Not the usual McDonald's parking lot find...

[Billy Kingsley]

My brother got this photo this week. Wow! Wish I had seen it. It was in the parking lot at the McDonald's by his job. 

[Terry Bond]

Odd combination, open trailer, McDonalds...thesee are strange times. Nice trailer.

Terry

[keiser31]

WOW! That beats anything I have seen on the street that I have posted.

Edited July 25, 2020 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[Cadillac Fan]

Looks like j-299 or j-243

Edited July 25, 2020 by Cadillac Fan (see edit history)

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Terry Bond said:

Odd combination, open trailer,

Terry

 

Maybe just taking it out to show it off.

I would! 

Edited July 25, 2020 by GregLaR (see edit history)

[Cadillac Fan]

Wonder if it is participating in the duesenburg tour and it failed to proceed?  

[John_S_in_Penna]

Were Duesenberg phaetons replicated?

If this is real, the Duesenberg fans probably know this car well,

as they know most of the surviving examples well.

 

Would an owner of a genuine one really put his nice car

on an open trailer?  If an event was a short distance away,

maybe he'd drive the car;  if farther, a closed trailer would

be much more likely.  I hope the owner, wherever he might be,

knows how his car is being transported!

[58L-Y8]

LeBaron phaeton referred to with the unflattering "barrel-side" description.   

 

Billy, you'd better keep smelling salts with you in the event you accidently encounter such a magnificent car at some point.  I've had one or two such serendipitous encounters over the years, could have used smelling salts!

[padgett]

Used to be common sights in south Florida, in Orlando we just get Lambos, Ferraris, and Bentleys.

[8E45E]

McDonalds might be the only place he could get a window seat while he ate, where he could keep a close eye on it.  Not to mention, he would have paid for his McMeal in full before sitting down with it, and could get up and put the chase on someone who climbed onto the trailer; unlike a higher-class eating establishment where he would most likely not have his choice of seat, and could not put the run on someone without the police being called as he would not receive the bill until he was finished his meal.

 

Craig

Edited July 25, 2020 by 8E45E (see edit history)

[Billy Kingsley]

My brother reports that the man stayed with it and his wife went in to get the food. 

 

I have not seen a Duesenberg in action but I have seen Cords, Auburns and pre-War Bugattis driving under their own power. I have been to the ACD Museum in Indiana, as well, a fantastic place! 

[gossp]

I actually saw a very similarly bodied Duesenberg... sitting between another J and a Tucker last Thursday and didn’t take a picture for you guys. I feel a little bad about it. 

[edinmass]

I don’t think is either 243 or 299. That said, while the trailer is decent, the wheels are too small for that car. The trailer is probably at 90 percent of its capacity with those 15 inch tires.......not a wise choice for hauling any car, regardless if it’s a real or rebodied Duesenberg. If the owner was so worried about the car, why haul it open? Looks like it is a high point car, and I don’t recall ever seeing it in person..

Edited July 26, 2020 by edinmass (see edit history)

[60FlatTop]

It might be for sale. I see a lot of sellers are putting their cars on car trailers to take the advertisement pictures. Appears to be a 2000's thing.

[auburnseeker]

1 hour ago, 60FlatTop said:

It might be for sale. I see a lot of sellers are putting their cars on car trailers to take the advertisement pictures. Appears to be a 2000's thing.

That's only the flippers.  They are so anxious to make their profit and get it sold,  that they don't even take it off the trailer before snapping the shots and listing it.  Meanwhile telling us how good it is and how great it drives or how valuable it is.  Kind of like the cars that said turn key needs nothing then you either see a huge oil spot or antifreeze leak on the ground under the car or a block under the wheel.  My take is if it's ready to run it shouldn't have any huge leaks, leaving a big puddle, and the darn parking brake better work.

[1937hd45]

Wonder if it is the same one I took this photo of in 1961 at the First Ridgefield Meet. The first "Old Car" photo I ever took at age 10. Bob 

[John_Mereness]

Unusual to see a car of this value out on an open trailer, though I guess if good weather and ..., then ....

[John_Mereness]

30 minutes ago, 1937hd45 said:

Wonder if it is the same one I took this photo of in 1961 at the First Ridgefield Meet. The first "Old Car" photo I ever took at age 10. Bob 

Yes, shoudl be the same car, though I like the Firestone tires from the 1961 photo much better

[1912Staver]

My open trailer came from my friends father who owned a J. The car underwent a very long term restoration ; much of which was done by my friends father himself, and the car was 

moved several times on the open trailer while under restoration. Once the car was finished the open trailer was surplus and I bought it. The finished car was usually moved in an enclosed 

trailer from that point onward.

Those are probably 3500 Lbs. axles so a bit light but I doubt the GVW of the loaded trailer is close to 7000 Lbs. Car plus trailer is probably something like 6000 Lbs.

Still I wouldn't want to set out on the highway like that.

 

Greg in Canada

Edited July 26, 2020 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[TAKerry]

I pull a 6000lb skid loader on a lesser trailer than that no problem (yes it is rated for the load), I dont see a weight problem, and whats the big deal if some air hits the car? Having said that, IF I could afford a 6 or 7 digit auto, I would have it in an enclosed trailer as well.

