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My personal opinion is, on a Pierce, less is better. I bought a stone guard for my ’31 phaeton, propped it up in front of the radiator, took one look, and promptly sold it to someone else.
Another theory is that they helped cool the brake drum…which almost makes sense..it would be interesting to find a definitive answer, but all I’ve found so far is conjecture….there are all sorts of springs and straps sold to silence and prevent vibration when turning a drum, as mentioned….
A Pierce Brake drum, stood on “pointy” end and struck with wrench, makes a lovely sound.
McMaster Carr can fabricate custom extension springs any length, different materials and wire thickness. It would be interesting to see what one would cost, if you have a sample spring would be simple enough to measure length and size of wire…..and get a quote..
Here are some numbers….
Careful, your Freudian slip might be showing in that picture! “Nice original body” comments to come, I’m sure…..
Personally I think you’re correct, Philomena, to NOT put them on the car. The less distractions the better, and let the Pierce class show through!
Not meant as criticism, just an observation, figured you were taking everything apart eventually! And, get some epoxy primer on that frame quickly, once blasted the surface is very prone to quickly rusting! Good progress, and as you say, now comes the fun part!!
Making quick progress! I’m sure you’re going to do this anyway, but each piece of the suspension is going to need to be taken apart, cleaned, and rebuilt as needed. Usually a frame is sand blasted by itself, and the individual components cleaned or blasted (after disassembly) apart from frame. The sand, or whatever media you used, gets everywhere inside what you think is a “sealed” component. The only case this isn’t true is with soda or CO2 blasting. That engine assembly weighs over 1000 pounds, so yes, quite a load! Thanks for keeping us informed of progress, interesting stuff! Did you ever find your Pierce restoration “consultant”?
Thanks! Yes, there are even vacuum cleaner collections out there. Because of the discharge on the left side as seen from front, the Pierce cleaner shown dates from 1928 (when they switched sides) to 1938 (for obvious Pierce reasons!)
It’s an upright Royal vacuum cleaner with a Pierce bag. This particular model had two methods of use for the front, one a rectangular standard “pickup” nozzle (see attached photo of a 1914 Royal), the other, attach a hose. I’m missing the pickup unit. I’ve never run it due to wiring. Thus, it wasn’t a “Pierce” vacuum cleaner, but rather a standard unit that had an embroidered bag (professionally done) attached. One would think that these are out there for other makes, also, though I’ve never seen another.
You, sir….with all due respect. And surely some is due….
I believe it was Ed who told me that there were trade catalogs, and a factory or dealer could order all manner of tools and accessories, and have them “personalized” with the make of the car being sold. I’d love to think this came out of the Pierce factory, when in fact it probably was just what Mr. Minnie says, an aftermarket order…don’t know how they handled the trademark question. I still think it’s neat, if anyone knows any more history on such marked accessories please feel free to add that knowledge!!
A Pierce Arrow vacuum, you say? Well, mine won’t fit in a small compartment!
Very nice piece, well done!
you may want to put braces between front/rear of each door opening, to stiffen body, before you lift off frame. If all wood is structurally sound it may not be a big deal, but as you say, it hasn’t been off the frame since it was born, and there may be wood rot that you can’t see right now.
Yes, wiring conduit with junction boxes was used in 1931. No such conduit was used in 1935.
Do any of the metal pedal cars have a script “Pierce” on them, or are they just identified by pedal car manufacturer as such?
Thanks again for the lead! That’s a great looking pedal car….
Well, for both of you who may be interested at this point (I say, tongue in cheek!), a very gracious PAS member has picked this up for me and it will be back in Virginia before too awful long…I did him a small favor and he’s doing me a big one…no, I didn’t pay asking price, yes, I probably overpaid, but I’ve been looking for one of these for years to add to my memorabilia collection, of things made with the Pierce name, even though not necessarily associated with the PAMCC. I can replace the money, but can’t replace this artifact…let’s see, I now have a wagon, a wooden pedal car, a vacuum cleaner…all with the Pierce Arrow name! Always looking for interesting PA memorabilia if available. Best to all David Coco Winchester Va.
You’d do well to read Bob Dluhy’s article on the restoration of his 1931 Model 43 phaeton. He goes into excellent detail about the trials and tribulations. Once you finish your car, you’ll never use the words “easy restoration” in a sentence again.
As Ed pointed out, there are a lot of details on a Pierce that need to be correct. For example (and I don’t know if this applies to a ’29), the wiring along the frame is run in conduit, with junction boxes, not just exposed wiring as it is on most cars. Brake drums need to be ground, as they are of special steel. The list goes on…
It’s not a car that can be just thrown back together, I hope you do find a good mentor on the restoration, that would help considerably. Good luck!
Not sure what you mean about jack storage.
My car, and assume earlier too, had a feature where the backrest of the rear seat was hinged at the bottom, and had three knob/screws at the top that engaged an L bracket to secure. This was where the side curtains were stored….
