going by the tone of the dirt and asphalt of the street on St Raymond Ave. Still a lovely historic shot, I think. If ONLY the photo did not cut off the last few inches of the REAR! But I'm sure glad to have it.

Joe G.
hundreds of our early photos or planes, racecars, customs classics @ www.memaerobilia.com

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  • Chris Summers
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23 Feb 2011 02:33 #19364 by Chris Summers
Replied by Chris Summers on topic Auberg Duesenburn
Thank you, Randy, much appreciated as always.

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So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.

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  • RandyEma
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23 Feb 2011 02:28 #19363 by RandyEma
Replied by RandyEma on topic Auberg Duesenburn
J 209 is freezing to death in Minn today

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22 Dec 2010 18:14 #18865 by Chris Summers
Replied by Chris Summers on topic Auberg Duesenburn
The original engine used in the car was, I believe, J-434. This was later swapped for J-209 which was in the car when in Texas in the 1960s, the last I have record of it. Any information as the Auberg Duesenburn's current whereabouts would be welcomed.

Note that the faired-in headlight treatment is similar to what Mike Huffman's "Boston Blackie" had in the early 1950s.

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  • memaerobilia
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22 Dec 2010 17:56 #18864 by memaerobilia
Auberg Duesenburn was created by memaerobilia
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all;
This is my first post. Chris Summers suggested I post some of my ACD historical storie and old private photos and negatives, here, after seeing some of my "newbie" posts in AACA forum. I will try to post some photos of ACD autos that have never been published or seen before, coming from a box of hundreds of negatives and photos from my late father's (Joe Gertler Sr.)life spent in building race cars, sports cars, custom cars, World Motor Sports Shows cars, and mild to extreme customization of sports cars and classics. There are Auburns, Cords and Duesenbergs in these photos from his Bronx NYC shop, Raceway Garage. Most of the ACD work was iin the 1950s.
Didn't know wheter to put these first ones In Auburn or Duesenberg so?

In the 1950s, my father took the Duesenberg engine out of what he called a "Duesenberg Touring car." He built race cars and custom sports cars for a living (Raceway Garage , in The Bronx, NYC)and had numerous famous customers and award winning show cars in major Auto shows, at the time. He "Stretched" an Auburn Speedster frame to add a foot in front of the firewall for the Duesenberg engine, then either added on or built new? hood and side panels with the Speedster trim. He also did a tasteful update of faring new headlight pods into the fenders. He said it was a "bear" to steer, and he sold it to a short man who had trouble seeing past the hood! He told me more details when he was shocked to see an Ad in Hemmings, in the 80s for a Duesenberg clock for $450 and remarked that he sold the engineless open Duesenberg CAR for LESS than that. It had sat outside of his Bronx shop for about a month , with all the neighborhood children playing in it, every day! I have a bunch of Dad's original photos of the Speedster before and after the engine change. Even some in color. Since I have the original negatives, I am able to blow up some negatives for close-up details. I think there might be a photo or two of it on my website (lots of photos of Dad's old race & sports & custom cars & race boats etc)at www.memaerobilia.com
Notice how close the side trim is to the firewall/cowl on the white car. Then notice how much extra space there is on the dark car. Dad split the difference on the extra foot. so there was an extra six inches of space at each end of the side trim.


Joe G.
hundreds of our early photos or planes, racecars, customs classics @ www.memaerobilia.com

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