Car 2208 (J-186) was first owned by Arthur K. Bourne Jr. (1899-1974), grandson of Frederick Gilbert Bourne, president of the Singer Sewing Machine Company, who made his fortune selling sewing machines on credit.  Arthur Bourne owned many properties in Southern California, but lived in Pasadena, California and Reno, Nevada.  It is said that he was also Sheriff of Salt Lake City.

How he acquired this car is central to its history.  In 1929 Mr. Bourne owned a Stutz with a Weyman leatherette body (not to mention another Duesenberg, J-259).  At some point the steering gear in his Stutz locked up, and rather than fix it, he decided to buy another Duesenberg and have the Weyman body moved to it.  He asked Joseph Kirchhoff, former foreman for Murphy's coachbuilding company, whether the body could be fitted to the J chassis.  Kirchhoff was able to modify the wheelhouse and cowl to accommodate it and the finished car was delivered in only three weeks time.  Later that year, Bourne was visiting Kirchhoff and saw a Packard with one of his convertible sedans on it and asked to have one built for his Duesenberg.  Kirchhoff finished the installation in 1930 and was paid $5,000 plus the Weyman body, which he installed on his own Model A Duesenberg.  The special features of the car, the unusually angled V-windshield and the broad polished chrome belt, where typical features of Kirchhoff's coachwork.  The original color was mushroom, with green leather seats.

At an unknown date, Bourne traded the car away to Ford dealer Frank Miller of Pasadena.  Then, in approximate chronological order, car 2208 was owned by:

Stewart M. Fraser (d. c1947), of Ryan Aircraft, San Diego, who ran it on Butane.  It is believed that the picture of the car taken during a ski trip was taken in 1945 when Fraser was the owner.

Lee Penn Blind of Los Angeles, acquired the car in November, 1946.  About this time the car was painted black.

Kenneth H. Deringer of Venice, California acquired it from Blind October 15^th, 1948.  The car was still being used on a daily basis.

Charles Benjamin McKesson (c1925-2007), Attorney & Judge in San Diego, bought the car for $350. In a letter (dated 3/4/1986) to Strother MacMinn, McKesson accurately describes the car, mentions Kirchhoff as being the coachbuilder, and admits that the engine threw a rod while he had it.  He claimed he "sort of" repaired it then sold it for $450.  He incorrectly remembers the engine as J-389 (an engine not associated with a frame) and Arthur Bourne as John Bourne.  The letter, unfortunately, doesn't mention any dates.

John Morris was perhaps the last person to drive the car, but nothing is known about him or when he acquired the car.  We do know that he, according to Randy Ema, sold the car to junk dealer C. R. Zoll, of M. Z. Transmissions, located near the north end of Avalon Blvd in Los Angeles, California, after throwing a rod.  The picture of this car by Red Hoyle was taken in 1951,  just before the final mechanical breakdown.

How J-186 was discovered is uncertain.  At the time of discovery the car was located just three miles from downtown Los Angeles, and about ten miles from where Gil Curtright was living in Hawthorne in late 1952.  Already proficient in auto mechanics and an avid car enthusiast, he frequented the neighborhood junk yards to search for cars and replacement car parts.  The discovery could have easily been simple chance.  But the day that the car was towed away from M. Z. Transmissions, Red Hoyle and Tom Magee, friends of Gil Curtright, were present.  Hoyle was already acquainted with J-186; he had photographed the car in 1951.  So it's possible that Hoyle or Magee actually found the car and told Curtright about it.  In either case, two derelict Duesenbergs were discovered on December 6th, 1952, at 3621 Avalon Blvd., Los Angeles; Curtright was going to buy J-186 and Magee was to acquire J-116.  Both were purchased four days later for $500 each.  Hoyle's Graham-Paige was used to tow the cars away.  When all was said and done, though, Curtright ended up with both of them. 

The body of J-186 was in good condition, but the engine was badly damaged.  A broken connecting rod blew a hole in the lower part of the block on the right side, damaging the crankshaft, oil pan and oil pump flange in the process.  The broken rod also broke the piston and gouged the wall in cylinder three.  When discovered, the head was loose and partially disassembled.  Many things were missing from the car, beginning with the Duesenberg plate on the firewall, the electric fuel pumps, tail pipes, radio, radiator ornament, one horn, and the chrome strips from gas tank cover.  In addition, the right rear shock absorber arm was crudely severed with a cutting torch.

A considerable correspondence began in 1953 to search for information about the car, seek advise, and locate replacement parts.   Over a period of several years the car was disassembled, preserved and stored away, parts were acquired or manufactured to replace undesirable ones.

The choice to keep J-186 left him with an engine that required very expensive repairs.  Instead, a substitute was acquired in the summer of 1954, from Glenn C. Short: engine J-260, for $150.  During the 1970s another engine, J-419, virtually unused, was acquired and for a time was to be used for this restoration.    However, for reasons unknown, it was sold in 1978 for $700.

In about 1961 Curtright contacted Joe Kirchhoff at his home in Pasadena.  The entire family was invited over one afternoon, a visit which resulted in the acquisition of Kirchhoff's various patterns for the cowl, several examples of Kirchhoff Coachwork plates, and the bumpers from car 2514 (J-497), a long wheel base town car bodied by Kirchhoff.

Gil Curtright first saw J-186 in a hot-rod show in Los Angeles in 1946, when Lee Blind was the owner.  The car had just been painted black.  So he may have recognized it in the junk yard, and maybe that's why he chose to keep it.  But I prefer to think that he kept J-186 instead of J-116 because of his admiration for the workmanship of the body.  Nothing but praise has been offered by those who have seen the Kirchhoff body:

"All structural wooden parts are supported by heat-treated aluminum castings, and large sections such as the cowl are entirely cast aluminum, yet in spite of its stiffness and structural strength, I can easily lift the stripped body." - G. L. Curtright to E. O. Franzen, 27 Apr 1965.

In short, it is arguably the best executed body on any Duesenberg.  When it was re-installed on the frame in 2007, very little adjustment was required to align it with the frame.  The doors also required very little adjustment.  In fact, the body structure remains intact since Kirchhoff himself last tightened the last bolt.

During the 1960's it was decided to add a supercharger, and parts were purchased to that end.  Since few Duesenberg superchargers are ever available, the plan was to privately manufacture a few, and a pattern was made for that purpose.  This idea was eventually abandoned.

 J-116 was sold in 1962 to John M. Thorpe for $1750.  Thorpe restored it immediately, then hired it out for use in the Elvis Presley movie "Spin Out" in 1966.  It has changed hands a number of times since then, and  it has been re-restored two more times.

Restoration.  On June 25^th, 1998, all the chassis parts were moved to a car restoration shop in Orange, California to begin the restoration.  In the spring of 2006 the body was also transported there and was painted and installed on the frame.  On June 3rd, 2008, the car was moved to storage in San Diego county, then on September 18th, the car was moved to a new restoration shop in San Diego County.  The restoration is nearly complete, with only the interior upholstery and top remaining.