kclark
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Posts posted by kclark
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5 hours ago, keninman said:
Did this car come from Terre Haute? My dash, map and dome lights did not work nor did my brake lights when I got the car. The dome light was the contact for the bulb. Be real careful about taking the glass cover off. My brake lights were the switch under the floor, it is activated by the foot pedal but not the hand brake lever. My dash and map light are on a slider switch under the far left side of the dash. From what I can tell the main power to everything comes first to the ammeter. That is where I would start unless you can see that it works when running the engine. There is a current limiting relay to the right of your dash gauges but I believe this is only for the head lamps, tail and turn lamps. You can then start following power around. It looks like you have the same generator as me so the car should be a positive (+) ground on the frame, vs. a negative (-) on modern autos.
Some key things to note. All lenses are glass. To remove the headlight lenses I first duct tape them to the housing, remove the screw and pull out from the bottom. I also fasten a moving blanket under them. I don't think you included a shot of the rear of the car but if it is like mine you have one brake / tail lamp on the driver's side. Be careful because when you try to take the lens cover off the glass lens will fall. Tape it and put something soft under it. There are just two screws that hold the brake switch on but I had to use a very short screwdriver if I remember right. I just cleaned the contacts up and it worked like new. Same with the dash / map light switch but it is a bit harder to get apart. You can always just jump the connectors on the switch to confirm or eliminate as a problem.
keninman,
Yes it did come from Terre Haute. My dash and map lights work. The brake, head lamps and dome don't. I do know that it is a positive (+) ground. I have removed some of the lamps just to be sure the bulbs were good. One bulb I know is bad.
I do know that on the (not sure what the are actually called as I'm still waiting on my manuals) smaller lights on the cowl, one of them seems to have a bare spot on the wire. As each time we try to put the lamp back in, we here something in the car make a noise. And that brings me to another question. When getting into these smaller lights, what is the proper way to get to the bulb. Do you unscrew the screw in the back of the lamp which releases the bracket or should you be able to just pop of the lens ring? We unscrewed them and had difficulty getting them back on. We finally got the right one on by screwing the bracket back on and then got the lens ring to go back on properly. However the left one is not going back on properly. I've tried putting the bracket back on the chrome lens ring and then screw the bracket back on. Every time I can get the bracket on one side and then try to get the other side on but the first side pops out. I then tried putting the bracket back on and then putting the bulb, lens and ring back on the bracket but no go.
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Only if my funeral home is doing the services. At least that is what I'm thinking at this point. If there is enough interest I might reconsider but there would definitely be some expense going here there and yonder.
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I just took possession of the Dictator as it arrived safely from Indiana to North Carolina. I am trying to figure out the troubleshooting process for lights. They are not working (none of them) except the dash lights. I admit I did not try them when I went to look at the car originally. Where should I start and what to look for?
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A lot of people have told me it is a great car in great condition. I believe the previous owner took good care of it and has been garage kept as it will be when I receive it. I have spent the passed couple of days making room for it in the garage.
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The car has yet to arrive, but I've learned more information since I bought it on Monday. I learned from another forum who restored it last and that it was done in the 70's. I have very little doubt that the car is in good shape and I doubt needs anything major in the near future. We may look at a new paint job and definitely new tires.
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9 minutes ago, keninman said:
I cleaned the inside the best I could with water and gravel then let it dry out. Afterwards I used a product called Red-Kote to seal the inside of the tank. Remember I bought mine to cruise around in, not restore to museum quality. If you are going to show it then I would certainly paint the outside nicely but I am not sure that sandblasting the inside is warranted.
Let me clarify. I'm not going to do shows. I will be taking it to some of our local cruise ins. It will be put into service for my funeral home and "shown" at the cruise ins.
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4 minutes ago, Stude Light said:
If it were my car (and I wish it was), I would:
Be very careful power washing as you are forcing water into every crack and crevice at 3000 psi. So stay away from your starter, generator, fuel pump, steering gear box, horn, etc. Otherwise you need to get the water out of each of these parts (i.e. - disassemble). Instead, I would soak with degreaser and use a hose with a small brush and you can direct water appropriately. It is slower but safer.
Next I would drop the oil pan and clean it out. It's a pain but you won't have to worry about all the nasty sludge that may be there. I would use any good motor oil. I like straight weight oils like SAE 30 but the multi viscosity mentioned earlier would be fine.
Next, I would drain the gas tank, fuel pump and carb (they should all have drain plugs - be careful, especially with carb, if they are stuck then leave them). Just use the lowest octane fuel available (87). Less ethanol is better to prevent rust in tank over time.
Of course check the tires, trans oil level, axle oil level, coolant, etc.
Then have a great time driving it.
Scott
Some have stated in some threads that they lined their gas tank. How is this done?
And I'm definitely going to degrease and no pressure washing.
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1 hour ago, dictator27 said:
OK, now we are going In the right direction. Studebaker provided commercial chassis based on the Dictator, Commander and President to outside suppliers beginning In 1927. (For Interests sake, look up "1929 Studebaker house car "on Youtube. It Is based on a Studebaker truck chassis with a President engine)
The commercial chassis came with sedan bodywork back to the cowl, beefed up frame and suspension and possibly al longer wheelbase. Unless my old eyes are deceiving me, this vehicles has a longer wheelbase than a standard Dictator sedan (112 Inches). It also appears to have larger tires and heavier wheels. I have seen other hearses that look like this, so I think I can say that Studebaker contracted an outside body builder to supply standard hearse bodies on all commercial chassis which were then sold through Studebaker dealers.
