May 21 (edited)

Identify Late Peerless

Any idea what this is? Dash, fenders hood look like a Master or Custom Eight but the radiator doesn't have the emblem. Once we figured out what it is I'll create a marketplace item for it.

1 / 6

May 21, 2026

Post your reply…

Replies (11)

· May 21

I think I know which car it is. It's definitely a "B" or "C" Peerless.
....An ID plate says 13K 1016, maybe, suggesting it's a B, Master 8
....the PH # is South Carolina
....1930, 31 or 32
....it may be a car Ed Massey from Rock Hill, SC had for sale on the AACA Forums 15 years ago

(edited)

· May 21

@Peerless28 So a Master or Custom? Is the wheelbase the only way to tell the difference?

· May 21

@alsancle If that one plate is the Eng, #, and it's 1016, it falls within the 13K-101 to 13K-1375 of the Master. To be a Custom, it'd have to be higher than 13K-3000. An accurate W.B. figure would help.( Too bad they didn't find the Car Serial # Plate on the front, r.s. door sill.)

(edited)

· May 22

This car is, I believe, one I saw for sale a long time ago. Somewhere I saw some color pictures of a semi-intact Peerless Sedan in an open-sided barn. Owner had primed & painted a lot....but had people sneaking in and stealing parts. He was in poor health, too. I told a few people about it but no one was super-interested in a car not running. Probably the same car.

A gold mine for someone restoring a '31 Peerless. Sorry to see it in this condition. Are those parts 80% of a car...............or 40%? I don't know.

(edited)

· May 22

@Peerless28 Jeff, always the issue with a dissassembled car. Who knows what unobtainable part is no longer with it?

· May 23

@alsancle Every piece of the car ....except for tires & spark plugs....spread out on the lawn and in the shed is an unobtanium part. From a Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky designed Full Classic.

(edited)

· May 23

@Peerless28 Jeff, it needs to go to one of the few guys that might be restoring a Master or Custom.

· May 22

I have added this to the marketplace with our tenative identification. If we get more info I'll update it.

https://peerlesssociety.com/marketplace/preview/5821543

· May 22

A fellow on the AACA Forums(who owns a Master 8) asked Gerald, the seller, about the wheelbase, and it's 125", making it a Master Eight/Model B. There were 1,219 built and my records say ~13 still in existence.

Most people want a shiny, drivable collectible car...this isn't one...most don't know what a Peerless is...so would go for a make that's more familiar...like a Packard(5,000 still around) or some GM(over 424 Million built so not rare). Interesting to visualize the circumstances that could lead to this Condition No. 5 or No. 6 Peerless to be restored. Someone would need to realize that the 3 Thirties Peerless models, Standard, Master & Custom, were the swan song of an important marque. Maybe a challenge to restoration shops "Restore the Unrestorable!" or even a reality show on TV. If an important person was the original owner -- or Hoover or Roosevelt campaigned in it -- or British royalty was chauffered around in it.

These 30s Peerless survive in limited numbers, so pardon me if I roll my eyes when someone goes on about how they're spending 6 figures on a Plymouth or GM because of how rare they are. Here's my latest count on the known Peerless automobiles in existence for these models -- all significant motorcars:

Standard 8................7
Master 8...................13
Custom 8...................7
(we won't even mention the coachbuilt Thirties Peerless cars, they're so rare)

(edited)

· May 23

Here is what a seller posted when I first heard of this car. It was on AACA Buy/Sell 15 years ago. Model year off by 3 to 5 years. Having talked to the owners by phone, it sounds like it was dismantled for restoration and lots of hours were put into priming sheet metal and painting chassis parts.

ad by ktrunout: "1927 Peerless For Sale. Car has suiside doors,straight 8 engine"

(edited)

1 / 4

· Jun 7

Here's a factory photo of a 1930 Peerless Master Eight: