Walsh
D
iscussionsaboutfirst cars alwaysmake
a fascinatingtopic,but few would
matchLondon-basedAmerican
PierceCarlson.Bestknownas a
collector’stoy specialistwith apassion
for model rai lwa ys –he was afou ndermember of
the London To yand ModelMuseum–Carlson’s
interestin motoringdatesbackto 1948.
“Myfatherwas in the military,” Carlson
recalls,“so we neverhad a hometown.Packards
weremy first love whenI was at high school,but
only one boy in the class had a car. Whilework-
ing for a summerat Boeingin Pasadena,I heard
a storyabouta locallyownedMercedes.I went
over with friendsand, as soonas I saw it, my alle-
gianceswitched.The longbonnetand outside
exhaustwereeverythingthat I lovedaboutthat
era of automobile,but moreso. Therewas astack
of recentbillsand,despiteknowingnothing
aboutthe marque,Iscrapedup enoughsavingsto
buy it. Therewereno booksor magazinesthen,
so the only way you’d learnwas by talkingto old
mechanicssuch as Jo Reinfeld.I later discovered
that my car was first ownedby Al Jolson.”
Carlsondrovethe exotic 1928 Mercedesas
muchas he could,with friendsenlistedto pay for
petrolin exchangefor lifts:“It was quickand,
whenIwas 18, Ihad no hesitationaboutusingthe
supercharger. Mostcars weregoodfor 60mph,
but the S-typewouldcruiseat 80. As you throt-
tled downyou’d get ahugetongueof flameout of
the exhaust,whichlookedspectacularwhen
motoringaroundLos Angelesat night.We went
everywherewith the windscreenfoldedflat, and
one weekendtook it downto Mexico.”
Afteran action-packedthreemonths’owner-
ship,the enginefinallycriedenoughnearSan
Luis Obispo.“A pistonlet go, whichresultedin
a terriblebanging,”says Carlson.“We dropped
the sumpand tookthe rod out beforelimpingit
homeon five cylinders.I eventuallysold the
Mercedesfor whatIpaid,but no car has matched
the excitementsince.”Thatvery S-typeis now
one of the stars of the BlackhawkCollection.
Oncebitten,Carlsonwas alwayson the look-
out for anotherS-type:“Hollywoodwasa key
marketfor Mercedes,so manygreatcars ended
up there.In the springof 1950,I usedto see a
1928 SaoutchikS-typeparkedon the streetsin
LA. It was the dailydriverof a localphotog-
rapherand had a cheapgreenpaintjob thatMick
FROMTHECOCKPIT
COMMENT
December 2015 Classic& SportsCar 33coveredthe beautifulplatedtrim.
I latersaw it for sale at $1500,but I
was brokeas usual.Thesamecar
won at PebbleBeachin 2012.”
A secondS-typepurchasedby
Carlsondidn’t live up to the first: “It
turnedout to be OttoMerz’s 1927
GermanGrandPrix winner, which
was sold to California in 1928. The
supercharger and clutch were miss-
ing and a Buickbackaxle had been
fitted.We fixedit up, but it never
droveas well as the Jolsoncar.”
WhenCarlsoncouldn’t affordan
enticingdiscovery, he’d oftentalk
a mateinto buyingit: “We founda
rareMercedesSS thathad been
used as a glidertug at a smallairport
nearLA.It was rumouredthat
HowardHugheshad onceowned
the car .The bodyhad beenremoved
duringthe war and piledup behinda hangar, so
the scrappersoongobbledit up. I boughtit for
Howard‘Pack’ Packard,a formerfighterpilot
friendwhofittedwickerseatsand usedit to
commuteoverthe mountainsfromthe San
FernandoValley to his officein SantaMonica.”
Carlsondiscoveredthe ultimatebarnfindon a
trip to WashingtonDC in 1961.“It was a genu-
ine SSK,”he explains,“andthe ownerwanted
$5000or an HRG.I’d alreadyboughta 1923
Bentleyand had afamily,with two smallchildren,
so I lost my nerve.I remembersittingin the
driver’sseat and the visionof its gianttachometer
remindsme that I shouldhavetriedharderto
find the money. I sometimesfeel that Ilived my
collectinglife in reverse,and sellingthat first“We founda Mercedes
SSthathadbeenused
as a glidertugat a small
airportnearLosAngeles”
CarlsonwithtreasuredHO-scalestreamlinedlocomotives Onethatgot away:exotic SSKcameto lightin WashingtonCarlsonandpal get readyfor a run in his firstcar, the ex-Al JolsonS-typeMercedeswas like losinga favouriterelative.”
Carlson’s motoringexperiencescouldfill a
bookand, now in his 80s, he still enjoyshis fabu-
lous 1929Packard645. Backin 2008,he drove
this impressiveDietrichSportPhaeton 2000
milesfromEnglandto Italy and back,including
arun downthe Amalficoast,plus avisit to Monte
Cassino.He’s an inspirationto us all.