In many ways, this Model 36 Seven-Passenger Touring from 1928 represents the ultimate, “pure” Pierce-Arrow, as it was among the final cars produced by the original company before its ill-fated merger with Studebaker.

Records of Pierce-Arrow Society historian Bernard Weis indicate that the car was originally delivered to a wealthy family in New Jersey who drove it for two years and then put it into storage for another 14. In 1944, it was sold to a Dr. Miller, passing in 1945 to William Wann, a student at the Princeton Theological Seminary. Following his graduation, Reverend Wann drove his Pierce-Arrow to California, and it remained in his ownership until 1973, along the way covering some 117,000 reliable miles.

In 1973, the car was sold by bid to George Wheeler, of San Diego, and it was restored in his ownership to very professional, show-quality standards. It remained in Mr. Wheeler’s good care until 1998 and was then purchased by the noted Pierce-Arrow collector Patrick Craig, of Stockton, California, who embarked upon his own comprehensive body-off restoration in order for the Model 36 to meet his exceptionally high standards.

The car was completed in 2002 and has been exceedingly well maintained since, remaining in outstanding cosmetic condition as one of the finest automobiles in its present owners’ collection. The authentic color combination of Chickle with black fenders and Seal Brown belting and moldings contrasts beautifully to a proper and correct black folding top, black leather interior, and proper side curtains, which Mr. and Mrs. Kughn’s shop remade to original patterns. Painted wooden artillery wheels and a correct taillight both add their own special touches to a car that is still virtually show-ready in every important, well-detailed respect. Appropriately, the car was shown at the Stan Hywet Concours d’Elegance in 2014.

Fresh from a display at the Pierce-Arrow Museum in Hickory Corners, Michigan, this is a remarkably impressive and beautifully restored car from the last of its manufacturer’s golden days.