keninman

So would this be a business coupe because it has a trunk instead of a rumble seat?

Mine is using a canister. I was able to buy an NOS one for less thsn $40.

I use Microsoft One Drive, my phone saves the pictures there and I can then get at them with my computer wirelessly

My steering column is much simpler than yours. I have not had it apart and will not unless I run into trouble. Like the pics I posted earlier I have not center to turn. Yours looks more like the ones used on the higher end Dictators or Commanders.

No, it turned out the cable was fine. When I first got the car all seemed fine but shortly I began to get a scraping noise. I tracked it to the speedometer or cable. when I unhooked the cable the noise went away. I first tried lubing the cable with Vaseline like the owners manual called for with no result. I then tried a heavier high temp grease with no improvement. I poured oil down the housing, no better. Though the cable was turning in the housing the noise only occurred when I connected it to the speedometer itself. Once I had the speedo out I could replicate the noise by using a screwdriver to simulate the cable turning and traced it to the shaft of the speed indicator. A small amount of oil on the shaft (like a drop on the end of a very small screwdriver) ended the noise and my speedo works great now. Against a gps speedo running on my cell phone they agree within 3 mph. That is more than good enough in my estimation.

Two screws in the back. My bottom one was stuck, that is kind of a bugger. Once out it was pretty easy to lube the shaft that was making all of the noise.

I don't think you can braze pot metal. It looks to me like the protrusions are what held it in position with the steering shaft tube. I was wondering if you looked further into the column if you would not find the pieces of it broken into small bits. That zinc pot metal is a lot more fragile than modern die casting with aluminum or magnesium alloys. In the pic of the reproduction it looks like the plate was machined and then the spacers brazed on. I have found that with my 29 the tolerances are not what you would expect from even a 1960s automobile so there is a lot of room for error. Go by a local machine shop, show them what you have and the pic and see if they think they can machine it. You might have to provide some more specific measurements or haul the column to them but I am betting they can do it. I have a friend who does this as an armature and I am sure he could but that is a long way from NC. Of course the car started out like 40 miles from him, go figure.

Since it was a funeral coach the owner may not have cared about the lights working and from what I understand unless you plan to use the hand crank you do not need the spark retard lever. The previous owner of the one I have never aimed to take the car out after dark so they had modified tail/turn bulbs for headlights. The base plate in the pictures looks like it was cast from the same crappy pop metal that the carburetor and interior door hardware were. From the pic, if you could get the dimensions it would be a simple task for any competent machine shop to replicate. From what you have they can get the depth of the spacers, from the column they can get the dimension of the housing. Show them this pic and I'll bet they can make you one.

That's an awful big cable to break, ouch. Ya might want to lube the housing and test the speedometer before reinstalling.

You are correct, I looked and mine was there.

Believe it or not the cardboard gasket was intact, I just reused it. They are easy to make though, either using gasket material or a cereal box. If you are going to have one of these old cars you will probably have to learn to make gaskets if you are unfamiliar. A cheap set of hole punches are available on Amazon for about $10. The one's I make are typically not pretty but effective. The oddest gasket I have found on the car appeared to have been made from newspaper.

It is in almost to the mounting plate. I then blew air though the gas line hose to actuate the gauge in the dash. The gas is red because it had been in the tank with the Red-Kote sealer.

I first tried soldering and failed. I ended up running rubber gas line all of the way down to the sending unit top. My gauge works pretty good now. Below was a test of the unit before reinstalling in the tank. I should mention that I did have to purchase new brass screws. They had built up varnish on the threads that protruded into the tank. I ruined many while getting them out. I shortened the new screws to not project so far inside the tank.

I damaged my lines removing and reinstalling the tank. They split at the bends instead of bending. Just something to watch out for.

I ran across this Commander today at Cedar Point in Sandusky. They were using it as a prop.

I also seen your post from March with the same engine in a 31 President. Of course we could not be sure that the engine in the fire truck has not been changed. From what I found on a post on the Studebaker Driver's Club forum it is a 1931 by its serial number of 3476648. http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/showthread.php?57885-1931-Studebaker-Fire-Truck-Information

This popped up on FaceBook. I would love to have this project if I had the time, money and a place to keep it. https://www.ebth.com/items/6859440-1929-studebaker-fire-engine

I finally received my LED bulbs to replace the #63 bulbs in the dash, parking, tail and brake lights. They are working good and the ones in the dash and the parking lights create a kind of eerie glow. I put in the 1188s and the low beam setting is a significant improvement with a bright white light. They do drop charging down to 2 to 5 amps. The high beam setting does not offer any improvement, the light yellows and the charging drops to nil. I did meet a few cars and none seemed bothered by the low beam setting, probably because they are still much less bright than modern bulbs. Hopefully at some point I can get the proper LED headlamp bulbs for them.

The car at one time had been registered in Illinois by the body tag. Michigan accepted that as the number and knowing what a bugger Indiana is about titles, the one I had used the body tag so that is what I had the police check done on and titled it here with that number. It cost me $62 to add the 1929 license plate to the registration so I could not say what it would cost to change the VIN to the serial. Me tinks I will leave it as is.

I was looking and Studebaker did not make an 8 cylinder Dictator before the FG model in 29/30. Did you ever find any numbers on the block, firewall or frame plate?

Your steering controls are much nicer than mine. There is nothing on my wheel to turn like yours does. I am wondering if whatever is supposed to be locking it in place has not come loose. I would take the cap off of the headlight switch and have someone move the lamp lever while you watch the actuation. Perhaps the whole switch is rotating on you. Mine is secured so I cannot move as far as I can tell. Steering Wheel Controls on YouTube

I was just wondering Waldo. These cars are a lot more difficult than I had imagined. My 1929/30 has is made for a hand crank though I don't have one to use. I wondered because in my 20s I ruined a 1955 Buick 4 door hardtop. I took it apart and never put it back together again. Finally the frame and body were hauled away because the city was cracking down on non running cars. I still have some of the parts though it will never be a whole car ever again. How much harder a pre war Studebaker will be to find parts for. A pre 1935 car is even more so. I have had to learn so much that is different than the 1960s cars I grew up working on. You have at least made a good start coming here for help. Don't ever hesitate to ask when you get the car. It is likely that like myself you will need a great deal of it.

That is difderent than mine. It should come apart so you ca clean the contacts though.

Waldo, just a couple of quick questions. How old are you and do you have any experience at all with cars this old? The older they are and more obscure brands the greater the difficulty.

Did you get a title with the car? If so what numbers are used as its VIN? Since it is a funeral coach completed by another company perhaps Studebaker did not put their numbers on it. Have you contacted the museum in Houston to see if theirs has a VIN plate. As for engine numbers what I can find are one on the block, 167683-2 located on the passenger side near the back of the engine. There is a similar casting on the head, 167684-2. There are also numbers on the head and block that start with I, the one on the block is I-7-20 which I think is the casting date. Following what I found in another post by Nzcarnerd, "I" would be for 1929. I found no numbers that start with a letter. Sorry but my block date number is behind my oil filter,