1936 Pierce-Arrow Model 1245 Convertible With Curtiss Aerocar Trailer!
As impressive as modern RVs are, I can’t help but feel that this unique pair would make for the most interesting and impressive way of traveling the country. This 1936 Pierce-Arrow 1245 Convertible Coupe is an exquisite machine, with V12 power and the kind of opulence you don’t find in any modern vehicle. And while it might not look terribly luxurious, the Curtiss Aerocar was a luxury item that few had the joy of owning. To make things more incredible, this pair have been together pretty much since new, with the Pierce-Arrow having been modified specifically to tow the Aerocar. They both were purchased new by the family that is now offering them up for sale at the Quail Lodge this August. You can find more information about the auction and bid here on Bonhams.
I’m not sure which one I find more impressive. The Pierce-Arrow is a magnificent automobile from a bygone era. In 1982, after a 7 year-long restoration, it was finished just in time for the original owner’s son’s birthday celebration. While it presents well enough, it’s definitely starting to show its age. After being a part of the same family for so long, it’s a bit surprising that they are selling it, but at least they are offering it with the Aerocar. This might be the only Pierce-Arrow with a 5th wheel hitch mounted where the rumble seat used to be. Someone actually gave this setup a lot of thought, as they used an aircraft wheel and tire as the 5th wheel hitch so that the tire could act as a dampener to minimize vibrations in the car.
Unfortunately, Aerocar has spent the past year and a half outside. Both it and the car had been stored in barns on the family farm, but for some reason, the camper was moved outside. While I’m sure it was already needing a restoration, it’s an 87-year-old camper that’s been in a barn after all, but the elements have really taken their toll on the cloth roof. It’s going to need to be restored inside and out but is actually better than a lot of the campers we see that are far newer. I’m honestly struck by how well-appointed this trailer actually is for 1936. Obviously, it’s nothing like modern campers, but this thing would have been the bee’s knees in the late ’30s.
The kitchen area features a Coleman 4 burner gas cooktop, what appears to be a double oven, an ice box (refrigerator?), and plenty of cabinet space. There’s also a shower, but interestingly enough, it’s in the middle of the kitchen area, but I guess it just makes cooking breakfast and getting cleaned up for a day of adventure a quicker task (just be careful cooking bacon). You’ll also find separate rooms at each end of the trailer, presumably both can act as sleeping areas.
This could be one of the more interesting items coming up for auction at this year’s automotive week in Monterey, California. The Piecer-Arrow certainly isn’t out of place there, but typically you’ll only find pristine items at events like the Quail. That should tell you just how interesting and significant this pair is. There aren’t many of these Aerocars, the last one I could find that sold went for over $200k, but it was also in restored condition and included a tow truck. So, it will be interesting to see what this pair goes for!
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Comments
Very very cool. The black and white photo of the car/trailer with the original owners makes this story 80% more interesting. I loathe interesting cars for sale that have nothing more than three words that say “car for sale”.
Restoring the trailer will destroy its monetary and historical value. All the “restored” classic trailers I’ve seen, now contain brushed stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, modern floor/wall surfaces, and a tv screen in every room. If you don’t believe me, then Google “restored airstream” and prepare to vomit.
TomP,
Restoring a trailer [not modernizing it] means keeping it as original as possible, while addressing any glaring safety issues. I’ve enjoyed seeing many well-restored vintage RVs, campers and trailers over the years.
Yes, there are places that strip out the entire interiors [mostly from Airstreams because the way they were constructed, it’s easy to gut ’em], but there are also many shops that will restore your old RV or travel trailer too.
A great place to see many original and/or restored examples is the RV Hall of Fame Museum in Elkhart, Indiana, it can be seen from the Indiana Toll Road {I-90]. If you enjoy seeing old campers, trailers and RVs, do plan on staying at least a half-day there.
Sounds like a good plan if you are going to restore a camper to visit this museum. Will include this in my plans, Thank You for the info.
12cyl and less than 200hp pulling that 4000lb behemoth behind you? Make sure you carry water bags because she’s sure to overheat every 20miles. I can’t imagine the gas hookup in that 5th wheel. Its sure to surprise the crap out of the KOA campground mgr pulling in with this train. Pierce Arrow just fine alone. Park that trailer and use it as a guest house for the bad grandkids.
Love Bonhams… jv – smash palace
It’s been doing that for 80 years.
One thing about today’s generation, family heirlooms and history are only as good as the highest bidder. Anything from family photos to whatever is all up for grabs…..sad. On the flipside this combo is fantastic. The car insanely cool the camper amazing. Just think of the driving skill it took to move this combo along ions ago. I wonder how many trips these guys took and how many clutches Mr. Pierce had in his lifetime while on duty. Imagine, honey I have everything ready lets head up to Tahoe for a week??? As a kid my parents towed a travel trailer with a 67 Continental. The trailer long gone. I remember it was a Terry. The car still resides with me.
In the early 1970’s my family had a 28 foot 1968 Scamper trailer, pulled by a seafoam green1972 Ford LTD station wagon with the sideways pop-up seats in the back. My family of 8 saw alot of America that way; very good memories and a great education on the world around us.
I’m thinkin the new owners won’t be RVing any highways with more than very short 2% grade. But where they do go they’ll be a sensation IMO. But you know, Some RV parks won’t allow vehicles past a specified year to stay in the park. It’ll be interesting to watch and see-I’d pay good money to see what happens in the office when they arrive:
“It’s WHAT KIND of car?!?!”
“A Pierce Arrow..”
“Oh, you mean its a Pace Arrow MOTORHOME! That’s no problem. And you say you have a trailer? What kind? “An Aerocar.”
