My Ride In a Duesenberg

March 1959, and I was traveling as a passenger in a Duesenberg on a trip from Kansas City to Omaha to see a Classic Car Club show. A fraternity brother of mine at the University of Kansas invited me, and begged a ride for me with a friend of his who owned the Duesenberg. The car had been built in the mid-1930's and restored by its current owner. We drove on the highways (two lane, before the interstates), and my driver liked to push the speed limit. I remember one empty stretch of road in northeastern Kansas. No traffic and he opened up the car to a little over 70 mph. I asked him if the car could go faster, and his reply was, "Definitely, but these are the original tires so don't go fast anymore." (It had an 8 cylinder supercharged engine that could move.)

The car was a real eye-catcher on the drive up. As we traveled through the small towns, people would stare and follow the car as we passed. The fun part was the noise. If you look at the picture, it car has exhaust pipes coming out the hood, down through the fenders and into the mufflers toward the rear of the car. But the driver had modified his car so he could disconnect the headers below the fenders just prior to the bend to go toward the mufflers. And for this trip, the headers were off and the muffler was totally bypassed. The car was LOUD. The people on the sidewalks would hear what they thought was a large truck, and stare in astonishment when they saw the real source of the rumbling: a classic car they had probably never seen before cruising through their town.

It was an adventure of a lifetime, and I remember it like it was yesterday.

Note: photo credit goes to The Nethercutt Collection for their 1933 Duesenberg SJ. Thanks for the use.