Classic Era Peerless

[alsancle]

We need a thread to post pictures of Classic era Peerless automobiles.  Fortunately we have a resident expert in Peerless (Jeff Brown) who knows just about every single car.  I will admit I have never seen a eight cylinder car in person.  My first exposure was when Tom Laferriere sold this one back in 2011.

 

 

[alsancle]

Here it is after Tom washed it.  Jeff can confirm but I believe this car is getting a ground up somewhere in NE.  Maybe the owner can update us.

 

[alsancle]

This is definitely a cool club sedan.  You can count the number of known eight cylinder cars on two hands.  There is maybe 2 or 3  convertibles.

 

 

[Walt G]

The car is owned by my best friend who lives near me here on long island, it went to a shop in NJ and is still there. Lots of bad wood, some sheet metal needing replacement, looked much better then what was under the surface. Amazing car though and is being done "right" . He would like to find an extra hubcap or two. I gave him a trunk rack for it . A large car with great styling and proportions. The same body that was made by Hayes was shared with the Marmon Big 8.

[jeff_a]

1925 Peerless Eight-67 with Equipoised 90-degree Vee-Type 8, owned by Mr. Stanislaw Waligora of Poland.

1 of just 9 or 10 1925s known to have survivied, and 1 of 3 or 4 Model 8-67s. Only two models in 1925, the 6-72 and 8-67(unless you count the holdover 1924 Models 6-70 and 66).

This Town Sedan cost $4,250 in 1925. Full Classic.

2013 Hershey Car Corral purchase.

 

 

Good idea of alsancle to create this thread. Nice of him to say something good about me -- but there is so much I don't know about Peerless. I do know those Standard 8, Master 8, & Custom 8 Sakhnoffsky designs are pleasant to look at. Tom Laferriere seems to have a penchant for Peerlesses: he's sold a '29 and a '31 and owns a '23....the "Fearless Peerless" speedster.

 

There are more eights around than you might think. The KPAIE figures suggest 8, 12, and 8 of the Standard, Master, and Custom 1930-1932 straight 8s survive, respectively, out of about 3,900 built; and 7 of the 1929 straight 8s, out of about 1,100 built. Yes, convertible, inline-eight Peerless cars are kind of scarce....there being two out of these 35 in existence which I know of (3 if you count a car that burned in the Thirties and hasn't been heard of for 30 years......and 4 if you want to count that one for sale in 2015 out in Sonoma County, California.*). Remember, something like 34,000 Peerless Eights were sold during the V-8 years, also. The Green Dragon here on the AACA Forums has three, a 1916, a 1917, and a 1919.

 

* Discussed on 11/3/2015 on the "It Seems To Be 1930 Peerless Week" thread on the Peerless Forum. The car is a driveable Standard or Master Eight Coupe running a Chrysler Spitfire straight-eight someone modified 50 years ago into a lakebed runner. SCTA rules said you could only compete with a streamliner or a roadster, which could explain why the top was removed.  

Edited January 24, 2017 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[alsancle]

A special Weyman fabric body.  At least one of these was sold to the President of a milk company in Cleveland.  There are pictures of both a club sedan and an open rear quarter sedan.

[alsancle]

A special Weyman fabric body.  At least one of these was sold to the President of a milk company in Cleveland.  There are pictures of both a club sedan and an open rear quarter sedan.

[jeff_a]

An intriguing look at what a Classic Peerless garage find might look like if you were to happen across a '28 Peerless Model 8-69. Someone in Florida named Dave picked this up recently. Not going past the podium at Pebble Beach anytime soon --- but an extremely rare find nonetheless.

 

 

Edited December 30, 2016 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[jeff_a]

One of the last, maybe the very last, Peerless built.........a 1932 Custom Eight built for Cleveland Chief of Police George Matowitz.

Note the siren front and center, and the twin spots. I wish this one had survived. 99% chance it didn't, but I found its Car serial Number plate and got it to one of the two Custom 8 Club Sedan owners. Chief Matowitz's boss? Elliot Ness.

 

 

photo from the Bruce Young Collection

Edited April 28, 2017 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[jeff_a]

Here is a 1931 Peerless Model "B", or "Master Eight" owned by someone in Ontario, "Spud" on the forum.

A.J., I know you like to see Classics not commonly at collector car events. The owner of this one told me he went to a CCCA Caravan and a fellow participant told him he had driven thirty of the events, and this was the first Peerless he'd seen. The car is unrestored, except for some repainted pinstripes and re-chromed bumpers.

