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Pierce Arrow


alsancle

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I know there is a Pierce forum but I would like to start a thread on Classic era Pierce arrows.  There is a good discussion a few threads down on the Packard 12 vs the Pierce 12 which gave me the idea we needed this thread.

 

 

Here is a 32 LeBaron V12 Catalog custom barn find that Joe Bortz found recently.  It was pictured in the last Pierce club magazine.  I believe identical to the 31 bodies and one of maybe 5 built and 1 or 2 installed on the 32 12 chassis.  Since it is the short wheelbase I believe it is the 150hp smaller 12.

 

 

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I actually spoke to Joe about that car two or three weeks ago. The engine is stuck, but he seems committed to getting it up and running so I referred him to a shop that has familiarity with something of that magnitude. I'd wager that it's a fairly valuable car when restored, but given how solid it looks, perhaps simply cleaning it up and getting it running would be a better choice. I haven't seen it in person so I can't say, but Joe isn't a rookie at this. It's an exciting find and I'm sure it'll be back in circulation before too long. Nice to see a photo, I didn't know what he had other than a "32 V12" Pierce.

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It's a great car. Much better looking in person than the photos imply. Interesting story on the car, but I will let Mr. Bortz tell his portion first when he is ready. It's a top twenty Pierce Arrow as far as I am concerned. With the alminimum custom body and the V-12 motor it puts in into a very, very rare catagory of a Pierce Arrow custom car. Here is another shot of it. Better angle showing the lines, 142 inch wheel base. Free wheeling and adjustable ride suspension. Padded leather top as was normal for most Pierce coupes of 1932 & 1933. More to come later if Joe decides to post his story, as I don't want to rain on anyone's fun. Ed.

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Edited by edinmass (see edit history)
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Another interesting car, FDR and all the presidents had Pierce Arrows as official White House cars, usually five to seven cars each year. Here are some interesting photos.

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I could have bought this a few years ago for not a ton of money.  Minus the engine and a bit more worn than this picture.  It was in Harrah's at one point.

 

I blame Ed for not talking me in to it.  This is the club sedan version of the catalog custom coupe above.  On a 31 model 41 chassis.  This particular car was the only Berline.

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The FDR car is a 1936 V12 series 1603 total factory special. One off. They built two others which were factory custom parade touring cars, one is still around, last seen in South America. It you bought all the car I told you about you would be single and living in your garage. I'm sure you have a Pierce in your future! Here is another photo. 

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Edited by edinmass (see edit history)
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It's in Michigan, suffered a minor under hood fire. No body damage, just hood. Can be purchased when I spoke to the owners six months ago.

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Any time you want to play where is it hiding, I'm game. I can think of four world class cars I know of, possibly five, and three are way off the radar, the other two are on a very short list of car hunters, all of which have no money!

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Photo taken in the Cleveland/Akron area in the early 70's at a CCCA regional event   Color of the car should make it easy to identify if it hasn't been repainted.  

Identify year & model please.    This is the last one for tonight.   

   

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I'll throw down the gauntlet, ID the car, body builder, year, chassis, owner when it was new, and cars current location. It has 2200 miles on it. No help from the PA guys!

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That towncar was the one sold new to the Shah of Iran was it not?   Originally painted white with a crest on the door.   It's currently in the Iran auto museum.   They also have a 540K Mercedes autobahn car painted green.      

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Photo is blurry, 1928 series 81 if I am not mistaken. Only other choice is a 25-27 series 80 as they were all the same, it's not a series 33 or 36, too small.

Edited by edinmass (see edit history)
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Current location, I have no clue, but it's a six, and I only keep tabs on the eights and twelves. They but a large number of the small series by PA standards. There are quite a few still with us.

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Correct! Brunn body, that gold hardware, solid gold door handles inside, $30,000 new. Original color was white exterior with a champagne interior. I bought the lap robe from this car from Herman Brunn's daughter in the 1980's. It has the Reza Sha Pavalli's crest on it. Car is in a museum in Iran. 

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No longer in Ohio, now in the DC area, it was in NJ for fifty years. Owned by a good friend of mine, we are on the board of directors of The Pierce Arrow Foundation Museum at the Gilmore Campus.

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The Brunn is NOT ugly. I would own it. Can you notice what is unique about that particular car? It's very unusual, and you can see it in all the photos. Also, there is an accessory that is very large and expensive, but is not shown in the photo, related to what is unique about this car I have never seen on ANY other CCCA Classic.

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18 minutes ago, edinmass said:

The Brunn is NOT ugly. I would own it. Can you notice what is unique about that particular car? It's very unusual, and you can see it in all the photos. Also, there is an accessory that is very large and expensive, but is not shown in the photo, related to what is unique about this car I have never seen on ANY other CCCA Classic.

 

The three foot tall windshield?

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No.......where did they carry the spare? A beer on me at Hotel Hershey next year for the first person so correctly explains how they carried the spare tire.........details please!  Yes, I know how they did it.

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Thanks for the clue , Ed ! Well , the people I know of who have UNLIMITED money have little "tenders". Some of their fleet are so large that they can not put in to any number of delightful places , e.g. : Marbella , Spain. Hey , if you are for real , you gotta be doing the Marbella thing. Right ? So you have a little "tender" to shadow , like maybe your 456 footer like Larry has , or perhaps like Paul's 416' or 301'. I don't think either of these can be accommodated by the "stern to" facilities at Marbella. Much less the 500'+ yachts which are starting to appear , separating , as it were , the paddlers from the piddlers. Paul has a micro yacht which I guess could be deployed as a tender. It is up in the 200s. The "tenders" I know of are in the 250' - 275' range , like the "Golden Shadow" , built by some folks I know in one of their shipyards in Chile. Shallower in draft , access is allowed to small ports and coves , and many of the "toys" are transported aboard the "tenders". This being the way the "Gigabux" crowd I am familiar with roll , my guess is "tender". Must I pick a make ? One guess ("C" standing for Cadillac) , would be Cadillac. They had a good reputation for reliability across the Middle East. We all know the stories of the 1924 Cads running between Beirut , Damascus and Baghdad. Occasionally they were called upon to continue on to Tehran. Perhaps their legendary feats gained the attention of the Peacock Throne. Here's to your health , Ed ! (My fleet consists of some very good canoes. A highly deteriorated former paddler , I think it is time to flog 'em for gas money) -  C Carl

Edited by C Carl
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YES!!!!!!! There was a chase car. And as the Sha had very good taste .......... he had another Pierce Arrow. A Series 133 Dual Cowl Phaeton. I have a hard copy photo of it somewhere. They followed up the Pierce Arrows with a bunch of Buicks, most were cut into trucks, or built that way, I am not sure. When you look at power to weight ratio, it was very difficult to beat a Buick. Maybe they ran cooler in the dessert than other cars? It would be interesting to hear from someone who has run 20's and 30's cars in the Middle East.

Edited by edinmass (see edit history)
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