It’s Baaaackkk....$37,000 - 1930 Pierce Arrow Model B Sedan

[kar3516]

Not mine...now on eBay for $37,000 Orlando, FL - 24 pictures in eBay listing

https://www.ebay.com/itm/275192574159?hash=item4012c170cf:g:d3gAAOSwjmtiIN1d

 

 

Per current seller / dealer (love that last sentence):

 

“THIS 1930 PIERCE-AROW MODEL B IS LOCATED IN: ORLANDO FL 32824

vintagecarcollector.com
I am a private collector and one of the largest classic car wholesalers in the country with an endless passion for classic cars and trucks.
We update our collection very often and right now we are liquidating some of our collection with the lowest prices out there to make room for new arrivals. We sell nationwide and worldwide and have vehicles all over the country that are 100% owned by us with clean titles in hand.
We sell worldwide and can help with nationwide and international shipping!

CALL OR TEXT 747 600-2212 TOM

RESTORED 1930 PIERCE-ARROW MODEL B

CLEAN TITLE IN HAND
TAN/BLACK EXTERIOR OVER A BROWN INTERIOR
THIS BEAUTIFUL MODEL B SEDAN HAS BEEN STORED IN A CLIMATE CONTROLLED MUSEUM COLLECTION AND HAS BEEN WELL CARED FOR
ALL ORIGINAL DRIVETRAIN 
REBUILT 125 BHP, 366 CU. IN. L-HEAD INLINE EIGHT-CYLINDER ENGINE AND THREE-SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION (LESS THAN 100 MILES SINCE REBUILT) 
SOLID FRONT AND LIVE REAR AXLES WITH SEMI-ELLIPTICAL LEAF SPRING SUSPENSION
FOUR-WHEEL MECHANICAL DRUM BRAKES
NO RUST ON EXTERIOR OR ON UNDERCARRIAGE
THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL SHOW CONDITION EXAMPLE THAT DOESN'T NEED ANYTHING DONE TO IT

HERE IS YOUR CHANCE TO OWN THIS GREAT CLASSIC!

Most classic cars we consider as projects because of the age and wear”

 

 

[John Bloom]

Again??  The Zsa Zsa Gabor of cars. This car is on the fringe of being famous simply because of how many times it has changed hands. 

[JACK M]

 Seller touts himself as a private collector but has like 150 ads up on eBay.

His cars are all over the country.

I got to bantering with him over an old Dodge he had listed awhile back but didn't seem to know much about it.

[daniel boeve]

Like we say in Belgium :If he is a private collector than I am Napoleon ( Bonaparte )

[edinmass]

It’s been consistently under priced.......that’s why they can’t sell it. Give them a few more years.........with the current inflation rate........sometime around 2088 they will be in the ballpark.

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

[wayne sheldon]

A "flipper" by any other name. His writeup sounds innocent enough. But I can't help but wonder. Three different 1910s/1920s cars I wanted to consider, but just wasn't ready enough to jump on, dropped off of craigslist and showed up on ebay literally days later as "We update our collection very often and right now we are liquidating some of our collection with the lowest prices out there to make room for new arrivals." (Copied and pasted!)

Less than five days between craigslist and ebay somewhat belies the "collector" statements?

Flipping may be and is in fact perfectly legal. And certainly, buying low and selling high is historically the American way. But I do not like being lied to. Being a "collector" is one thing. Buying solely for the purpose of flipping is something else. I also wonder how well it is working out for him? There are several cars I could have been interested in that he has been trying to sell for a few years now! And since the cars are scattered all over the country? I wonder how he arranges storage and care for the cars? Or????

 

Frankly, I am surprised to see this one on ebay under his banner. The cars I have noticed him buying (?) and selling were very reasonably priced before. This Pierce wasn't that reasonable from what I saw and read in the previous ads. Maybe this was his before?

Edited March 19, 2022 by wayne sheldon
Computer ran off on its own and posted before I was done! (see edit history)

[Sherwin Ray]

Original restoration was by C.O. Ray in Pascagoula, Mississippi and was listed as a 1929.  Dad performed all of the restoration himself, including sewing the upholstery. 

 

[edinmass]

Thank you for commenting about your fathers old car.......what year did he restore it?

[Sherwin Ray]

Dad's Pierce restoration occurred  in the early 70's, and I think he was pretty much finished in 1974.

 

On the first attempt to start the engine (before beginning restoration), it started in gear and he and Tommy Daugherty were

fortunate to be able to shut it down before it could run through the shop.

