Fire Department, North Dakota (acquired from the above in 1939)
Ben Sanders, Spencer, Iowa (acquired from the above in 1950)
Abu Bekr Shrine, Sioux City, Iowa (acquired from the above in 1982)
Irving F. Jensen Jr., Sioux City, Iowa (acquired from the above in 1985)
Dan Gernatt Jr., Collins, New York (acquired from the above in 2000)
Current Owner (acquired from the above in 2015)
Without Reserve
Chassis: 66667
Fascinating, Well-Researched, and Documented Provenance
Striking and Exceptionally Preserved, Concours-Level Restoration
Rare Example of the Legendary and Exclusive Pierce-Arrow Model 66
AACA and Pierce-Arrow Society Award Winner
Accompanied by an Exhaustive 30-Page Historical Document
825 CID T-Head Inline 6-Cylinder Engine
66 HP at 1,800 RPM
4-Speed Selective Shift Manual Gearbox
Rear-Wheel Hydraulic Drum Brakes
Front Beam Axle with Semi-Elliptical Leaf Springs
Rear Live Axle with Three-Quarter Elliptical Leaf Springs
One of the largest, most powerful, and expensive American cars of the Nickel Era, Pierce-Arrow’s incredible Model 66 was essentially without peer; surviving examples are few, and are highly prized by collectors. Their immense 825 cid engines generated prodigious amounts of torque, making them some of the most powerful and versatile vehicles built to date.
Based on a detailed research document on file, this 1913 Pierce-Arrow Model 66-A Touring was reportedly delivered new in Chicago and carries a particularly fascinating history. In 1924, the Pierce-Arrow was acquired by the Minneapolis Fire Department (MFD) and converted that year into a fire truck by the fire department’s own workshops, with the frame lengthened by three feet, a chain-drive conversion, and the original touring body removed to accommodate a 600 gpm water pump. In 1927, it survived a collision with another MFD fire engine and following repairs, remained on duty in various configurations with the MFD. Later, the Pierce-Arrow was sold to a fire department near Fargo, North Dakota, which retained the vehicle until 1950, when it was acquired by Ben Sanders, a radio station owner in Spencer, Iowa. In 1982, it was donated to the Abu Bekr Shrine of Sioux City, Iowa, for parade use.
Sioux City-resident Irving F. Jensen Jr. acquired the Pierce-Arrow from the local Shriners in 1985, in a deal wherein he would restore it and supply it upon request for the Shriners’ parades for the next 10 years. According to correspondence on file, Mr. Jensen began the restoration with the “frame, front fenders, front hub caps, front axle, rear axle and differential, cowl, hood, radiator, serial number plate, and license.” The chassis was straightened and returned to its correct dimensions using a frame section from a 1914 Pierce-Arrow Model 48, the chain-drive system was removed and replaced by a 1914 Model 48 rear axle, and the gearbox was built using the case from a 1917 Pierce-Arrow truck, which Mr. Jensen noted was similar to the 1913 Pierce-Arrow 66-A unit, fitted with correct gears.
According to records maintained by Pierce-Arrow authority Bernard Weis and cited in the aforementioned research document, this Pierce-Arrow was fitted with a later-Model 66-A-4 engine, no. A4-605, when Mr. Jensen acquired the car. Fellow marque enthusiast Rodney Flournoy had acquired an earlier 66-A-2 engine and traded it to Mr. Jensen to install in the car during the restoration. The cylinders were crack tested, and the engine was rebuilt using Mahle pistons and new camshafts. Since the Pierce-Arrow retained its firewall casting number confirming it was originally a seven-passenger touring car, Mr. Jensen commissioned a correct, new-wood-framed aluminum, seven-passenger touring car body from Ray Graber, using an original body as a template and retaining an original cast-aluminum cowl.
Following completion, the Pierce-Arrow debuted at the 1991 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance®. Next, the Pierce-Arrow was awarded the AACA Cup for 1991. At the Pierce-Arrow Society’s 1992 Annual Meet in Minneapolis, the Model 66-A won a National First Prize. It would also return to Pebble Beach in 1998, as part of a Model 66 feature display. In 2000, the Model 66-A was sold by Mr. Jensen to fellow collector Dan Gernatt Jr. of Collins, New York, who enjoyed the mighty Pierce-Arrow on numerous long-distance tours. Enhanced reliability was provided by a modernized ignition and clutch, rear hydraulic brakes, and an electric starter, although the correct, original compressed-air starter remains in place. In 2015, Mr. Gernatt sold the Pierce-Arrow and it continued to receive excellent maintenance and exercise on the 2019 Brass in the Berkshires Tour, running robustly and without issue. An additional tour was undertaken in 2021, and an extensive service entailing a fluid change, engine tuning, chassis lubrication and adjustments was completed in 2023. The exhaustively researched, historical summary by Jonathan Sierakowski, covering the lifetime of this 1913 Pierce-Arrow Model 66-A is included with the car. Blessed with decades of caring ownership and expert reconstruction, this multiple-award-winning Brass Era legend stands ready to continue amazing all onlookers with its grand scale and legendary touring capabilities.
