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R-1, 4-speed, air. Very nice car. I’ve owned for 12 years. Time to let it go. $21,000. Car is located in northwest Louisiana. If interested, call Tom at 318-382-3337. Please be prepared to leave a message because I seldom hear the cell phone ring now that my wife has convinced me to give up the landline. Tom

Thank you for the follow up. Obviously some serious planning went into that panel. You said you made your own rolling dies. Was the groove in the female side of the coining tool made the same size as the rolling die? I can see where the tools all have to match and different rolling dies would need a different set of coining tools. I have a lathe and milling machine, so someday I might try it. Your mention of following a post on the HAMB reminded me that almost anything these days can be found on YouTube. I googled “rolling beads in sheet metal” and learned more in a short time than I’ve learned in 25 years of trying it by myself. I’m probably a little too old to be thinking about making or buying an English Wheel, though. Tom

That looks very nice. I am impressed that the floor panel looks so flat after putting in the beads. Every time I roll beads I wind up with a warped panel and it is a wrestling match to get it flat again. Very nice layout and execution. I’d be interested in more pictures of your “coining tool”. I have struggled with getting the ends of beads rounded also. Tom

Hi Don. I know I have a pair of original reflectors for ‘37 headlights. They need to be polished up or re-silvered. I can measure them for size for you, or they are available. # 1. The bulbs only fit in one way, and if the little springs behind the pins are not free the bulbs can be stubborn to get in. My advice —. wear gloves and have at it twisting them in. Bulbs are plentiful. I have lots of them picked up at swap meets over the years The headlight lenses on my ‘37 Coupe-Express are Corcoran and Brown. I don’t know if Riteway or C & B are correct (maybe both) #2.. As I recall, the parking light socket comes through the reflector from the back with one of the pin slots riding the tab in the reflector. It is twisted so that the tab is captured and then the bulb is inserted from the front and is twisted at the bottom of the two slots and the pins on the bulb hold everything together. I remember fighting this years ago also. If you need pictures, just let me know. Tom

Do you ever plan to have your ‘38 judged in a show where the judges would have a clue that the u-joints are not correct? The Antique Studebaker Club has no such judging. If you are planning on driving it, go ahead and use modern u-joints and a new drive shaft. When I put a Jerry Kurtz electric overdrive transmission in my ‘37 Coupe-Express, it took the local drive line specialist shop less than a day to fabricate a new drive shaft. When I commented on the quick service, the counterman looked surprised and said, “We’re in the breakdown business. The 18-wheeler owner-operator with a broken drive shaft won’t tolerate slow repairs” it’s a pleasure doing business with professionals like that. Even a town like Shreveport still has shops like this. All they needed were measurements, and they told me exactly how to do it. I’ll never regret replacing those old-style joints Tom

OK, Don. I’ll get one out to you tomorrow. Which style would you like? I’m now on my fourth revision of the original design. In the photo, the top bracket has tall legs and full-width mirror mount surface. The middle bracket has shorter legs and a narrower mirror mount surface and the lower bracket has really no legs and the narrow mount surface. In my original post I didn’t put in any contact data. Silly me. I guess I figured most folks on this forum know who I am. In any case, if you want to contact me other than through this forum, I can be reached at: studebaker4829@live.com George — if you want one of these other styles I’ll replace the one I sent you. Tom Lewis

I seem to recall being told years ago that Coupe-Expresses were not manufactured with interior rear view mirrors. When I restored mine, I installed a mirror that used the same bracket as passenger cars. This set-up only afforded me a nice view of the front side of the tailgate. I think Chris Piazza once said something about making a bracket to fit on the windshield divider bar. I thought about that for a while and machined the little goodies in the second picture. When installed, the top brackets fit perfectly on the division bar and gave a really good rear view. I didn’t round off any of the corners, but that could easily be done. I made the “feet” as wide as the divider bar for stability. If anyone here has a Coupe-Express and would like one of these brackets, just let me know. I’m not really sure how well this bracket would fit on the later CE’s that have the more slanted wind shield. Tom

