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Randy, the 1930 parts list was the last one with illustrations, so you might want to obtain just the illustrations from the 1930 parts list. We can advise you what’s different: carb, air silencer, distributor (for Model 43–same as 1930 for Models 41 & 42), axle shafts, and a few others.
In a similar vein, the last Owners Manual with mechanical adjustment info is 1929, so 1930 and 1931 owners are well advised to take a free download of the 1929 OM.
FYI, the hammer price on the 1935 Silver Arrow 12 at Mecum Las Vegas earlier this month was $214,000. The car is ex-Harris Laskey and was most recently owned by the Academy of Art University Collection in San Francisco.
The earliest MoToR’s (TM) manual I’ve seen (but don’t own) covers about 1931-36. Much more common are the 1935 through (up to) 1953. The most comprehensive in terms of systems (ignition, carbs, starters, generators, fuel pumps, etc.) is the 1935-46 edition, almost twice as thick as the 1935-1942 version.
Ed posted a title page from a National Service Data (NSD) manual. This was an (almost) all-marque subscription service to auto repair shops. When you shop for these on eBay or other places be aware that there were two different versions: (1) ignition and electrical only and (2) ignition & electrical + Other Systems including gearboxes, differentials, steering boxes. The ignition & electrical only seems to be more common, probably because most were likely bought by garages which performed only light work.
The apparent predecessor (I suspect but can’t prove that the NSD was the successor but can’t find any overlapping publication dates) to the NSD was the Reed Service Manual, which covers ignition and electrical ONLY. Mine covers 1912-1922.
There is also the RADCO service manual which covers very basic info from about 1925-1930. You may be able to find an electronic version of the RADCO manual online. (RADCO was also a subscription service). The Pierce-Arrow section is only about 8 pages long and covers 1925-1930.
The NSD and Reed manuals had hard covers with brass posts, and aggregated years (the shop got one set of covers and kept adding annual updates) can be as much as 10 inches thick, which makes them difficult to use and almost impossible to photocopy without disassembling. Moreover, the “search feature” (index) pertains, at most, to only one covered year. Pages are now old and fragile, and some pages may have been torn out over the years.
The PAS Tech Committee is working on an approximately four-page document with a working title of “How to Get Information on Your Pierce-Arrow” which addresses many of the issues in this thread.
Mark. the 1929 OM is the last one with mechanical adjustment information. Anyone with a 1930 or 1931 is well advised to ALSO download a 1929 OM, because most of the info is identical–but your 1931 used a different distributor and a UUR-2 carb rather than a UU-2.
Rubber
I don’t have originals, but completely by chance found a perfect match in a US Army surplus automotive wiring kit–correct length, number of ribs, etc. Unfortunately I don’t have any left over. See also a photo of an engine in “The Story of Pierce-Arrow,” which was reprinted by PAS circa 1978.
Tom, “Pantasote” (a then-registered trademark) was the standard topping for Pierce cars of that vintage (and for my 1922 Paige). Other materials were available.
Eric Haartz has reproduced several variations of “Pantasote” using more effective modern materials. This is a >100-year-old family owned business. http://www.haartz.com I recall getting some samples for my Paige about 15 years ago but never pulled the trigger. Pay attention to the inner material (Pantasote is, I think, three-layered) which varies from one make to another. My Paige has a twill inner material–which is NOT so say lining.
David Coco may weigh in, and he’s the best authority.
Oh boy, I wanted to refrain from further beating of this dead horse, BUT…
Greg, when you worked on my two 80s, I had done so previously and BOTH had capscrews rather than the original studs but you made no comments then. And Percy the coupe’s capscrews were installed by Eric Rosenau and Bill Lawton during their restoration of the car for Phelps Chamberlain in 1983. That’s where I got the idea for replacing the studs in Humphrey the sedan circa 1994. I’d renewed my early 1960s friendship with the Chamberlains after acquiring the semi-project sedan, and spent a lot of time under their car until they offered it to me in 1995.
Greg is right about keeping the car level, especially left to right, and best if all four corners are raised. PAMCC engineers were right in their original design in the days before detergent multi-grade oil, in which pulling the oil pump for cleaning the screen, pump and pan was a far more frequent task than today.
In sum, today it’s a question of whether one follows the factory practice or implements a Field Expedient to get the job done satisfactorily. Either will do the job just fine. Now how many angels can dance on the head of an oil pump mounting stud?
Tony, Ken Nemanic (note spelling) is indeed superb. He’s now semi-retired and does tops but you may need to twist his arm to do complete interiors.
This pertains to Series 80 & 81. Jim, I’ve been there and done that, and the thrashing 1/2-inch square tube (replacement at hardware store) broke into several pieces, necessitating dropping the pan. Suggest you remove the six oil pump studs and replace them with capscrews (1/4-20). Pay attention to the length, because three holes are blind and a too-long capscrew will break the pan casting. You will have an additional 3/4 inch to juggle the oil pump body to thread the round pilot tip into the square hole and can feel the drag when the square portion of the pump shaft engages the square tube. I further recommend flat washers and toothed washers under the heads, plus sealant on the threads of the three open-hole capscrews.
Peter, I trust you meant that Armistice Day (Nov. 11) became VETERANS DAY in 1954. Memorial Day, formerly Decoration Day, has been celebrated on the last Monday in May since 1971; from 1868 through 1970, it was celebrated on May 30.
As you know, I observe both…
I’ve put 15,000 miles on my 1934 in 12.5 years and have not needed to address the power brake lining, which was quite fresh when I bought the car.
