1930, car, B, 5 Passenger Sedan (Saloon)

Type: car • Year: 1930 • Model: B

Vehicle Type	car
Model Year	1930
Model	B
Cylinders	8
Condition	older restoration
Serial Number	2502917
Motor Number	203145
Body Code	139-S-938
Body Style	5 Passenger Sedan (Saloon)
Original Owner	Unknown to mid-'50s, and then Olson to Rognlie Family in ~1960 until 2022.
Comment

Vehicle History	My great-grandfather’s cousin, Spencer, bought this Model B at a St. Paul police auction in the mid-’50s. Allegedly, it was involved in booze transportation from Chicago to the Twin Cities, during the Prohibition-era, and was disabled by gunfire and impounded for some years (no family relation to those in this case!). The condition of the driver and/or occupants is unknown, though an abundance of shotgun pellets across and in the driver’s and passenger’s seats suggest an equivalent, and apparent incapacitation. Missing seat upholstery and carpeting in the front indicate that not only the car suffered damage… The passenger’s window has an embedded pellet, causing a crack and de-lamination. This window is the original Duplate Safety Glass from Pierce-Arrow production, while the other panes are replacements of the Shat-R-Proof marque (~1940s). Removal of the back seat revealed more broken glass, and there are no less than 6, .45 caliber grazes, dents, and holes in the fabric roof, radiator, A- and C-pillars on the driver’s-side, and below the rear window (many patched before a later paint job.) My great-grandfather, Carl, overhauled the Pierce’s seized Straight-8, likely did the bodywork, and painted the car black for his cousin. The non-stock bumpers suggest the originals may have been too damaged, or removed to aid in its use as a “push-car” for Spencer (who was also a mechanic). Chipped black paint on the body reveals a “blue-hour” color underneath, which was likely the factory original, and under the red painted rims there is a blue/black base on the wood artillery spokes with white pin-striping. The car came into the Rognlie family in about 1960, after the death of Spencer. His widow, Margaretha, gifted the car to her younger brother, Monrad. Since that time, the Rognlie family members gave it lighter duty in drives to threshing bees, through parades, and similar gatherings before its 40+year storage. The sedan has seen additional maintenance and mechanical address to the engine and chassis, along with rewiring, and has been driven over 500 mi since its recommission.

Vehicle History

My great-grandfather’s cousin, Spencer, bought this Model B at a St. Paul police auction in the mid-’50s. Allegedly, it was involved in booze transportation from Chicago to the Twin Cities, during the Prohibition-era, and was disabled by gunfire and impounded for some years (no family relation to those in this case!). The condition of the driver and/or occupants is unknown, though an abundance of shotgun pellets across and in the driver’s and passenger’s seats suggest an equivalent, and apparent incapacitation. Missing seat upholstery and carpeting in the front indicate that not only the car suffered damage…

The passenger’s window has an embedded pellet, causing a crack and de-lamination. This window is the original Duplate Safety Glass from Pierce-Arrow production, while the other panes are replacements of the Shat-R-Proof marque (~1940s). Removal of the back seat revealed more broken glass, and there are no less than 6, .45 caliber grazes, dents, and holes in the fabric roof, radiator, A- and C-pillars on the driver’s-side, and below the rear window (many patched before a later paint job.)

My great-grandfather, Carl, overhauled the Pierce’s seized Straight-8, likely did the bodywork, and painted the car black for his cousin. The non-stock bumpers suggest the originals may have been too damaged, or removed to aid in its use as a “push-car” for Spencer (who was also a mechanic). Chipped black paint on the body reveals a “blue-hour” color underneath, which was likely the factory original, and under the red painted rims there is a blue/black base on the wood artillery spokes with white pin-striping.

The car came into the Rognlie family in about 1960, after the death of Spencer. His widow, Margaretha, gifted the car to her younger brother, Monrad. Since that time, the Rognlie family members gave it lighter duty in drives to threshing bees, through parades, and similar gatherings before its 40+year storage.

The sedan has seen additional maintenance and mechanical address to the engine and chassis, along with rewiring, and has been driven over 500 mi since its recommission.