commander Dave

Me. Beef; Welcome to the world of "old cars". I'm sure all of us would like to know what you consider to be an old car, as it would be a good starting point of reference of your preference. Would it be Pre- War [WW 2] post war or newer? What a great way to spend time with your dad! Some of my best times have been working with buddies to iron out a problem on one of their cars. Great to hear of someone your age getting into antiques. Gofer it! Respectfully Commander Dave ; Care taker of a 1929 Commander Roadster

Hello all, Merry Christmas from Alabama. Just got back from a few circuits of the neighborhood in my 27 roadster. Put battery powered wreaths front and rear of car, seeing a few about. Any body else do anything? Roadster Dave

Spineyhill Yes. I measured from floor to top of tire taking into consideration the hub sticking out a bit .This was taken with the tire on the car with the weight of the car on tire of course, and even looked like the tire needed a little air. There is room for a little error here, but I think it is still fairly realistic. This is all considering I did my math right; my weakest subject in school. Commander Dave

Spiney Hill, Yes, 32 inches, just rechecked before replying. Glad to meet you, see a lot of your stuff here. Commander Dave

Hi, All; Commander Dave here. I have a 1927 Commander sport roadster currently with a 3.31 diff. gear ratio. Not sure if that was stock for the roadster or the 3.07. However at one time in the sdc forum there was a formula to determine the rpm at a certain speed by using the tire height if the final drive ratio is 1 to 1. IF-- I figured it right not to sure about that though with my 3.31 axel the rpm at 50 mph would be 1,737 at 60 2,079 at 70 2,432 . Book says max h.p. is at 2,400, most of us know about power curves. Therefore if these calculations are right this car should be good for close to 75 m.p.h. The old big six has a stroke of 5 in. If any of this is wrong please correct me, that is if this is even worth responding to. Rest assured this car with worn engine will go faster than I'll ever take it. Happy motoring, Commander Dave

Positively positive ground. Commander Dave with a 1927 Commander

Simply amazing! So far over my head it's somewhere in the clouds. Respectfully, Commander Dave

Hello, every one. Back trying again to find for my 1927 Commander, a snap ring/ lock ring for spare tire wheel. These are 21 inch steel disc wheels with the ring holding tire onto wheel. If you don't want to split wheel and ring I could buy both for a reasonable price. I've got the wheel, just not the ring. Just had another flat and it aint a good thing to be caught without a spare. Commander Dave 256 698 8821 davidjames1949@comcast.net

Danoz; Got the cowl lights together and couldn't have done with out your help and of course the great forum we have. Many thanks to everybody. Commander Dave

Danoz; Actually Erskine was in his bedroom's bathroom when it ended. His personal butler was reportedly the last one to see him alive, and Erskine told the butler to have his son, Russ Jr. to come see him in a little while. Russ Jr. was down stairs having breakfast with his mother and some of her relatives who were visiting at the time. The butler said he heard a muffled pop but didn't think anything of it because of the 4th of July weekend. His son Russ Jr. found him and some notes his Dad had left behind. Such a tragic ending for a man who had accomplished so much. As a side note, I visited the Erskine mansion during the International meet in South Bend last May and was given a short tour by the people living there at the time and can testify to the beautiful wood work etc. inside. The doors are quite thick. Russ Jr. went on to be a good businessman and at one time owned a Lincoln dealership. I have talked to his 2 children and both had very good things to say about him. He too is interred in the same mausoleum as his dad here in Huntsville. Very interesting that you too are a history buff. And very interesting about your daughter, and good for you to keep conversations within certain limits. Although I think it's pretty cool. There are several articles written about Mr. Erskine you might enjoy reading. Thank you; Commander Dave

Danoz; Mr. Erskine didn't quit resign but was relieved of his employment contract. Also, bad blood between Erskine and the judge involved with the receivership led to the judge leaving Erskine out of the restructuring , adding one more problem to Mr. Erskines life at that time. Any of you with more insight or information, in this matter feel free to chime in. Mr.Erskine is interred in Maple Hill cemetery in Huntsville, Al. and every year we have a cemetery stroll where locals portray some of the famous and infamous people buried there. We have about 70 characters dressed in period correct costumes raising money for the restoration of the historical part of the cemetery. I play Mr. Erskine for the afternoon. This is reported to be the largest costumed cemetery stroll in the country, with over 10,000 in attendance. Danoz; Again, thanks for the help with the 27 cowl lights. Mr. Erskine ended his own life July 1, 1933. You have to wonder if things would have turned out differently had he had a part with restructuring. I hope I've got this right. Commander Dave of Huntsville, Al.