One word of warning about the 1933-35 power brakes that apparently no one else has yet mentioned: Unlike the setup on virtually any other car, the brake pedal does not drop as the wheel brake linings wear. Accordingly, my own maintenance schedule specifies a wheel brake adjustment every 3,000 miles. You CAN detect when you need a wheel brake adjustment by making a habit of noticing how far back you must pull the hand brake lever to set the parking brake–when the lever travels to about 30 degrees behind vertical, it’s time to adjust the wheel brakes as described in the recent PASB article, and that’s a reasonably quick and easy process especially after you’ve done it the first time.
Scott, I run a pair of Optima 6V batteries in parallel on my 8-cyl Pierces, *primarily* for the Reserve Capacity (RC). Each Optima has 100 ampere-hours (AH) reserve capacity, so a pair has 200 AH RC. Pierce 8s came with a Group 3 wet-acid battery of 140 AH RC, and Pierce 12s had a Group 4 with 160 or 165 AH (can’t remember, saw in a 1934 trade publication), The RC is important to me for long drives home with the lights on. Until late 1934 when the Owen Dyneto system was adopted, the Pierce Delco 927 (standard) generators had a 25 amp capacity with 3rd brush turned all the way up, which drops to 16 or 17 when the temperature compensator kicks in after 8-10 minutes.
The primary advantage of an AGM battery such as the Optima for our cars is that to service the battery, one must remove the seat cushion or the floorboard. AGM batteries never need water, are rarely if ever have corroded terminals. Further, a car can sit for 6 or 7 months without a trickle- or smart-charger and fire right up. Like Craig, I replace mine at 8-10 years on general principles and save the old ones for backup.
Now when an Optima or other AGM battery gets really low, it will not accept a charge unless you wire it in parallel with a reasonably-well-charged 6V battery, wet or AGM, at least until the Optima comes up to about 6.0V–in MY experience, anyway.
I run a single Optima in my 6-cyl Pierces–Series 80 and the 525 cid 48-B-5. The single Optima cranks that big 48-B-5 engine over just fine. I tend not to run that car much at night due to the headlights, but if I replace the plain glass lenses with 1920s B&L I may be able to see well enough to run it at night more often.
I * believe* that the Salon trim option, including the strips and a brightwork hood side panel surround, was offered late in the 1930 model year, possibly because the 1931 year model would be “late.” That’s why the Salon accoutrements are not seen in the 1930 Parts Catalogue which is dated 1/1/30. Of course, in 1933 the salon option included a right-side tail/stop light assembly, which MAY have been offered separately, perhaps only by dealers.
I have seen the rectangular lamps on 1929 LWB (143) cars only, not on the 133s.
My 1930 B roadster has round step lamps, as do all 1930 B body styles that I’ve seen. 1930 Model As — all body styles, so far as I know — used the rectangular lamps. All Model Cs I’ve seen have no step lamps whatsoever, but I suppose that dealers or subsequent owners may have installed lamps of one type or another. The 1930 prestige catalog (unusual for PAMCC in that it has actual photographs rather than artists’ renditions) shows the lamps as I have recounted above.
@Tony Costa (sorry this is off-topic): We’ve been in Healdsburg overnight where it is a post-apocalyptic gray and the sun is an orange ball–when you can see it–and it ain’t fog. We attended the opening reception of a HCCA display at the Sharpsteen Museum last night (the Sharpsteen was an optional stop on one of our annual meet tours this year). Even in the Bay Area Friday AM it was the same smoky gray, with the odors of burning stuff, and people were wearing dust masks–and that’s 180 miles from the “Camp Fire”” that destroyed (the City of) Paradise.
This has me thinking of how and what to evacuate if and when disaster strikes in our area.”
Sorry I’m late to this party.
Please note that Bill Marsh’s car is a 48-B-4 single valve without detachable heads, and my 1918 is a 48-B-5 with detachable heads and dual valve (four valves per cylinder, so my experience may not transfer directly to single-valve cars.
The PAS Wiring and Tuneup Guide, with reproduced service info of the day, shows spark plug gaps of 0.018 (!!!!) for both 48-B-4 and 48-B-5. (I suspect that the very narrow gap was for the poor-quality gasoline of that time, and appears to have been carried over from the Series 1, 2, and 3 cars [1913-1915] cars equipped with the earlier ignition system that Bill Scorah described.) The Series 5 Owners Manual calls for 0.025, which is what I use.
When I acquired my car, it had new Champion W-14 plugs (coldest range of the W-series available, hottest is W-20) on the intake side, and Autolite #3076 on the exhaust side. I found the W-14s to be too cold, and changed to the 3076s, which were also too cold–on the intake side only, acceptable on the exhaust side. I then changed to W-18s for the intake side. Even those need some highway miles to keep from sooting up.
Paul, the 2018 roster shows engine number 31187 but no serial number. The car is said to be a 1911 36-UU, and the engine number is consistent with that.
Recension Table from 2005 says it’s the same engine number as one previously claimed by (First Name Unknown) Winger, which is described as a “speedster.” Comments on the Winger car are as follow:
“Specially built for a Mr. Winger, working at P-A (as an engineer?) in Bflo in summer of 1910. Car had triple ignition and special body. Used sparingly until 1914, when Winger bacame ill, quit P-A, and died about 1918 (in WI?). Relatives from Chicago took parts from the car to “update†their own 1911 P-A. (See letter from Wade Smith, in car card file)”
An one of Archie the Silver Arrow, followed by Bob and Nancy Jacobsen’s 1934 840A convertible coupe, exiting the famous Bixby Creek Bridge just south of Carmel.
Robert, I think Stu would prefer to be called a PIONEER… 
George