For sale. 1932 Chevrolet Confederate De luxe roadster with rumble seat and dual side mounts. 2nd restoration started to correct poor 1st “restoration”. Chassis finished. Frame and all components sandblasted and painted in single stage acrylic enamel. All new bearings, seals, brakes. All worn suspension parts replaced. Correct 1932 engine runs well. All new valves. Rocker arm assemblies rebuilt. Bottom end looked good. Rebuilt starter and generator. Upgraded water pump. Recored radiator by Kirby’s of Ft Worth. New clutch, rebuilt pressure plate assembly. Transmission not touched. Firestone WWW tires on 6 beautiful bright red powder coated wheels. Driver quality chrome complete. Instrument condition unknown (except I know the gas gauge works because I tested it when I tested the new sending unit when I cleaned the gas tank inside and out). Body is in amazingly good rust-free condition. It has been walnut shell blasted and primed in epoxy primer. You get to choose the color. All original body wood is excellent. Top mechanism complete. New wood purchased for top (bows and header). Very good sheet metal. All four fenders, front rear, and running board splash aprons very nice. Upholstery and top complete, including side curtains, but needs to be redone. Pictures below show the car as I purchased it, and then as it is today. It needs paint, upholstery, wiring, assembly and sorting. Price is $16,000. That’s less than I paid for the car and you guys know how much the work I’ve listed above costs. If interested, please call Tom at 318-949-9744 or e-mail: studebaker4829@live.com If calling, please be prepared to leave a message as my wife and I tend to not answer calls from numbers we don’t recognize. There are too many telemarketers and pollsters out there. I will call back. Car is located just east of Shreveport, LA

Hi Chris. I must have been typing my last post when you posted. I’ll take pictures of anything you want. I can e-mail them to you or post them here. What do you need? I’ll be happy to help. Tom

I installed the filter housing today. The first picture shows the modern spin-on filter inside the original canister. The second picture shows everything all buttoned up. It’s hard to get good pictures of the installation due to lighting and shadows. This job would have been a lot easier if I had removed the generator and rag joint because my hands sure didn’t have much room back in there bending and fitting the tubing, especially on the return line in back of, and under, the canister. When I sent the canister to Jerry for modification I asked him to not paint it when he was done. I wanted the filter to blend in with the rest of the “patina”. I really hated to paint the cylinder head when I had to replace the cracked head that was on the car when I bought it, but it had to be done. When the machine shop finished planing the head flat it was all raw metal and had to have paint. The head looks out of place in that engine bay Tom

I think I just answered my own question. I kept looking and found another plug hidden below the generator-to-water pump joint. Is that the return port and the plug in the first picture the infeed port? Thanks. Tom

I am finally getting around to installing the oil filter canister that Jerry Kurtz modified to accept modern spin-on filters on my ‘35 Commander 250 cubic inch eight. It has been so long since I’ve done this that I can’t figure out where the infeed to the filter comes from. In fact, I’ve never done it on an eight. I did it on the six in the Coupe-Express, but the other 250 eight I had did not have a filter. The first photo shows the plug where I believe the return line from the filter is plumbed. The second photo shows the only other possibility for a feed line. It is the bolt just above the pressure relief valve. Is that correct? The third photo just shows the oil gauge feed line and what I think is a plug to drain the block. Does anyone have a picture showing the line installation on their 250? In mounting the filter bracket —- should I use more of the copper crush washers between the bracket and the water jacket? Obviously I’ll keep the washers under the bolt heads. I’ve had such good luck with keeping the water jacket dry that I’d hate to mess it up now. Thanks. Tom

I don’t know anything about ‘52s, but where is the brake light switch? Could that be what that port is for? Tom

I found the reference I was looking for, and it turns out that my memory was indeed faulty. In the January - February 1996 issue of The Antique Studebaker Review, the late Gene Searcy wrote an article describing the restoration of his '37 President rumble seat coupe. This car is now in the Armacost Collection. Gene wrote that a stainless steel molding from the quarter panel of a 1966 Buick Special was almost an exact duplicate of the center grille molding on '37s. I'd be willing to out on a limb and say that if a person did some research and came up with a Buick part number for whichever molding it is, that they would have a better chance of finding the Buick part than an original '37 Studebaker molding. The VW reference came later in the same article. Gene wrote that aluminum moldings on Beetles were the same shape as the stainless running board moldings found on State Presidents. He bent these to shape and fabricated new ends. Tom

