Derham Bodied Dodge D24 Coupe
The seven-passenger sports car rode on a 137.5 in. stage whilst the outstanding vehicles had a 119.5-inch wheelbase.
This one-off coupe written by Enos Derham and Donald Diskey and consecrated by Chrysler, was formed on the five-window Club Coupe. Derham private the initial top, edit the package tray and changed the back chair backward by a few 4 inches, installed a new interior and wraparound windows. The wraparound back window was identical in pattern to the ? la mode Studebaker Starlighter written by Raymond Loewy.
The interior was entirely restyled with all the trim from the beltline up was of Derham design. The berth was given with twin interior lamps, two-speed electric windshield wipers, a passenger-side hankie holder, an electric clock, a heater section with defroster, a seven-button Mopar radio, a law rearview counterpart and an upholstered case that enclosed a Derham-badged apparatus pack case.
The outward featured specifically written hubcaps, scripting and a charming two-tone shade scheme.
The Derham Body Company of Rosemont, Pennsylvania, had built a unequaled repute for enhancement and flexibility that kept the definite in business until Enos Derham’s demise in Mar of 1974. This was a really splendid feat, deliberation that many American coachbuilders unsuccessful to tarry the Depression years. In the years that followed World War II, Derham remade assembly lines prolongation bodies in to cultured etiquette for affluent clients, industrial designers and leading manufacturers.
This D24 Custom was built for promotional manifestation in Dodge showrooms, and – similar to many other concepts – to guess the marketplace for prolongation of custom-series D24s. The outcome was a remarkable, one-off vehicle that was wholly unique in its look and design.
The car was displayed in assorted showrooms for a year or so before it sole to Gertrude V. Fisher of Brooklyn, NY on January 20th of 1950. In April of 1985, with its locale a poser for over 3 decades, the Derham coupe was re-discovered in Vermont with Gael Dondon. The car had survived in initial condition even even though it had been left out in the elements. It was in need of a total restoration. Dr. Joseph Leir, owners of the Memorial Auto Collection in Moorpark, California, purchased the car and began a restoration. A section of the initial paint (Forest Green) was detected underneath the padded tip material. Inside, sufficient of the initial upholstery remained intact to enable an exact presentation of the patterns and materials.
The replacement work was finished in October of 2009. It done its concours entrance at the Western Region AACA encounter in La Quinta, California, and won a First Junior award. Since then, the car has warranted First Senior and First Place Grand National Awards in AACA competition, together with the James Melton National Award for Excellent. In add-on to AACA events, the car was displayed at the 2010 Santa Barbara Concours d’Elegance and received an endowment at the 2010 Palo Alto Concours d’Elegance.
In 2011, the car was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and participated in the debate d’Elegance.
In 2012, this car was offering for sale at the Gooding Company auction hold in Scottsdale, Arizona. It had a pre-auction estimated worth of $ 75,000 – $125,000 and offering without reserve. As behest came to a close, the car had been sole is to sum of $60,500 thorough of buyer’s premium.
By Daniel Vaughan January 2012
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