For more than three decades, the Pierce-Arrow Motor Car Company, of Buffalo, New York, was among the most respected and renowned automakers in America. It may be hard to believe for some that the company responsible for producing the grandest of luxury cars began by building bird cages! Starting in household products, the company turned to bicycles and then to automobiles shortly after the turn of the 20th century. Pierce-Arrow had the distinction of being the first automobiles to be used by the White House, during the William Howard Taft administration in 1909.

The company pioneered power braking and was associated with some remarkable early experiments in light alloy construction, streamlining and power steering. Pierce-Arrow installed the first hydraulic tappets. Of course, on the aesthetic side, there was the famous, patented Pierce-Arrow headlight-in-fender treatment, which remained until the end of production. Pierce-Arrow refused to compromise on its luxury product, and it struggled on until it, unfortunately, closed its doors in 1938.

Finished in richly presented gray tones, this sophisticated 1924 Pierce-Arrow Model 33 Limousine has been the beneficiary of a ground-up, body-off full restoration over a three year period. The project was completed in 2008 by Eric Roseneu of Ramona, California, a longtime Pierce-Arrow restorer and senior judge for the Pierce-Arrow marque at the Pebble Beach and St. John’s concours. The upholstery was carefully researched by Mr. Roseneu and the application was then executed by well-known Pebble Beach upholsterer and concours winner, Ken Nemanic.

The body has been completely re-wooded by Doug Chalmers of Paris, California. Modifications to the body have followed the modifications performed during the late 1920s and ‘30s by the Leon Rubay Co. of Cincinnatti. Rubay has been well-covered in Automobile Quarterly; the revisions made by Rubay to the Pierce-Arrow sedans and the Enclosed-Driver Limousine involved lowering the roofline by four-inches. This involved the doors, windows and front windshield and also his redesigning of the rear body area to include elliptically-shaped windows and landau irons. Correct for the late and early 1924 Series 33 automobiles, the wheels were re-spoked and increased to 25-inches diameter. In total, the Rubay design creates a beautiful and refined look for the 1924 Pierce-Arrow limousine.

The Series 33 was powered by the Pierce-Arrow 414.7 cubic inch, inline six-cylinder, T-head engine using four valves per cylinder and two spark plugs per cylinder. The engine has been worked on in a fashion that includes hardened valve seats and aluminum pistons, all carefully balanced with new babbit bearings. It is reported that every bearing, nut and all associated parts have been carefully disassembled, restored and reinstalled.

The car conveys the luxuriousness of this era with window moldings and other interior detail elements featuring opulent wood trim. The front seat is finished in leather, while the roll-up divider window separates the fine cloth passenger accommodations that also include jump seats, handrail and subtle coach lighting. All Model 33s were built on a 138-inch wheelbase chassis. The exterior features include wooden-spoke wheels, rear-mounted spare, moto-meter, cowllights, bright-finished headlights and radiator shell, tilt-out windshield and exterior visor. This stylish automobile is a good running vehicle and is now one-of-a-kind, making it quite desirable for the Pierce-Arrow aficionado and collector.