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You must push in the free wheeling lever. Above 45 mph, remove foot from accelerator, car will shift into overdrive.
Optima definitely. My latest and greatest Optima story was the 12V Optima in my ’58 Cad Convert. I believe it had been in there for 15 years or better. Still would be, but some dummy broke the neg terminal by pounding on a cutoff. Name of dummy being withheld for embarrassment reasons.
We have spoken of this many times. Have an accomplished big truck shop align the front end to specs. Problem will go away (it did in my case for sure)
I really think Eddie that you are over reacting to stock wheels. My 1931 Model 42 convertible coupe was delivered to me from Long Island the day before the Pierce meet in Sturbridge, Ma. in the summer of 1984. My friend that sold me the car delivered it to me, having driven the car from Long Island on the New York thruway. The following day I drove the car to Sturbridge (car had wire wheels and thirty year old Martin 7 ply tires). There were no incidents on either trip related to wheels or tires. The spokes and rims after 50 plus years didn’t look the best. I sent them to Dayton Wire wheel, and much like Bill Rolapp, had them respoked with stainless steel, and the rest of the wheels refinished,also the split rings were replated.. When I sold the car two years ago, and 30 years after the work was done, the wheels were still fine. These cars were built at a time when roads were no where as good as they are today. The Pierce engineers appeared to have done a good job on the wheels.
Sometime the heading on a friend’s email will be a clue. Usually, Hi there! or another salutation you aren’t use to seeing
I had 41 Cad with the typical hard start when hot situation. The previous owner had installed an extra battery, so there was the benefit of the extra oomph when the car was hot One night, I drove home in the dark, lights on etc. The following morning everything was totally dead. The weak battery had sucked the other battery dead. I installed two new batteries, with a shutoff on each. Then I could drive and charge both batteries, or shut one or the other off, and have one in reserve.
As far as a 4 speed transmission, it was an option in 1931. My 31 model 42 convertible had a 4 speed, it is referred to in the owners manual as the “optional four speed transmission” Trust me, it was no great honor having it in the car.
Nice job Peter, thank you.
The car is shown with the top down. Pre 1931 cars have the straight up windshield and “square top” with landau irons. To my taste, this style is not appealing. Of course the pre 1931 side curtain cars, or roadsters have a much more attractive top and windshield configuration.
Let’s go to McDonalds for a breakfast burrito, and we will talk about it.
If that car is a nice as the pictures reflect, it is a shame that’s all the money the car brought. My friend was at the sale, and said the car looked good from the audience also. In this day and age, its getting hard to go to dinner for 35 grand.
I knew and forgot that these clocks are different. Actually, 36 has both white and brown faces, white denotes early production.
They appear to be not tapered, black, and size may be figured by where they point on the numbers.
the lense on the first one is correct. It mounts under the dual cowl, and is turned on when the dual cowl is raised. In a convertible coupe, perhaps a roadster also, it is turned on when the golclub compartment is opened.
Save yourself a lot of grief. 9 out of ten open Pierces of the thirties with exposed wiper motors are running on chrome model a Ford motors which fit the space, and work perfectly. The original motors, (I had them for my ’31) have a little more filigree decoration. The nonsense plating them, and getting innards to fit, etc. are exasparating. I sold them to a purist and left the Model A ones in the car.
No this is the later one.
You must chrome the louvers. I have been there. The difference is undescribable.
Eddie, how can you be so sure?
The same slant windshield convertible coupe was available in 1930. It was a Derham bodied car, and John Steckbeck is restoring an example. From 1931 through the end, Pierce Arrow used this Derham design. i.e. a small roadster like top, no landau irons, and a slanting windshield. Whether Pierce bought this design from Derham, or just took it I don’t know. If that ’32 Pierce was Don Meyer’s, I thought someone told me the car started life as an 8 cylinder. I could be wrong, but that is my memory, and any other feedback would be interesting. This discussion 8 cyl vs 12 has come up before, and apparently factory serial numbers do not tell us whether the car started life with an 8 or 12. The small tops on these 31 and 32 cars anyway, not so much on the last years, really don’t have much of a place to park. They bunch up when lowered. My car was a much prettier car with the top up, than when it was down.
First of all Greg, I think your dog is a much nicer and not snobby version of the RCA dog, who I knew personally. The picture of Timothy’s (I assume Seagrave) “Cities’ Service” fire engine really brought back memories. In Brockport, N.Y. Two of the three fire companies had Seagrave trucks. When the whistle blew the code for the North end of the village, we would go outside to see where it was going. Chubby Churchill was always the first to reach the 12 cylinder pierce powered open pumper. It was Capen Hose Co. open cab, painted a light gray. They called themselves the Grey Ghosts. He would come over the Erie canal lift bridge doing about 70. a roaring, last vestige of the Pierce Arrow Motor Car Co. I was a volunteer, there was an incredible fascination with riding on the back (can’t do that anymore) and open cabs. No more of that either. Everyone must be inside, strapped inside in child seats. No wonder young people don’t want to be volunteer firemen anymore. Sorry for the aside, but that Pierce powered picture brought back memories.
