1928 Duesenberg Model J Sweep Panel Dual-Cowl Phaeton (long-wheelbase)
- Engine
- 420 cu. in. inline-eight, dual overhead-cam, four-valve head, 265 bhp
- Colour
- Black over café au lait with red pinstripe accent
Chassis 2336 is a Duesenberg Model J Sweep Panel Dual-Cowl Phaeton bodied on the long 153½-inch wheelbase — the sole example of this configuration among just eighteen sweep-panel phaetons ever built. Powered by the 420-cubic-inch twin-cam straight-eight producing 265 bhp, the car was delivered new to Chicago broker J. Clarke Dean in 1928. It passed through several notable Midwestern and East Coast owners before entering the collections of prominent enthusiast Tony Pascucci and later the Imperial Palace Auto Collections. The car carries ACD Club Category One certification and a continuous documented history from new.
Ownership
- —Auction saleSold US$1,155,000
- —Auction saleSold US$1,650,000
- → 1938Factory deliveryJ. Clarke Deanpartial documentation
Chicago-based broker and commodities dealer who reportedly paid cash for the car; records from Auburn Cord Duesenberg Club historian Raymond Wolff document his ownership.
- 1938 → 1938Private saleFelz Cadillac Companypartial documentation
Chicago dealership that served as the intermediary when Dean disposed of the car; reportedly sold it to another Chicago-area buyer.
- 1938 →Private saleUnidentified Chicago-area buyernone documentation
- 1948 →Private saleGeorge Williamspartial documentation
Grand Rapids, Michigan resident who acquired the car in 1948; by this time the car had received its current engine, believed to have been fitted as a factory branch replacement during its Chicago period.
- → 1951Several Midwestern enthusiastsnone documentation
Brief successive ownership by unnamed enthusiasts in the Midwest prior to Thompson's acquisition.
- 1951 →Private saleRaydon R. Thompson and Jack Irwinpartial documentation
Business partners from Huntington, West Virginia who undertook a restoration of the rolling chassis and engine with local mechanic Bob Roller before passing the car to a Maryland owner.
- 1964 → 1984Private saleTony Pascuccipartial documentation
Well-regarded Model J specialist from Meriden, Connecticut who kept the car for roughly two decades before selling to a Las Vegas collection.
- 1984 →Private saleImperial Palace Auto Collectionspartial documentation
Las Vegas-based museum collection that held the car for approximately a decade, with the exception of a brief period when it passed to Bill Lassiter.
- Date unknownPrivate saleUnidentified Maryland ownernone documentation
- Date unknownAcquisition unknownBill Lassiterpartial documentation
Briefly held the car during the Imperial Palace ownership period before it returned to that collection.
- Date unknownPrivate saleDale Fowlerpartial documentation
Noted collector who undertook mechanical and cosmetic work including a repaint in black and graphite grey, transmission and clutch servicing, and fabrication of a period-correct six-volt fuel gauge.
Competition
No competition history extracted from the catalogue.
Maintenance & restoration
- 1951RestorationBob Roller (local mechanic)
Rolling chassis and engine were restored by Thompson and Irwin in collaboration with local mechanic Bob Roller in West Virginia.
Work was carried out during Thompson and Irwin's ownership in Huntington, West Virginia.
- —Restoration
A full restoration was completed during an earlier period of ownership prior to the car reaching its most recent owner; exact date unspecified.
Referenced in the catalogue as having occurred in prior ownership before the current cosmetic and mechanical freshening.
- —Mechanical
Custom six-volt fuel gauge fabricated from correct period components after an extensive but unsuccessful search for an original unit; new exhaust and fuel gaskets fitted; transmission and clutch removed, adjusted, and refitted.
Carried out under the most recent owner's tenure as part of a broader mechanical and cosmetic freshening programme.
- —Bodywork
Bodywork refinished in a two-tone black and graphite grey colour scheme, complementing the black cloth hood and leather cabin with its engine-turned instrument panel.
Part of the same freshening programme as the mechanical work undertaken by the most recent owner.
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