1918 to 1924 Wheels

Ladies and Gents

I have purchased a 1923 Big Six Touring EK. I am awaiting delivery. I have purchased a service manual and it covers 1918-1924 big and special six. I was told that the steel disc wheels are Budd wheels, what does that mean? The manual covers 6 years, are many parts ( like wheels ) interchangeable? It is a 7 passenger and I would like to add rear trunk and side mount. If anyone has picture of hardware and trunk size information I would appreciate any help. Any pictures of side mount hardware and mount itself appreciated. Has anyone fabricated this? Any clue on color options from factory? Does the big six in this car have aluminum head? Is that a weak point? What is the horsepower and cubic inch (353?). What year wood spoke would fit this? Any detailed pictures of 1923 big six wood spokes appreciated, I am thinking its split rim, any comments on wheel and rim size appreciated. Do big six wood spoke have seven rim clamps and special six have six clamps?

Thanks

Wow, that’s a lot of questions all at once. I’ll try to answer a few for you. First of all, the 1923 Big Six could be ordered with wooden spoke wheels, wire wheels or disc wheels. The wooden spoke wheels were integral to the hub in which the bearings were inserted and the entire assembly then mounted to the axle. The wire wheels and disc wheels mounted to a separate hub that contained the bearings, mounted to the axle and which the wheel was then fastened to. The hubs between the wire and disc wheels were different. You cannot swap between the various wheel types without also finding the corresponding hubs and spare wheel mounting hardware. Keep in mind that the tires were also different, not only in diameter but also in the style of bead used to lock into the rim. So the first important item is to understand what wheel hardware the car has on it currently and probably to stick with that.

The disc wheels were manufactured by the Budd company (still around), who teamed up with Michelin at the time to offer a split rim, all steel wheel that took a straight sidewall tire (the type like we have today). The rear mounted spare had a number of pieces that supported it to the frame, so if your car does not have that, you would need to see if someone may have that hardware for your type of wheel. For the most part, the 1923 and 1924 Special Six and Big Six shared all the same wheels (wood, wire and disc) but there are various exceptions and a couple of other options available on the 1924 models. It may be best for you to receive the car and then reply with some details around the wheel and tires on it. The wood wheels for a 1923 Big Six came with 32” x 4” tires which take a 24” rim (diameter minus twice the width is the rim size). This example is 32-(2x4) = 24. I believe both Big and Special six had six wheel clamps.

Engine was rated at 60HP with an official SAE HP of 36. The 1923 parts manual shows the Big Six came only in Black but there maybe some in colors. Hope this helps answer some questions.

Scott

I see that The Standard Catalog quotes 33 x 4.5 for the EK Big Six and 32 x 4 for the EL Special Six. I wonder if they both use the same rims with different tyres or if the EK has a wider rim. The Big Six is about 400 lb heavier than the Special Six and probably more when it is full with seven passengers vs five for the Special.

Scott and NZ

saw a pic of a big six that may have been 1918 or 19 and it had 7 clamps. I have 2 wood spoke wheels with 6 clamps front without brake drum so I am thinking it has to be from older rear brake only cars, when did front brakes appear on Studebaker. Also the rear spokes on this pic (1918-19) were the type that have a belly or round bulge center of the wood spoke, would like to see wire wheels on a big six.

I have 2 1927 Chevys one 4 door sedan and a touring car, have disc and wood spoke for both. Much smaller.

Sold a Zenith downdraft to a guy in NZ once that was for a 1910 London Taxi Cab.

Ken

7 clamps

Between 1918 and 1921, the parts manual shows some wood wheels with six clamps and some with seven. 1921 is the last year of seven clamps according to the manual. 1925 was the first year of optional four-wheel brakes but it is a complex, poorly designed system that is rare to find.

Scott

so my 2 wood spokes like the one pictured above has to be 22-23-24 front??? the wheel is smaller than a 24 inch diameter.

1922? 1923? 1924?

Hard to say without a part number. Probably off of a 1925 or later as they went to a smaller rim size in 1925. The best you can do is figure out the rim size and then compare to sizes offered on various models in different model years. Even that isn't fool proof as sometimes the same sizes are offered on different models then you find out they don't fix your axle. Trying to identify parts this old and sometimes in the state of decay is not an exact science.

Scott

You might be able to read the tyre size if it is not completely rotted away. The 1925 Standard Six two wheel brake cars have 21" wheels and all cars from then on until about 1929 use 20s.