Dennis Pierce

Red Pierce's 1957 Oldsmobile

Joe Hurst's 1958 Chevrolet Impala had lifts installed by Red in the 1960s.

A Buick Riviera featuring lifts by Red, paint by Joe Andersen's Custom Shop and chrome by Mr. M's. Photo provided by Howard Gribble.

Red installed hydraullic lifts on Pete Limpert's 1936 Ford tudor sedan around 1966/1967. A mid 1930s car laying on the ground was almost unheard of at this point.

Red installed Hydraulic lifts on Howard Gribble's 1967 Chevrolet Impala in 1967.

Mike Smith's 1962 Chevrolet Impala received lifts by Red around 1967.

The display sign from Mike Smith's 1962 Chevrolet Impala.

Dennis "Red" Pierce of the South Bay area was a welder by trade in the early 1960s. As guys like Bear started making money installing hydraulics on cars, Red thought he would get in on some of the lift business. Dennis operated only as "Red". Red wasn't his real name, it was a nickname that came from the extreme color on his hair. Red did a lot of lifts, and he did his best when he had a small shop in Downey near Imperial Highway and Aviation Blvds., right across the street from North American Aviation. He did mostly old cars, and installed lifts on a lot of cars from the South Bay area. In 1967, Howard Gribble had Red install lifts on his 1967 Chevrolet Impala. By then, the shop was located near LAX, in Hawthorne or Inglewood. Howard can't remember Red's shop having a sign or even a business name when he did this work. Red had it going on for a while until the Highway Patrol ran him out of business. They said it was illegal to put lifts on cars on the street, and anytime a car would leave Red's shop with lifts the Highway Patrol would impound it.

In 1972 Red was tragically killed by some friends that overdosed him.

Red's Cars

Red Pierce's 1957 Oldsmobile

Cars Featuring Hydraulics by Red

Pete Limpert's 1936 Ford Tudor Sedan
Joe Hurst's 1958 Chevrolet Impala
Mike Smith's 1962 Chevrolet Impala