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I meant to say 1200 pounds….I think too quickly and type too slowly…
I’ll bet the assembly was closer to 120 pounds! The transmission alone is close to 200, one reason I didn’t buy that one at Hershey last year! Didn’t really need it and too heavy! My memory is getting weak (or as my Dad used to say my forgetter is working overtime), didn’t you get it? If so, is it the one now in car?
I don’t know Model 80 specifically, but usually a backrest on a 20’s or 30’s car has a couple of bolts holding at the bottom, under the very back of the bottom backrest, and then it slips down or up depending on how the attachment is made.
Sometimes these bolts are fasteners are well above the bottom of the backrest, as things have settled over the years, so you have to look under and UP the bottom of the backrest to see them. Luck.
David C.
Thanks, Rich, email sent!
SMS does have some availability of unusual fabrics, but they seem to be very iffy to deal with….so as Bob states, if you have a schedule, make sure it’s very flexible with regard to obtaining fabric from them..
From an ownership and enjoyment perspective, chose an appropriate material that you like and look forward to sitting on and in.
From a desirability or resale standpoint, an incorrect interior can be a real turn off. I’ve seen velvet interiors that were awful, and wild pattern material that just doesn’t make sense. I know of an early 30’s Pierce that had a JoAnn fabrics interior, it was obviously incorrect and made the car hard to market.
I’ve also heard a story about a fellow who found some beautiful wool fabric, at a distress auction, it was for men’s suits. He bought it for next to nothing, and used it for his car’s upholstery. After about a year, he noticed the driver seat was wearing and getting a nice shine to it…..remember, suit fabric is sat on, not slid across, and we know what happens to a fine wool suit if elbows are other parts are rubbed…a nice shine.
Just make sure you get something that is automotive and has the correct period look, and you’ll be fine. I’m not a fan of greenish paint, but that car is beautiful….
One more comment, you may know this, but be sure the fabric that you pick out is suitable for automobile use. Not all fabrics are capable of standing up to the sliding in and out that occurs in car. Furniture, you sit down on and straight back up in most cases, not so cars.
In other words, most of the fabrics you’ll find at a local or chain fabric store are not good choices for cars.
Make sure you post some finished pictures when it’s done!
My 31 phaeton had a similar color combination from the factory, and I remember on a tour in Texas the late Fred Tycher looking at it and saying it was “very Pierce Arrow””….yours is a very nice looking car…
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Beautiful car, very “Pierce” colors….and the rare bracket lights…great car, hope your trimmer does it justice, remember, no foam, cotton and horsehair like original! I do upholstery work so constantly preach against foam, it’s not original, nor is it long lasting…the additive that was used to make foam last longer was proven to cause cancer and is not allowed, so foam is sold in years by wholesalers, such as “8 year foam” and “12 year foam”….sorry, it’s just a real pet peeve, do your car in correct materials inside and it will last for a long, long time….
I saw the Gillet car at the AACA meeting in Philadelphia last month, amazing is putting it mildly, what a beautiful car and what fantastic workmanship on the restoration.
I noticed the car had bumpers that were not standard 1934 three piece with middle dip, but rather a one piece straight. Was that a feature of some of the 12’s, or a feature with a “custom” body, or?
Correct, no apple trees in picture! When we bought our house in Winchester, it was in a subdivision built in an old orchard. We had 17 apple trees on our property, York and Golden. Being new to the area, we thought that was great, until we found out that one, we couldn’t eat that many apples and two, you can’t give them away in an area full of such trees. Then, the bad ones fall, attracting bees, bees get sugar drunk on rotting, smelling apples, all in all not a fun environment. We now have the remains of one tree, the rest gone. Found that apple trees have a very shallow root system, very easy to pull out of ground with Suburban and a long chain!
Wish that car were in Winchester with me! LeBaron shops made the Pierce production convertible sedans, delivered in white to the factory (I know earlier, still in ’33?), and to me this car has the styling cues of a production car, along with the heavy hinges which, while not exclusive to LeBaron, are one of the first things you look for. There’s no heavy styling here, no V windshield or other large deviant from a standard body, so in my mind sure lean to LeBaron….
