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In 1949, Dick and Bob Pierson broke with traditional roadster trends and decided to build a coupe. Edelbrock employee, Bobby Meeks, built the engine, and Meeks, with the aluminum-welding prowess of veteran Tom Backy, chopped the body to the max. They cut the top nine inches and raked the windshield back 50-degrees. When they were done, the driver’s helmet brushed the top of the fabric roof insert! As the story goes, the red, white, and blue paint job came about because a couple of Europeans were running a Jag at Bonneville at 138mph, and a Mercedes at 139, and smugly thought they would wrest the record from the Americans. Bob and Dick rose to the challenge, built their coupe and turned in a 142.98 mph run at the 1950 El Mirage Russetta meet. At the second Bonneville meet in 1950, it turned in a 150+ mph run. When the brothers sold the coupe in 1953, the new owner pushed the speed up to 165.23. Tom Cobb raced the car to a speed of 198.86 in 1956. But the old salt flat warrior wasn’t done. In 1991, Tom Bryant set the coupe’s all time record (with a small block Chevy V-8) at 227.33! Bruce Meyer then purchased the coupe and had Pete Chapouris’ So-Cal Speed Shop restore the car to its debut trim. With Bob and Dick to oversee, and the skills of none other than Bobby Meeks to rebuild the engine to its original specs, the little coupe now resides at the Peterson Museum and is brought out for special events.
As with the So-Cal Coupe, the Pierson Bros. Coupe image has details galore. This is a meaty, solid chunk of die cast metal and its details are a feast for collector’s eyes. Under the hinged, two-section hood, the details on the 1:18 scale, Ford 267cid, 59A Flathead V-8 are exquisite, with some of the lines and hoses extending into the interior. A really neat engine-compartment feature is the fabulous detailing of the radiator core. Looking at the interior details through the rear-hinged doors that open with working handles(!), one can imagine that he or she is a driver, looking around to get familiar with the layout—they’re that good. The trunk lid hinges up (and has a prop) to reveal the interior details from there. The simulated fabric insert lifts off to provide a bird’s eye look at the interior. The underside is covered in a full, aluminum belly pan. The cowl-mounted air vent also opens. All of the exterior trim parts are separate items. The chromed steering members are fully articulated. There’s a full suspension but, like the 1:1 coupe, it hasn’t got too much play. The wheels, white-lettered tires, and hubcaps look as authentic as the ones on the 1:1 coupe. Along with the image is the usual informative booklet that GMP puts in with its high-end 1:18ths. It contains technical specs and a history of the development of the coupe. In this particular case, there’s also an offer for a limited edition, 14” x 35”, lithograph of the coupe, autographed by the Pierson Brothers.
GMP has redefined what one expects from a 1:18 image. You not only get a larger image, but it bristles with oodles of detail. Part of this is due to the efforts of Raffi Minasian, once an engineer for FM in its heyday, who often consults with GMP owner Tom Long. Kudos to GMP for listening to its engineers, for they’re the folks who provide the details for us to drool over. The Pierson Bros. Coupe makes a great mate to the image of the So-Cal Coupe.
(10/09/2004)
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