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I had a leak in the gas tank on my 1933 1236 right where the fuel line came out of the tank. The KS Telegauge indicator was not working either. I brought the car into Bob Lederer’s shop, and they pulled the gas tank, cleaned it out, repaired all of the seals, and replaced part of the fuel line that had been repaired with a piece of old air hose that had rotted out (!). Upon inspection of the Telegauge system, it was found to be operational and the shop put in new fluid, and the gauge seems to be working fine now. As far as the Telegauge water gauge, it was one of the first things that Scott changed on the car. He felt it was too unreliable and the water temperature was too critical an item to be left to chance. It was replaced with an “old look” SW temperature gauge.
Scott Stastny redid the power braking system on my 1933 1236 before he passed away. The brake drums and linings were like new, but the clutch in the power braking system was shot…I virtually had no brakes when hitting the brake tredle. Scott had the power brake clutch relined with Kevlar, but after getting it back from the shop he made circular spirals on the clutch face to keep too much oil from collecting on the clutch face as he believed it would cause some slippage. I can attest to the power of the power brakes, and when switching from one car to another, I really have to be careful with stopping. It is easy to hit your head on the windshield if not careful. I have driven both my car after repair, and Bill Morris’s 1934 roadster, and both have the same characteristics when stopping. Great system.
Even now the car looks great. Look forward to seeing it!
Can anyone recommend a good preservative for the top material? The roof inset on my car was redone, probably in the mid 1980’s and is in good condition now and I’d like to keep it that way. It seems to be a textured, rubberized material. Good fortune that when they redid the top, they reinstalled the antenna in the panel. Found the coaxial cable under the car seat and my restored radio plays perfectly.
Thanks Curtis, but I have seen the whole system top and bottom. When Scott Stansty changed the clutch on the power brake system, we had to take out the front floorboard to get at it. Had to take the whole thing out and put it back together again. I keep the detector under the dash as a precaution, although there are no obvious leaks. The air intake is on the right side of the block, and the flexible tube runs along the exhaust pipe with an outlet on the right side of the front seat and the middle of the passenger compartment.
It was in the mid 20’s but dropping. We had been caught with a snow/sleet mixture, and I had 4 inches of ice to clear from the driveway, alley, and living on a corner, along the side and front of the house. I had to crack a lot of it up with a pick before shovelling. Needless to say, I skipped the gym that day, and my back is still hurting. Yes, I’ve been very fortunate with my Pierce. PAS Members Bill Morris, Bob Lederer, and the Scott Stantsky all helped in getting it running. Now, this car actually purrs.
One point I’d like to bring up is that my car has a forced air heating system with a tube running along the exhaust to pick up heat from the exhaust to warm the car. I understand it’s a common system in Cadillac and LaSalle, but not in Pierce. Just as an added safety measure, I installed a CO2 meter behind the dash to go off in case there are any carbon monoxide leaks developing. After this summer I’m really looking forward to Hershey this year.
After working in world trade for almost 50 years, I’ve learned never to buy Chinese products, and I hate it when there is no other choice. The quality simply can’t be trusted.
Just picked up a DVD on eBay covering the 1933-34 Chicago World’s Fair. It appears to be some home movies of someone on a vacation trip, but covers the fairground quite well. There is about a 15 second clip of the Silver Arrow on display right on the lakefront. Know the location well as I used to run right there for years back in the running days. If anyone is interested its titled “1933 Chicago World Fair” from Classic Archives.
Reading Dave’s post on parking lot helps, I can’t help but think of a famous Chicagoan that you probably never heard of, Commander Eugene F. McDonald. His career affected our lives in several ways. First of all, he was born in Syracuse, and went to work for Franklin Motor Co., and came to Chicago as their sales manager and was one of the first to introduce auto financing. He became fascinated with radio, and soon started a firm called Chicago Radio Labs, later changed to Zenith Radio Corporation. He pushed through both the portable shortwave radio as well as the first remote control television. Remember that couch potatoes!
Cmdr. McDonald was rather eccentric in some ways though. He lived most of his life on his yacht, the Mizpah, which was harbored in Monroe Street Harbor in Chicago. He was also quite friendly with some rather notorious Chicago organized crime figures. When he wanted to go out on open waters in Lake Michigan, and smaller craft were blocking his route, he would go out on the prow of his ship, with the machine gun gifted to him by his mob friends, shooting up the sky with orders to the pilot to proceed at full speed.
I think you would have to add a step plate on the front of your car to achieve this, tho.
Here’s a picture of my door lock. The small cam behind the mounting plate was missing. This picture is of the repaired lock, with the cam from the donor lock installed.
Ken
Just to throw out another idea about additional storage for cars, while I currently don’t have the ground space to do it, I would consider buying a used reefer shipping container. Not a standard container, but a reefer such as is used for perishables. They are highly insulated. If the reefer unit is still working on a container, the temperature and humidity could be set for optimal storage conditions. If the unit is shot, it could be replaced with an airconditioner with a heat pump to maintain the proper temperature and humidity. The prices on these units vary widely by area, but they should be cheaper at a port city or large rail hub. The last time I checked you could find one for $3000-$4000 and of course you’d have to pay for delivery. Still cheaper than a metal building tho.