I agree with John, it has all the characteristics of a LeBaron body…and at least the hubcaps are 12, would have to assume the engine is too!
From the angle of the shadow and the tree bark, I’d say picture was taken on a Tuesday, just to add to Mr. Lyons reply….
Here’s how a Model T was loaded in my trailer, after I put a top on it, and the owner didn’t want to put the top down (it was an older kit, been in a box for years, it needed to stay stretched for a while!)…this was all the owner’s doing, it already had rear fenders off as he’s not quite finished the restoration…I thought it was funny looking, but it was effective! Lowered the whole car enough inches to clear the trailer by a couple….
I thought someone might answer who owns a coupe. Most of the time, the bottom cushion is removable, so that you can get to the bolts holding a movable frame.
If not, then you should be able to reach under the front of the seat, and remove bolts or pins which attach adjusting mechanism to the floor.
Again, a coupe may be different than my Model 43 phaeton, for example, which has the removable cushion mentioned.
I agree with Karl. I restored a very nice 1934 840 sedan back in the 70’s (a car we would now have gotten running and used, silly me and the rest of us). The original wood on the doors and rear quarters was not the high gloss, plastic look, that we so often think of now with wood. I had a good friend who was an expert on veneer, and he refinished them to an excellent look that was not overdone.
Karl describes it correctly.
I’d be a little careful of letting the auction results set a price of a car, much less the “value” of a car.
I attended an AACA seminar in Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago, put on by a man who knows auctions, and he confirmed a lot of what I thought to be true.
Shill bids are legal in most states. In other words, you can be bidding against a friend of the owner, or, if there’s a reserve, the Coke machine in the back of the room the auctioneer is looking toward.
Some cars “sold” go back to owner, as he allows friend to bid a little too high. That said, the commission may be a small price to pay rather than taking a severe loss on a car.
“Fair” market prices are what a buyer and seller, both hobbyists, agree to on a car. “Market prices” are what a dealer and a seller agree to on a car. “Auction prices” are all over the place, and depend on level of honesty, integrity, and alcohol.
One thing that easily shows the bidding fever is an early Thunderbird, 1955-57. I had a beautiful 1956, about 3 years ago, had a hard time getting high twenties for it, after advertising it everywhere, and this was a car with both tops, probably 90 points on a 100 point judging system, aftermarket air and all power. Then you see a similar car sell at an auction for fifty or more. Not sensible.
These are all my personal thoughts, with no value at all, and don’t represent the thoughts of any nor all of the PAS membership.
I’m not familiar with the 80 series water pump, but I can tell you what I did on a 1935 845 pump….new stainless shaft, then fit and installed two modern seals…each facing in opposite direction from the other. One kept the water in the pump, one kept the air from being sucked into the pump, was my reasoning. It worked perfectly with no leaks and no foaming of coolant, and no packing or tightening to bother with…
Keep in mind that, just like a live auction, one can never be sure who one is bidding against. It’s very easy to have a friend bid up the car on Ebay, even if it “sells” to the friend, fees are relatively low…
On the marketability of brass cars, it seems any quality pre-1916 car has a good market and will sell, once you get to 35/40 horsepower the market is very good, and 50 HP and up the market is very strong.
I see numerous threads on different forums about how prices are down on antique cars, yet good cars still bring good prices, and for good cars I don’t see prices fading. Project cars, or cars needing some major work (such as a paint job or major mechanical), are more difficult to sell due to cost of restoration.
One of the better systems for securing a car in a trailer (although you still had to climb under!) was on both a Cord and a Packard Darrin owned by the late Bill Pettit. At one point, new cars being delivered to dealers had these heavy metal loops which clamped to the springs and/or axle of the new cars, for securing when delivered. He took these, modified slightly, and attached in the spring/axle areas of his cars. Then, there was a nice big fat loop to hook to when securing in the trailer, and you didn’t have to worry about axles or brake lines or anything getting in the way. I asked him about judging, i.e. originality, and he said he’d never been questioned about the loops.
I never realized the back of the rear axle had “Pierce” on it….down where no one would see it but the mechanic, and he’d KNOW what he was working on!!