 

I was at a concours event several years ago, there were a few duesenbergs, packards, high end cars of all makes. Pouring down with rain, and as the cars were driving around, the grass and mud was accumulating under the car. I was flabbergasted that the owners put these kind of cars in that situation. I made a comment to someone regarding that, his reply was  " you dont think the owners of these cars are the ones that are going to clean them do you?"

[Cadillac Fan]

Looks like j243 to me.  

[K8096]

About 1/2 way through this video it's seen backing into a space at a 1961 Grand Classic.   

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biHKhVVB_V4

 

That proves the car is authentic & not a rebody.   No one was making new bodies yet in the early 60's.   I believe this is the car Badenhausen owned.  He did a 15 part series in the CCCA Bulletin maybe 7 -8 years ago about  the early days of the hobby.    He also had the blue 1933 Packard Dietrich DCP.  

Edited July 26, 2020 by K8096 (see edit history)

[edinmass]

1 hour ago, TAKerry said:

I pull a 6000lb skid loader on a lesser trailer than that no problem (yes it is rated for the load), I dont see a weight problem, and whats the big deal if some air hits the car? Having said that, IF I could afford a 6 or 7 digit auto, I would have it in an enclosed trailer as well.

 

I was at a concours event several years ago, there were a few duesenbergs, packards, high end cars of all makes. Pouring down with rain, and as the cars were driving around, the grass and mud was accumulating under the car. I was flabbergasted that the owners put these kind of cars in that situation. I made a comment to someone regarding that, his reply was  " you dont think the owners of these cars are the ones that are going to clean them do you?"

100 point show cars do NOT get driven through the mud and dirt roads...........having been involved at the higher end of the hobby, you can’t get a car clean to continue to participate in concours judging when a car gets stuck in the mud. And YES, I have pulled a Duesenberg out of the mud..........most great cars that get driven are at the end of their judging life. And as one of the guys who cleans them, the owners, collection managers, and detail crew are very well aware ahead of time what can and will be done with the car. Nobody gambles with major league cars. We had a J in the sand, out on Cape Cod, the 38thousand mile original car is fine in 98 percent of thr circumstances...........driving it down a muddy lane would NOT happen. Good cars get well driven, not abused.

[John_Mereness]

1 hour ago, Cadillac Fan said:

Looks like j243 to me.  

 

I love the re-addition of the sidemount cover face plates.  And while it currently sports Firestone tires, I really do like the slightly smaller whitewall on the Firestone's from the 1961 photo.

[John_Mereness]

34 minutes ago, edinmass said:

100 point show cars do NOT get driven through the mud and dirt roads...........having been involved at the higher end of the hobby, you can’t get a car clean to continue to participate in concours judging when a car gets stuck in the mud. And YES, I have pulled a Duesenberg out of the mud..........most great cars that get driven are at the end of their judging life. And as one of the guys who cleans them, the owners, collection managers, and detail crew are very well aware ahead of time what can and will be done with the car. Nobody gambles with major league cars. We had a J in the sand, out on Cape Cod, the 38thousand mile original car is fine in 98 percent of thr circumstances...........driving it down a muddy lane would NOT happen. Good cars get well driven, not abused.

Agreed - it is days and days of work to clean up a dirty 100 point car.   The ones you see out on the show fields in the rain/mud are toward the end of their 100 point life or the people are involved in the event or have very close friends involved in the event and they really have to put their car out in such.   I was out on a show field with a 1st time out car and there was a massive thunderstorm - drove the car out of the field in water that was over the spokes on the wire wheels - went home and put car up on jacks and spun the wheels all night with fans on them, dried out carpet, dried out the convertible top, and ... = NOT fun. 

 

On the flip side of the coin ACD Festival at start of the parade perhaps 5 years ago - it was a monsoon (and we have been in countless rainstorms, driven for hours in thunderstorms, and ...) and YES, I can put the top up on a 4 door convertible in less than 4 minutes !!! 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 26, 2020 by John_Mereness (see edit history)

[John_Mereness]

2 hours ago, TAKerry said:

flabbergasted

Yes, we do clean up our own cars and as mom says - "just are car, we have garages full of them" and "Art is for the walls and Cars are for the road."

[Graham Man]

Would you need special insurance to pull that? 

 

[58L-Y8]

A better look at its 1961 appearance:

 

[TAKerry]

Ed and John,  All due respect, I was a participant ( and winner of the m/c class) at Radnor Hunt Concours a few years ago. It indeed poured down with rain, the show field is grass and the roads from the staging area to the show field are dirt. This event is held at a high end horse club. There were several Duesenburgs, high end Packards, Rolls Royce, Cadillacs, Ferrari, etc. in attendance. I cannot argue the fact whether or not they were "100 pt" cars, but I am sure some of the owners may. Dr. Simeone had a couple of autos from his collection on display. 

I think it was 2 years ago, during the St Michaels Concours it poured down rain as well. This one was not a freak shower but an overall wet weekend. The attendance was much lower than anticipated I imagine, as there were maybe 50 cars there. All were VERY high quality. The saving grace with that one was paved roads!