Ken
Tire Pressure! Tire Pressure! Tire Pressure!
Doing arm curls with 60# dumbbells is also beneficial. Getting my Pierce into a standard size garage, overfull with stuff, from a narrow city alley, doing the curls is mandatory!
I don’t know if this will help, but I just went through a similar situation with my 1933 1236. There is only one door on the car with key access, the right front door. While the cylinder would turn, it would not lock. Upon disassembly the lock cylinder was found to be missing a cam. My mechanic was able to identify the lock assembly as a Yale Jr., as was able to find an unused damaged lock set and switch out the cylinder from that lock. Interestingly enough, the original keys for the lock set were marked “Studebaker.” The right rear door also would not lock from the inside, while it would latch properly. Upon disassembly it was discovered that the original lock mechanism was replaced with one probably from a touring car or roadster. The removal of a tab on the latch mechanism allowed the lock to lock properly from the inside. While the original keys were just marked Yale Jr. and Studebaker, had extra copies made and the blank was marked “ILCO L1122A Y101.” That might be helpful in identifying the specific lock.
Good Luck, hope it helps
Ken Muellner
Here are a few more pictures of the work in progress. The car had a home made Arrowlite when I bought it, but the seller gave me an Arrowlite that would be correct for a 1931 or 1932 with the car. Greg Long donated the correct backing plate for a 1933, and we were in business. During the disassembly, it was discovered that the “wing” on the back of the casting behind the Arrowlite was broken off, and a new one was fabricated and welded on. Finished product looks great.
Thanks David, that’s along the lines of what I was thinking. Right now, the car is still at CPS getting the finishing tounches done on the right front door lock, and I hope to have the car home this week. I can easily remove the speaker and test it with the microphone.
Got the radio installed and working, turn signals, rear clock, and now I’m getting excited again about the car after this spring and summertime funk due to the Corona Virus. Really hoping for a good year next year.
Thanks again,
Ken
I do check the forum almost daily. I had cut back from posting, because right after we got the new website forum, one of my posts disappeared. I had thought I had inadvertently offended someone and my post was deleted by a moderator. Now I find out it was a glitsch in the system and am back posting away. I just recently posted some pics of the new correct taillight on my car. I just got a call from Steve at CPS telling me that except for the lock cam he was waiting for, the car is pretty much done and invited me to come out for a test drive. It looks like I’ll have the car home for the holidays!
I’ve had my 1933 1236 over at Bob Lederer’s shop for a few weeks now, attending to the things on the car that needed attention that Scott Stastny didn’t get to. I’m really happy with the progress being made, and with the great level of communication with Steve at Bob’s shop. In addition to installing the correct left Arrowlite, they’ve repaired the leak in the gas system, the leak in the cooling system, installed the radio, and repaired the casting that the left rear taillight mounts on, and installed the rear compartment clock. Ed Wagoner gave me a 1932 Arrowlite with the car, and Greg Long donated the correct mounting plate for a 1933, and all in all, it worked out well as these pictures show. The picture is of the final correct assembly.
I’ve had my 1933 1236 over at Bob Lederer’s shop for a few weeks now, attending to the things on the car that needed attention that Scott Stastny didn’t get to. I’m really happy with the progress being made, and with the great level of communication with Steve at Bob’s shop. In addition to installing the correct left Arrowlite, they’ve repaired the leak in the gas system, the leak in the cooling system, installed the radio, and repaired the casting that the left rear taillight mounts on, and installed the rear compartment clock. Ed Wagoner gave me a 1932 Arrowlite with the car, and Greg Long donated the correct mounting plate for a 1933, and all in all, it worked out well as these pictures show. The picture is of the final correct assembly.
Thanks,
That pretty much answered the question. It’s the little cam that I am missing. I’m going to try the locksmith mentioned in the parts and services listing and see if he can repair my lock. Thanks.
Donna,
I’m a little confused here. I checked my membership status and it shows that I paid $45 last December for regular membership, but my subscription expires in 2024. Did I prepay for multiple years somehow? Please advise.
Thanks
Ken Muellner
Actually, I think it might be more of one of those things reflecting the individual nature of our cars. Looking in the specifications in my first Pierce reference, Maurice Hendry’s 1971 Pierce Arrow, First Among America’s Finest. Hendry lists the standard tire size on the 1236 as 7.00 x 17, and the 1242 and 1247 as 7.50 x 17. According to the book the 1242 and 1247 also have adjustable ride control shocks, which my car does not have. I also have an unusual heater on my car, a forced air system that picks up the heat from the exhaust system. I understand they were common on Cadillacs and LaSalles, but not too common on Pierce Arrows. My car might be different as it was a West Coast car, which I believe was purchased new by the Steinfeld Department Store family of Tucson. The car stayed in the Tucson are until the late 1980’s. In any event, those wide whitewalls look great on the car!
