alsancle

What I meant was "as originally constructed as a speed car". The WW II gauges tend to make you think 1948 but it is possible the car went through some phases. Still worth saving as a post war build but the outlay for restoration should be less. Hence my use of the word "latitude".

The quote I use is "Its amazing what you can do with an unlimited amount of time and money". The key here is finding a period picture and some build info. A prewar build and it should be brought back as original. Post war and there is a lot of latitude.

My understanding as a point of comparison was that the Minerva 6 liter engine would consume approx 1 gallon of oil every 800 miles.

Not to derail this fine thread but I always love replies to for sale ads from guys with a post count of 3 asking if the seller will take less. A simple email or pm would suffice.

There were many specials or hot rods that had tremendous workmanship put in to them. It is possible that the builder intended it to be an LSR and we won't know that until you are able to come up with some history. If it ever made any runs then I'm sure you will be able to find that. I'm skeptical because of the powerplant. The Pierce was a very high quality car, but that flathead straight 8, even with all the speed modifications would have a hard time pushing that car over 110, 115 mph. That would be with a axle ratio well higher than stock. Did the seller give you any information at all? Given that this has been up for a few days and no period pictures have surfaced I think you will need to go backwards from the seller. There is someone local to that car that knows part of the story or all of the story.

As I said before I really think this is a neat car. Looking forward to seeing it wrapped in plastic. What are your plans? I see a couple hundred k in restorations costs but a worthwhile project.

There is nothing wrong with it being a road going special. I love the L29 "movie prop" car. What history were you able to glean from the seller?

All the ones I have seen were aluminum so the canvas is pretty rare if not one of a kind. I'll be happy if you prove otherwise but it is physically impossible to go very fast with that engine. Also, how fast would you be willing to go on those wheels?

Not doubting the picture at all but it reminds me of the scene in whatever happened to Baby Jane where the sister crashed the Duesenberg. This picture does not look staged.

I think it is cool. This is the L29 "LSR" I was referring to. It was built as a movie prop for a Jimmy Stewart Movie around 1937. In the 1930s there were a number of "Specials" built that looked like LSR cars but were really street speedsters.

I'm sure Ed knows best but the only way a 1929 Pierce is reaching 300mph is if you drop it out of a plane. Reminds me a bit of the L29 LSR that was built as a movie prop.

Are you asking about the bumperettes? I was say decorative.

Very cool!

Throwing the Mercedes out is a specious argument. A Mercedes Diesel delivered through Mytropia Motors in the 1930s was a 4k dollar car in the U.S.A. Maybe the Popes at the CCCA knew that "factoid" when they added it to the list?

I know nothing about Zephyrs so I'm sure you would like my opinion. 1. Cool - yes. 2. Desirability - depends. 3. Restoration difficulty - looking at the photos -> great. There is no such thing as an easy restoration. The car is very cool, but the V12 is not exactly a powerhouse and 4 door sedans - even cool ones - are not the easiest resale. You could get the car for free and be underwater very quickly. That is my uneducated opinion.

Very cool. Looking forward to your progress.

Cool picture!

There is a red one that pops up for sale in the far east every few years. Perhaps the same one?

Smart strategy. There are more unfinished restorations than finished ones.

I think anyone buying any collectible of value should have an expert helping them. Ed, your friend is lucky to have found you. I wonder how someone on the outside can figure out who you an trust and who you can't? I think many of these assembled cars did not start out with the builders trying to pass them off as something other than what they are. But, it only takes one owner in the chain to forget to mention some details and the car takes on a new story. Sometimes this is just innocent oversight and sometimes not. I love telling this story from around 1985. I was walking around a mid size show in Massachusetts with a friend who worked as a restorer. He and I had both worked for Ted Billings when Ted was building his run of Model J Toursters. I was just a teenager so my contributions were very limited (polishing and pushing) but my friend had done serious work on the cars. We come around the corner and there was one of Ted's Toursters parked in the row. Out of the 10 or so cars Ted built the first ones used fairly complete sedans (what a sin that would be today) and the last ones were assembled from an engine and a bunch of castings. This particular car happened to be one of the later ones. I walked up to the owner and introduced myself and complimented him on his car. I then introduced my friend and told the owner that he was instrumental in the building of his car. He had a really puzzled look on his face and asked what I meant. I had assumed he knew he had one of Ted's replica Derham Toursters (I was a lot younger then) so I just matter of factly recounted the work building the car. He abruptly turned away from me in a really really bad mood. I heard through the grapevine that the car was sold not too long after that.