Aug 11 (edited)
Project Free Bird: 1929 Six-81 Victoria
Get ready to be frustrated.
I'm sure some have heard the intro already, but I'll give the Cole's Notes anyways.
In May of 2025 I won a 1929 Peerless six-81 Victoria in an auction in Southern Alberta. A guy was liquidating part of a collection of 200+ cars, and this car was part of it. It kinda flew under the radar, because it was the oldest by quite a bit. Most vehicles were old trucks or muscle cars.
A buddy of mine from work sent me the link one day, knowing I was looking for something pre-war that was in better running condition than the 1928 Willys Whippet I had, which needed a ton more work. I was turning 40 and wanted a car I could drive while doing work and "tinkering" vs restoring. Young kids, other hobbies - that old tale.
"Have you ever heard of Peerless?" he posed.
"Nope."
"Ok, then buy this."
I did some research and loved the idea. I'm a fan of unique. Stuff nobody else would have at a car show or meet.
"Hell ya, brother. I'm all for it."
Runs and drives well! New tires! Was used on a TV show recently. Had to be decent.
Looked a bit beat up but mostly complete. It seemed to be something right up my alley. A running car that could be restored a bit over time. A car I could take the kids for ice cream, go to some shows and slowly pick away at.
So I put in a bid. $8,000 (Canadian, so $1.87 USD). I was outbid. So I upped it to $13,000 cdn. That was my max for a car like this. Anything more and I'd start to get into the territory of better condition vehicles. But it was a Peerless, after all (which I had only just learned about 5 days prior, talking like an expert historian).
Went to coach my son's baseball, came home and fell asleep on the couch. Woke up to notifications I had won. No actual intention of winning.
Whoops. Ok, so now I own a Peerless.
Let's be honest, it's a badass style. The Victoria body is one of the sexier looks. The body proportions are spot on for a car that size. Doesn't look like an old man car but also has space inside the actual body for kids, unlike a rumble seat coupe combo.
"CLOSE YOUR MOUTH SO YOU DON'T CATCH BUGS!"
So we mosey on over to pick it up a few days later. This is where the warning signs begin.
And yes. It was sight unseen. Lesson number 1 learned.
It was in a bit more prickly condition than expected, but still showed pretty ok.
Wheels were clearly rotten. But everything else was....there? As we tried to get it on the trailer, it struggled a bit. Wouldn't start at first. Battery charger was making a weird clicking, buzzing noise (more on that later). Didn't seem to be knocking. Lots of smoke.
Made it on the trailer and away we went home.
When we got it back to the garage, we rolled it back into the shop and decided to start it up. Same weirdness happening with the battery. None of the gauges worked. Something was up. Later learned after smoking the alternator that the "mechanic" at the auction hooked up the battery in reverse. Awesome.
Decided to take it around the block for a spin. More surprises.
Brake pedal wouldn't return up. Throttle stuck. Brakes we're mush. Coolant started spewing from the core.
Aside from these and the alternator going "pop", seemed not half good. Decided to remove a wheel and the brake shoe disintegrated in front of me. Started to research return policies...
But this is where the fun starts going downhill. Stay tuned for Part Deux.
A little background before I get into the next story. This car was found in a storage unit, in pieces, by a company who sells off older cars in California. Businesses that flip car are always most concerned about quality, right? RIGHT??
I'll let you guess how things go next.
I'm sure some have heard the intro already, but I'll give the Cole's Notes anyways.
In May of 2025 I won a 1929 Peerless six-81 Victoria in an auction in Southern Alberta. A guy was liquidating part of a collection of 200+ cars, and this car was part of it. It kinda flew under the radar, because it was the oldest by quite a bit. Most vehicles were old trucks or muscle cars.
A buddy of mine from work sent me the link one day, knowing I was looking for something pre-war that was in better running condition than the 1928 Willys Whippet I had, which needed a ton more work. I was turning 40 and wanted a car I could drive while doing work and "tinkering" vs restoring. Young kids, other hobbies - that old tale.
"Have you ever heard of Peerless?" he posed.
"Nope."
"Ok, then buy this."
I did some research and loved the idea. I'm a fan of unique. Stuff nobody else would have at a car show or meet.
"Hell ya, brother. I'm all for it."
Runs and drives well! New tires! Was used on a TV show recently. Had to be decent.
Looked a bit beat up but mostly complete. It seemed to be something right up my alley. A running car that could be restored a bit over time. A car I could take the kids for ice cream, go to some shows and slowly pick away at.
So I put in a bid. $8,000 (Canadian, so $1.87 USD). I was outbid. So I upped it to $13,000 cdn. That was my max for a car like this. Anything more and I'd start to get into the territory of better condition vehicles. But it was a Peerless, after all (which I had only just learned about 5 days prior, talking like an expert historian).
Went to coach my son's baseball, came home and fell asleep on the couch. Woke up to notifications I had won. No actual intention of winning.
Whoops. Ok, so now I own a Peerless.
Let's be honest, it's a badass style. The Victoria body is one of the sexier looks. The body proportions are spot on for a car that size. Doesn't look like an old man car but also has space inside the actual body for kids, unlike a rumble seat coupe combo.
"CLOSE YOUR MOUTH SO YOU DON'T CATCH BUGS!"
So we mosey on over to pick it up a few days later. This is where the warning signs begin.
And yes. It was sight unseen. Lesson number 1 learned.
It was in a bit more prickly condition than expected, but still showed pretty ok.
Wheels were clearly rotten. But everything else was....there? As we tried to get it on the trailer, it struggled a bit. Wouldn't start at first. Battery charger was making a weird clicking, buzzing noise (more on that later). Didn't seem to be knocking. Lots of smoke.
Made it on the trailer and away we went home.
When we got it back to the garage, we rolled it back into the shop and decided to start it up. Same weirdness happening with the battery. None of the gauges worked. Something was up. Later learned after smoking the alternator that the "mechanic" at the auction hooked up the battery in reverse. Awesome.
Decided to take it around the block for a spin. More surprises.
Brake pedal wouldn't return up. Throttle stuck. Brakes we're mush. Coolant started spewing from the core.
Aside from these and the alternator going "pop", seemed not half good. Decided to remove a wheel and the brake shoe disintegrated in front of me. Started to research return policies...
But this is where the fun starts going downhill. Stay tuned for Part Deux.
A little background before I get into the next story. This car was found in a storage unit, in pieces, by a company who sells off older cars in California. Businesses that flip car are always most concerned about quality, right? RIGHT??
I'll let you guess how things go next.
