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And the DeLuxe has a 2-piece windshield vs. one-piece for the Coach Series
Very good point, Dave. Best to use a Uni-Syn to ensure that each carb/bank of cylinders is drawing equally at idle, then assure that the throttle plates are opening completely and in unison (pun intended).
As a first step, by all means follow Bob’s recommendations. But you may have a vacuum leak separate from carb adjustments. In addition to intake manifold connections, the 1936-38 cars have vacuum-assisted power brakes fed by a 1/2-inch tube back to the vacuum cylinder. That tube run also contains rubber hose which MUST be specifically vacuum hose, not heater hose. I think I paid $4/foot for the last such heavy hose I bought almost 10 years ago. I’ve seen several 1936-38 cars with lean conditions caused by damaged or collapsed vacuum hose.
If a lean condition persists after the carb adjustments, first measure and record the current vacuum at idle from the port on the vertical against-the firewall connection for the vacuum wiper hose (bob will give us the correct nomenclature!). Second, disconnect the wiper hose and measure and record idle vacuum. Third, disconnect any rubber tubing at the end of the hard-pipe tube and measure and record vacuum there. Comparing those readings will help you find any downstream vacuum leaks.
Please keep us posted on what you find!
George
Thank you, David and Peter, for making me Laugh Out Loud!
George
The OEM (Delco) rotor number is 37598–expect to pay at least $100 for a NOS. Aftermarket numbers that I have are Echlin RR-99 and Shurhit ID-30. Same rotor was used on all 1929s, 1930 models A & B (but not C), and 1931 models 41 and 42 (but not model 43).
The REAL problem for these cars is replacement distributor caps, which were not made in the aftermarket, so your only option is Delco (same applications as above, distributor number Delco 668-E). The last NOS Delco cap I saw was priced at $1,500. Those caps also fit Duesenbergs, so some may be on the shelves of Big D owners. The good news is that the Pierce-Arrow Museum is almost ready to reproduce these caps–our point of contact is our man-of-many-hats Membership Chairman John Wozney.
Ken, the “S”” is one inside of the lens and you won’t see it unless someone is stepping on the brake.”
Buildings with those pests have to be tented and gassed; topical application is ineffective.
1929 and 1930 use 8-spline axles; these are the fractious (pun!) ones. Later axles have 10 splines. Foote Axle in Los Angeles made up a batch of 8-spline axles for a PAS member in the late 1980s. I was fortunate to be able to acquire an uninstalled pair of them from a former member who had sold the car they were intended for–within a few days of snapping one of the originals in my 1930.
Interestingly, at least to me, the broken axle stubs exhibited OLD oil staining on 80% of the cross section at the break–meaning that the car had been operating on 20% of the cross section for years. The final break occurred at a very conservative departure from a stop sign.
The car has been sold. It will remain in Northern California, and we have a new member! Thanks to all for your positive comments.
George
Another undercarriage photo; more available
Undercarriage photos follow.
If not sold before, the car will be available for inspection and test drive at the PAS Winter Meet in Palo Alto, CA February 25-28, 2016.
Greg Long has driven and wrenched on this car and can give you his analysis.
Car will be advertised in print Hemmings as of February 1.
Following is a link to more than 50 photographs of this car on the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) website under Members’ Gallery under member name “Grimy.” You don’t need to be an AACA member to view. I’ll post photos of the extremely clean undercarriage after I get some hoist time.
http://forums.aaca.org/gallery/album/324-1925-pierce-arrow-series-80-4-pass-coupe/
Hi Bob, good questions, and thanks for the compliments on the excellent taste of the Chamberlains. I’m just the custodian of >20 years…
My lady prefers to ride in the right rear seat where she can still whisper in my ear while enjoying the footrest that is then positioned where the dickey seat would be in its upright position. She says that right rear seat affords an almost panoramic view and she greatly prefers the view to that from the front passenger seat in my Series 80 sedan. The dickey seat position is a bit too high and too vertical for Pierce-Arrow comfort, and we consider the dickey seat an occasional seat.
Likewise, the leftmost rear seat position is impinged upon by the Parcel Compartment, so a second person in the rear seat should be relatively slender.
So the car is best for Driver Plus One but is capable of carrying two more for short jaunts. This car has had four in it, even for PAS and other club tours, a number of times over the years, but under those circumstances a leg-stretching stop every hour or so is advised.
This seating configuration was reasonably common in upper-middle and higher end coupes of several makes until about 1927, when it was supplanted by the brougham design. Apparently an advantage perceived at the time was the unusual-at-the-time built-in trunk, which is more commodious than one would think but the use of smaller soft-sided bags gives the best utilization of space.
There exists a one-off 1937 Cadillac Fleetwood V-12 coupe with exactly the same seating configuration. By then this body style was an anachronism. The story was that the elderly widow owner ordered it this way so that she did not have to give rides to more than one or two friends home from church or social functions.. 
This car is designed for slinky flapper dresses, not for hoop skirts of an earlier era!
Instrument panel:
Left view:
Sill & ID plate:
Interior:
Interior:
Right side of engine:
Left side of engine:
