| Vehicle History | THE FIRE DEPARTMENT 66 (from RM Auction description)
Chassis number 66667, is believed to have been originally delivered in Chicago with a seven-passenger touring body identical to that which is presently fitted. In the early 1920s, it was acquired by the Minneapolis Fire Department, which was attempting to change from a horse-drawn fire department to a motorized one. Looking for the most cost-effective means of doing so, they set about buying a collection of used high-horsepower automobiles and converting them to various fire-fighting uses. The majority of these cars were Pierce-Arrows, of which the department purchased about 40 between 1920 and 1924.
Information on file indicates that chassis number 66667 operated in various forms in Minneapolis, including as a “Chief’s Limousine,” and that it was rebuilt, following a 1927 accident involving another fire truck, with an incorrect radiator and standardized front fenders. It was eventually retired in 1948 and sold to another, smaller Minnesota fire department, where it served until the late 1950s. It was then purchased by KICD, a radio station in Spencer, Iowa, and used as a promotional vehicle.
Ben Saunders, owner of KICD, eventually donated the Pierce-Arrow to the Sioux City Shriners. The Shriners were disappointed to find that the grand car was not in running order, but they found a solution in local enthusiast Irving Jensen. Jensen was allowed to purchase the car on the condition that he would restore it and that the Shriners would be allowed to use it as a parade vehicle for the next 10 years. This they did, and Mr. Jensen set about returning the Model 66 to its original form, including having former Harrah’s Automobile Collection “body man” Ray Graber, of San Diego, recreate the original cast aluminum coachwork from the cowl back. Red’s Metal Shaping built the new front and rear fenders and hood, while Lief Drexler, of Quakertown, Pennsylvania, did the upholstery, top, side curtains, top boot, and rugs.
While in Mr. Jensen’s ownership, the Pierce-Arrow appeared at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance (surely one of very few Shriners parade vehicles to do so!), as well as at an AACA meet in Wisconsin and the Pierce-Arrow Society’s National Meet in Minneapolis. |
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