Duesies Wild

Jay Leno is on the line. Again. Like the child traveler asking “are we there yet?” he wants to know if his car is ready. If his 1934 Duesenberg Model J coupe is ready.

Yes, Randy Ema tells him after two calls this hour, it’s ready.

The automobile is loaded into an enclosed truck for its trip from Ema’s shop in Orange County to the Los Angeles home of the “Tonight Show” host.

The coupe is the latest in a two-decade long line of Duesenbergs Ema has meticulously restored on behalf of clients who possess the wealth to own the cars.

Ema knows the Duesenberg like nobody else--save perhaps Fred and Augie Duesenberg, the brothers who built and promoted the car in the 1920s and ‘30s as the “perfect” motorcar. Today, as in the past, only the very wealthy can afford a Duesenberg--it is by far the most highly valued American-made car ever built. Stylistically and mechanically, no other car compared to it then--or, say many, has come close since. Only 481 of the top-of-the-line Model Js were built, each with impeccable craftsmanship.

Some of the cars were destroyed over the years--melted down for scrap metal in World War II, raided for parts--but most were the prized possessions of their owners and survive.

In his shop in Orange County, Ema has a file on each of the 378 Model Js known to exist. He’s seen 333--sometimes traveling halfway around the world to visit one. He has restored 30 of them.

Having bought the Duesenberg “factory” over the years--including thousands of drawings and blueprints, patterns, tooling, stock parts, purchasing records and correspondence with original owners--Ema knows what nearly every Model J looked like in its original condition--and he has the equipment and expertise to restore each car to that condition.

A new Model J was the most expensive car of its time--easily costing $20,000 or more. Men such as Howard Hughes, Clark Gable and Maharajah Holkar were among the elite who bought them.

Like the finest artwork, the car is worth what someone is willing to pay. And although those who own them are reluctant to put a dollar figure on their value, only multimillionaires need entertain the possibility.

“To those who possess the will to own one, money is no object,” says John Biel, editor-in-chief of Cicero, Ill.-based Collectible Automobile magazine.

“If someone wants an authentically restored Duesenberg, he goes to Randy Ema,” Biel says, adding that Ema is a highly regarded authority who has written much about the car and its history and has been the expert voice on it in television documentaries.

The elegant Model Js steal the show at automotive competitions. And while most classic cars chug down the highway, barely keeping up with modern traffic, the Duesenberg is capable of leaving even new cars in the dust.

At 420 cubic inches and 265 horsepower, the Model J cruised at an unheard-of 86 mph in second gear and ate up the road at 116 mph in high. At 320 horsepower, the supercharged SJ model was even faster--100 mph in second and 120 mph in high.

As auto maker E.L. Cord fondly said, drivers of other automobile makes “were quick to discover that attempting to pass the new Duesie was as ludicrous as a dog barking at an express train.”

When Ema finishes restoring a Duesenberg, it’s ready to roar down the road again--though today’s owners tend to be more cautious about pushing the pedal to the metal.

Leno drives his to and from work.

*

Like many teenage boys growing up in Orange County in the 1960s, Ema fell in love with cars. But his path diverged from the usual love affair with cars in 1964 when, at 16, he traveled with his parents in tow to Tulsa, Okla., to visit the Auburn-Cord factory and inspect a front-wheel-drive prototype.

“When I was a kid, a neighbor had a couple of Auburns in his garage,” Ema, 48, remembers. “I thought they were the neatest things I’d ever seen. After school and on Saturdays, he’d let me come over and help him work on them.”

Ema first caught sight of a Duesenberg Model J on the pages of a magazine when he was 11 years old and recalls being awe-struck by its beauty and style. He determined to learn as much about the car and its makers as possible.

A student at Foothill High School in Santa Ana, Ema spent his spare time buffing up and tinkering with old cars. In 1965, he bought his first Auburn and delved into automotive books to trace its history. He soon discovered the owner of the Auburn Automobile Co., Errett Lobban Cord, also owned the Duesenberg factory at one time.

German-born Fred and August Duesenberg grew up in Iowa in the 1880s. Their first brief venture together was running a bicycle shop in Rockford, where they also joined the latest craze--bicycle racing.

After building high-speed bicycles, Fred and Augie built their first automobile in 1905. Within a year, both brothers had found employment in the automotive business.

By 1920, the brothers had developed the first Duesenberg production car: the Model A (not to be confused with Ford’s Model A). That same year, Duesenberg Automobile and Motors was formed, with the brothers as employees of the corporation. Fred ran the engineering department; Augie was his assistant.

