Terry Cook

You're probably right. The car is clearly advertised as a replica, not a real Duesenberg. Is it possible to change the text at the top of this column as I'll gladly try to insert the 1936 Ford info.

Thank you. Good luck with the lottery to answer bdc;s question its It is owned by retired Air Force General William Lyons in Orange County, CA

Thank you for the compliments. The real car took my breath away when i saw it for the first time at Louis Vuitton 1999 in Manhattan (a fabulous event that sadly no longer exists).. The other day when my pal drove my car out from the garage and I saw it drive by my heart went thump thump thump. God Bless John Batchley of A F McNiel design firm that did work for Gurney Nutting back in the mid 1930's.

Yes but I didn't have a souped up straight 8, I had a new big block Chevy engine. Trying to use up the parts I have on hand.

it matches as close as possible using non-candy or pearl paints. I didn't have access to the original car when it came time to select paint so I just looked at a color chart, looked at photos I had and said "use this one". Unfortunately phots lie sometimes not always showing colors as they are in sunlight.. By virtue of the lack of a rumble seat in my car, different design hood side panels and the fact my car is only 88% scale to keep hood, etc proportions looking correct, as dictated by dimensions of my Zephyr body which was smaller than the real car. Thus my car is not a faithful 100% repica, forgetting the engine of course. I would have liked to have the pinstriping be a little wider, but I was not there to tell striper exactly what I wanted when he strriped the car folowing pix I had of the originhal. , Terry

Does the color combination match the Maharaja car?Greg it matches as close as possible using non-candy or pearl paints. I didn't have access to the original car when it came time to select paint so I just looked at a color chart, looked at photos I had and said "use this one". Unfortunately phots lie sometimes not always showing colors as they are in sunlight.. By virtue of the lack of a rumble seat in my car, different design hood side panels and the fact my car is only 88% scale to keep hood, etc proportions looking correct, as dictated by dimensions of my Zephyr body which was smaller than the real car. Thus my car is not a faithful 100% repica, forgetting the engine of course. I would have liked to have the pinstriping be a little wider, but I was not there to tell striper exactly what I wanted when he strriped the car folowing pix I had of the originhal. , Terry

1953 Unfinished steel rebodied BENTLEY “SULTAN” Project Former Editor of HOT ROD Magazine and CAR and DRIVER staff writer Terry Cook of DELAHAYE USA first saw Ronald Benach’s 1948 Type 175s Delahaye with Jacques Saoutchik coachbuilt body, restored by Fran Roxas, at Pebble Beach 2000. (See photo of turquoise streamliner). Cook was overwhelmed and hired designer and Art Center grad John Caswell to create a modern day interpretation of a big, fully pontoon-fendered car as a tribute to Saoutchik. It was dubbed project SULTAN out of respect for the many cars famed Russian coach builder Jacques created in the 1920‘s and 30‘s for Kings and Potentates. They were some of the most beautiful, flamboyant and expensive cars in the world. Photoshop renderings show what the car would look like when completed. Primered steel body photos show what our unfinished SULTAN looks like now. Customer picks the final colors. Starting with his scale drawings, John worked with pro clay modeler Todd Storrs in Detroit to build a 1/4 scale clay model which was then digitized. Working with Steve Wilkonski of Revolution Design in Michigan to create the car digitally, a wood body buck was built at a yacht builder in Thailand. Over several years a steel body was then hammered from that buck by Car Kolor in Saatahip, Thailand. It was shipped to San Bernadino, CA where Little Louie Check hand formed the ornate decorative exterior brass body trim shown. The car is now in master panelbeater Tommy Caruso’s shop in Plainfield, NJ having the larger brass exterior trim, the grille, the windshield frame, trunk and interior sculpting done. Tommy has built two cars in the past 12 years that won BEST OF SHOW at Pebble Beach. The car is being built as a rebodied Bentley with title and matching VIN plate for the firewall. We started with a 1953 Bentley chassis, stripped it to bare metal and added a modern independent front suspension and late model Ford 9-inch rear using coil over suspension and modern brakes. Brown’s Metal Mods in Port Leyden, NY completed the chassis and mounted the body on the frame. Firewall, full floorboards, and front and rear wheel tubs were fabricated and installed in the car. We wanted something totally unique so we had John Caswell design an asymmetrical interior with a single driver’s seat and a wrap-around couch The trunk compartment would contain custom fitted luggage in the front portion (see styrafoam mockup) with a hidden space tire well in the floor. The car has a New OId Stock 8-cylinder Rolls Royce engine and rebuilt Bentley/Rolls Royce automatic transmission. It includes five wheels and wide whitewall tires. The body and chassis with Rolls Royce engine/engine is for sale for $153,000 as is, unfinished. We would like to complete the project for a new owner as we have our heart and soul invested. We have been working on this car since the last century! This is an enormous car over 18 feet long. Easily the most spectacular undertaking of all the cars designed and created by DELAHAYE USA. Respectfully I know this is not a normal AACA type car. But it is a car I am totally passionate about and want to see it completed. Many more pictures at delahayeusa.com, PROJECTS FOR SALE. P.S. When we were at the Lake Tahoe Wood Boar Concours we came up with a joke. Why not make a speedboat that looked just like the Sultan to tow on a trailer behind the car? People asked us if we were serious. After a little thought, since we have the digital design for the car, we could easily print out a 3-D composite speedboat body that matched the car. All it takes is time and money. Terry Cook 201 400 5528 $153,000

