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Hello Bill,

Our 1936 1601 five passenger sedan is the same, too.

Regards, Stu Blair

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A big thank you to Dave and Diana for hosting another great Gathering at Gilmore.

Logistically, this is a huge feat to direct everyone down the same roads at the same time, keep everyone well fed and entertained and for 3 1/2 days, to boot! And Dave & Diana make this happen every year without a hitch.

Those PAS members who have not yet attended one of the Stevens’ patented Gatherings have certainly missed-out on a fun, enjoyable and memorable weekend in beautiful Western Michigan.

Clara & Stu Blair

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Steve, from recollection, your 1702 was in long-term storage and hasn’t been run in a number of years. Before starting, you’ll want to drop the pan to clean-out any accumulated sludge. Bob Sands advised us to run non-detergent oil until our oil changes started to run clean. You may want to consider doing the same, especially if non-detergent was the only oil available when your car was last run. Detergent oil could break loose any accumulated crud inside your engine and damage your valve lifters. We’re inclined to use Brad-Penn high-ZDDP 30W (avoiding multi-viscosity) when we eventually make the switch to detergent oil.

Also, you’ll see your trans & O/D has two drain plugs, the fill hole for the trans is on the driver’s side and the O/D is on the pass side. The trans & O/D will take about 5 quarts to fill. We use a suction gun to fill the trans, O/D and rear-end. They’re $20 at auto parts stores and look like a small T handle bicycle tire pump.

Hope this helps, Stu Blair

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Ed, thank you again for passing along the lead to us. After the few minor sorting-out issues were resolved during & after the ’12 Kalamazoo meet, it’s been a fun, trouble-free tour car.

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Finally, in our old cars, we only use Valvoline non-abrasive grease, the tube says, “GM-Chrysler-European-Japanese vehicles, multi-purpose grease for disk brake wheel bearings steering linkage, chassis, suspension, U-joints.” Was advised some time ago to use only non-abrasive grease and most auto parts stores stock this Valvoline product. I agree this proposed expanded lubrication chart is a great idea. Here’s the old Gal “getting lubed.”

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Bob Sands told me not to be in a hurry to run detergent oil in our 1601, which hadn’t been driven since 1952. Since 2011, the pan has been dropped twice, the water jacket was replaced in 2011 and it has been removed once since, both times any oil gunk was flushed-out. Almost 3,000 miles later, and with oil changes every 500 miles, we’re still using NAPA non-detergent 30W with an API service code of SB, so it has plenty of ZDDP in it. Next year, and after 9 or 10 oil changes since 2011, we may switch to either the Indiana Region CCCA 15W40 high ZDDP oil made by DA Lubricants. This is the same oil we’ve used in our Packard and Oldsmobile since the yearly reductions in zinc started about 7 or 8 years ago. Brad-Penn also makes a high ZDDP 30W which we may also consider.

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Most large NAPA stores, if they don’t have GL1 and GL4 in-stock can order and have them the next day.

Our 1601 was in storage for 58 years, and since 2011, we’ve flushed-out the transmission, O/D and rear-end a half dozen times.

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Hi Bill,

One more.

Thanks – Stu Blair

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During 2012’s PAS Nat’l in Kalamazoo, Ed and Austin rode along with Clara and me in our 1601’s first trip out or sorting-out & shake-down cruise.

Austin proved himself to be the most capable of Indy-type pit crew chiefs. During the week of tours, we had a flat tire, fouled spark plugs and a fried coil, and Austin helped-out greatly during each pit stop.

Uncle Ed should designate nephew Austin as an Official Certified PAS mechanic, he’s a great kid, too.

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There used to be a historical marker above the street number over the front main entrance door which read something like “Pierce-Arrow Famous Quality Car Made Here 1901-1938, Buffalo Automobile Dealers Association 1959.”

In the above photo with Oivind and two others, you can sort of see the less weather-stained rectangular area where it was located.

Does anyone know what happened to it?

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One of many additional photos from dealer’s web page.

Dealer notes 29k miles on the clock.

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Here is a photo and link to the dealer’s web-site.

Problem with all of these great cars for sale is that few if any come with a garage!

http://www.briansautocenter.com/used/Pierce/1928-Pierce-Arrow-edc21dcd7f00000100182d865ca6f3e4.htm

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Yes, Kerstin, What a GREAT TV news story and good luck with your goal! If you’re in the vicinity of Cincinnati, you’re more than welcome to drive our 1601 and get another Duesenberg, er, I mean Pierce-Arrow closer to achieving your record!

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Here’s a photo of the front fender re-spray in lacquer. Both front fenders were re-painted in Oregon in 2010, however, this past August, we had some paint lifting over some marginally prepped bodywork – now’s a great time to get it fixed.

Happy Holidays to Everyone

Stu & Clara Blair, Cincinnati, O.

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Eleanor, our 1601, is in the shop this month for new brakes, driver’s side front fender paint and a new coil. Interestingly, all the brake shoes on the car had the same red 12/11/35 date-stamp and we can only guess they were the original brakes on the car with 33k miles now on the clock – asbestos linings and everything!

The original brake shoes were re-lined by

Brake Materials and Parts, Inc.

800 Sherman Blvd.

Ft. Wayne, IN 46808

(260) 426-3331, contact Scott Bethke

and this Co. was referred to us by Ft. Wayne Clutch

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Old Man Winter’s “novelty”” has come and gone in Cincinnati.

And the Springtime rains needed to wash all of the road salt away cannot come soon enough…

“

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Hi Steve,

In addition to PAS member Dave Murray, PAS member John Cislak is an excellent source of Pierce engine parts, carburetor parts, fuel lines and miscellaneous mechanical, driveline and trim parts. Check-out his Pierce Parts Store on eBay – or – call him for anything you may be missing or need rebuilt.

Good luck with your project – Stu Blair

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Sold for $34,500 this evening.

Televised live on the Velocity channel.

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A HUGE thank you to Dave and Diana for hosting this great event for the tenth year in a row!

A swell time was truly had by all, the boat ride with lunch on Lake Michigan was fun, as were the scenic tours and visits to car collections, the Peerless Club members sang their Company song at the Saturday night dinner and the weather cooperated 100%.

Round trip from Cincinnati, and with two full days of tours included, our 1601 covered 900+ miles and ran flawlessly which for us was the “icing on the cake” for this really enjoyable three day meet.

Those PAS members who couldn’t attend this year’s G-A-G really missed-out on a great get together, why not plan ahead and mark your calendars today for next year’s G-A-G August 22-24, 2014.

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And one more for today’s July 4th parade. Here’s Eleanor two years later in June, 2012, now living in Cincinnati, O., and all shined-up and in line to receive her Preservation Award at the Ault Park Concours. Later that same month, the old gal made the trip up to Kalamazoo, Mich. to attend the PAS Nat’l., and with all the tours more than 800 miles driven round trip. Next month, she’s looking forward to repeating that same journey for August’s Gathering at Gilmore.

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