Rife with financial troubles from the beginning, the company underwent a brief reorganization in 1925. In 1926, E.L. Cord bought the company and formed Duesenberg Inc.

Fred worked as chief engineer until his death in 1932, when Augie filled the position. In 1937, the company folded.

Throughout Ema’s studies as a history major at Cal State Fullerton--his graduate work consisted of a history of Cord--Ema never strayed from his passion for cars. His jobs ranged from sales positions at Cadillac and sports-car dealerships to a job as an assistant librarian for Road & Track magazine.

After college and a brief stint farming tomatoes at his family’s farm in Camarillo, Ema returned to Orange County, where, in 1976, he opened his shop and began restoring classic cars. His first ground-up restoration was an Auburn Phaeton sedan owned by Tom Kemp of Arcadia.

“When I first approached him about the car, Randy had lots of small jobs going and didn’t have time for my restoration,” Kemp remembers. “I took the car elsewhere, paid a lot of money and ended up with a mess.”

Knowing Ema’s penchant for perfection, Kemp wanted him to work on the car. He fronted Ema some money, which allowed Ema to become better established and freed him up to work on the Auburn.

Ema served as historian for the Auburn, Ind.-based Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Club and others became aware of his zeal for detail and accuracy. His business flourished as news of his work spread by word of mouth.

Ema’s workmanship and reputation for fairness (there’s no markup on purchased parts, and he charges $44 per hour for labor) have served him well; there is a waiting list for his restoration work.

As the years passed, Ema bought collections of Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg drawings, literature, photos and correspondence. In 1984, he bought several thousand original drawings and blueprints from longtime friend Glenn Pray, who owned the Auburn-Cord factory in Tulsa.

“Randy was an engaging and enthusiastic young man,” Pray says, remembering Ema as the teenager who visited him many years before. “As a businessman, he ran his shop with integrity. I couldn’t think of a better home for my collection of drawings.”

A busy auto manufacturer, Pray never took the time to look at all the drawings, which he kept in his attic. To his and Ema’s surprise, 75% of them were of Duesenbergs rather than Auburns.

In 1986, Ema bought thousands more Duesenberg drawings and blueprints, patterns, tooling, stock parts, purchasing records and correspondence, from the family of friend Marshal Merkes, who had recently died. Merkes had been selling Duesenberg parts in Los Angeles.

Owning so much of the Duesenberg legacy, Ema determined to meet the surviving members of the Duesenberg family.

He made his first trip to St. Petersburg Beach, Fla., in 1988, where Fred’s son, Denny, lived with his wife, Elaine. (Augie Duesenberg had no surviving heirs.) Ema visited the Duesenbergs several times over the next couple of years. Having no heirs, Denny and his wife eventually sold much of their personal estate to Ema, whose home is now graced with the Duesenbergs’ early 20th century Persian rugs, furniture, linens, china and knickknacks.

Ema’s taste in decorating reflects his love of history. In his shop and at home, jewelry and book cases full of antique toy cars and automotive memorabilia (hood ornaments, hubcaps, license plates, gearshift knobs) line the walls. So do displays of antique musical instruments and small art pieces.

“Still,” Ema quips, “nothing beats the Duesenberg automobile.”

*

Flashy yet elegant, many Duesenbergs reflect the flair and personality of their owner.

Case in point: Leno.

He owns, among other classic cars, four Duesies. His just-restored coupe was designed and built for pharmaceutical giant Josiah K. Lilley. The Model J Walker, the aerodynamic statement of the period, was promoted as the avant-garde style of the future.

“People had been trying to locate and buy this car for years,” Leno said in a recent telephone interview. “It took Randy’s research skills to finally sniff it out.”

Hearing word of the fabled ’34 coupe’s whereabouts in 1990, Ema determined to see the car. He tried on several occasions, but each time the owner backed down. Having restored some of Leno’s cars and knowing that Leno would appreciate the vehicle’s unique background, Ema told Leno about the car. Soon Leno too was calling the owner.

In 1994, Ema finally received approval from the owner to see the car. Dropping everything, he flew to Long Island, where it had been idle for many years.

The car, possibly the most expensive Duesenberg ever built, looked a shambles (at one time, it had been used to tow cars in and out of farm fields). But it was Lilley’s ’34 coupe.

After a year of negotiating, Leno bought the car and had it towed to Ema’s shop.

Normally a job such as the coupe restoration takes about 18 months. But because Leno wanted to show it at Pebble Beach’s ’96 Concourse d’Elegance--about a year away--Ema and his crew of four worked frequent 14-hour days to get the job done.