Edited January 24, 2017 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[alsancle]

Thanks for posting Jeff.   That may have been on of the very few or only times a Peerless has been on a CCCA Caravan.

[alsancle]

This was recently sold on the forum.

 

This is the only 1931 Peerless Master 8 Cabriolet in existence.

Sporting it's original factory Straight 8 this is a fully restored to concours quality motorcar. Classified as a 'full classic' by the Classic car Club of America. Prior to my purchase, this wonderful car was in the same family for many decades and very well cared for. Extremely reliable and very powerful yet whisper quiet. This is a wonderful driving car. Mechanically it needs absolutely nothing, just enjoy. The paint job is near flawless.The chrome is excellent, and the operation of the lights, roadlamps and fender lights; as well as the horn and speedometer all work they way they should. No leaks and positively no rust. It has a fully trimmed leather rumble seat and factory golf club door. The Trico wiper motor was just rebuilt and works great. It has new actual Mohair carpet. I've owned over 100 pre-war classics and I've never seen a pair of headlights this big [13" diameter] No top. French mascot does not accompany purchase. Even the running board rubbers are new. And yes, the door panels are leather as well. Some of the photos I took earlier in the year do not show the twin ivory pin stripe I had professionally done last most. This added accent really makes the paint job 'pop' and follows the raised reveal the entire length of the car. This was a very expensive car in its day. No disappointments here. You'll never see another one, because like I said, there is only one.

4155 lbs. $2095 price new 125" wheel base

Continental L-Head 322 cubic inch Engine

[GARY F]

beautiful car

[jeff_a]

On 1/13/2017 at 1:31 PM, jeff_a said:

Here is a 1931 Peerless Model "B", or "Master Eight" owned by Mr. Linkletter up in Ontario, "Spud" on the forum.

A.J., I know you like to see Classics not commonly at collector car events. The owner of this one told me he went to a CCCA Caravan and a fellow participant told him he had driven thirty of the events, and this was the first Peerless he'd seen. The car is unrestored, except for some fender paint.

 

Back in 2012 , there was a big donnybrook about this car on the "What Is It?" Forum. Someone spotted it on a trailer on a dirt road and couldn't ID it. It was identified as possibly being a Mercedes, Cadillac, Packard, or Stutz. The cormorant radiator ornament threw them off, I guess. The topic was "ID this car I saw in the Badlands at the end of September, 2012" and ran from 10/20/12 to 11/11/12. 

 

Edited January 16, 2017 by jeff_a
see if links work on the new software (see edit history)

[alsancle]

I see you correctly pointed out what the car was Jeff :).  

 

[jeff_a]

A.J.,

Nice shot of that 1931 Peerless, considering it was moving. Since this discussion of the mystery car I have met the owner at Gilmore and Hershey car shows and seen the Coupe up close. What's funny is that the owner has all 3 of The Three Ps and this one is rarer than his Packard and Pierce-Arrow. I sent you an email with photos of them.

Edited January 18, 2017 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[alsancle]

A 31 Custom Eight Factory Photo.

 

[jeff_a]

I think this Peerless Corporation photo is one I've not seen before. What's not to like.

[jeff_a]

There are some pictures of this Peerless floating around on tumblr/flickr/pinterest. I don't know who took it or when, but it's a car Ralph Cartonio had when he passed away in 2015. It's a 1932 Custom Eight with a 322 c.i.d. Continental engine; cabriolet body by Fisher or Fleetwood, Ralph said. No cataloged Custom 8 Cabriolet in 1930-32, though it was possible to order the Master Eight and Standard Eight as a Cabriolet. Original custom-ordered body? Rebodied? It did take First Place in a car show in 2000 -- but has not been in circulation besides that.

Edited April 12, 2017 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[alsancle]

Neat car.  History is obviously very important!

[edinmass]

Windshield fram does not look like Fisher or Fleetwood, photo is too dark to get a good look at the lines. Best guess is it was a batch body built by one of the smaller Indiana companies.........probably could be any one of a dozen shops.

[jeff_a]

Thanks for your comments, Ed. Is there any possibility the Peerless  pictured 3 posts up is the one you said you tried to buy as a young man? You mentioned it on the 3rd page of that Pierce vs. Packard thread. I know next to nothing about the history, as I have discussed with AJ, but it seems to have been squirreled away for a long time in the south end of Maine.

