1933 studebaker St. regis- update king pins + rear axle

Okay, the bare frame is off to the powder coater. Radiator, shocks, and steering box are all headed out to specialty rebuild shops. The plan is to finish stripping the shell down to bare metal (about half way done now), which means pulling all the wood out and making templates of what is still salvageable. Once that is done, I will tack weld the door shells in place to establish the gaps, brace the body with some 1" stock on the inside and start repair of all the crusty stuff on the bottom edges of the shell. A lot of that is out of my skill set, but I have a friend that is quite capable and I am buying a rotisserie to make it all happen. Now, I am turning my attention to the front and rear axles. For the front, I will sandblast and powder coat the beam. I can press out the king pin and bearings but I was wondering where I could find replacements. Anybody out there know? I am hoping that they are of a standard size and that I can order them from Speedway or some other provider. As far as the rear axle goes, I FINALLY got the rear drums off. Now the challenge will be to strip the axle down and see if it needs anything done to it. Anybody got any expertise, advise, or suggestions on this? The leaf springs and shackles, both front and rear look good. I am thinking of giving them a blast in the cabinet, a respray and calling that done. Thoughts? As always, thanks! Scott

The kingpin part number is 179328, used on 1933 Model 56, 73 (Commander), and 82 (President), as well as on 1934 B (Commander) and C (President). These are the Commander and President models with small engines. The four bushings were p/n 172902, probably replaceable with standard bronze bushing stock from MSC Direct or McMaster-Carr, cut to length and cross drilled for lubrication access. A shop that services springs and axles for large trucks can push the new bushings in and ream them to size to fit the king pins (you may not need new ones), install the pins, then put in new 1-1/8" plugs and tap them tight with a brass drift. Be sure to discuss this in detail with the shop - I didn't and they used a cold chisel to upset about a dozen places on the axle above each plug to hold them in place. These are like engine block plugs, and they only seal if you set them correctly. Given that the plugs are 1-1/8" diameter, I'll guess that the pins are 3/4" o.d. and the bushings 3/4" i.d. x 1" o.d., but you'll need to measure the old ones.

The thrust bearings are p/n 165010, which were used across the Studebaker line for many years, still available at Studebaker International and other vendors for about $13-14 each.

I have a note from someone that says the a jeep king pin kit has all the parts you need. NAPA 262-1353.

You have to shorten the king pins but it has the correct bushings and the plugs ,trust bearing etc..

I am not sure of this but ask your NAPA store to see if you can look at these.

Robert Kapteyn

Gary and Robert, thanks to you both. I will check out both sources and post my results and experience on the forum. Thanks again! Scott

Robert, Thanks again! The NAPA 262-1353 was indeed a good fit. The kingpin and the bushings are the right size. I just needed the machine shop to notch a "flat" in the kingpin so the locking bolt would hold correctly. Other than that, it will work just fine. Mucho thanks! Scott

I restored my 33 Rockne Model 10; when I disassembled the rear suspension and axle I media blasted all the brake parts, used Emory cloth on the inside of the drums and used a industrial wire brush mounted on a grinder to strip the springs, and differential. All I did was prime and paint everything, then repacked the axle bearings and put everything back together. When you take the brake plates off the rear axle pay attention to which shims go on each side.