Danoz; I see what you mean with there being 2 pieces. Thank goodness mine were chromed at some time. Have you thought about some of the heat treatment procedures posted on the forum?. I know these pieces would be easy to ruin by a lot of prying, but I remember something about using an old toaster oven. Yes, it gives us something to ponder and get our minds off of every day troubles. Lots of luck, Commander Dave

Danoz; YES! Once again very much! Now it's easy to see how simple the arrangement is. Thank you for all your time and effort to help me out and maybe even others. Your willingness to help is inspirational. I will now try to make something like this. This is going to be a challenge , but if it works will be worth it in the end. Now then, if anybody out there has the retainer and bulb socket it would help put another part together for people see a more complete antique Studebaker. Somehow in my excitement I hit some key to make the letters like this. Danoz; maybe we can meet some day and have a chat.

To Danoz; Thank you for answering very, very much. Yes they do look like my cowl lights but mine have been re-chromed at one time. Now what I'm wondering is how is the glass held in and how in the world are the 2 pieces held together. I have already rigged something to hold the glass in by bending some paper clips pressing against the back side of the reflector. Now, how does the screw at the back of the shell pull both pieces together? Would it hurt yours to take one apart and let me see how this is done? Thank you very much. Kind regards; Commander Dave

Hello, everybody. I'm wanting to put together my chrome cowl lights on my 27 Commander roadster but am missing some inside parts. What holds the lens and reflector in place? My guess is some kind of a spring type wire pressing against the glass and housing. And how is the whole thing held together? I see the hole for a screw but what does it attach to? I'm just asking here; does anybody have a cowl light they can take apart showing all the parts, and could you post it here? Mabey someone out there has some old ones I could salvage parts from. Thank you, Commander Dave

For my 1927 Commander, I need a good steel disc wheel with snap ring, 21 inch, in good shape. Thank you, Commander Dave. davidjames1949@comcast.net 256 698 8821

For my 1927 Commander, I need a good steel disc wheel with snap ring, 21 inch, in good shape. Thank you, Commander Dave. davidjames1949@comcast.net 256 698 8821

Just curious, I didn't think there were any vin's that early. Fill me in. Commander Dave

My 1927 Commander Sport Roadster was rear ended on the right rear [pass.] side a couple of Sat. evenings ago and as a result it will need a few parts. It needs; a rear bumper complete or without the chrome ends, possibly a rear fender, a good 21 inch disc wheel. The rear bumper is built for a spare tire carrier. Please give a price and estimated cost to ship to Alabama. I need prices to get an estimate going. Thank you very much. Commander Dave, 256 698 8821 davidjames1949@comcast.net

Need a snap ring for my 27 Commander wheel. Any one out there have one and what is a fair price range? Commander Dave davidjames1949@comcast.net or 256 698 8821

Your engine should be the green as supplied by many of our suppliers and is green. I feel like you want to keep the car correct as possible and to paint the engine other than the original green might be regretted latter. Plus you will open yourself to those who feel it's their duty to show the error of your ways. Best of wishes. Commander Dave

Thank you spinney hill. I looked up the link you gave me. One comment was about low oil preasure at an idle . Maybe this is not the best filter for my car. I think that I'll run without the filter until I come up with a replacement or a better substitute. Thank You

Does anyone have a Wix 51035 oil filter ? It's on my 1927 Commander Big Six. Have just gotten done searching our flaps this morning. O Reileys used to stock them and I bought one there before but are now discontinued. I could run without a filter but really don't want to. Studebakerly; Commander Dave

Does anyone have a Wix 51035 oil filter ? It's on my 1927 Commander Big Six. Have just gotten done searching our flaps this morning. O Reileys used to stock them and I bought one there before but are now discontinued. I could run without a filter but really don't want to. Studebakerly; Commander Dave

Thanks George. Studerex; As you can see, my roadster is not pretty or "restored" like yours will be. It has a good body except for he ft .fenders with barely any rust. I got it from a very gracious lady and son who had influence over who got it. Just a few miles from where I live. It was in red oxide primer and had several parts to be found. At first I had intended to fix it as a nice driver, not a show car and enjoy it. As you know, a lot of work is the kind that never shows and is not appreciated by the un-knowing. I didn't want to tear down the whole car because of the lack of room, time and money, plus I've seen to many cars like that, that never got done. I decided to just put color on the car without fixing the body right now while other things were done. At least it wasn't quite so dirty looking and people think it's neat. P.S. If you didn't already know; it's a 27 Commander sport roadster. Commander Dave