Pierce-Arrow Toolkit Questions

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Hi Everyone,

I am in search of an original hand crank for my 1931 model 43. Bill Morris was kind enough to send me the photo which shows a 1929 hand crank with the screwdriver type end for the removal of the crank hole cover. Bill’s photograph has raised three questions for me:

1)

Is this the same hand crank that I should have for my 1931? If not, can you send me or post a photograph of the correct one?

2)

Does anyone know if a 1931 Model 42 and 41 use the same hand crank?

3)

I assumed that the hand crank would have a lug nut end on it for the removal of the long lug nuts that are used on my wood wheels. My car has the wood wheels that use the snap rings and have the lug nuts under the hubcap.

What did Pierce-Arrow then provide as a tool for the removal of the lug nuts? Can you send me or post a photo of the correct lug nut tool?

By the way, I have NO intention of ever trying to hand start a Pierce eight cylinder! I am just trying to complete an original toolkit that I will show with my car.

Thanks for your help! John Dillman

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Photograph of the wheel

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John,

That is the same hand crank that I have with my 1931 Model 43.

Chris Diekman

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Hi John,

That is the same hand crank that I have with my 1931 Model 43.

Charlie

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Hi Charlie,

Thanks for the information. I ended up buying a beautifully restored hand crank from Paul Jacobs. I only need the correct Pierce script lug wrench, for a demountable wood wheel or wire wheel car, to complete my toolkit. Say hello to Beth for me.

John

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John: My 31 model 42 had the original tool roll and tools in the tool cabinet at the bottom of the rumble seat. The tools were virtually new, and the tool roll was a very deteriorated panasote like material. None of the tools had the Pierce script. I was told around 1930 or 1931 Pierce stopped putting the script on the individual tools. My car was June, 1931 production.

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Most of the original tools for my 1935 have the Pierce-Arrow script.

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Hi Peter,

Bob Lind was kind enough to send me a photo of a JH Williams lug wrench he has. The photo shown is from Bob. It is probably identical to the one you have. The correct lug wrench for my car has a 7/8 inch socket, is approximately 8 inches long, but I believe is 3 inches deep (not 2 inches deep as in the photo). The tool will have the Pierce logo and will be marked FAIRMOUNT or FAIRMOUNT CLEVE.

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Paul,

Does your 1935 original toolkit have a lug wrench like the one pictured above? If so, how deep is it and is it marked FAIRMOUNT?

John

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The lug wrench for my ’35 is entirely differnt. It is 13 inches long with 5 inches at the right angle bend. At the long end, there is a 7/8 inch socket which is 3/4 inches deep. This is for the lug nuts. At the short end, there is a 15/16 inch socket which is 2 3/4 inches deep and is used on the nut that holds the spare tire bracket. There is no trademark on this wrench. This wrench is long as the lug nuts on the ’35 wheels require more torque than on the earlier wood rims.

I have two wrenches as pictured above. Both sockets are 5/8 inches. One is 7 inches with a Billings trademark numbered 825A with the Pierce-Arrow logo. The other is 6 1/2 inches with a Fairmont trademark, no number and the Pierce-Arrow logo.

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Regarding the pic above, see EBAY #121215927614.

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Peter,

The ebay listing is Bob Lind’s tool. It would be nice to see it end up in a PAS members collection. I would buy it, regardless of being proper for my car, if it was a Fairmount tool.

Paul,

Thanks for the information. I too have a Fairmount 5/8 inch tool, that is 5 and 5/8 inches long, that I got off of ebay a few years ago (before I knew it was not part of a toolkit for a 1931). I wonder if it was for a car or a bicycle? It is not obvious where it would have been used on a car (not many 5/8 inch bolts on a 1931).

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Hi Guys:

Yes the Lug Wrench on Ebay is my tool for now. Just cleaning out the garage.

The topic of what Mfg’s goes with what year PA is an interesting one. Over the years that we have owned PA’s. I have collected tools from Fairmount Cleveland, The Billings and Spencer Co. and JM Williams Co.

Fairmount Cleveland, The Billings and Spencer Co. and JM Williams Co. seem to be some of the Mfg’s that have the PIERCE stamp on them. Maybe even some years PA got tired to even stamp them at all.

This sound like a good history project for the PA Society.

Just a thought. Bob L.

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BTW, it is J.H. Williams, not J.M.

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Peter:

Thanks for the correction. Both eyes and fingers are not what they use to be. Maybe never were?

But what about the idea of a the history project?

Bob L.

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Hi Bob,

I THINK that George Teebay told me about an article Greg Loftness did a few year back on P-A tools.

I may be wrong and if I am George will chime in.

But I think that Greg would be a good guy to contact on the matter.

George said that he thought it would be a good article for Arnold Romberg and the Service Bulletin.

I will send him an email.

Peter

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Does anyone else have a 31 model 42 where the tools had the Pierce script?

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Tony,

I reached out to a couple of long time 1931 owners, but did not have much luck. Unfortunately, most tools kits were long ago separated from their cars and the PAS website loyal followers are not the largest share of the general membership. Maybe we should open the questioning up a bit:

Does any owner of a 1931 or later Pierce-Arrow , that got an original toolkit with their car, have script tools?

Charlie, other than the hand crank, did your car come with any other tools?

Paul, what about your 1935? Did it come with a toolkit?

I wish Craig Lovrich monitored the website. I believe his original 1932 Sport Phaeton has a fairly complete toolkit.

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About 10 years ago I bought a kit that I was told was from a 1931 PA. It looked like it was placed of a shelf in the garage on day one and left there until I bought it. It was the most complete tool roll I have ever seen, and even still had the distributor wrenches in it along with some other tools I had never seen before. The roll up bag was like new also. I sold this kit to Greg Loftness and he used the bag as a sample for the repro bags he made. I would try Greg and see if he still has it. Ed

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Ed,

Thanks for the information. I wrote Greg Loftness about the proper lug wrench for my car, but he was not able to tell me the differences between a demountable rim wrench and a demountable wheel wrench.

I know that Greg visits the website every so often, maybe he will comment on 1931 and up tools generally having Pierce script. With the exception of jacks, hand cranks and grease guns, I bet the tools continued to have the Pierce script.

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