1930 Duesenberg Model J Convertible Sedan by Murphy | RM Sotheby's | Private Sales

Asking | $1,500,000 USD

• Well-kept in two long-term collections from 1936 to 2012
• Retains its original chassis, engine, and bodywork
• Used when new by Indianapolis 500 regular Leon Duray
• Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) Full Classic

MILLER ON TRACK, DUESENBERG ON THE ROAD

Rather than find its start in life at the hands of a Hollywood star or captain of industry, this Duesenberg was said to have been allocated to the racing driver Leon Duray, most famous for his exploits in Millers at Indianapolis. According to the records of Duesenberg historian Ray Wolff, the short-wheelbase Murphy Convertible Sedan bearing engine no. J-329 was most likely a “loaner” supplied to him directly by the Duesenberg factory. Duray famously wrote from Los Angeles to Harold Ames of the Duesenberg company: “Car is perfect if there is such a thing. Completed fifty-two hundred miles on car today…Arrived here 8 P.M. Sunday sleeping seven hours each night.”

Aside from Duray, the earliest known owner of J-329 is recorded as one Walt Martin of St. Louis, Missouri. Passing later through the hands of Edward Grove of the Bromine fortune, he traded the car in to a Cadillac dealer in 1936. It was then subsequently resold to Norris Allen. An attorney by trade, his true passion was cars and as he had a penchant for mechanical engineering, he was a true devotee of both Rolls-Royce and Duesenberg and would own multiple cars from both great marques.

Allen’s enthusiasm for automotive design saw him retrofit J-329s convertible sedan bodywork late in his ownership with modified Cadillac front fenders and Lincoln Continental rear fenders. The fenders and a streamlined trunk were bolted into the original Murphy coachwork at their open edges, preserving all of the original Murphy panels underneath – something that came in handy when, several years later, Mr. Allen realized the error of his ways, filled the holes with aluminum plugs, and reinstalled the original fenders, returning the Model J to its more attractive original configuration.

After over 22 years of ownership, Norris Allen sold J-329 to Marshall Hughs Jr, who in turn sold the car to Arthur K. “Dick” Watson of Connecticut in 1962, four years later. Son of Thomas J. Watson, the founder of IBM, Dick Watson attended The Hotchkiss School prior to graduating from Yale University (where a computer science building was named in his honor). A benefactor and trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, he would later become the U.S. Ambassador to France.


A mechanical and cosmetic restoration was commissioned not long after Watson’s acquisition of J-329, with the cosmetic work entrusted to the famed restorer Gus Reuter. At this time, a White truck transmission with overdrive was fitted to the car. This was a popular period upgrade done by Duesenberg specialist Jim Hoe, which made the Model J much easier to drive at high speeds.

To Watson’s son, A.K. “Kitt” Watson Jr, J-329 would be a formative part of his childhood. “I’ve always remembered the Duesenberg being part of the family,” A.K. “Kitt” Jr., recalled to Hemmings Classic Car in May 2011. “I remember going to Yale football games in it with my father… We had a lot of fun with the car, and we used it in all-weather with the top down or up. I used to drive it all over the place. Even Mom used to wheel that thing around.”


After Dick Watson’s passing in 1974, J-329 was inherited by his wife. Fittingly, the car would soon pass to Kitt. After the ensuing 30 years, it was decided in 2003 that the Duesenberg would benefit from fresh restoration work, and the car was submitted to noted Duesenberg specialist Chris Charlton’s Classic Car Services of Oxford, Maine, with engine work left to Jim Hoe. All chrome was correctly refinished, with the headlights and door sills properly etched; the interior properly retrimmed in beautiful rich blue leather; and the body properly stripped and repainted to a fine standard in the Watson family’s preferred two-tone blue. Upon completion, the car was occasionally driven, enjoyed, and shown at various events around New England and routinely looked after by Classic Car Services.

FULL CIRCLE TO ST. LOUIS

In 2012, having spent over 76 years in the custodianship of just two families, J-329 would finally find a new owner in Fred Guyton of St. Louis. Also a resident of St. Louis, Guyton befriended Norris Allen and considered him a dear friend, quickly adopting his passion for both Rolls-Royce and Duesenberg automobiles. Such was the closeness of their relationship that Mr. Guyton eventually bought his home because it was two doors away from the Allen residence, allowing the two to visit frequently and enjoy wrenching on one another’s cars. It was Mr. Guyton who would eventually receive the prized Allen Phantom III at its owner’s passing in 1991.

Keenly aware of Allen’s eye for quality, Guyton would always be on the lookout for cars formerly owned by his friend. Once the Watson family made it known that it was time to sell J-329, Chris Charlton contacted Mr. Guyton, who immediately decided to acquire the car for his own collection. In 2012, it returned to St. Louis for the first time in decades, just two houses down from where it had previously resided.

Under Mr. Guyton’s ownership, careful preservation of J-329 would continue and upon his passing in 2018, RM Sotheby’s was entrusted to disperse of his collection, holding a single-owner auction in St. Louis in May of 2019, with this Model J as one of the star lots. At that time, the car was purchased by the current owner with whom the car has been kept ever since. Following his purchase at the Guyton Collection, the car was shipped to RM Auto Restoration for some cosmetic and mechanical refreshening prior to delivery to its new owner. A brand-new convertible top and matching trunk cover in dark blue were produced to match the car’s blue paintwork. Mechanical work included fabricating and fitting a new fuel tank, some work to the brakes including rebuilding the wheel cylinders, installing new spark plugs, and an oil change.

Today, J-329 presents as one of the best surviving Model J Duesenbergs in existence, and it still retains its original chassis, engine, and bodywork. Its restoration by Classic Car Services still presents exceptionally well over 20 years since leaving his facility, a testament to the quality of the work. Like so many Duesenbergs, J-329 has a unique story all its own, one crafted by the fascinating individuals who were lucky enough to care for it over the years. Now, in pursuit of a new custodian and quickly approaching its 100th birthday, this is a Duesenberg to be cherished, as it has been for generations before. To view this car and others currently available, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/ps00/.