Perhaps because Pierce-Arrow did such a fine job of building their own coachwork for the company’s cars, custom coachbuilt Pierces of the Brass Era are extraordinarily rare. The big-horsepower Model 48-B-4 shown here is one of them, and it is even more unusual in both the manufacturer of its body and its design.

F.R. Wood and Son, of Brooklyn, New York, was a shop that survived from 1848 to 1939 but produced mainly bus and truck bodies. Of their work on automobiles, most were formal limousines of exquisite quality but rather stolid design. This Model 48-B-4 Pierce was something different altogether: a fleet five-passenger touring with exquisite, sporty lines, featuring a deep cowl that envelopes the standard Pierce instrument cluster, a low raked windshield, and a modified cast aluminum cowl that allows the beltline to flow in a graceful curve from the cowl back through the doors. It was not only the sole Wood-bodied Pierce-Arrow ever built but also the most beautiful body that Wood built on any chassis!

Indications are that the car was specially built for one of Wood’s commercial clients on the West Coast, as it has numerous features intended for warm weather. The front doors feature special hardware that allows the doors to be set slightly ajar while driving, guiding fresh air into the interior around the passengers’ bodies and legs—the Brass Era’s highly useful version of air conditioning. In addition, the hood sides are removable panels with mesh inserts to keep the engine running cool in hot weather. Unlike many Pierces of the era, the car was fitted with dual side-mounts, and at a time when the company was using largely nickel trim, the brightwork throughout this car, including its custom bumper, is nickel.

The Pierce-Arrow appeared in California in the 1960s and was actively used for many years in club events on the West Coast. Eventually, it made its way to the Northeast in the 1980s, and since that time, it has been part of several long-term private collections. In more recent years, it has reportedly benefitted from considerable mechanical restoration, including a complete engine rebuild with all-new Babbitt bearings and new leather cone clutch in the early 21st century, followed two years later by a refinish in its present handsome dark green and black color scheme. Its status as a truly fit runner and driver for tours is proven by its having taken part in the Pebble Beach Motoring Classic, the famously rigorous driving event that runs between Washington state and Northern California every August.

This is a wonderful Pierce, with one-off bodywork of unusual sportiness that matches its robust and powerful chassis.