SO YES, I have witnessed these high end autos in less than desirable conditions.

[Walt G]

I wonder if that 1961 photo was taken at the Ridgefield, Ct. car meet held each Sept. the first Saturday after Labor Day and run by the Fairfield County Region HCCA.

[Cadillac Fan]

1 hour ago, Walt G said:

I wonder if that 1961 photo was taken at the Ridgefield, Ct. car meet held each Sept. the first Saturday after Labor Day and run by the Fairfield County Region HCCA.

Could be.   Assuming that it is j243. It was owned by a gentleman in Ct. around that time.   He also owned three others Duesenbergs, some overlapping.   His Gold/green derham tourister was on chasing classic cars 8-10 years ago owned by his son. That car, the tourister, ended up in a BIG time collection in the Detroit area.  
 

search: duesenberg j339.  RM has a good write-up on the gentleman from the 2013 sale with a list of his cars.  

Edited July 27, 2020 by Cadillac Fan (see edit history)

[Walt G]

Thanks, I do believe it is the car I saw at that Ridgefield ,Ct. car show as that collector of cars was always there with at least one or two cars.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Hopefully it was on the way to an event.  Would be nice if Johnny P would get active in the hobby again.

[John_Mereness]

18 minutes ago, Steve_Mack_CT said:

Hopefully it was on the way to an event.  Would be nice if Johnny P would get active in the hobby again.

Not many events this year.  

[jrbartlett]

I saw this car drive into Waco, Texas for a tour in the mid-1970s, when Dan Williams owned it. It was incredible, with its narrow body, broad fenders and extremely raked windshields. I already loved Duesenbergs, but seeing such a super-exotic car on the road was awesome. I had the impression that he had driven in from Dallas.  

[keithb7]

This sure is interesting to some of us mere mortals here who are into the old cars, who don't  play in the Concourse D'elegance scene. Just to have 1 car so unique that it can be spotted and ID'd almost instantly. References to the exact same car taken in a photo in 1961. The same car seen in an old reel movie from the 50's. Auction history with seemingly insane prices. This type of attention is completely foreign to most of us.  This is so rare and unique....Seems insane. How cool.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

If this is the Pascucci car it was driven frequently around ten years ago especially to local shows.  I like it better than the Tourster actually.  It is cool to see these cars driven.

[Steve_Mack_CT]

41 minutes ago, keithb7 said:

This sure is interesting to some of us mere mortals here who are into the old cars, who don't  play in the Concourse D'elegance scene. Just to have 1 car so unique that it can be spotted and ID'd almost instantly. References to the exact same car taken in a photo in 1961. The same car seen in an old reel movie from the 50's. Auction history with seemingly insane prices. This type of attention is completely foreign to most of us.  This is so rare and unique....Seems insane. How cool.

Agree.  Big iron, especially ACD cars are like that. I would imagine exotics are simillar.  For lower priced cars, one thing I have noticed is that a lot of MG T series cars are well documented from day one, with 30, 40+ year ownership not that unusual.  I think it has to do with the fact one had to be an enthusiast from day one in that case..

[Walt G]

Steve

In 1988 when a friend from England and his wife came over for a visit they attended Hershey with me. He had ( in England) a Right hand drive 1931 Chrysler Imperial CG club sedan and a 1929 Lincoln model L dual cowl phaeton . We were walking back to our modern car after a day in the flea market next to the Blue Field ( that was where the roller coasters are now located) and stopped still as a black 1937 LsSalle sedan drove by at a slower speed due to the traffic.  We stood there and looked at it as it drifted by and once it did he looked at me and stated something I will always remember " old cars are best viewed when in motion".  It is the absolute truth.

Walt

[John_Mereness]

1 hour ago, keithb7 said:

This sure is interesting to some of us mere mortals here who are into the old cars, who don't  play in the Concourse D'elegance scene. Just to have 1 car so unique that it can be spotted and ID'd almost instantly. References to the exact same car taken in a photo in 1961. The same car seen in an old reel movie from the 50's. Auction history with seemingly insane prices. This type of attention is completely foreign to most of us.  This is so rare and unique....Seems insane. How cool.

The Concours events have become the new frontier of pre-WWII cars - it is not that I am opposed to some show in a parking lot, but often now I am one of a handful and it use to be I was one of the masses.  And, of course you have your Club specific yearly meets whether it Model A Ford, Frankins, Pierce-Arrow's, ACD products, or ....   However, my point is that a Concours event is generally designed to give you a variety and generally there are 8-10 cars in some class that will appeal to you (ex classes include, Brass, Twenties, Production Pre-War, CCCA, 50's, 60's, European, European/English Sports Cars, Newer Exotics, New Exotics, Japanese, Motorcycles, Cult Cars, often Trucks, usually some Special Feature, and the list goes on and on.   

 

As a sidenote:  I have organized a Concours for years now - Cincinnati Concours d'Elegance www.ohioconcours.com 

Edited July 27, 2020 by John_Mereness (see edit history)