Ema began by assessing what was missing from the car, what needed repair and what needed replacement.

Several inches of filler, with an overlay of fiberglass, covered much of the rear section, including fenders. So Ema fabricated an entirely new back section using factory blueprints.

He stripped the remaining metal from the body and chassis and repaired imperfections. Meanwhile, the engine was dismantled, cleaned and remachined. Finally the body, chassis and engine were painted in his on-site paint booth.

Piece by piece, Ema reassembled the car. He installed all-new glass and replaced the lenses over the headlights, which--unique to this car--are molded directly into the fenders so as not to disrupt airflow over the aerodynamic body.

Last, he affixed the calling card of every Duesenberg: a hood ornament resembling a stylized eagle--fabricated per the original drawings.

In August, and with the Pebble Beach event only days away, Ema realized that, mechanically, the car would not be ready. But Leno insisted on taking it. “It was a piece of art, too beautiful to hide,” Leno said.

Like most Duesenbergs going to show, the comedian took the car by trailer to Pebble Beach. It won most elegant, as well as second place in its class. In October, Ema completed the restoration job. Except for the chrome plating and upholstery, all the work had been performed in his shop.

Now, chrome-plated gauges line the dash, while tan broadcloth upholstery finishes the interior. A deep midnight blue with a touch of purple, the leather top meticulously matches the rest of the body. Under the hood and beneath the car, every piece of metal is carefully detailed.

As soon as the coupe left Ema’s shop, another of Leno’s cars arrived.

“Randy does great work, and I like his attitude,” Leno says. “I just wish he would cut out the cheeseburgers until he’s done with my cars.”

*

There’s more vying for Ema’s attention than a burger break. Most notably, other Duesie owners. Real estate developer Bill Patton of Newport Beach is another faithful customer. Both of his Duesenbergs, as well as a number of his other classic cars, have been restored under Ema’s supervision.

Ema restored Patton’s Model J in 1991. Ema lacked the original drawings, but he did have photographs of it in its original state. He brought the photos to Pasadena to show Strother MacMinn, who designed cars of the period. From the photos, MacMinn penciled a scale drawing of the car, and Ema was able to complete the restoration.

Like Leno’s coupe, Patton’s Duesenberg was not quite ready for Pebble Beach that year, but he wanted to take it anyway. An impeccable piece of art, the car ran rough. Not a mechanic himself, Patton stayed up all night with Ema and a couple of friends, pouring Pepsi and serving snacks while Ema tried to figure out the problem.

“Randy was in a panic,” Patton says, “and, as sometimes happens, he overlooked the obvious.”

In this case, he had forgotten to set the Lincoln distributor cap to match Duesenberg specifications. (Because no more original Duesenberg distributor caps exist, Ema uses a Lincoln cap for the Duesenberg engine.)

Once the problem was pointed out, Ema switched the wires, and the car purred. “We had just enough time to shower before it was time to leave for the show.”

The effort was worth it--the car won best in its class.

*

Although authentic right down to the color of engine paint, fully restored cars today often lack the few imperfections they had when they rolled out of the factory--no ripples or dimples mar the flawless metal work and paint jobs.

“The meaning of restoration has changed over the years,” Ema says. For cars like Leno’s, it now means turning every nut and bolt into a shining piece of jewelry, and the car into a work of art.

“Steroids for classics,” Ema calls it.

The larger-than-life versions are fabulous, but fewer and fewer people can afford to create them, Ema says.

He’s not going to spend time worrying about that, though.

“I’m just glad there are still a large number of car buffs who enjoy a classic that’s been restored to its original condition.”

Someday, Ema says, he even hopes to restore the 1923 Model A Duesenberg he owns.

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Randy Ema

Background: Age 48. Grew up in Tustin, attended Foothill High School and Cal State Fullerton. Opened car restoration business in 1976. He and his wife, Diana, have been married since 1983. His daughter, Tami, 21, is a student college student in Fullerton.

Interests: History, old cars. Collects automobile memorabilia, antique musical instruments and toy cars.

On what prompted him to buy the Duesenberg Model A he owns: It is the only Duesenberg purchased and retained in Orange County. Its first buyer was the owner of the Duesenberg dealership in Anaheim.

On spending his life restoring classic cars: “Working on old cars--a part of American history--is a dream come true.”

On his clients: “Working for some of the country’s wealthiest people is always interesting--traveling to different places and meeting new people--but also challenging. Their expectations are very high.”