1924 Duesenberg Model A

The Duesenberg brothers (Fred and August) emigrated to America in the early 1900s. They built military equipment during World War I in Elizabeth, New Jersey. When peacetime resumed, the brothers focused on the development of eight-cylinder racing engines. They sold the production rights to their existing four-cylinder engine Rochester Motors, while both Duesenberg Motors Corporation and the New Jersey factory were sold to John North Willys. At the time, Indianapolis was the epicenter of American automotive engineering, so the brothers moved once again and established Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company in 1920.

The first car from the newly founded Duesenberg Company was the Model A and was based on the car driven by Jimmy Murphy to victory at the French Grand Prix in 1921. It was the first production car to employ four-wheel hydraulic brakes and an inline eight-cylinder production engine. The Duesenberg Model A was first shown in late 1920 in New York City. Unfortunately, production was delayed until 1922 due to a conversion to a single overhead camshaft layout.

Production of the Model A would continue until 11925 by the Duesenberg Automobiles and Motors Company and from 1925 to 1926 at the same factory by the restructured Duesenberg Motor Company. Total production reached just 667 examples. Sales were sluggish due to the vehicle being very expensive and the difficult postwar market. Slow sales and the brother's lack of business expertise led to the control of the company's operations being granted to a pair of investors who made off with all the money. Around this time, E.L. Cord was seeking a new flagship for his fast-growing automotive empire, and rescued them from bankruptcy, and sponsored the legendary Model J.

The Duesenberg Model A had a cast-iron block, an aluminum lower crankcase and oil pan, and a detachable cast-iron cylinder head. The production version had a shaft-driven single overhead camshaft design with rockers that operated two valves per cylinder in a hemispheric combustion chamber. It breathed through a single updraft carburetor (the early version used a Stromberg unit, while later versions had a Schebler unit). It used Delco coil ignition and breaker points. The 260 cubic-inch displacement was created from a 2.875-inch bore and a stroke of 5 inches. The standard horsepower rating was 88 hp and 170 lb/ft of torque. The engine was backed by a three-speed unsynchronized gearbox with a single dry-plate clutch.

The chassis was a pressed-steel ladder frame with tubular cross members and channel-section side members. The suspension was comprised of semi-elliptic leaf springs and Watson Stabilator dampers all around, with a tubular beam axle in the front and a live rear axle with radius rods. The seven-passenger bodies rested on a 141-inch wheelbase platform, while the rest measured 134 inches.

by Dan Vaughan

Roadster by Brandfon
Chassis number: 1216

Benjamin 'Benny' Brandfon was a successful auto garage and parking lot owner from New York. His early racing adventures included ownership of a 1913 Peugeot, which later entered several prominent collections including D. Cameron Peck, Briggs Cunningham, and Miles Collier. In the late 1920s, Brandfon acquired an original Duesenberg Model A touring car, chassis number 783. His plan was to build a race car out of the Model to race at Indy. The frame was cut at the front and reshaped and the engine was fitted with a single large Zenith carburetor, which was later replaced with two downdraft Winfield carburetors. A new racing body was fitted.

The car was brought to the 1931 Indianapolis 500. During practice, with its creator at the wheel, it ran at 101 mph. It did not qualify, however, and while he did run it at more minor East Coast races during the 1930s, he never made another attempt at entering the 500.

In the early 1950s, its now-retired owner took on the project of converting it into a street machine. The original 'boattail' of the racing body was retained. The sleekly curved fenders were borrowed from an early Jaguar, along with the radiator from a Cord L-29 and the windshield from an MG. The hood was made from scratch out of sheet aluminum, while the original Model A Touring's cowl remained. The engine was converted back from magneto ignition to the standard coil and distributor ignition. Most of the car's other mechanical components remained unchanged from how it was when it entered Indy.

The Brandfon Duesenberg remained with its owner for the remainder of its owner's life. Upon his passing, the car entered the care of Sasha Brandfon, who continued the family business in New Haven, Connecticut. It was offered for sale in 1967, passing through several noted enthusiasts in the American South and West.

