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David Coco was good friends with Eli Whitney………😇
A 1932 Series 54 Convertible is not a great car, its a FANTASTIC CAR! But thats just my humble opinion.
It’s a 1601 series. I have inspected this car on several times over the years.
I have tried to purchase this car twice over the years. We were very far apart on price. The last two or three times it was for sale, two at public auction, I think it made about half of the reserve. Grant Quim drove the car extensively, and it was modified with modern updates……..A/C, alternator, regulator, etc. It all comes down to several issues, and color. While any 36 PA open car is in demand, and very rare, the family and or the estate didn’t see eye to eye in current market value. I have an opinion as to its current value, but I shall keep it close to my vest. Hopefully it returns back to the road, and it’s new owner joins the PAS. It will be interesting to see what happens.
I like to drive, but that is a serious road trip in a Pierce Arrow!
They are very nice cars. If it’s all apart, beware of missing parts. Small items are hard to find and add up fast. Today a barn find car or a lost intrest restoration is properly called a parts car. I don’t want to dump on anyone’s car in particular, but be careful on what you spend. There are some very nice cars available for pennies on the dollar when it comes to restoration costs.
Wire wheels that are in poor shape will run 3 to 9 thousand per wheel. New rims, spokes, nipples, and labor are just the start. Add in the cost of chrome and you hit the stratosphere fast. Then, if it’s a conversion from wood wheels, add in the cost of the hubs, different brake drums, etc. Wire wheels and changeovers can run fifty thousand dollars if you have the professional restorers do it. The time is coming that one must realize that almost every car is going to be a big time loss when it comes to Restorations, that’s not a bad thing……..the days of buying a car, fixing it up, driving it for ten years, and selling it for a profit are DONE. Owning a old car is much more like going to the casino today, it’s money spent on entertainment and very little can or will be recovered at the end. And that’s fine……..this is suppose to be a FUN hobby. No one else expects to gain a profit from their hobby’s except car people. Look at the 50’s and 60’s cars in the auctions, easy to restore cars with good parts availability sell for 30 cents on the dollar. It’s not going to get better folks, unless you buying the top 1/2 of one percent of the market. Read that as seven figures, the very good open cars will hold up to their purchase price, the rest are in for a long ride down a road that will be lucky if they can stay even with inflation. The old car hobby is going to return to the era of the fifties and early sixties. Cars are going to cost less for most of us than they ever have, the four door sedans are going to be very affordiable as supply and demand is going to dictate price. Most remaining restoration projects are going to be parts cars.
I’m glad he is still plugging away at it. And I hope he rejoins the PAS. Inexperienced people working on you car often takes much longer, often has quaility issues, and in the long run often costs more than people who have a higher shop rate but clearly understand the car. Recently we purchased a high end “high point†car. The seller sent the carb off to a rebuilder to clean it out after sitting for ten years with gas in it. The car won Pebble first in class. It had the wrong carb and distributor on it. The timing was off by a mile and couldn’t be fixed without finding a very, very rare correct unit. The carb had never been totally disassembled since NEW, so the recent builder couldn’t even get out all the plugs in the carb. Gee, I wonder why it won’t idle? We got it apart and cleaned it when we got it home, car runs like new now. There are MANY shops that will take on any work, that is NOT a good idea.
He was going quite fast for a first time Pierce owner. I think he experienced delays across the board on the car. The engine was stuck when I first looked at the car and that was much earlier than when he purchased it. I had concerns as to the experience of the people working on it, but kept it to myself. A good body shop can paint any car, but dealing with wooden bodies coachbuilt cars are another story. I’m sue we will see the car pop up sometime. With luck it will be finished or at least intact and complete.
Looks like it may be a series 33.
There are many Pierce cars with factory bodies that have LeBaron tags on them. I would recommend that anyone who wishes to purchase a open car hire a competent advisor to prevent engine, chassis, and series swaps, as well as other issues that often pop up on the bigger dollar cars. There are a lot of incorrect open Pierce cars out there, cut down coups, etc. Buyer Beware!
It’s rare for these carbs to dump fuel, if your running an electric pump, it has too much pressure. Over pressure can cause a big fire……..you need to resolve this issue before you drive the car. Keep a fire extinguisher close by at all times.
What makes you think that is LeBaron? Do you have any numbers off of it?
There are no less than five different UU-2 Carburator castings, with various combinations that make up a very complicated choice of possibilities. More often than not, the carburetor on a car is not correct due to swap outs and modifications done over the years. Member zjohn Cislak makes countless parts for all Stromberg carburetors. He is the go to expert on these units. Look him up in the directory, he will be happy to help you out. Good luck, Es
John had one at Hershey, not sure if he sold it. Give him a call.
Call Greg Long.
It’s a process, used in heavy engine repair, they sell the the product to machine shops. I don’t care for their process, and use a local craftsman to provide the same service. They can not fix exhaust manifolds. I recommend if you need a block or head repair you post photos of it here and we can comment. Do NOT weld any Pierce engine parts.
I spoke to Dave on the phone…….
I made that rubber in 1991, Craig Karr made it for me. I made 100 feet and sold it all in three months.
More often than not, (80 percent of the time) the car has an incorrect carburetor on it, swapped out over the years. Too much fuel pressure, stuck choke, wrong jets, I wouldn’t assume automatically that it is fuel, I would also think oil issues. To load up the motor so bad you need to swap out the plugs so often, I would start with the basics, put the car on a five gas exhaust analyzer, you will get your answer.
