The 1920 Duesenberg Straight 8 Race Car
Restoration at the Old Crow Speedshop is an art and a passion, as shown by this beautiful race-ready vehicle. The Straight 8 can be seen on the track with driver Bobby Green at the helm, or maybe a friend from the Ragtime Racers who drive their vintage vehicles on race tracks around the USA.
The Straight 8 refers to the 3-liter inline 8-cylinder engine with dual overhead camshafts and multiple valves per cylinder to create a powerful experience that Fred and August Duesenberg were known for.
When we met at the Sonoma Speedway in Northern California Bobby was happy to let me take the cover off and light paint this beauty with a brand new paint job as it waits in the pit lane for the next day's drive.
It's not so Dark in the Pits
Removing the cover exposed the brilliant colors of the fresh paint, but there were lots of ambient lights for the workers still toiling on their vehicles.
Still, a number of passes with the light wand produced exposures to highlight the curves of the bodywork with it's extra long hood with it's full length exhaust, the details in the suspension and wheels, the color tones of the paint with it's gold eagle emblem and the grille, all emphasizing the powerful stance and excellent craftsmanship from a century ago.
There was time to do several other views as well.
The Build
After the lightpainting passes were completed it was time for the build. The individual layers are opened on the computer, examined, and selected for carefully layering together, blending into the finished product.
There is skill and judgment combined with a lot of attention to detail, and an artful vision in creating the finished image, suitable to be printed and hung on the wall.
This image looked great printed at 36" wide for a dramatic fine art piece on the wall.
On the Track
Here are shots of the Duesenberg on the track at the Sonoma Speedway with the Ragtime Racers.
