Congratulations to one of our members.

So, Ed is referring to me

This has been a wonderful journey for me. Some of you might recall that I joined the PAS a little over two year ago. At that time, I had seen a few Pierce Arrows for sale on various collector car dealer web sites and they piqued my curiosity. I have collected cars for over 30 years. Mostly, I have focused on post-war 60’s sports cars. I always appreciated the 20’s-30’s Packard since my family had a Packard dealership in the 1950’s. Also, I am well aware that Pierce Arrows were manufactured in Buffalo (where I was born and grew-up). In fact, the factory on Great Arrow and Elmwood Avenue is around the corner from our family Pontiac dealership that I worked at as a teenager. In the winter of 2015, I decided to take the plunge. I joined the PAS and posted my first introduction and query on the message board. I asked about general Pierce information, open cars, 8’s vs.12’s, and if any open cars were currently available for sale. The first respondent was Ed Minnie. He posted an excellent explanation regarding availability and prices of late ’20s and ’30s open cars. In addition, he mentioned there was a 1929 roadster for sale on the Cape and included a photo of an open Pierce. My response to Ed was “Based on your response, my search will likely be for an 8 cylinder car. While I want to experience Pierce-Arrow ownership and driving, I do not think I need to immediately jump into the deep end! Is the picture you posted the ‘29 for sale on Cape Cod? It looks like a beautiful car and pushes the right buttons for me. If so, who can I contact for more information on that car?

First, the car in the photo was definitely not the 1929 roadster for sale. It was a 1935, model 1245 coupe convertible which was a 1935 Chicago Auto Show car and originally painted a bright canary yellow! Second, with the help of Ed, I ended up purchasing that 1929 roadster on the Cape. That was a wonderful experience. Everything fell into place. The car was fantastic. It had been 95% restored when I purchased it. The owner/seller was a great person to deal with. The weather in February cooperated. Ed picked me up at the Providence airport. We went to see the car. I purchased it that day, and the next week the car was in my garage. Then with the help of several of the PAS member’s advice, I finished sorting the car and brought it to the annual PAS meet in Buffalo in 2015. I have since put over 2000 miles on the car. It is my wife’s favorite car to go for rides in. It has given me a great appreciation for pre-war cars in general, and Pierce Arrows specifically. As an added bonus, I have made many new and wonderful friendships among the PAS members.

After having so much enjoyment with my 1929 roadster over the past two year, I am bitten by the Pierce “bug”. Knowing how extremely limited the number of 1930’s open cars are, I have been keeping my eyes open as they come up for sale both privately and at auction. As I talk to other members about their cars, it quickly became apparent that there are long waiting lines for many of the member’s open cars. Always remembering the photo of that open car that Ed had posted on the first reply to my initial PAS message, about a year ago, half jokingly, I mentioned to Ed that if/when the owner ever gets tired of that 1935 Pierce coupe convertible, please give me a call. I figured that I would be somewhere low down on the list of potential purchasers and years if not decades would past until or even if I heard something about the sale of that car. To my complete shock and surprise, Ed called me last fall and told me the owner was ready to sell the car! This was the point where I was “jumping into the deep end”! I had an opportunity to drive the car and it was incredible. In fact, I was almost disappointed. It drove so well, that it did not feel like a pre-war car but more like a post-war car with its smoothness and power. Obviously, it felt completely different than my 1929 roadster. I made an offer, but the owner had changed his mind and decided to keep the car. I was both disappointed and relieved at the same time. I moved on and actually purchased another (post-war) car. Then three weeks ago, Ed calls me and tells me the owner has decided to sell the car (again) and will accept my offer. This was a “twice-in-a-lifetime chance”. I was not really ready to purchase another collector car so soon, but I could not pass up the possibility of obtaining this fantastic car. So, the deal was struck and I am now the lucky owner of this 1935 coupe convertible model 1245. I am including the photo that Ed originally posted when he responded to me. I look forward to many thousands of motoring miles in this Pierce. Also, I must say that my wife has been completely supportive of my car hobby in general and the purchase of this new Pierce specifically. I am so lucky to have such a wonderful wife and so many great friends in the PAS.

Robert

P.S. Sorry for such a long post, but I wanted to share the whole story with you because you have all made it such a wonderful experience.

Congrats, Robert! It’s a great car, it “lived” in my garage for a couple of months not long ago. I replaced the top and the carpet, neither of which were in awful shape but the then-owner wanted new.

I also drove it a little bit, for picture taking and pickup/delivery service, and it’s a wonderful driver. Glad to know it’s going to you!

I’ll show two pictures, it was delivered on a rainy day (I had to call Ed to make sure it was OK to drive in the rain!), and another picture shows it sitting next to my ’31 phaeton…

Congratulations Robert, that is one gorgeous Pierce.

The PAS is the best group of auto enthusiasts there is and your story is further proof of that.

You are lucky to have such a supportive wife, treat her and your new Pierce well.

Ed, Thanks. I appreciate all your help, enthusiasm, knowledge, and especially your friendship.

Robert

David, Thanks. We look forward to seeing you in St. Louis. Robert

Congrats, Bob,

We’ll be bringing our unrestored ’34 1240 convertible coupe to St. Louis so maybe we can pair up on tours. You’ll have the silk purse and we’ll have the sow’s ear!

Bill

Always a pleasure to see a superb Pierce in the hands of an appreciative driver. Congrats! Roger

I could have swore I saw this car at Pebble Beach. It looked like

it was in perfect shape. Congratulations are in order.