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Soon after I posted about this car back in June I contacted RM Auctions to see if the car’s owner would be willing to contact me regarding the car’s history and allow me to have someone knowledgeable inspect the car. Never heard back directly from the owner but was told they had no knowledge of the car since it was a trustee sale with multiple cars being offered. As a result I decided not to proceed any further . However today I received an email from RM that the car was in their possession and I would be allowed to check the car out. Accordingly, I’m wondering if any knowledgeable PA Society member is nearby (Auburn, Indiana) who would be willing to look at the car. I’m certainly willing to pay for their time and expenses . Unfortunately, I cannot make the trip myself at this late date.
My apologies for posting this at this point in time. My intuition says let this go and wait for another car to become available at a later more convenient time.
The “ Piece†is a Pierce. It’s been a long day.
Jim,
That car has had 7-owners since 1974 and was most recently purchased at Hershey in 1997 by a Gent named Gary Lawing, of Tampa, Florida.
Before that the names associated with it are; McBel Trust, Florence Belden, Marshall B. Belden, Wally Rank and Leo Gephart who bought it in 1974 from AstroWorld.
This is probably useless info for you, but I had some time on my hands to do the research.
Peter
Thanks for the info Peter. I was told by RM that the ‘36 Pierce is part of a group of cars to be auctioned of by a trust and that’s why no response was received to my request to speak to the owners two months ago. Since 1997 ( per a response to my post back in June here) the car has been around quite a bit from eBay to various auctions. I have not received any responses to my request that a knowledgeable paid professional check out the car at the auction site in Auburn so looks like I will have to pass on this car.
Jim, The current owner of that car posted on the P-A Facebook page on July 18 looking for advice on selling the car at auction. He said it was his dad’s car. If you still want to contact him, check the Facebook page. Dave
Jim, I will be at Auburn, send me a message on [email protected] and I’ll see what I can do for you.
Greg
Jim,
The car in question belongs to Cord Blomquist. He just recently joined the Club. He’s very helpful-give him a shout.
Bob
Hi, I’m Cord Blomquist, and I’m selling this car at RM Auctions in Auburn this Friday. I can be reached at 202-615-0600 or [email protected] with questions about the car.
Here’s what I know about the car:
*Vehicle History*
This 1936 Pierce-Arrow Model 1602 Twelve Seven-Passenger Sedan features a 188 horsepower V-12 engine and an incredible 144-inch wheelbase. The car has 63,783 actual miles.
Production at Pierce-Arrow fell to an incredibly low number as the company struggled to grapple with the economic realities of the Great Depression. Production numbers vary from source to source because Pierce dissolved as a company in 1938 and records were destroyed or lost. A 1984 edition of “The Arrow,†the newsletter of the Pierce-Arrow Society, placed production at only 842 total cars in 1936. However, the “Standard Catalogue of American Automobiles†cites a sales figure of only 787 total models for that year.
1936 was not only a low-production year for Pierce-Arrow, it was also the last year this iconic American luxury brand would redesign its line-up. An overdrive transmission and vacuum-boosted brakes became standard equipment in 1936. The 1936-1938 cars have a distinctive arrangement of four headlights.
*Ownership History*
The oldest title record we possess shows that the car was owned by the Houston, Texas landmark Six Flags Astroworld in 1974. We believe it may have part of the Hofheinz Collection. From there it was sold in 1975 to Leo Gephart of Englewood, OH. Four days later it was sold to Rank and Son Buick of Milwaukeee, WI. This dealer sold the car to Marshall B. Belder of Canton, OH, who owned it from 1975 to 1984 when he gifted the car to his wife, Florence Belder, also of Canton. In 1986 ownership transferred to the McBel Trust with an odometer reading of 63,497 miles. On October 28, 1997 the title transferred to Gary W. Lawing of Tampa, FL. From there, the car was purchased by White Glove Collection and held by the Richard A. Blomquist Revocable Trust. This history is confirmed by George Teebay of the Pierce Arrow Society.
*Restoration*
Since being purchased by White Glove Collection, this Model 1602 has had a complete interior restoration at a cost of over $12,000. Pinstriping was added to the wheels and the forest green base-coat/clear-coat paint has been exact color matched and touched up where needed. The headlight retainer rings, hood louvers, grill, and front bumper have been polished or re-chromed. All interior and exterior door and trunk hardware has been re-chromed. The entire dashboard has been rebuilt and detailed. The engine has been detailed and the twin air filters have been restored. The side-mount mirrors were also restored and re-chromed. A set of Pierce-Arrow-branded Trippe driving lights were added to the car with a switch attached below the dash.
You can see photos of the car at the link provided along with scans of all the title and registrations information I have on the car. I also have photos of a 1930 Hupmobile I have for sale at RM Auction in Auburn, selling on Friday as well.
I was able to contact Gary Lawing this morning and discuss with him the car’s ownership history somewhat. He confirmed that he purchased the car from the Canton Classic Car Museum in 1997 taking delivery in Hershey, Pa. He drove the car for 4 or 5 years before selling it to a gentleman in NC. He recalls that this person disassembled the car, went through a divorce and sold it to persons unknown at an unknown date but somewhere around 2010 or 2012. Gary had to get a duplicate title which noted the sale to the party in NC so that the NC person could complete their sale allegedly to a party in Ohio. Gary repeated that he had sold the car early in 2000 ( not 2016) and that he had never met or spoken to the present owner (s).
What we do without the internet?
I notice a few problems with authenticity, fairly easy to correct though:
Hinges and light trim rings should be body color, missing Startix and rear emblem, wheel pinstriping, wiper arms and hose clamps are incorrect, automatic choke cannot operate (interference with heater hose).
Jim Palmer, thanks for investigating the ownerships history more thoroughly. I only have the details of the paperwork that passed to me after my dad died. That paperwork, presumably assembled by Mr. Lawing, ends with his Florida title. The current Wisconsin title says “Previously Titled in: FL” which lead me to believe my father bought it from Mr. Lawing. If he says that’s not the case, I have no reason to doubt it! I just made a false assumption based on what evidence I had. I will try to look through my dad’s emails to see who the party was who sold my dad the car. Thanks again for helping to straighten this out.
August 9, 1974 Transfer to Leo L Gephart
August 12, 1974 Transfer to Rank & Son Buick
July 23, 1975 Marshall Belden Registration
July 23, 1975 Transfer to Marshall Belden
October 1, 1984 Florence Belden DBA McBel and Company
October 1, 1984 Florence Belden
Novermber 10, 1986 The McBel Trust
November 13, 1986 The McBel Trust
October 2, 1997 Gary W Lawning
