To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVE at RM Sothebys' The Guyton
Collection event, 4 - 5 May 2019.
Estimate:
$60,000 - $80,000
- An extremely rare late-production Pierce-Arrow
- Reportedly the sole survivor of seven built in 1937
- Known ownership history since the 1950s
- Older restoration, ideal for tours and CARavans
- Classic Car Club of America (CCCA) Full Classic
Please note that this lot is titled as a 1938.
The late Pierce-Arrow is a rare bird, indeed, as the company's
staunch refusal to compromise its high standards in the face of the
Depression proved its undoing. Nineteen thirty-seven was the final
full year that the Pierce would be produced, and the number of cars
that left Buffalo was minuscule. Historians estimate it at fewer
than 200 cars, of which roughly 25 to 30 remain in existence
worldwide.
The Guyton Collection's is the sole survivor of a believed seven
coupes built on the Pierce-Arrow Eight chassis in 1937, and by body
number is believed to have been the first example built. At one
point used to carry parts in a junkyard, it was discovered behind a
barn in Mansfield, Ohio, by Bill Weikert, who sold it to his fellow
Pierce-Arrow Society member, Lanny Sims, in 1976. Mr. Sims
authentically restored the car to its original condition over a
six-year period, after which it was the subject of a cover feature
in The Arrow (1984, Issue 2). It was also judged Best in Class at
the Pierce-Arrow Society National Meet in 1988.
In 2001, Mr. Sims sold the Pierce to William Crumrine. Mr. Crumrine
sorted the car mechanically and enjoyed it in CCCA events,
including in CARavans in Northern California (2002), the Finger
Lakes (2003), and Arizona (2007), before selling it to Mr. Guyton
in 2012. Mr. Guyton has maintained the car's older restoration in
his collection, and aside from paint checking around the edges of
the doors, it remains very presentable, with a fine cloth interior
and beautiful wood-grained dashboard.
Offered with a selection of spare parts, a history file, including
correspondence and receipts, and an original 1937 Pierce-Arrow
brochure, this would be among the rarest automobiles on its next
CARavan - a point of pride for the true Pierce-Arrow connoisseur.To
view this car and others currently consigned to this auction,
please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/gc19.