Another picture of the car mentioned above from The 2000 Frozen Custard Car Show, badgoat.net:

Edited April 15, 2017 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[edinmass]

It's possible, the car I knew as a teen was dark green with a Hartz top, very original. Someone is posting in the technical forum, looking for info........

[jeff_a]

The first straight eight Peerless --- a 1929 8-125 7-Passenger Sedan --- photo: The Creative Workshop, Dania Beach, FL

2016 Concours d'Elegance of America at St. John's --- owner: Daniel Johnson

Production: 1,154

7 Known

Edited May 4, 2017 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[edinmass]

It's a very nice car. I had a chance to look it over extensively at the shop and the show. Rare and interesting car. The owner is  justifiably proud. 

[jeff_a]

On 4/12/2017 at 6:15 PM, alsancle said:

Neat car.  History is obviously very important!

 

RE: The Purple & Ivory Cabriolet Depicted on Posts No. 19 and 22

 

I have come up with a theory to explain this Peerless, A.J. Thirty years ago there was a sale of ten or more Peerlesses at the Stelford place in Illinois, where the Cord prototype was found. One car, to whom it went I don't know, was one of the twelve 1931 Peerlesses and ten 1932 Peerlesses on my list.* I have it written down as 322 c.i.d./120 h.p./Custom Eight/"Rolling Chassis, body fire during Prohibition Era", but just a few body parts missing/Film footage suggests it may be a 2-Pass. body style: possibly a Cabriolet with r.s./138" w.b./Motor number: 13K 3130/Car serial number: unknown. Maybe Ralph Cartonio bought it, brought it back to life, had reason to list it as a 1932, showed it once (in New Gloucester, Maine), and few have seen it since. If we see it at a show somewhere and the above Motor number turns up, my theory would hold a little more water, but Ralph was a skilled body and paint man and had a lot of 1923-1932 Peerlesses go through his shop.

 

 

* KPAIE

Edited May 5, 2017 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[jeff_a]

Photo: vancouverexpress and conceptcarz

 

1930 Peerless Custom Eight owned by Ele Chesney. Next to the Green Dragon factory race cars and the 4-car prototype fleet of V-12 and V-16 cars in 1931, this is the most written-about and viewed Peerless. The good public relations is partly due to concours and museum showings in Ohio, New Jersey, Florida, and California in the last 40 years; plus it being reproduced as a diecast model by the thousands in 1:18, 1:24, 1:27, 1:32, and 1:40 scale(there was even a limited edition release of a Thomas Kincade "Painter of Light" version) . 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 22, 2017 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[John_Mereness]

My dad and I took this Peerless out for the weekend when Leo gephart had it for sale in perhaps 1978 - very nice car and was pretty unrestored at that time (excepting an amateur repaint - same colors) - interestingly it had wire wheels on it then and very nice tire covers (a well optioned sedan all the way around) but the wheels and hubcaps were pretty marginal, so I am guess the woods were in better shape or ?). 

Photo: vancouverexpress and conceptcarz

 

1930 Peerless Custom Eight owned by Ele Chesney.

[alsancle]

From Coachbuild.com:  http://www.coachbuild.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=830&t=15237

 

Jeff, did you know about this one?

 

[jeff_a]

Great photo...I see it´s just been put up on coachbuild.com. I have not heard of De Ley of Holland before, nor seen these Peerless photos. Almost a convertible victoria look, and the somewhat bulky top-down look reminds me of some of the 1930s German cars. The swoop of the bodys rear half and the trunk design are very unusual. Many other body details are different - but the bumpers, parking lights, and sidemount clamps are consistent with 1930s Peerlesses. I´ve entered De Ley into the Peerless Coachbuilders thread on the Peerless Forum already, company number 45.

 

I looked on the web a lot and couldn´t find a match of the location at first. It somewhat resembles a photo on p. 2 of the latest Peerless Motor Car Club newsletter, The PEERLESS CO-OPERATOR(Summer/Fall 2017) entitled ¨24 ème Salon de l´Automobile - Paris 1930¨. I looked some more, and see by the building details(an exact match) it is the 1930 RAI Amsterdam Autosalon, which seems to have had Minerva, Peerless, Panhard et Levassor, Ford, Opel, and Durant, plus many other exhibitors. Durant was still turning out new models in 1931...till January anyway.

 

Thank you very much, A.J. I´m thinking that if one of these turned up in the Schlumpf or Mahy collections, you might sell your baseball cards to get some cash. Have any Walter Big Train Johnson or Babe Ruth rookie cards? (1907 card with the misspelled name would be a good one)

Edited February 26, 2018 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[alsancle]

The reason the top is so bulky is that many of the European coachbuilders, and especially Sindelfingen used a double top.  So when you were inside it looked like a hardtop.  Generally padded to such an extent that you can't see the top bows from the outside.

