Saturday, July 31, 2010

1983 Duesenberg II SJ LA Grande, A Real Treasure



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This is a 1983 Duesenberg II SJ LA Grande. Before I started doing research on this automobile I thought it was a nice car and that it was cool because it was a Duesenberg, a car that had been featured in the movie, "Annie." However after I finished reading about its history on LeMay Car Museum's website I have come to a new appreciation for this beautiful machine.

So what is so special about a 1983 Duesenberg II SJ LA Grande? Let's start with the fact that it is actually a reproduction of a earlier model of a 1930 Duesenberg  J Dual Cowl Phaeton. I have to be honest that the first time I read this statement I started to wonder if the article was faulty. I said to myself but it's a SJ LA Grande not a J Dual Cowl Phaeton! However, it is indeed correct and I learned something new this week. A cowl is a little piece of the metal body frame that follows the ridge of the car's body up by the windshield and the reason why this particular replica is also a dual cowl is because it has that metal strip for the front and the back seat. It is there to redirect air flow off of the driver and passengers.

The car was made by the Elite Heritage Company and only 42 of this particular model were made. It was built by hand and all of the components were custom-made to match that of the original Duesenberg. Yet, it also had some new features that made for nice modern conveniences, such as, power brakes, power windows, power seats, power brakes and air conditioning!

From 1978 to 2000 the company made five different styles of Duesenberg replicas. Each was done with careful detail to the original.

Another cool feature that I learned about this week was this Duesenberg II was built with a fire wall, I believe that is the correct term for it, but it is a piece of metal on the car, right above the cowl that was designed so in case the car engine caught on fire it would not come up past the passenger and driver compartment. Fascinating right?

Well I hope you have enjoyed this entry about the Duesenberg II.
'Til next time have a great day!



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