Currently, the car has been slightly modified from its final Brandfon configuration. It now has a stock Duesenberg Model A radiator shell and Warner-Patterson headlamps. The bulky convertible top has been removed. An Auburn Speedster windshield has been fitted. The body is finished in two-tone burgundy, with black fenders and black leather upholstery. There is a European-style leaf-spring-spoked steering wheel, 20-inch chrome wire wheels with knock-off hubs, wide whitewall tires, biplane-style tubular chrome bumpers, and dual taillights. The restoration is believed to have taken place 30 years ago.

This Speedster Model A has a steeply-raked windscreen and a race-inspired design. The engine is an eight-cylinder engine with a single overhead camshaft and produces nearly 90 horsepower. The car was restored nearly 30 years. There is extensive cracking to the lacquer paint finish and age-appropriate patina. Period features include a Moto-Meter, 20-inch chrome wire wheels with 'knock-off' hubs, whitewall tires, biplane-style tubular chrome bumpers, Warner-Patterson headlights, dual taillights, and a side-mounted spare tire.

In 2010, this Model A Speedster was offered for sale at the Vintage Motor Cars of Meadow Brook where it was estimated to sell for $100,000 - $150,000. As bidding came to a close, the car was sold for the sum of $258,500 including the buyer's premium.

by Dan Vaughan

Roadster
Chassis number: 1003
Engine number: 1392

This Duesenberg Model A Roadster was originally owned by Colonel Daniel Cowal Jackling. It was later owned by a German family and then by Walter Douglas, Jr., of Tucson, Arizona, for whom a former title, dated 1934, still resides with the vehicle. By this point in history, the Duesenberg had become a 'stake bed' truck, used on a farm and later at a small airport, to pull tail-dragger airplanes to and from hangars. It spent many years in this guise.

It spent two decades in the ownership of John Guilliams, who acquired it in the mid-1990s. The current owner acquired it in 2014. It retained its original four fenders and hood. The frame was found to be in good, solid condition thanks to the dry Arizona climate. A restoration soon followed using copies of original Duesenberg drawings. The rear axle was fitted with a high-ratio ring and pinion gear. The engine was rebuilt with new poured bearings and forged pistons. The chassis and all ancillary components were restored, with the chassis being sectioned and shortened to 136 inches, and fitted with a new body. It was a reconstruction of the Indianapolis coachbuilders Millspaugh & Irish for the Model A roadster.

by Dan Vaughan

Brothers Fred and August Duesenberg will be remembered always for their outstanding motorcars. True perfectionists and genius engineers, the Duesenbergs were responsible for some of the very best racing and road-going cars in the world from the building of their first cars in 1913 until the last automobiles to bare their name was produced in 1937.

But while all Duesenberg cars were outstanding works of engineering excellence, not all are held in the same regard by automotive collectors and historians. The later Model J, and particularly the supercharged Model SJ, has all but eclipsed the first Duesenberg production car: the Model A.

Perhaps Models J and SJ have earned their greater fame. After all, they were utterly uncompromised cars—fast, fabulous, and enduringly fashionable thanks to beautiful coachwork by the likes of Rollston and Murphy, penned by such sensational designers as Howard Darrin and Gordon Buehrig. The J and SJ featured straight-eight engines with four valves per cylinder, operated by twin overhead camshafts. Built to win and dressed to kill, these later Duesenbergs have become highly-prized trophies for affluent car collectors.

Yet the Model A, at least for its time, was the equal of the later J and SJ in terms of innovation. It pioneered the use of hydraulic brakes and was the first production car powered by a straight-eight. With this in mind, it would seem that the Model A has been held back primarily by its sedate (though still handsome) looks. The Model A's staid appearance may very well be the reason why it has not become as collectible as the Model J, but looks alone cannot explain why the Model A, which was technologically advanced and attractive for its time, was a commercial failure.

In reality, the Model A's inability to realize sales expectations was no fault of the car's. Rather, its poor commercial performance was the result of issues within the Duesenberg firm itself.

