1934 Duesenberg Model SJ

The announcement of the forthcoming Duesenberg Model J halted trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and would be a high-water mark of Classic era engineering and design. The advanced chassis was fitted with many leading-edge features and power was from a race-derived eight-cylinder engine with overhead cams, four valves per cylinder, and hemispherical combustion chambers developing 265 horsepower, around 100 more horsepower than its nearest competitor. The bare chassis without coachwork commanded a price of $8,500, significantly higher than nearly every full-bodied car of the era.

E.L. Cord bankrolled the Model J and from the outset designed it to be the world's finest car. The Model J was publicly introduced at the 1929 New York Auto Show with seven examples on display, with coachwork by LeBaron, Murphy, and Holbrook. It made its European debut at the 'Salon de 'lautomobile de Paris' of 1929.

Available to individual order with a Plethora of available bodies from the world's most respected and talented custom coachbuilders of the era, the delivered price of many Duesenberg Model Js approached $20,000, a staggering sum at a time when the typical new mass-produced family car cost only about $500. The regal proportions, luxury, and grand specifications inspired the popular-culture expression, 'It's a Duesy.'

Two wheelbase lengths were available, the 142.5- and 153.5-inch platforms, and carried some of the most opulent coachworks of the time. Special orders included two SSJs on shortened 125-inch platforms and a few extended to 160 inches (or longer). Power two-shoe hydraulic drum brakes were standard and eventually, an optional supercharger became available giving the engine an additional 60 horsepower. This brought the final brakes horsepower of an SJ Duesenberg equipped with a single carburetor to approximately 320 horsepower, allowing it to reach ever nearer to a top speed of 140 mph, which was over 20 mph faster than a naturally aspirated example. Just 36 cars left the factory with the optional supercharger.

The Model J included a fully automatic chassis lubrication system that operated every 30 to 60 miles. Mechanically timed lights on the dash reminded the driver when to change the oil and inspect the battery. There was complete instrumentation with a 150-mph speedometer, a tachometer, an altimeter, an eight-day clock with a split-second stopwatch hand, and more.

The Model J received minor modifications during its production lifespan, with the first major update being the replacement of the four-speed gearbox, which proved unable to cope with the engine's power. It was replaced by an unsynchronised three-speed gearbox, subsequently fitted to all Duesenbergs.

Duenber's chief body designer, Gordon Buehrig, devised coachwork for about half the Model Js built and constructed under the name La Grande by company branches in New York City, Chicago, Denver, Florida, and Los Angeles, as well as by smaller dealers. The rest received custom coachwork from independent U.S. and European coachbuilders. LeBaron bodied 38 examples of the Model J, with 28 of those being the Ralph Roberts-designed Dual Cowl Phaeton with two-tone coachwork. The Walter M. Murphy Company of Pasadena, California produced approximately 60 Convertible Coupe bodies for the Model J chassis. Early examples of this design included a top that folded down into a low pile that was exposed behind the driver's seat in the fashion of most convertibles of the era. Around 25 of these were produced, followed by mostly one-off designs, in which the top folded down into a well behind the seat and covered by a low leather tonneau secured by button snaps. This design and configuration evolved into a true 'disappearing top' model, where a flush-fitting metal lid replaced the tonneau, producing a smooth, flat line that ran from the edges of the hood to the door and down over the rear deck. Another Murphy design feature was the signature thin 'Clear-Vision' window pillars and disappearing side windows.

The Model J was introduced in 1928 and sold through 1937, with a supercharger after 1932. Most chassis and engines were built in 1929 and 1930, but due to the steep cost and the Great Depression, they were sold and bodied throughout subsequent years. A total of 481 examples of the Model J (all versions) were built with about 378 surviving examples. After 1937, Cord's financial empire collapsed. However, two additional Duesenbergs were completed between 1937 and 1940, with the final example being assembled from leftover parts.

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2020