[edinmass]

The Germanic look of the top always seemed a bit heavy, but that was the style over there. Glad to see you have it out and about!

Edited February 15, 2018 by edinmass (see edit history)

[jeff_a]

Thanks Ed and A.J., for the talk about the German/Dutch/Austrian leanings in convertible top design. So, you probably both feel that the two cars in the foreground are your kind of Peerless, despite their very likely non-existent-ness in the present day; what with the coachwork, European Salon history, and cabriolet body style. In 1927, Peerless told their dealers that 20% of sales were foreign, so I would be surprised if any of the cars in this Peerless stand went back to the States. I don´t know which models -- but I´m leaning toward the fore cars being Master Eights with 125¨ wheelbases and the big battleship in the back being a Custom Eight with 138¨, like this:

 

image from the British site motorbase.com,

reproduced from original Peerless Motor Car Corporation sales brochure

 

 

P.S. to John_Mereness: I think this is the color scheme someone was trying to replicate in the car you drove mentioned 5 posts up(post # 28), 40 years ago. A.J. wants to hear what it drove like when you and your dad took it out for the weekend. Mike West was going to tell us about a ´32 Master Eight he drove flat out after a boisson with the late motorsport journalist Brock Yates, but he hasn´t yet. 

Edited February 26, 2018 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[alsancle]

Another picture of a Weymann Peerless.

 

 

[jeff_a]

Quite an eye to spot that as a Weymann. I´m not sure I would have without some text. There is a subtle Weymann look to the rear quarter, though. Do you think they were calling this a closed rear-quarter sedan or a club sedan? I´ll guess it´s a photo from a Bulb Horn or a CCCA Bulletin....where´d you find it? Having gone to the high school next to the CIA headquarters, my image analysis says it´s a 1931 photograph. Maybe the Indianapolis paper covered Weymann America production once in a while.

Edited February 27, 2018 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[alsancle]

Jeff,

 

I should have listed the source.  Bad on my part.  It came out of a CCCA bulletin,  I think late 50s or early 60s.  There was no text of any consequence or I would have included it.

[jeff_a]

A.J., I´m thinking this is what a Weymann body would look like right out of the shop. Kind of a dull finish and padded look. What do you think?

http://rvccb.be/souvenirs/4-balade-des-generations/dsc_8723/

[DavidAU]

"I´m thinking this is what a Weymann body would look like right out of the shop. Kind of a dull finish and padded look"

 

Not necessarily.  My 1931 Rolls Royce has a Weymann body by HJ Mulliner that is aluminium skinned.  According to paperwork avalible from that time, people were rejecting the padded skin look so they simply metal covered them instead but still used the Weymann system of metal connectors on all the wood frame joints to allow movement without the squeeks.

[alsancle]

I think you could get Zapron in different levels of finish, but it probably would not have the sheen of a painted surface.  As David, some of the Weymann bodies, especially later were finished in Aluminium.

[jeff_a]

On 5/19/2017 at 3:00 PM, jeff_a said:

Photo: vancouverexpress and conceptcarz

 

1930 Peerless Custom Eight owned by Ele Chesney. Next to the Green Dragon factory race cars and the 4-car prototype fleet of V-12 and V-16 cars in 1931, this is the most written-about and viewed Peerless. The good public relations is partly due to concours and museum showings in Ohio, New Jersey, Florida, and California in the last 40 years; plus it being reproduced as a diecast model by the thousands in 1:18, 1:24, 1:27, 1:32, and 1:40 scale(there was even a limited edition release of a Thomas Kincade "Painter of Light" version) . 

------------------------------------------------------------------------- ////////// ------------------------------------------------------------------

On 5/19/2017 at 3:00 PM, jeff_a said:

 

The stately car above has passed to a new owner, after the passing of Ele Chesney of Toms River, New Jersey. Robert would probably appreciate any stories about this Peerless Custom 8 any of you have from seeing it at events around the country. I remember at one time it was on loan to the Crawford Museum in Cleveland, OH, when I first saw photos of it on a French automobile website 18 years ago. Another time, I read a good article on the car in NJ Monthly and the end of the story featured a full-page color photo of a Packard V-12, by mistake. Oh well.

 

 

 

Edited August 21 by jeff_a (see edit history)