Terry
Studebaker did provide chassies for Coachbuilders for Ambulances and Hearses. The Superior Coach Builders did the coach work. They later provided them to Buick, Ford and Lastly in 1939 to Cadillac.
That said, mine is slightly longer as they made 2 longer chassies. mine is 146" and the other I believe is 158". This length varies slightly from year to year.
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Here's a question...
Did all Stude Dictators have a heat push/pull knob? the one in the museum has one.
Where it is on mine is a fuel pump switch. There is a slider switch below the dash that I haven't figured out yet. I think it was a replacement as it is a plastic slider switch.
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I know the one in the museum has an 8 in it.
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And not sure if there is a difference in how they were made but the guy I bought it from has had it for 20+ years and he bought it from a guy that bought it in the 60's. The guy is still around as he knew it was for sale and wanted to know where it wound up. But anyway, he was suppose to have gotten it out of Canada so it may have been built in Canada. So I'm not sure (some of the more experienced and knowledgeable may know) if the U.S. built and the Canada built differed any.
I would like to find out who bought it in the 60s so as to get any other info on the history of the car. I know he lives in or right around Detroit.
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19 minutes ago, keninman said:
A couple of words of advice about the inside door handles, do not use them to close the doors or you will soon have broken ones. Also the carburetor breaks like glass.
On the 2 back side doors, the inside door handles just spin. So I'm assuming that they have come undone inside the door. How hard is it to pull the inside panel off to fix the handles?
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What would be the current belt for the 1929 Dictator. I looked up all of the numbers that I could find for the belt on vbeltsupply.com with no luck.
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I wish I had those too. I do woodworking as well so I may be turning some of those out in the future.
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As soon as the vehicle arrives I will be looking at the body number again. It looks identical though to a 1929 Studebaker Dictator 8 Hearse that is in the National Funeral History Museum in Houston, TX. I have been corresponding with them. My interior looks a lot better than the museum IMHO.
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16 minutes ago, keninman said:
That is pretty much a shot of my dash gauges. I had to lube my speedo right at where the shaft that drives the number wheel comes though. I used a light oil but I don't remember which. I used Vaseline first on the speedo cable but was chasing a noise and then used a heavier grease. I may have to clean it off and go back to Vaseline.
I took the fuel gauge out and cleaned it very carefully with acetone making sure not to get it on the number plate. I then used rubbing alcohol and a little air to make sure everything was open. I put in the King-Seeley fluid. Since I cleaned out and lined the gas tank I checked the sending unit to make sure it was not plugged and it was not. I damaged the fuel and gauge lines getting the tank out. They cracked right in the bend. I cut them off and placed gas line hose all of the way to the tank unit. I am still not showing quite full when it is full and need to add a couple of drops of fluid to it. Other than that it works pretty good.
I am jealous of finding a 29 hearse, my boy would love to have it. Put up pictures soon.
Here you go. It's suppose to be delivered on Sunday or Monday barring Irma.
From what I saw when I went to look at it on Monday was there was not any rust on it except the exhaust. Hopefully you guys see the same thing. I'm going to degrease the engine and run it some and see what kind of oil leakage there is. From what I understand some oil leakage is acceptable. So I need to see how much there is and compare it to acceptable once someone tells me what acceptable is.
I have some manuals coming on Tuesday (hopefully), but did the dash gauges come out easy? on the speedo, the shaft that you are referring to is it at the dash or at the transmission?
Where did you get your King-Seeley fluid from? and how did you get the alcohol out before putting it in? Where did you get the lining for the gas tank and the new fuel lines?
And lastly, where are you located?
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Thank you Phillip Cole. I'll definitely be there.
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My speedometer is a Stewart Warner
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I just bought a 1929 Dictator and I'm looking for possibly a few parts but I'm also looking for people that are in my area (Kannapolis) that might can answer some questions that I have.
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1929 Studebaker Dictator.
The windshield wiper doesn't work. It seems to move only after driving it for a number of miles but still moves then stops. Any idea how these work and where to start?
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I plan on going but any idea how much Studebaker "stuff" is there anymore? It's been years since I've been.
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What kind of oil can I use on the Speedometer to get it freed up?
Also, are there any good books and reference material that I can use to go over the engine? I know that these engines have leakage, but I'm not sure how much is acceptable. Also when my car arrives and I was told Sunday or Monday, Can I pressure wash the engine to get all of the old oil off and see what oil I do see after driving it a little.
Also, what kind of gas is acceptable in these engines? The guy I bought it from tries to put premium in it but going up in octane doesn't compensate for no lead in the gas.
Also, he said the oil will need to be changed so what kind of oil is suitable for it?
Sorry for these questions...I'm not a gearhead and I can't find answers to these questions. I guess most people know these answers. Anyway, I'm getting excited about the arrival.
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Is the fluid readily available? Can it only be ordered online are are there any places that might carry it?
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Thank you starlightcoupe
You have definitely given me some good info and I'll be doing some inspecting after the care is delivered hopefully by the first of the week.
'29 Dictator Headlight Steering Wheel Lever Assembly
in Studebaker, Erskine & Rockne
Posted
I got the light put back together. The bracket need to be adjusted.
Where will I find the lighting switch?. I think I keep going past it when tracing wiring.