The Duesenberg brothers' engineering prowess far outweighed their business skills, leading to the brothers' well-intentioned decision to sell the rights to their name and designs to more experienced businessmen on March 8, 1920. It was then that the Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company, Inc. was established to transfer control of the brothers' small car company to people who could supposedly run the operation with greater proficiency. Newton E. VanZandt became president and Luther M. Rankin vice-president and general manager. Both Duesenbergs were given salaried positions, with Fred serving as vice-president in charge of engineering and August acting as assistant chief engineer.

The presumably competent VanZandt and Rankin were able to raise money quickly, but they spent far too much building and equipping a new plant in Indianapolis, leading to insufficient working capital by the time the Model A was ready for production. Further complicating matters, the Model A was first shown to the public in 1920, long before the car was ready for production. This proved to be a glaring mistake, as it prevented the new Duesenberg from taking advantage of the sensation caused upon its initial showing.

Deliveries of the Model A did not commence until December of 1921. The long delay could be traced directly to Fred Duesenberg who, in a defining moment that emphasized his perfectionist tendencies, decided that the production Model A must have an engine employing an overhead camshaft instead of the side-rocker arm arrangement used on the prototype. The advantages of the overhead camshaft had been proven by Duesenberg racing cars, and it had been decided even before the Model A prototypes were shown that the production cars would receive the benefit of such an arrangement. But the fact that the engine redesign was planned did not make it timely, as it delayed production by ten months.

Once underway, Model A production was limited to about one car per day. This slow rate was far behind the initial sales projections that hoped for 2,400 cars per year. Slow sales failed to generate the funding required to run Duesenberg Automobile and Motors sufficiently, and as production continued new problems emerged. After only a year as president, VanZandt was abdicated, replaced by B.A. Worthington. Also the president of a railroad, Worthington was unable to dedicate sufficient time to his Duesenberg duties. Though he remained president until 1923, the company was effectively being run by lower-ranking employees who had no business heading an automobile company. In July of 1922, Chester S. Ricker became general manager, which gave him substantial influence over the company due to Worthington's lack of involvement. Ricker proved to be a competent leader, but by then Duesenberg Automobile and Motors was in deep financial trouble. In 1924, the company went into receivership.

This, of course, was not the end of Duesenberg, or even of the Model A. By 1925, a new firm had been organized called the Duesenberg Motors Company, with Fred Duesenberg serving as president. Model A production resumed for 1925 and 1926.

The Duesenberg Model A, with the tumultuous business endeavors that backed it, was arguably a better representation of the Duesenberg brothers than were the later Models J and SJ. In the autumn of 1926, luxury car tycoon E.L. Cord arranged the purchase of Duesenberg Motors Company, leading to yet another reorganization of the company, finally named Duesenberg, Inc. Cord was a superb businessman, and under his guidance, the Duesenberg name was applied to America's most spectacular cars of the late-1920s and 1930s. These exemplary vehicles were created to act as halo cars for E.L. Cord's luxury motorcar empire, which also included Auburn and Cord. So while the cars of Duesenberg, Inc. featured the unbridled engineering magic of the Duesenbergs themselves, that company's splendid creations were perhaps too amply funded and well-thought-out to have been as true to the spirit of the Duesenberg brothers as the Model A had been. The Model A illustrated the struggles and triumphs of Fred and August, while the J and SJ cars spoke only of success.

The J and SJ Duesenbergs will in all likelihood remain far more collectible than the Model A. This cannot diminish the historical significance of the Model A, though. With roughly 650 produced, the Model A was the highest production Duesenberg ever created. It will remain an excellent collector car capable of delivering the genuine engineering excellence of the Duesenberg brothers in a more conservative and far more attainable package than a later Duesenberg.

Sources:

Roe, Fred. Duesenberg: The Pursuit of Perfection. 1st. London: Dalton Watson Ltd, 1982. 73-106. Print.

Vance, Bill. 'Motoring Memories: Duesenberg Model A .' CanadianDriver.com 15 Apr 2005: n. pag. Web. 27 Jul 2010. http://www.canadiandriver.com/2005/04/15/motoring-memories-duesenberg-model-a.htm.

by Evan Acuña