A work of art

When Curt Clarida was a kid, he spent his weekends with his brother, Kent, working on cars. Now, the self-proclaimed gearhead makes a habit of taking cars apart and putting them back together. His latest and likely best project, a 1936 Pierce-Arrow, is a rare gem as well as a “restomod” (see accompanying box).

Clarida, a Springfield resident, father, grandfather, former Marine and president of his family business, Arrow Trailer, says that he first noticed the ’36 Arrow at the annual Pierce-Arrow Society meet about 10 years ago in Springfield.

He always loved cars from the ’30s, Clarida says.

“They’re works of art … and I just fell in love.”

So he and his wife, Patricia, starting looking for one.

Clarida, 66, knew how to work on cars from his youth, and he had the experience of restoring a 1967 Austin Healey 3000. He did most of the work himself, save the paint job, the upholstery and a little mechanical help. He later sold the 3000 to another man who “wanted it more than I did,” he says.

The hunt begins

Clarida was ready for another project. But Pierce-Arrow cars are hard to find.

“Everything I found was either restored or so far gone,” Clarida says, “I couldn’t do anything with it.

“Then I found one in Hemmings Motor News (a collector car marketplace), and my wife and I went out to western Colorado to see it.

“There were rats and field mice in it,” he says.

“The tires were flat, windows were broken, the rear bumper was missing, and the trunk was caved in, but I bought it because it was a very complete car – except it didn’t have the original engine.”

Clarida didn’t know until later that not having the original engine was a stumbling block -- parts for these cars are near impossible to find.

“That’s why I street-rodded it. Made a lemon into lemonade,” he continues. “It looks original (now) but has a totally modern interior. It’s very nice to drive.”

Another big reason Clarida modified the Arrow to its current restomod condition was comfort.

“There was a bulkhead from door-to-door,” he says. “If you’re five feet tall, you’d be comfortable – and there’s no place to hook a seat belt. These cars were really narrow – they weren’t as wide as our cars are today.”

A little history

These issues are standard with older cars, which were designed with the technology and standards of their time. The Pierce Arrow, manufactured in Buffalo, New York from 1901 to 1938, were one of the best-selling big cars in the 1910s-'20s, he says.

“They were the first presidential limousines, ordered by Taft in 1909. They were very successful until the stock market crash,” he says.

According to pierce-arrow.org, the Arrow was considered the “world’s safest car” at the time. With six body styles and a choice of a 139-inch or 144-inch wheelbase, customers also could choose between an 8- and 12-cylinder engine. The choice of models and features “set new standards of what a fine car should look like, how it should drive, perform and ride.”

The ’36 in particular was re-engineered to be especially powerful, agile, and a better value in quality and performance than similar models from Cadillac, Packard and Lincoln. Nonetheless, because of the company’s failure to produce vehicles that could sell in a post-market crash economy, Pierce-Arrow was insolvent by 1938 and stopped production.

The ‘restomod’

Since Pierce-Arrow was popular in its time but not profitable (there were only 882 of the 1936 model manufactured), it took Clarida 3 1/2 years to find parts, make parts and finish the restoration process. All with the help of a few professionals, namely Mike Paine, a friend originally from Springfield who now lives in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.

Clarida drove pieces of the dismantled car and located parts to Mount Pleasant for months, spending long days with Paine to work on the car.

“I tried for two years to find a bumper, so he (Paine) made a rear bumper for it. The hardest thing was the front grille… We had to find new brass bushings and we couldn’t find anything, (so) he bought a piece of brass stock and turned 46 brass bushings… (Which was) an original feature of the car.”

Now he enjoys driving it in good weather, making trips to car shows, and winning trophies for owning such a rare and well-restored car. He has so many awards, he says, that he now shows the car as “display” only.

As much fun as he has showing off his ’36 Pierce-Arrow, he doesn’t plan to keep it.

“It occupies a lot of garage space,” he chuckles, and he’s willing to sell it to the right person who is looking for a rare, modified car.

For now, he’s in search of a 1964 two-door Pontiac GTO coupe, which was his first car, as his next project.

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Rev it up

If you’ve got a cool car — muscle, classic or otherwise — let us know. We’re always looking for a nice ride and interesting people to profile.

Box type: Contact editor Erin Orr at erin.orr@sj-r.com (subject line “Cool car”) or 788-1512.

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Restomod vs restoration 

Restoration professionals generally restore and/or modify cars by one of two processes.

Restoration: bringing a classic car back to life with all or mostly original factory parts and repairing existing systems (electrical, suspension, brakes, etc.). The resulting vehicle matches the original condition as authentically as possible.

Restomod: restoration plus modern parts/technology is to create something unique from a classic car. These cars retain the original outward appearance and charm but have modern high-performance parts and creature comforts (air conditioning, automatic seats, upgraded stereo systems, etc.).

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1936 Pierce-Arrow, Model 1601

Engine: 502 Ram Jet with Patriot ceramic coated headers

Transmission: 4L80E with TCI electronic shift kit

Rear Axle: Ford 8.8 inch, 3:70 positraction

Suspension: Air Ride Technologies (dual system – two compressors, two air tanks, and sensors at each wheel location)

Brakes: Tallon Hydraulics Hydraboost with Wilwood disc (four wheels)

Wheels: Budnik 8x17 inches (side mounts were cut down to 5.5-inch width)

Gauges: Classic Instruments

Chrome: Precision Plating, Quincy

Interior: Twin City Upholstery (Street Rod Interiors), Bloomington

Front seats: Cadillac CTS with integral seat belts

Wood graining: Terry Babbs, Mattoon – dash and inside window trim

Special feature: 46 hand-turned grille louvre bushings