edinmass

Here is two more from India. Lots of great old iron there still in the garage where they were parked in the 50's. Enjoy, Ed.

No..... they each made several series boxes each year. You can get the Ford stuff, mostly the other ones are not available. I do know one supplier with NOS stuff for some of them. What year and model car? Ed

Karguy12 - I can answer some of your questions, but to do so here would take 20 pages, and much of it would be conjecture. So, I will turn the question upside down and ask you, why would anyone take a very late 1931 SMALL SERIES ENGINE from new and build a car for speed when the much larger Series 41/42 motor was available to them? Series 41/42 motors had much more displacement, better ignition system, better internal parts and more horsepower, ect. The chassis you car has is the small least expensive motor Pierce offered on their common run of the mill cars...... not a way to go racing or chasing any record. With an engine built around June or July of 31 why not just grab a twelve from the factory? Why not use the 32 style trans as most late 31 series 43 car did from the factory? It was a better transmission for racing, than the earlier 31 style. Most factory engines for special cars had their own serial number series like the Silver Arrow cars did. Also, any Pierce Arrow mechanic would have run a 1930 series C head for the higher compression ratio, why run the stock 31 small series head? I could pose twenty or thirty questions such as these if I spent a little time thinking about it. If I wanted to go fast in 1931 I would have ran a double over head cam motor with a blower, as were being done by others at the time. The basic fact is simple, while well built and powerful, production Pierce Arrow engines; ( that were in my opinion the best of the straight eights and V-12); no one would race with them.......... then or now. Any association with the factory can be put down with out a doubt....... they would have used the big motor. Ed

To Karguy12, Sorry I don't have your first name......., What ever the car is, it sure would be neat to see it put back to what ever it was. It is my sincere hope someone takes up the project, as with all the parts they will need to repair or replace, I am quite sure they would end up in my garage for some of them, allowing me a chance to get my dirty little hands on this interesting piece of automotive history. I do encourage you to read AJ's HAMB thread on his early special, as there is quite a bit of information on how to chase down history of cars with interesting backgrounds. He also has his own website. Spend the time it takes to read every post, it a great story. Ed

P.S. There are quite a few people who think the 33 Silver Arrow was a copy of another earlier car. As not wanting to offend my fellow PA collectors, I will neither confirm or deny this rumor......... which I am rather sure is accurate. :cool: Ed

Well, Since AJ asked me to chime in, I will. I have been holding back my ideas on the car as I did not want to offend. To say I hunt Pierce Arrows to the end of the earth is an understatement. I chase cars, parts, you name it; if it's Pierce I want to get my hands on it. I saw the car on the TV show, and after looking over the tape of the show several times in detail, I determined the car was nothing that I was interested in. I also determined what was left was not worth my time to chase down for parts, even if it could be bought for very little money. While I don't know the pickers from the show personally, I do know several people in the hobby who are friendly with them or do business with them. It would have been EASY for me to call them and work out a deal for the location of the car. Paying for leads is part of the dealer / picker business. That said while I can't say weather the owner and I could have come to agreement on price, it would have been easy to at least get to see it. After 40 years of looking at old cars (pre war) and kicking all sorts of tires, I was quite sure it was a old / used chassis that was built a fair time after the chassis was new. Related to the 33 Silver Arrow, no...... hell no. Tucker related.....nope. It's just plain to a seasoned eye the quality of construction, design, and layout are at best ........ shady tree mechanic or high school shop class league. NO ONE would use a Pierce Arrow chassis for ANY land speed type car. Just not enough power either as an eight or twelve. I know of and have some of the design info on the Pierce salt flat cars as well as some other lesser known hot rod straight eights. The engineering quality and details were much more thought out and complete than what we see here on this chassis. As many would say in the era..... it's a "alley shop car." I do think it's neat, and an interesting exercise in chasing down it's history, but in the end, if the story of the car can be told, it won't work out to a true American dream car. I hope the current owner achieves what he is looking for, but my bet is the car probably never saw the street. I don't wish to argue with any one...... it's just my opinion. GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR QUEST. I hope you can prove me wrong. Ed

Hi Alex, I'm sending you a PM. Please check it out. Ed

There are two diffrent style rings in 30 and 31, type a or type b. Do you know which ones you need?

