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Ordered new by Hawaii-based Northrup Castle, this is the very first Duesenberg road car sold to a customer. To suit the particular needs of the relatively tall and heavy Castle, the car was clothed in a somewhat unusual Coupe body by the Bender Body Company of Cleveland, Ohio. Finished in 'Jet Black', the striking machine features a large cockpit but lacks running boards. Although ordered back in 1919, the car was not ready for shipping to Hawaii until late 1921.
The Duesenberg was used extensively on the rough roads of Hawaii and during the late 1920s, it was returned to the factory for some much needed repairs. At this time, some of the running gear was replaced with more modern components from the Model J and a chassis oiling system was also added. Once back on the tropical island, the Bender Coupe remained in use for many more years and Northrup Castle held on to the car until his death in 1958. The Model A then passed to his favourite nephew James Christian Castle.
In 1968, the formidable machine was shipped to San Francisco where it was placed in storage. After James Castle passed away in 1994, the family Duesenberg was now entrusted to his son. The car had survived the rigours of life on Hawaii remarkably well and when shown at the 2003 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance the engine still ran. It could not drive though as the clutch had seized long ago. In 2005, it was decided to finally restore the car back to its original glory. This work was entrusted to Bruce Canepa, who also maintained the owner's racing cars and hot rods.
Taking nearly eight years to complete, the restoration of this early Duesenberg proved to be a mammoth task. No detail was overlooked as, for example, an expert, who had previously worked on the carriages at Versailles, was flown in from France to help preserve and restore the wooden frames supporting the body. Upon completion, the car was brought back to Pebble Beach exactly a decade after its first appearance. Amazingly among the other Duesenbergs in its class was chassis 603; the third Model A sold to a customer.
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Model A Bender Coupe