I was talking to another member today about the center stainless strip in the '37 grille. These are somewhat hard to come by in good condition. My memory (faulty though it may be) tells me that someone, somewhere, in the past, found a VW body side moulding that was very close in size and shape to that center piece and could be modified to fit the '37 grille. I don't remember if that was on a forum, or in "The Antique Studebaker Review" or in "Turning Wheels". Does anyone here remember the reference, or, even better, the VW model that that stainless strip came from? Thanks. Tom

What in the world am I thinking? It seems that my restoration projects always come down to doing the most taxing chores when the heat index is about 108 degrees F. The sandblasting was delayed because when I went to set up I found that termites had invaded the truck box where I store my sandblasting stuff and not only ate the bags the sand came in, but then made their nests in the sand. I always screen the sand I use, but some of the organic material from the nests got through. The termites only ate the bags that were underneath, so I didn't notice any damage in the times that I had been in that storage area. Anybody want to take a guess as to what make and year that chassis is? Here's a hint --- I have strayed from the fold and this chassis did not start life in South Bend, IN. Some of the usual suspects on this forum are not eligible b cause I have told them of this folly

Chris---I did the same thing in my J5. I got a real good view of the tailgate and a small slice of asphalt, but not a view of any traffic behind. That low mail-slot rear window sure makes the mirror useless in that high position. I am not sure if Coupe-Expresses came with interior rear view mirrors from the factory. I seem to remember being told by a knowledgable member that they didn't. I'll look into making a mount using the center division bar. That's a good idea for safety. I have one of the long-armed exterior door hinge mirrors, but haven't figured out how to mount it Tom

Which is correct for '37? I know where the one pictured is located. The two-bar style is the same as a well-known green '37 President coupe has installed. The owner of that coupe wouldn't have used it if it wasn't correct. Price of the one pictured here is not for the faint of heart. Tom

Sandy Olson has been a member of the Antique Studebaker Club for many years, and a real supporter. I met him at club functions before I knew he was in the gasket business. His products and service are first rate. He has purchased inventories of original gaskets all over the U.S. and manufactures many of his own. He stocks gaskets for many other makes. Several years ago I owned a '39 Studebaker K-25 truck with a Hercules engine. Sandy had all the gaskets. I bought a complete engine-rebuild gasket set for my '32 Chevrolet from him a couple of weeks ago. If I need gaskets I wouldn't call anyone else until I've called Olson's Tom

Hi Bob. Yes, correct for the Dictator, but not for the President. The parts manual shows that in '38 the President water pump moved to the front of the engine as opposed to being driven from the back of the generator and the thermostat part numbers became the same for Dictators and Presidents, which tells me that both were now located in between the cylinder head and the water outlet. Tom Lewis

Hi Dennis. I'm not sure how to reply to the message you sent me, so I'll reply here on the open forum. I never did find a correct thermostat for the '37 President I owned. I found a tubular thermostat of the correct diameter and held it in place in the upper hose with exterior hose clamps. I have since sold that car and did not even see a correct thermostat until after I had sold it. I have, however, since purchased a '35 Commander and the attached photo should show what you are looking for. The'35 has a different part number than the '36 Dictator and President and the '37 President, but I think the style is the same. It is marked "Dole Valve Co, Chicago" , so that might help in your search.Good luck. Jerry Kurtz told me that in all his years of prowling swap meets, that he has only seen one of these (and Jerry knows what he's looking for!) If you look on e-Bay and type in "Dole thermostat", some of them will be the tubular type that as long as they are the right diameter to fit in your upper hose, should work just fine. I'm not sure how concerned you are with correct appearance, but only a very few would know the difference anyway Tom Lewis

I got so tickled when I saw Dick's post that I replied too soon and did not mention that my display is of the centerfold that he has available as shown in his post. It makes a great display for people who have never before seen a Coupe-Express and attracts a lot of attention. Thanks Dick Tom

Gee, Dick---You mean kind of like this? LOL. Tom

Hi Vern. I have a driver's side hood panel as pictured for a '37 Dictator. It's been sandblasted and epoxy-primered. No rust, the latching mechanism is attached and good. Very nice except for a slight bend in bottom edge. No stainless trim. I would have used this on my own restoration, but I had another panel that was straighter on the bottom edge. This shouldn't take much to be perfect. $100 plus shipping. I'll probably have to make a box to get it to eastern Washington. If you or anyone you know is going to Hershey I could deliver there. Tom Lewis 318-949-9744

Rex beat me to it. Order from Cislak and don't worry about it being right Tom