keninman

I am not sure if anyone is interested but I did take the time to scan the one that came with my car into a pdf. It is not the prettiest since my manual is pretty tattered in places but should be useable. 1929 Studebaker Dictator Owners Manual full.pdf

Thanks all. The extra width is because it turns down at the rear. We measured last night and that one spot is 64" I read in another post that it is challenging to find material this wide and another member said he uses tonneau cover material.

Thanks Trimacar, looking at vinyl, since I have to have more than 64" width do you have a good suggestion for supplier? I read in another thread that someone was using tonneau cover material.

I am going to need a new top for my 29 Dictator Six Sedan. To prolong its life I have coated it with a rubberized coating because I do not want to replace until I am closer to paint time. I have searched the forum and found that vinyl seems to be the norm and even that since it needs a minimum of 64" width that tonneau cover material works. Now here is the dumb question. Looking at the top I already have, and I believe it is probably the original one. I had to patch a hole and it appears to be some type of cotton material coated with coal tar or such. Now would a canvas material like is used on boat tops be more appropriate than faux leather vinyl since pleather didn't even exist until 1936? Also could canvas even be stretched like vinyl? I certainly don't want to put on cloth and use coal tar or some such substance. I have lot's of time to think about this since my restoration has just begun, All input is appreciated.

29Jester pointed me to a shop manual reprint. Thanks.

Yes it is a Dictator Six Sedan, not the Coach (I think) or Regal (I know). Since there seem to be many around here that have pre 36 Studebakers, are there some general torque specs that are used with these flat heads? Rod bearings, main bearings, head bolts, etc?

Dumb question but are there any shop / service manuals for this vehicle? I am having no luck in my searches, Google and the forum. I do have the original owners manual that has a lot of good info but no torque specs, etc.

15 hours and 640 miles later ot is at least home. The tarp is to cover a hole in the top.

It did fit. Riding well also. Just about 130 miles left to home.

I should have mentioned that I did finally call the gentleman and he did get me a measurement. It was 70" since I have 75", though it will be tight . He also measured the running board at 12.5", exactly the height of the sides of the trailer, drats. I will head off shortly on a 4 and a 1/2 hour journey to check out the car and hopefully, if it is in as good a condition as the pics I have seen, then purchase it and haul it home.

This was on the Jack Benny fan page on Face Book. I thought "this looks safe". At any rate I don't think it looks like a Maxwell and certainly not the one that toured with Jack. Perhaps a model T touring.

I am going to look at a 1929 Dictator tomorrow and plan to take a trailer in case I purchase it. How wide is the car, I am not going to ask the owner to measure because he is quite elderly. Will it fit on a trailer with 6' 3" clearance between the sides. I can find the wheelbase length and car weight but not the width. Thanks.

Thanks Thriller, I went to see this car today. The owner is a great guy to talk to but he doesn't know anything about vintage cars and said so. It is well beyond my abilities and is missing some pieces. The radiator shell is rusted through in at least two places and the frame was rusted through in the very front on the drivers side. One headlight was rusted out and the bar going down from it was missing. The top had been removed and was sitting on it and the wood cross bracing was gone. The seat mounts and springs were missing. The steering wheel was not original and throttle control on the steering was also gone. The outside door handles, the rear driver's window and window crank were missing. The wood for the running boards were good but the hardware for it was gone. I did not attempt to open the doors or the passenger side hood. I told him if I had it I would only be able to part it out. On the good side, most of the frame and drive train looked good. The wood rims were intact but I don't really know much about them. One tire had been replaced but the others were dry rotted. Most of the interior handles, gauges and such were there. The fenders, metal body parts and even the wood looked to be in good condition with only damage at the kick panels, They were rusted through which probably means the wood is rotted there also. There was also some heavy rust on what I would call rocker panels, they run under the body and doors above the running boards. I hinted that he might want to consider parting it out but i think he really would like to find someone who would restore it. I showed him pictures of the same model that is on Craigslist in Chattanooga so he could see what it is supposed to look like. I also showed him all of my research into the Marquette, how many were made, advertising and so on. I sure learned a lot from this car and it only cost me some time researching, driving and $30 in gas or so.

I did speak with the owner of this car yesterday. The spare tire is back on the car now also. He did say they get this car out and drive it from time to time but he has too many others so he wants to sell this one to make room. The 2 door sedan (4,637) was the second most produced but way behind the 4 door (15,795) in the US.