Dad sand blasted and did the finish paint work himself

Pin-striping was accomplished by Lavette Branning of Moss Point, Mississippi.

 

The twin disk clutch was rebuilt by Clutch Products of Mobile, Alabama.

 

When rebuilding the engine, Dad re-poured the Babbitt bearing material in the connecting rods and "hand" bored them using a boring fixture built for him by Jimmy Miller. The boring was accomplished by turning a "hand-crank" with the feed across using a hand turned screw.

 

The cover on the left side of the engine was originally steel and chrome plated.  If I'm not mistaken,  Dad fabricated a new one from stainless steel.  He also fabricated a new tag bracket from stainless steel.  The center bolts in the Landau bars were replaced with 304 stainless steel and polished.  The "wood" on the dash is/was a laminate wood material with an adhesive backing.  Look closely at the Archer's bow and the way the "bow-string" is tied on.  He manufactured and tig welded the trunk and covered it with the same upholstery material used on the top, additionally, he made a clear plastic protective cover for the trunk.

 

The Pierce was sold in early 1985 to a Mr. Miller in Picayune, Mississippi prior to Dad's death in October 1985.   Mr. Miller's son sold the car to someone in Lexington, Tennessee about 2007 after his death.

 

This may help with understanding why the Pierce Arrow is now listed as being a 1930

instead of year 1929 as it was when Dad owned it.  I have the motor number if someone

has access both to the sales and Engineering department data.

 

The above is an excerpt from Ballantine's Illustrated History of the Car. marque book No. 4 - June 1971

 

By the way - It is very easy to see my Dad's handiwork in the car.

 

I have the sewing machine he rescued from flooding during Hurricane Camille as well as the cover pictured

below.

[edinmass]

Thanks for the info......from the poor photos, under hood it appears to be a 1930.......the exhaust manifold is 1930-1932, carburetor is 1931-1932, without inspecting it in person.......I would go with 1930. Back in the day, parts and components were used regardless of year if they bolted on.......not so much today. Looks like a fun car if priced correctly.........I think the market is 20-25 on the car at retail today. I’m sure it will eventually end up in a collectors hands and get sorted and driving. It need more service than most people realize......the new owner should be prepared to spend 10k on it to go down the road.

[Grimy]

I'd be interested in the engine number, if you are willing to provide it (use Private Message, if you wish).  It will be six numbers.

 

From the 2005 master recension table of the Pierce-Arrow Society:

*Serial (chassis) number 2502674 (as per the eBay listing) has not been known to the PAS since the organization was founded in 1957 to April 2005, the date of the file.  PAS asks its members to supply the three identifying numbers (serial, engine, and body) but some provide all, some one or two, others supply none.

*I also searched for the "Ray" surname without success.

*A 1930 Model B closed car, other than a coupe, has a 139" wheelbase; Model B open cars and coupe are on 134" wheelbase.

*Serial number 2502674 is almost at the end of 1930 production:  engineering notes reflect serial number 2502711 (37 numbers later) was the last of the 139" wheelbases for 1930 Model B, built in Sept 1930.  The 1931 models were built beginning in October 1930.

*1929 Pierces were built on both 133" and 143" wheelbases, but not 134 or 139.

*The headlight lenses and auxiliary lights lenses and bodies are most definitely 1930 (one-year only design).

*The black-face instruments indicate 1930 Model A or B, or 1929 Model 143 (sometimes referred to as Model 126).

*The two long curved handles on the dash to the left of the steering wheel, controlling the spark advance and manifold heat control, are mid-1930 or later.

*The exhaust manifold and its attachments are 1930-only.  But I wonder how the wiper works?  the unconnected fitting at the rear of the intake manifold is supposed to supply vacuum to the wipers.

[John_Mereness]

Not sure a car that you flip - if someone wanted to flip it they should have invested in new tires (The Dayton Thorobreds were made when ?), touched up all the paint underside, detailed the under hood, put the landau irons on correctly (close, but no cigar), and .... - but then they probably would still be in the hole.

 

Sidenote: I mentioned friends at one time having one in a model 42 and photos from new showed the trunk on theirs (a pretty cool PA official metal trunk too) sitting further back on the rack with the small part of the rack sat vertically as sort of a "bumper" in front of the trunk.

[JACK M]

I think a couple of years ago when this car first showed up it was dirty and had a very low tire.

[John Bloom]

45 minutes ago, JACK M said:

I think a couple of years ago when this car first showed up it was dirty and had a very low tire.

That’s how I remember it and I think it changed hands in the high teens?

 

[John_Mereness]

Not all big and impressive things are worth X dollars - lovely car, though ....