- Home
- About Us
- Join/Renew
- Member Benefits
- Member Pages
- Log In
- Help
- Museum Store
Hello all,
Since I’ve owned my car, the trunk supports have never held the trunk up. In looking at the mechanism, it appears it should lock in place somehow, but I’m not sure what is either missing or malfunctioning. What I would believe to be the lock just slips past the indentation where it appears it would need to stay. Any help as to what I need to repair would be greatly appreciated. Here is a video of its current operation.
Chris Williams
Chris,
Pierce-Arrow usually overbuilt and superbly engineered everything they did. The 1936 and ’37 trunk supports were a rare exception. When I purchased our 1601 many years ago, I was curious as to why my trunk supports were different from most others.
I’d purchased it from PAS Past-President George Peckover who had always owned a 1936 since getting his first as a 16th birthday gift…in 1936.
He explained that this car was modified as he’d done with others to use a ratchet mechanism used by Cadillac. When I acquired a 1941 Cadillac a couple years later, there was the same ratchet mechanism he had installed.
It isn’t original, but it works easily and securely.
The P-A Museum owns a 1936 and a 1937 and both original supports are tricky and I think dangerous.
Dave Stevens
Hi Chris, your video worked fine for me. As Dave describes, this hinge lock is very delicate and if any play develops over time, it simply won’t work. I’ve only seen one 36-38 trunk lid open safely as the factory intended-Stu Blair’s 1601.
I have a similar car and the previous owner offered up a wood baseball bat free of charge to chalk the lid open-I use it!
Sorry I can’t suggest remedy or replacement parts.
John
Here is the link.
Chris, I’ve just emailed a photo to you; it would appear your pivoting ratchet cogs have been reversed / have swapped sides somewhere along the line.
The flat side of the ratchet should face the rear of the car and the curved side should face the front. From your video, your ratchet cog’s curved or arced side is facing the rear.
The ratchet on our trunk lid works fine, if you swap sides with your ratchet this should work.
Well at least I know I am not alone in having one that doesn’t work correctly!
I only got a sawed off broom handle with my car, nothing quite as fancy as a baseball bat, but it just bugs me to have it not able to stay open.
Stu, I did receive your email, and honestly I think the pivot pieces on mine may not be the original pieces after viewing how yours are shaped. Mine are flat on both sides with a V at the tip. In looking closer, these almost look like they may have been made out of some type of flat steel in a similar fashion to the original pieces. I will try swapping them to see, or possibly even making new ones that mimic the original shape. If I cannot get them to work, then a ratchet type mechanism from another car sounds like it will fit the bill.
Chris, you may to check with John Cislak – he may have a set of ’36-’38 trunk supports. Stu
I have one of the hood prop mechanisms. It looks like NOS. but working it through it’s motions, I can see that the center pivot pin is worn, and allows too much play or slop in the clearance between the notched half and the spring loaded catch or pawl on the other half.
From looking at the one i have, it looks like drilling out the center pivot pin, and replacing it with a shoulder-bolt of the correct size should bring the parts back into proper relationships.
Greg Long
In watching the video I think you are going to far up with the trunk. When you hear the pivots click into the v you need to stop. When you want to close it you need to lift it up and that releases the catch and then you close it. It looks like you are just going to far and getting to the release point.