“Oh you mean an Airstream! No problem. That’s quite a long combination but I think we can accommodate you..space number 55 is our longest pull through! Thank you for staying with Camp Car Clueless RV Park!”
Not one to be rude, the new owners quietly smile and walk back to the car.
And as they roll by the office the nighttime managers mouth flys open but the only sound is something between a gargle and someone choking…
Nevada my friend,
Your comment cracks me up! Thanks for describing the problems with clueless camp managers.
30 years ago I had a 1954 Dodge 1 ton pickup truck, with a Hemi V8. It had a vintage Holiday slide-in camper module that I modernized inside [A/C, full bathroom, etc.] Outside the truck and camper looked great, I used to take it to car shows out of state & stay in it the night before the show, sometimes on the show grounds.
I learned early on that if a campground wanted to know what I was driving when booking a site in advance, I described a $100,000 mega cruiser, and on arrival with the little Dodge, I simply said I decided to leave the big one at home when the family didn’t want to come along. Since the Dodge looked good, they always let me stay.
A wonderful campground manager running a KOA in Kentucky [Hi Bennie!] once told me why they restricted older vehicles & trailers. As they tended to be fairly cheap to buy, a large percentage of older motorhome & trailer owners were of lower income status. He said that many of them tended to be rowdy at night [alcohol was a common factor], and left the sites littered with trash. He also said that even though they had a 2 week limit, “those type” of campers would sometimes refuse to leave, forcing him to call law enforcement.
He also said that vehicles like mine, obviously in great condition and cared for, were always allowed to stay the night. His attorneys said he had to set an age limit and not a restriction due to appearance, to keep from getting sued. It was easier to give an exception to a nice vehicle, rather than tell someone their piece of S**t was not allowed, when in another space there might be an older vehicle in nicer condition.
price/utility – not for the av man/family.
1st action? a glass or alloy roof.
Let the Bonhamites @ it I say~
Love the car…. my friend used to race his 1919 PA in the Great American Race (all 12 cylinders and 2 carbs)… it’s a great race
This pair needs to be lovingly restored to original then parked in a museum. I didn’t win the Mega Millions last night, so I won’t be doing it…
I have to agree, but the trailers you are talking about are not restored. I don’t really know what to call it, maybe re-imagined, what it could have been.
I think a historical restoration of the trailer would restore the historical beauty and value it deserves. The pockets needed to complete the restorations on either of these vehicles will be very deep.
This 36 Pierce Arrow is way out of most guys league, but it’s sure fun to look at and admire and drool over. The trailer behind it is pretty much the same deal. What a find!
When I first saw this car and trailer combination, I thought it was something I had seen here in Maryland many years ago. But obviously with the single-family history of this combination, it’s not the same vehicle I saw.
In 1968, while still in high school, my best friend and I saw a classified ad in the “Antique Cars for sale” section of the Washington Post. The ad was for an auction of several 1930s cars, including a Packard 12. Since we were both nuts about Packards we wanted to go see the auction.
The location was a mansion at 3911 Bradley Lane, between Connecticut Ave and Wisconsin Ave, in the expensive area of Chevy Chase, MD, just north of the DC line. This large [10 bedrooms & 29 bathrooms!] 1895 brick Georgian mansion was in a neglected state, the yard very overgrown, and the cars, all out behind the house, were in poor condition as well. We had driven past the house multiple times, and always wondered why it was in such poor condition. Of course today the house is fully restored and worth in excess of $5 million.
So mostly out of curiosity, we went to see what was being auctioned off. In addition to a 1930s Rolls-Royce Phantom II limousine and the 1937 Packard 12 sedan, both parked in a falling-down carriage house, there, under old canvas tarps in the back yard, were a 1929 Cord coupe, a 1936 Cord sedan, an unrestored 1936 Pierce-Arrow 1245 convertible coupe, and behind it was a Curtiss Aerocar [or possibly a Pierce-Arrow camper] trailer. It was evident the trailer was pulled by the Pierce-Arrow. I’m sure there were more cars under tarp remnants, but after 55 years I no longer remember those cars, as we had no interest in them.
So now you can understand how I thought this car had to be the same one from 1966. We stayed for the auction, the Rolls-Royce was the big seller for about $1,500, the Packard was about $750, and I think the Curtiss trailer went for about $100. As high school juniors with no money to spend, of course we went home without buying anything!
The car is exceptional. The trailer sadly has had so much of the veneer separate. Way past my skill level. It is such an awesome trailer and the wheels rock. I hope it gets saved.
This has to be one of the most interesting real “Barn Finds” that has been on the website. Beautiful car and wonderful trailer with a fascinating story. Hopefully the trailer was just pulled out of the barn for the photo.
I sure would like to know the year of the newspaper in the trunk, and the stories in it.
It’s out of my reach and way out of any restoration ideas I might have, but still a top 10 post.
There’s a guy from the Great Lakes region who had one of these and he had a custom tractor unit made from an IH D-15 bus chassis. The owner loved camping and he would haul friends and business associates around the region. His driver had accomodations in the back seat of the truck unit. Of course, as happens with a lot of really cool units, it gets sold off and ends up in the scrap yard. Well, as luck would have it, a guy heard about it and started looking. He found about 85% of the truck and trailer in a scrapyard and quickly loaded it up and hauled it home and gave it a full restoration. The current owner phoned me a few weeks back looking for a set of rings. He had logged over 70K miles on it since the restoration. I once saw a video on YouTube but I haven’t been able to find it since. It showed a detailed tour of the trailer itself. I guess the truck/trailer combo is for sale…
How about that? They’re back up. https://youtu.be/bnethWR4Cj0