Late 30s Pierce based on Cord

Glad you like it, Craig. And Anthony, I was hoping there was a PAS member who also owned a Cord! That car was not only a styling but also an engineering tour de force. For you to have talked to The Master himself, well that just takes the cake.

Your comments do make me wonder if the Cord unibody would have been able to carry what likely would have been another 500 lbs of Pierce weight. Cord’s front suspension probably would have been fine, the weight of Cord’s V8, front transaxle and supercharger probably in same ballpark as Pierce’s V12 alone. But the Pierce’s rear transaxle and independent rear suspension would have been much heavier than Cord’s simple setup and resulted in dumbbell weight distribution, which would have affected body flex. Given the success Pierce’s engineers had in strengthening the 836’s Studebaker-based frame they probably could have identified and solved any issues that cropped up. But as you said, the car would not have been as nimble as the Cord. On the other hand, compared to contemporary Cadillacs, Packards, Lincolns and Rolls-Royces it would have been a revelation.

There was one additional issue that Pierce would have needed to address: Cord’s small backlight, and again technology could have saved the day, this time in the form of Imperial’s one-piece curved windshield that launched in 1934. Pierce would have needed to lean on the glass industry to pull ahead a large curved backlight that would appear en mass a few years later. Distortion need not have been a concern, folks just wanted better visibility. Doing so with a stylish one-piece solution is what was expected of a luxury maker. In fact the entire car, with its advanced features and design, and 61 inches tall vs 64 for Cadillac’s Sixty Special, probably would have been the biggest about-face that a car maker had ever made. And yet, perfectly believable and welcomed as a Pierce-Arrow.

Not sure I posted this image in past threads, shows better view of front styling had it been adapted from the bigger Pierces. I think it would have looked striking and very luxurious. Pierce could have fielded its versions of Cord’s 125 wb 2-door models.

And Anthony, here’s your non-skirted version.

Thanks Anthony. Came across a few Hupp Skylark videos recently, learned that they had actually incorporated one of the above suggestions: front and rear door vent windows. They also managed to fit their Six in a 10 inch shorter axle-dash length, which suggests that Pierce’s V12 would have had a good chance of fitting in Cord’s longer space.

The Skylark demonstrates that at the very least a Pierce could have been created with conventional RWD using Pierce’s own transmission and solid rear axle. The trans tunnel would have cut into front passenger foot space as shown in the Hupp videos. Whether this would have been a non-starter for a critical mass of would-be Pierce customers would have been a question that needed quickly answered. There was one unsolved aesthetic issue with the Skylark’s use of Cord’s dies atop a conventional RWD layout: the rear port of body sat an inch or so higher to clear the solid rear axle; see image in third link. Not sure what exactly was crashing into what but if it was top of axle hitting bottom of rear seat, this need not have been an issue with the taller 132 wb Cord body . Was at the St. John’s Concours in Plymouth, MI today and got a chance to eye-ball a Cord up close. The distance between grill slats looked to be about an inch and a half. If it is true that the 132 car’s extra grill slat adds that amount to overall vehicle height, the rear seat could have been raised that much without loss of headroom, thus clearing the axle without having to raise the rear of the car.

Another issue that apparently foiled Hupp and Graham was that Cord’s dies were not meant for volume manufacturer. For Pierce this would not have been a problem… Elmwood Ave would probably have have been happy as a clam to sell a few thousand cars a year, probably could have broken even at a thousand.

http://www.oldcaradvertising.com/Hupmobile%20Ads/1940/1940%20Hupmobile%20Skylark%20Postcard-01.html

You’re welcome David, these are fun. One thing I have learned from all this study and contemplation of automotive history is that by the Thirties luxury makers needed to learn to borrow with pride. For decades Cadillac did it masterfully but eventually showed what happens when taken too far. I believe it was Pierce-Arrow and Studebaker who did it first, and did it successfully.