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Thanks for the update.

Many times, I’ve found that people doing work for you (whether it be in industry, home repair, or in this case car restoration) tell you what they think you want to hear, NOT the truth…..thus “sure, it’ll just be about two weeks” when they know there’s no way….but they’re trying to make you, the customer, happy, and they end up doing just the opposite…

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Wow, that’s an impressive price….and I still say the Pan Am shaft drive they sold a year ago was a better deal at 7500…..but that sure sets the bar for shaft drives!

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I worked on a couple of airplane seats that they did, had a wooden trim piece that followed the curves of the aluminum seat skin. They used ammonia to make the wood “bendy”. There was no residual ammonia smell, and it was directly against the aluminum with no apparent problem. Anhydrous ammonia evaporates quickly at room temperature, the method they use is to put wood in a closed container with the ammonia, such as a length of PVC pipe.

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The subject of adding seat belts to cars not designed for them has been discussed many times. I think the best statement made above is that the addition of belts allows the young kids to participate!

Make sure that backrests and cushions are firmly secured, you don’t want to be held in place while the seat is loose.

Don’t modify the seat belts to be able to install them. I do trim work, and have had people ask me to cut, shorten, re-sew seat belts. I will absolutely not do that, as factory stitching and thread is important, and liability too great.

Speaking of liability, if you were to sell any car you’ve added belts to, I’d advise removing them before the sale. Since it’s a modification to the original car, if something happened down the road (so to speak), you could find yourself in court. You may be found innocent, but it costs money to get there…

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I have a friend who is in the business of replicating early aircraft, more specifically Wright flyers. They bend a lot of wood, have used steam in the past, but now trying the method of soaking the wood in an ammonia mixture. I don’t know exact details, but it’s a high concentration of ammonia, and after soaking wood in it for a number of hours, the wood is like a workable plastic and bends very easily…

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As a side note, Robert had contacted me a little while ago, on the coolant loss…my advice was to get the correct grease in the water pump, and add a flow restrictor in the top hose. I know this is subject for debate, but I had a lot of liquid overflow my ’31 radiator when I let off the gas at speed. I took a freeze plug the same OD as the ID of the top radiator hose, drilled a 5/8 inch hole in it, and installed it right against the top radiator neck inside the hose. These two things eliminated all “coolant usage”” and the car runs well within temperature limits in all degrees of weather. Just my two cents…”

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There are early Pierce motorcycle parts and pieces being made overseas, I believe it’s in Poland or a neighboring country. A few years back, I had the chance to buy a complete 4 cylinder engine, and I was quoted a price from the fellow overseas to fabricate the remainder of the bike.

So yes, as Ed says, be well aware of what you’re buying these days. There are cars (and motorcycles)being built right now from the barest of original parts.

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The first Pierce that I restored was a wonderful original 1934 840 sedan. I wish I had it to do over again, the gray body paint was so nice that, when I put the unrestored body back on the restored chassis, people asked why the primer was so shiny….but in the 70’s and 80’s, you had to restore them.

Point is, I knew nothing of Pierce cars, but when I took the oil cooler apart I sensed a problem coming. I fabricated an oil line to fit exactly where the “cooler” would be, and installed…and the car was a fantastic running car with no hint of any oil problems….

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Great looking car, Bob, you should add it to your collection!! Here’s the direct link to the article…

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2015/04/15/1933-pierce-arrow-once-featured-in-hemmings-classic-car-heads-to-auction/?refer=news

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Yes, I was talking of Pierce specifically.

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No, don’t think so, the head has to be removed…..

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I’m fairly positive the head has to be removed, as long as the crankshaft is still in place….

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Thanks Dave, I didn’t realize that, that’s great!

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It appears from a quick search that the use of the name Pierce Arrow for motor vehicles is not currently an active registration. (see attached) I have no idea how thorough this search engine really might be….

I would think in the mid to late 50’s that dealers, particularly ones of a somewhat fading brand, would have gone to great lengths to try doing something different. I’ve seen 1957 Chevrolets that were upgraded when new to look more like a Cadillac, they were called El Morocco. I’d think the ad shown is a similar attempt to upgrade a car that might have been a slow seller, of course, the mystery is whether such a car was ever badged.

http://www.trademarkia.com/trademark/trademark_step0.aspx?tn=pierce%20arrow

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Yes, I agree, you’re going to need something fabricated. I can’t imagine that this is a part that someone has sitting gathering dust. The picture isn’t coming up on my screen, so I don’t know what the issue might be.

If you really get in a bind, I have an excellent local metal man, specializing in antique and Classic cars (he’s working on a ’33 Chrysler and a ’60’s Ferrari now), and he could replicate a frame for you. $50 an hour, but honest hours and great work.

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I realize nothing in life is simple, but would it be possible to just slightly modify the wording of the trophy eligibility, and state that once a car wins, it’s not eligible for 25 years to win again? (or 30, whatever time frame is felt sufficient). Few 25 year old restorations can compete at that level, and by then, as stated, someone else probably owns it and/or has had to freshen the restoration.

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Yikes, that’s rough….he’s very optimistic about value

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Try this, in the small search box put Pierce of course…

http://copakeauction.auctionflex.com/showlots.ap?co=9768&weid=40505&weiid=0&archive=n&lso=lotnumasc&pagenum=1&lang=En

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Their estimate on the shaft drive sure looks high, but one never knows these days…it’s a beautiful bike….

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From their pre-auction estimate on this bicycle, I’d say the 1903 shaft drive nickel plated Pan American model, sold last year at their auction at around $7500, was a bargain….

There was a man’s bike just sold on Ebay to “best offer”, I think that was a rebadged later Angola bike…I’m getting very suspicious of any Buffalo badge bicycle that has screws holding the badge…

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