Hi, PM sent. I have a 36 V-12 club sedan, same car, just a different dash. George gave a great answer, give me a ring if you still need some help. My number is in the PM. Just for general info, these cars never ran hot new, didn't overheat new, and cranked over fine hot or cold on 6 volts. I just helped fix the same problem on a 100 point 35 V-12 in the past two weeks, it was suffering from a poor starter rebuild. It now turns over fine hot or cold. Ed

I'll be on the field by 830 on Saturday. Off to Vermont on Sunday. Ed

Hi, the car's chassis number is 3530099 which makes it a late 1934 series 1240a on the 144 inch WB. Car was listed as a 7 passenger, but I still can't see any jump seats. Looks like a nice original car that was repainted and re upholstered. I like the color. Ed

Hello, Car has dual Stromberg carbs, not a single. Can't tell from the photos if it has jump seats, but with no devider is is not a limo. All 34 PA V-12s are rare cars, reguardless of body style. Post some engine photos and a shot of the back side of the front seat. Car looks nice. Ed

Hi, Welcome, please list car location as stated in the rules. People often forget to list the State / Town. Nice car, good luck in selling it. Ed

Hi Bob, I agree with you on the color. It's interesting that there are black wall tires on the car. I ran the owners name through google, found lots of lawsuits showing he didn't like paying his taxes....... maybe that's how he paid for the car. Ed.

Yes, I missed them too. But hey......I'm almost 50....... in three years. You have the advantage of seeing this car when New, so you should remember all the nice little extras that it came with. The more I look at it the more I like it. Do you remember the color?

I noticed the wind wings, but forgot to list them. I have a set in a box in the garage. They were engraved PIERCE. I missed the bumpers........ I'm getting old and blind. The only difference from the series 52 or 53 is the chassis length. Only the doors would be different. It would take a scale ruler to figure it out. The doors look like the shorter ones, that's why I picked series 53. Ed

Well, at a quick glance it has a splash apron light from a twelve. It's a club sedan, 1932. It has an archer, dual side mounts with metal covers and mirrors. Padded leather roof with Landau irons. Factory trunk. License plate frame. Looks to be mono chrome paint job. I'll take a shot and say it's a series 53 twelve with a salon package. A very rare car new........ only 20 built, and only two survive today. You couldn't buy much better in 1932. Ed

The dog turned his head as the photo was snapped to see a Stutz Bearcat go tearing by............ you gotta be nuts to drive a Stutz, but there is nothing worser than a Mercer. The Mercer is a better car, but my heart is with Stutz. Ed

Good job with the foil. You will increase the odds of identifying the car by 300 percent. Sure has a long hood line. It would be very imposing driving down the road in it's era. Movie car is the direction I am leaning towards, but that would not explain the electric door latch. Looks a little like the Phantom Corsair. Keep the thread alive ..... you will get an answer sooner or later. Ed

Having been friends with Dave for many years I know how tight he is...... on space. I'm glad your wife approved of the new acquisition, and gave the go ahead on bringing it home. As any good friend would offer, you can bring ANY one of your open Classics to my garage for long term loan; I mean storage. Just be sure they are properly insured...... and registered. Good luck with the new car. I sold one 20 years ago and sure wish I kept it. ED

Looks like a very nice car. Welcome to the forum. Drive it and enjoy it. Join the Buick club, good luck. Ed

The wire for the electric door latch has a plastic crimp on connector, if installed when the car was converted then it is post war, when did they start using the plastic crimp on's?

I agree it's a 31 series 43 with the small engine and gear driven cam. It should have 6 lug 19 inch wheels, only used on 1931 series 43 cars and No others. I have been reserving judgment on when and why it was built. It MAY be prewar, and like others said, possible movie prop or back yard / home made dream car. Looks like it's ben outside a LONG time. I'm sure I have never seen a photo of it or a rumor that it even existed. So it has been out of sight for decades. Here are a few photos of what came on the chassis new.

I need nore detailed photos to properly ID the car. Engine number, engine details and photos, it has a modified exhaust manifold, custom intake, It would help to have lots more photos...... I also would post on HAMB as you will have a much wider group of people to ask. You can PM me and i'll send you my direct email if you like. Ed

Yes, I'll be at the joint meet in August, with two Pierce Arrows. I serve on the Pierce Arrow Foundation Museum board. It's a great meet, and there are always extra empty seats to get a ride in. It is club policy to fill ALL seats on ALL cars taking the tour. Usually there are about 50 cars on the tours so extra seats aren't a problem. Last year I was able to drive at least 10 different Pierce cars at the meet as they also do a "drive my car around the museum track event" where members let others try out their cars, its great fun and several years ago I taught a 12 year old boy how to drive for the first time in my 32 Pierce coupe. In less than one lap he was shifting and getting up to speeds that impressed me...... his grandmother was sitting in the rumble seat filming the entire thing. It's posted on you tube. I find that when I share my cars with others, including driving them, I get much more enjoyment out of them. Ed