Where old cars go to die.......A Pierce Arrow comes to the end of the road.

[ericmac]

On 1/15/2022 at 11:44 AM, 1937hd45 said:

Why do some people speak in acronyms? I had to look that up then come back to reread your post. 

IDK.

[edinmass]

 

Craig.........we save a lot of cars also. Between what we have kept and finished ourselves, what we have passed on to others, and the parts we have sold to get or keep others on the road..........I can state that between John and I no one since WWII has done more to keep Pierce Arrow cars on the road...........and no one else has cut up as many as we have.........fortunately every car we have bought or sold has been photographed, as well as the one that got away. Its rare that a Pierce Arrow pops up that we don't know about. Personally I have added more than 20 unknown cars to the roster over the last 35 years. 

[Dandy Dave]

On 1/15/2022 at 1:02 PM, 60FlatTop said:

It is 3 degrees here in the frozen wilds of western New York so the computer is a nice sitting spot. I look out and see the vapor from the furnace in my garage. It is maintain 40 and working at it so I will stay in here today.

 

On the original topic, here is a picture of a parts car that had been stripped and ready to crush by the previous owner. I bought it for $600 and found about $4,6000 worth of parts that ended up across the world. The last sale was earlier this year, the ten rear wheel lug nuts. I have two $20 trim pieces left. I ended up with a little walking around money, a few peaceful hours alone in the garage, time away from work, computer, and TV, Some time working in worldwide marketing, and I even brought cash flow into the United States from a couple of foreign countries. Who could ask for more? Owned and threw away the remains of a "Full Classic" with a capital C.

Looks like the remains of a Cord Burnie. 

[edinmass]

Dandy Dave......this one is for you! 👍

 

 

 

[60FlatTop]

1 hour ago, Dandy Dave said:

Looks like the remains of a Cord Burnie.

Actually the item was listed on the Syracuse Craigslist as a 1948 Packard. I was just cruising for parts for my Packard at the time. I tried to tell the guy it was a Lincoln but he was adamant it was a Packard and there was a restored Packard convertible up in Baldwinsville where his son had hauled the scrap from. We left with him thinking I was about the stupidest old car guy ever. I wish I could be that stupid more often.

 

Loaded up and headed for home. Gives you an example of how rough a car can be and still yield a little coffee money, about 2000 cups at the going rate.

Edited January 17, 2022 by 60FlatTop (see edit history)

[TTR]

Ed, without perusing all your posts here, this interesting topic brought up a question in my mind. 

Of all the cars you've cut up/scrapped for parts, etc, what happened with all their original "identities", i.e. Titles, VINs, etc ?

Has any of them been"recreated/resurrected" in other cars ?

Or have all these ID's been buried or cremated with the cars they were born with ? 

You know, "rust to rust" or whatever they say after the end of ones life or road.

Just curious.

[edinmass]

TTR - 90 percent don't have titles when we buy them. We try and document everything we can on them. Sometime we get lots of information, sometimes nothing. All the data plates and such are kept on file. PAS is given the info for the club records. We defiantly have had multiple cars "combined" to make others..........one example is our 1930 pick up truck. It was used twice for a parts supply on other cars.........only 50 percent of it was there. We cut up five 1920-1930 cars over the years and have been able to keep the best perts for out pick up restoration........so when it's finished it will be "floor sweepings" of six cars. That said, the block chassis, and modified body from 1936 are all original to the unit. We ended up with much better fenders, front clip, ect......... We really try to save absolutely everything possible. 

Edited January 18, 2022 by edinmass (see edit history)

[Buffalowed Bill]

Ed,

 

Thank you! As an avowed bleeding heart, and mostly unrepententent savor of all things automotive it's been difficult for me to make the hard choices necessary when it comes to cars and parts. I had previously realized how the changing hobby had effected the none classic and post war cars, but your thread has given me a better understanding of how it has spilled over to our beloved Classics.

 

I would not have had the will or the stamina to part out the 1933 and 34 Pierces that you pictured. Cars like these are not as plentiful where we live as on the East Coast. They might still be as valuable here as the sum of their parts, but they aren't here. As for the wood issues. Unless big chunks were missing I would spend a few days with Git-Rot or some other product. So to sum up, thanks for saving people like me from unnecessarily complicating our lives. You do the leg work, the hauling, the dismantling and make the parts readily available-thanks again!

[TTR]

@edinmass Thanks for expanding.

 

It's just that I too have cut up a fair number of, mostly postwar American, cars for parts and while many came with Titles and VIN, etc tags attached, I've taken efforts to prevent them to be used in unscrupulous manner. Most of my experiences were 20+ years ago and most of the parts, especially (West Coast) sheetmetal, ended up in northern Europe. 

 

Besides, I've heard, read and seen plenty of (bad) examples where cut up car's single "identity" has been used to not only recreate one but several carbon copies of not only what it was, but also other, more "desirable(?)" models of similar car.

Somebody recreates the "identity" around the chassis or even just (stamped) front crossmember, while other(s) might do same with the engine or the body, etc.

Some of this continues still today, especially in the realm of high-end, postwar Italian sports cars, etc and surprisingly many nice, complete, running & driving lower end examples get "sacrificed" (or should I say "butchered") to recreate fakes of higher end models. Really sad. 

 

[George K]

Ed,

Looks like this discussion might be at the end of the road. 

Thanks for exposing the workings of the sausage making aka

the restoration business. Just like making sausage nobody wants to see it but like the results.Kudos for doing this.

[Guest]

On 1/17/2022 at 11:50 AM, edinmass said:

Dandy Dave......this one is for you! 👍

 

 

 

 

[Roger Zimmermann]

In the early eighties, two friends of mine saw a 1959 Cadillac Sixty Special in a lot. The car had a bad engine; an issue which can be easily solved. But the huge problem was the rear of the body: a previous owner did not like the fins and let modify the body.

One of my friend needed a transmission; the other one let some space at disposal. I went to the party to help to remove as many parts as possible as it was clear that the car, even in a good condition, would never attract the 1959 Cad fans.

On the first picture, both friends. The first person would later be the leading one to create the Swiss Cadillac Club and was the first president from that club. The younger guy in the background did the heavy work and still has a small garage near Bienne (Switzerland). I'm on the second picture; still thin and have all my hair but their color changed...

At first, I was like the fifth wheel, just helping a bit. At the end, I sold almost all the parts, even the frame. I still have some, almost 40 years after...The body shell went to the crusher. It could have been sold to restore a rotten floor from a convertible, but we had not the space to store a body.

Edited January 20, 2022 by Roger Zimmermann (see edit history)

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Roger Zimmermann said:

In the early eighties, two friends of mine saw a 1959 Cadillac Sixty Special in a lot. The car had a bad engine; an issue which can be easily solved. But the huge problem was the rear of the body: a previous owner did not like the fins and let modify the body.

 

 

 

 

 

 I kinda like the look, a little more work could have made a nice custom.

[8E45E]

It looks like a '61 Oldsmobile from the rear with the fins chopped off.

 

Craig

[Roger Zimmermann]

35 minutes ago, Roger Walling said:

 I kinda like the look, a little more work could have made a nice custom.

Maybe, but there was not market for custom vehicles in Switzerland 40 years ago. The modification was well executed, it was certainly not cheap!