Restoration update and cool accessories

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Well, back to your “leather and topping” discussion.

Body and interior colors will determine what color top you put on car. I believe the only factory choices for top were black or tan, if anyone knows differently advise. Haartz/Stayfast is the best wearing material and good to work with. Make sure your trimmer uses good padding material for the top pads, NOT a thin foam, or your top will end up looking like a starved horse. The top on these phaetons has a very nice curve to the rear curtain, be sure to study pictures of cars and see how this was done. The front edge of the rear curtain (right beside the backrest of rear seat) should have a pocket, into which the rear side curtain slides. If you need pictures of any of this, let me know.

Make sure you choose a high quality vat-dyed automotive leather. Leather is a science all to itself, and some furniture leathers will not hold up in a car. There’s another creature out there now, called “bonded leather”, which is leather scraps ground up and glued back together. The name sounds great, the material isn’t suitable for anything with four wheels.

I realize that color is a personal choice, but remember that Pierce usually was a conservative company. It’s so easy to be tempted by bright flashy colors and contrasts and all those chrome accessories, and thus detracting from the basic beauty of the car…

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Both the top, and the leather is a super high quiality. I actually have the colors sitting on my kitchen counter as I write this. I will select the final choices by tuesday. The order goes in on tuesday.

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Pierce Arrow offered top material in many different colors and weaves. The V-12 cars usually had fancier upholstery than the eights. I have factory top samples in my collection, in all different shades and colors. The texture was also different from one sample to the other. Also I have some factory photos showing different color tops with offset trim colors on the boot. I have in hand as I type a darker brown top sample.(Darker than Burbank).

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Cool, Ed, that’s interesting information….

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Im very lucky, though tattered, I have whats left of the top as well as the boot and sidemount covers for patterns.

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Greg,

Sorry, I failed to respond to your first aide box question. yes it is hinged on the left side of the box.

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1932 factory top sample.

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You’re fortunate to have the original material as a reference.

Although my profession was engineering, at one point I apprenticed under a trimmer of German descent who was a perfectionist, and knew his craft. Now retired, I do select projects of leather interiors and early tops.

I know it’s a matter of semantics, but what you have is a guide for a proper top, not a pattern. I’ve seen many people try to use old fabric as a literal “pattern”, but over the years it’s shrunk or stretched or otherwise been abused.

What you have is invaluable for some measurements and details, if it is indeed the original top.

Can’t wait to see the finished product! Here’s a “top shot” of my phaeton, a view not often seen….

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Wow! YOur car is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay cool. What year? I can not wait until mine is done. It hard to look at this huge mound of parts and think it will look like yours some day.

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Would you post some more photos of your car. I would love to see all angles.

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I’ll post a few, it’s a 1931 Model 43 phaeton, very similar to your ’29, without the dual cowl. Mine does have an accessory rear windshield that extends back to directly in front of rear passengers. Previous owner bought it in 1959, it lived in New Orleans until 1984 when I bought it. Engine fire a few years later, so I re-restored it.

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Here’s another

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detail shot of top

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David, does your rear tonneau windshield have the attached lap robe or the small cover that would extend from the front seat’s back, to the bottom edge of the accessory windshield?

My ’25 S80 7pass touring has the same windshield, and it has a lot of additional fastners, mostly the post for the ‘push the dot’ type of fastener. These are all along the bottom of the two side wind-wing window panels as well as along the bottom of the central upright windshield.

I’ve seen several of these tonneau windshields on cars. and all have the ‘extra’ fasteners. but I’ve never seen the item that is meant to be attached to the windshield. I’ve inquired of the cars’ owners what they thought would be attached, and they say either a small tonneau cover from the seat back to the windshield, like a canvas or leather ‘cowl’. or several guys say that there was an attached lap robe that covered the rear passenger’s legs and feet, keeping them warm..well warmer.

I’ve ridden in the back of my touring and tried every possible position of the windshield and the side windows, and I really don’t think it blocks much wind. It pretty much just redirects the air to come at the passengers from a different angle or direction.

Greg Long

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Love the rain slicker on the Archer.

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My 1930 Packard 745 Phaeton was fitted new with a JH Tonneau Windshield and I have the original Burbank fabric cover which snaps to the windshield and then around to the sides of the car making it rather snug in the rear.

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Bill, can you post a photo or two of that Burbank Fabric cover? or email me some photos of it please?

I’d really like to make my JH Tonneau Windshield more functional.

Thanks,

Greg Long

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I believe my rear windshield does have extra fasteners on it, never thought about a fabric cover….it does not have anything now that extends from the windshield to the back of the front seat…

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Dave, maybe when Bill Scorah posts a photo of his fabric cover we can compare fastener spacing and type, and you can make us some covers, I know of several more people with the same JHTonneau windshield that might like to have a cover.

Hey, Bill, got the battery charged up on the digital camera yet?? How the cover drapes over the rear doors, and how it is either draped over or tucked against the front seat’s back will be interesting to see.

Greg Long

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Please give me a little time! Mine is packed away.I will see if I can find another picture.

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