1931 Duesenberg Model J Tourster

This car featured not only great mechanical engineering but inspired design and quality coachwork as well. This Duesenberg was delivered to Charles Groff on November 20, 1931, in Philadelphia, PA. It is powered by a Straight-8, overhead-valve configuration actuated by dual overhead camshafts, 4 valves per cylinder, producing 265 horsepower, and is coupled with a three-speed transmission. Over the years, it passed through several documented owners. Ted Billings was restoring another Derham Tourster and meticulously copied the body, thus creating this near-perfect re-bodied Tourster car. The current owners acquired the Duesenberg in June of 2008 and commissioned the restoration. The car was shown at the 2016 Amelia Island Concours as a chassis only, the way Fred Duesenberg sold it. A year later, at the 2017 edition of the Amelia Island Concours, the restoration had been completed.

This J-408 Phaeton was ordered by Charles Groff on August 24, 1930 and was delivered on November 20, 1931. The Duesenberg Model J was the choice of movie stars, millionaires, magnates, and royalty. It had been bodied by Willoughby of Utica, New York with one of their berline bodies.

Willoughby was a producer of custom bodies built in short series for major American automobile companies. Usually, the bodies were produced in runs of 50 or less with individual specifications allowing purchasers to add special details that set their automobile apart, while still maintaining the financial benefits of series production. These details include upholstery materials and design, and interior and exterior hardware is supplied to the customer's specifications. The main body construction was superbly done and utilized clever processes to speed up production while maintaining quality. An example of this was their use of complicated thin-wall castings to provide excellent body details with minimum handwork.

After an accident in the 1950s, the original Willoughby Berline body was replaced by a copy of the Tourster body designed by Gordon Buehrig, of which eight were built by Derham. This body was created in Ted Billings' restoration facility in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. Billings built several Derham Tourster bodies for use on Duesenberg chassis that had missing or deteriorated original coachwork. These bodies are essentially duplicates of the original design and were built of aluminum over wood framing.

This car is powered by a 420 cubic-inch double-overhead-cam, supercharged, straight 8 engine developing 320 horsepower, coupled to a 3-speed manual transmission making it capable of a top speed of 150 mph. This 5,280 lb. vehicle rides on 18-inch wire wheels fitted with 4-wheel hydraulic drum brakes. The chassis alone sold for $9,000 in 1932.

The vehicle was re-bodied using a Derham Phaeton for a pattern and it is coming off a three-year restoration. The long-wheelbase chassis, eight-cylinder double overhead cam engine, and body have been restored by Scott Arnstrom of Lakeland Motors Inc., to the original grandeur and performance the Duesenberg and Derham represented.