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Al Engle’s 1919 Series 51 Custom Sport Touring is to be sold at auction on July 23rd by Gould Auctions at Bakersfield, CA. The car to be sold at no reserve. Contact: Gould Auctions at gouldauction.com or at 661-587-3123.
I live with in 2 hours of Bakersfield. Are there any picture of the car?
Thank you for the information.
Ken
There is one photo on the website for the auction. Does anyone have other photos ?
What does someone know about this car……some things look suspicious ??
Is it the Blue Roadster on their website?
Have looked at this car before and it is a later body grafted on the
older running gear.
Body was built in the 60’s was what I was told. It was on a 66 for many years, and hen placed on its current chassis. I have not seen the car since it was changed over.
This is a No-Reserve auction. (I have no personal interest in the car, and am adding this information to help Al, who does not use a computer.)
I’ve added a more specific link to the vehicles.
Liquidation of this car and other collector vehicles will be held at Jerry Gould Auction Company, Bakersfield, CA at 9:00 AM PDT on Saturday July 23, 2016, telephone bids accepted. Preview is Friday July 22 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM at 6200 Price Way, Bakersfield, CA. For details on the AUCTION including bidding and payment requirements, call Gould Auction at (559) 587-3123 during business hours. For information on the VEHICLES, call PAS member Al Engel at (559) 688-8844, the sooner the better.
The auction company has NOT been responsive to questions and requests for more information I submitted via their website, two weeks apart, so I recommend telephone as the only means of getting more information. I am told that TELEPHONE BIDS will be accepted, but there is no information on the website about bidder qualification and payment requirements. Note when going to website that this company is gouldauction.com (singular), and that a completely different company is gouldauctions.com (plural of auction)
I was allowed to drive this Series 51 on the 2008 Modoc Tour and found it to be an excellent performer.
Other vehicles being auctioned include 1911 Kissel 40 hp model D-11, 1968 Dodge Coronet 426 Hemi 4-speed restored, enclosed car trailer, 2006 Dodge Cummins diesel dually pickup tow vehicle, 1979 Mercedes 450SL, vintage motorcycles.
To attempt to answer questions about the body: I understand that now deceased member John Libaire’s 66 touring caught fire and the body was lost but not the chassis. He constructed, or had constructed, this 4-p phaeton body for his 66. At some later date, he acquired a 1919 Series 51 touring and mounted the 51 body on the 66 chassis, and this body on the 51 chassis.
http://gouldauction.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=projectGallery&action=listing&listing=3
I have photos that will have to be resized before this site will accept them. Don’t have time for a couple of days. If you’re interested, please email me directly.
Here’s the car at the Temecula meet in 2009.
(finally) resized photo
another recent photo, resized
Thank you George for the pictures.
This is definitely a rebodied car. I don’t believe a 1919 Pierce had the gearshift and handbrake on the outside of the body. Nor were the cowl lights bolted on, they were part of the cowl.
Greg Long.
Any results from the auction?
Closing bid on this lot was a little over $50K, can’t imagine it sold for that but it was listed as a no reserve auction I believe. Even with incorrect body, that would seem to be a bargain.
I’ve looked at this car, at either last year’s or the year before’s MODOC tour.
Pretty much every part of the body from the firewall back is not Pierce.
While the instrument panel is Pierce, the dashboard had been cut down to fit into the narrow cowl, the correct Pierce body is wider, and the gearshift quadrant and hand brake are inside the body.
So, I looked into buying this car, Peter Fawcett has a new cast-aluminum body for sale that will fit and be correct for this chassis.
BUT: All the correct hardware for the doors and the top would need to be found and purchased, or reproduced.
The entire interior, seat spring assemblies, door panels, etc would need to be made or found.
The entire top would need to be found or reproduced.
The windshield posts and frames would need to be found or reproduced.
Taillight, cowl lights are needed.
Either a good full size instrument paned needs to be found, with the right side door and storage box.
And of course a complete paint job is needed for the car.
By the time all of these missing items are found, bought or reproduced, the paint, interior, top etc done, the
amount of money involved would come close to or exceed the price on several similar cars that have been available to purchase.
Maybe the new owner has access to plenty of the needed parts, or has the skills to do one or more of the major jobs needed, like the paint, the upholstery, top construction etc.
What ever happened to the nice 4-passenger roadster that was for sale in Emeryville California for about $180,000.00 ? That was a nice car, and was ready to go.
Didn’t an early to mid teens Pierce sell at Hershey last year for around $110,000.00?
Anyway, I hope the new owner has the capability to bring the car back to it’s correct state. The 48hp late teens cars are quite impressive.
Greg Long
The auction also had a 13% buyer’s ‘premium’.. I call it a buyer’s penalty. Plus I think antique cars in Commiefornia have a special sales tax and premium tax of another 10%.. So the car cost in excess of $60,000.
Greg Long
Greg, looking at it in that perspective, you’re correct, not a bargain at all…the four passenger roadster, Model 38, is quite a handsome car and still available I believe….
Several years ago the car in the auction was listed available for sale in line, I can’t remember where it was, and the number was about three time the numbers being tossed around for the auction results. Hope to see it at a club function again. Ed
I attended the auction (and bought the extra-tall car trailer).
The 1919 Series 51 was purchased by a California PAS member who does not (as far as I know) participate in this forum. He is an active restorer of several makes and tours his cars regularly.
Despite the body crafted in the 1960s or earlier (there are tour plaques from 1963 and 1967 affixed to the wooded trim underneath the non-original windshield frame), the subject Series 51 remains an outstanding tour car and is probably lighter than one with a factory body.
Let me clarify Greg’s reference to “California’s special sales tax on vehicles”: Here in The People’s Republik, if one buys a vehicle from a dealer, the dealer collects sales tax at the same rate as if one were buying shoes (including the basic state rate, city and county and special programs approved by the voters) and forwards it to the state. If one purchases ANY vehicle (including nearly new ones) from a private party or an auction, at ownership transfer California DMV collects a “use tax” in lieu of sales tax (“a [stinky] rose by any other name”) based on the address of the new owner. In my case, sales tax and the use tax rate is 10%, the rate including the basic state rate of 7%, plus add-ons for the City of San Leandro, Alameda County, BART light rail, and other voter-approved add-ons. Yes, it’s a real bite. On the other hand, we benefit from the “Prop 13” restriction on real estate taxes enacted in 1978, which rewards those (like me) who remain in properties purchased long ago.