1936 MAHARAJA DUESENBERG REPLICA After 18 years of work our one of a kind 88% scale fiberglass and steel replica of the famed Maharaja Duesenberg for sale. The last Duesenberg ever made before A-C-D went out of business in 1936 was a spectacular roadster built on chassis number 2,614 for Maharaja Yeshwant Rao Holkar (1908-1961) of Indores India. With a one off body made in Croydon, England by coachbuilders Gurney Nutting, gifted designer young John Batchley deserves credit for the sweeping lines. Many feel it is the best looking Duesenberg ever made. Reportedly when it came out of the jungle to be shipped to the USA in 1956, it was cradled in a sling between four elephants! I saw the car at the Louis Vuitton event in New York City in 1999. I was overwhelmed. It is owned by retired Air Force General William Lyons in Orange County, CA. I was allowed to photograph the car in his marble floor “garage” (see photo). If you haven’t heard, Gary Cooper’s similar 1935 SSJ roadster just sold at the Gooding auction at Pebble Beach in Sept. for 22 million. I had my custom ’39 Lincoln on display at the same Louis Vuitton event and Iiterally drooled all over the Maharaja Doozie for three days. Studying the flowing lines I realized the body was very similar to the 1939 Zephyr fiberglass Deco Rides convertible body I produce. I started the eighteen year task of creating an 88% scale mini-Maharaja using the fiberglass Zephyr convertible body as a basis. I acquired a steel replica J model Duesenberg grille shell and front fenders built by Marcel Delay of California. I had a steel hood and side panels made, as well as a brass windshield frame. Ed Flanagan did a masterful job of transforming the Zephyr body to copy the Maharaja. Junior Kelly and the team at Bad Donkey Hot Rods of Hanover, PA completed the project. Chrome by Marty Baker of NEL Metal Restoration in Philadelphia. Custom fitted luggage by Brian Matthews of Carlisle, PA. Trim & Top by Mike Sholley. The original car had a massive 153.5 inch wheelbase while our smaller replica has a 135 inch wheelbase to keep the body proportions correct. The car has a new 502 cu. in. big block Chevy and automatic transmission, The idea is to have an affordable mini-Maharaja you could drive and enjoy. It sits on a rectangular steel Fat Man Fabrications chassis with 9-inch Ford rear with an independent front suspension. It has “snap-shut” power windows, power disc brakes, power steering, air conditioning and a defroster. It has a removable top, orange leather interior and custom-fitted luggage. And respectfully yes, I know it's not a genuine AACA type car, it's a replica. I can't afford the real thing so I did the best I could. Titled as a 1936 Ford. TERRY COOK 201 400 5528 $279,000