9 replies to this topic

[alarson11]

I recently purchased (last year) 37265, which is a 1927 Bugatti Type 37A (converted to compressor by Bunny Phillips in 1960s.)

I am trying to track down it's history before the 1960s. It started off as a T37 roadster (bugatti blue) that was owned by Otto Zipper. In the 1960s, it passed to Joe Ricketts and Joe had Bunny Phillips convert it to a T37A grand prix car (US racing white color).

The roadster tail, fenders and lights went to Erik Koux, who refitted them to a replica T37A, which his son has now. (There is a picture of it under 37265 under www.bugattibuilder.com or under the T37 section of www.bugattipage.com - (http://www.bugattipage.com/b1c.htm))

Previous owners were: Jan Voboril (usa), Mike Gertner (usa), Willet Brown (usa), Joe Ricketts (usa), Otto Zipper (usa), Jean de Dobbeleer (belgium), Paris Showroom.

There is a big gap between the paris showroom and going to de Dobbeleer(in the 1950s/1960s), so this is some of the history I'm trying to fill in.

Here is verbage from two Pur Sang articles that give a little more history of 37265. It details that roadster body may have been put on post-war, so did it originally have a grand prix body? Erik Koux's article shares that he only received rear and fenders, so front bonnet of 37265 is probably original.

"Chassis 37265: This T37A was first delivered to the Paris show room in 1927 and came to America via De Deobbeleer, already converted as a roadster. Its first owner here was Otto Zipper who campaigned it in early ABC days during which it was written up in the SCA journal. A tattered photo from that magazine is reproduced here.
The car next passed to Joe Ricketts who took it to Bunny Phillips to have the (rear) body replaced and the car restored. Quite by coincidence, I was at Bunny's shop the day Ricketts came in (back in the early sixties), and I remember Bunny trying to persuade him to buy the then Ray Anderson T37(37207) which had just been completed. Ricketts would have none of it, insisting that he wanted to have "his own car done". Thus the car got restored, passed through Willet Brown, and is now with Mike Gertner. The roadster body (rear and fenders) got kicked around a bit and is now with Erik Koux who is fitting it to a newly built up Type 37 in France."

Erik Koux wrote, "Otto Zipper's T37A had been reborn. The car was imported to the US from France in the early fifties when it was in Paris. Enclosed are two photos of the car which appeared in a French fashion journal in 1954. When I saw an ad in Pur Sang in 1990 advertising the beautiful body for sale, I could not resist buying it with a recreation of the complete car in mind. I purchased the body from Lawrence Deutsch in October 1990 when I was still living in Denmark. Since then I have moved to France, and work has kept me from completing the car.
Finally this spring, I finished it. Apart from the fenders and the rear end, which was probably built in France just after the war in the style of Zagato, almost everything is new. I have built it as a real T37A, i.e., with magneto ignition whereas the original car was a T37 fitted with a compressor but retaining its battery and coil ignition."

Also, I found out that , "Kees Jansen doesn't think the car was ever with DeDobbeleer...he has the DeD ledgers and there is no record of 37265..." As a result, if there is any info on who might have passed the car on to Otto Zipper, this would be much appreciated!

Would you have any possible history that you might know of, any old pictures of the car?

Also, would you know any contact info of any of the previous owners above, or any descendants, so I can try to track down more information?

Thanks!

Pur Sang Article on history of 37265 with Otto Zipper pic
Pur Sang article on roadster body sold to Erik Koux in France
Picture of Otto Zipper in 37265 Bugatti Type 37A 1927
Picture of Otto Zipper racing 37265
Picture of Roadster body on replica T37A in France with Erik Koux's son
Picture of 37265 today with grand prix body restored by Bunny Phillips for Joe Ricketts in 1960s
37265 today37265 in 1995 when sold at Sotheby's auction from estate of Willet Brown

[Gregor Marshall]

Have you tried contacting Timothy Dutton - him and his father (Ivan) do know about most Bugattis or at least can point you in the right direction if you've not tried them already.

http://www.duttonbugatti.co.uk/

[David McKinney]

I have a note saying the car was sold to Baron Guy de Roig, Paris, May 1927, and another saying it was with a Paris owner in 1945-46, then nothing until 'Brown, USA, 1983'
Have tried without success to find a source for the earlier notes, but I think the 1983 listing would have come from Conway's book

[alarson11]

I have a note saying the car was sold to Baron Guy de Roig, Paris, May 1927, and another saying it was with a Paris owner in 1945-46, then nothing until 'Brown, USA, 1983'
Have tried without success to find a source for the earlier notes, but I think the 1983 listing would have come from Conway's book

David - Terrific Information! wow! Are you able to track these notes directly to this car? Certainly, Willet Brown had the car from at least 1973 to 1995. Do you know which Conway book would have this information? I have the Magnum, Grand Prix Bugatti, Bugatti books. Also, where did you get these notes? Did you know Otto Zipper or any of the other owners? This is the best info I have received to date, so I'd love, some way, to try and confirm it. If you find the source, I'd love to talk to him/her.

Best,

Andrew

[David McKinney]

Yes, the notes are for 37265
The Conway book would have been his Bugatti Grand Prix one
I thought the earlier references might have been in Eaglesfiled's Bugatti Book, but apparently not
Have you tried the Bugatti Owners' Club here in the UK?

[robert dick]

Photo on a French forum (comment: Mr. le Baron Guy de Roig):
http://images.forum-.....20de Roig.JPG

[David McKinney]

...but of course no date?

[sandy]

Is this any help? Belgium mid 80s.

[alarson11]

Photo on a French forum (comment: Mr. le Baron Guy de Roig):
http://images.forum-.....20de Roig.JPG

Thank you so much for this link. Yes, I checked the forum, and unfortunately, there is no date or other car information listed. If anyone can find some proof, or sources, where we can truly trace this car to Baron Guy de Roig, I would really appreciate it!

thanks for posting these!

Andrew

[alarson11]

I checked and read through Eaglesfield's "The Bugatti Book", Conway's "Grand Prix Bugatti" and Conway's "Bugatti", and did not see any references to 37265 or to Baron Guy de Roig.

Any other sources or resources we could check? Or did I miss something?