I think the oddity with the grill is someone has spray painted it so you see the cross bars and the original lights that use the tie bar with the Buick emblem are missing. From the pics I can find the shape and radiator cap are right. I searched trying to find the difference between the 57 and 57s. What jumps out at me are the spare tires. The pics of a 57 I found have the spare on the back. The 57s has a spare on each side. Also the 57 has some sort of step plate that is not on the 57s and the model 57 pics that I found had wood rims not the wire. The tag says 57 so I am wondering if someone didn't use parts from a 57s to repair it or upgrade it in the past.

I did get to speak with the owner this evening on the phone. He added it to his collection in 09 but little to it and so it ended up sitting indoors with his other cars. He did say it wasn't really his era as he preferred 40s and 50s cars but his wife liked it. The pics are from when he bought it in 09 and the man in the pic is the man he bought it from, now deceased. He said he has never heard it run but the man he bought it from did say it had been driven in a parade in 05. The 4 tires are like new, though he said one rear will leak off every few months but I am not sure about the spares. He also has the original lights that go on the front. The seats were not original but the foundations were there so he used those as patterns for new wood and purchased the correct seat springs. He did say there are some wood issues with at least one rear door and did not know how much else would need replaced. He also stated that he has the correct rack for the rear of the car and a second brake light. The man he bought it from told him that the main and rod bearings and the clutch had been replaced. I would image that was before 05.

Thanks ILIKECARS53. As I check further about things I am understanding how expensive things can be. I did check on tires and I can get 4 white walls to fit this car under $800. I do have to see how complete the car is sans the seat springs. I don't have a good handle on chroming costs either. I can do the wood and metal restoration and have a neighbor who is a professional painter who I should be able to get to do the paint reasonable. I worry most about the seats I guess if even the foundations are missing. I believe he said that his dad had the clutch and brakes relined, of course the master and wheel cylinders will need rebuilt and the brake lines might need replaced depending on whether that was done or not and how much they were exposed to moisture. Thanks again for your reply.

Thanks, Las Vegas Dave, I am looking for a car I can both drive recreationaly, learn about and restore over a number of years. I am not looking to restore one to show condition, at least not quickly. I want to make it mechanically sound then work on completing it in sections. The Buick above appears to have 2013 plates which make me think it was drive-able recently. The tires in the pics don't look too bad either. I have contacted the owner by both text and left a voice message but have not heard back.

I am planning to meet the owner of this car tomorrow. From what the owner has told me, his father began restoration in 1964. It appears he stripped paint and interior. He rebuilt the engine, replaced clutch and brake linings. However the car has not been started since 1968. He said it does turn over freely. They also have moved it around to a few different storage locations. The biggest problem from what I gather is that at some point the seats have become lost. Being a 2 door I could see this being a very large problem. Since there were only about 4700 of this body style made, I doubt an exact replacement could be found but perhaps something from an Oldsmobile, Pontiac or even a Chevy 2 door sedan would work. From the pictures I have it looks like some the hardware had been removed hopefully it is still in the car. I will inspect the wood tomorrow and see if anything else is missing. I hopped that someone here might have an idea about making replacement seats but since the backs have to fold forward this seems like a very difficult undertaking. Perhaps some seats from a modern car could be used temporarily until suitable ones could be found. He is asking $5,500 which might be a bit high since it will need quite a bit of restoration. Apparently either the ad has expired since it was posted a month ago or he has taken it down. I have all of his contact information though. I will include the pics i have downloaded. I found a 1930 2 door sedan that had been restored, it is in Tennessee and the owner is asking $12,500 and seems pretty firm.

I am looking around to purchase a classic car to restore. I am set to meet with the owner of a 29 Marquette tomorrow but today I spotted this on Craigslist in West Virginia. 1932 Buick - $4500 (Parkersburg WV) "1932 Buick four door sedan. Serial # 2806380. Body very solid. Straight eight over head valve engine. Needs restoration. Priced at $4,500.00 well below market value." The asking price is $4500 which doesn't sound unreasonable. However the lights and mount don't match any picture of this car I can find. I am a complete newb but this makes me think that perhaps someone replaced some of the front end parts. What does everyone else think? I don't want to drive over 4 hours to WV for a car that probably isn't worth it. Thanks. I will create a separate post about the Marquette.