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Hi John, My email address is <decostude@gmail.com> Much appreciated. David Lane

Hi Aussi John, Would you kindly do me a favour and send me the chassis and the engine number of your Brooklands President please. I have spent a lifetime searching for the where-a-bouts of 3 out of a total of 5 missing Studebaker President 8 chassis that was released out of the factory in 1930.. David.

Hi Aussi John, My 1930 President Eight has only ever had Houdaile shocks during the sixty years I have owned it. Bearing in mind that I personally have travelled nearly 400 000 + miles, and had to restore them several times during this period. I have had access to an engineer in Auckland who carried out the machining when required, plus a local seal manufacture who has supplied me with all the internal seals required. (See attachment). The outer edge of seal B is in a V shape. Each side of seal C is different in presentation. I had the presence to order a spare set for myself just in case the seal company closed down in the future. Call me if I can be of any assistance.

The 5 bearing FB and FE motors should accept the same manifolds. The one modification that was done to my manifold occurred soon after the car arrived in NZ. The heat box was cut off (used only in icy conditions) and no longer surrounded the inlet manifold directly above the carburetor. The carburetor should be either Stromberg UU2 or a Stromberg UU2R. I have run a Stromberg UU2R in my 1930 five bearing President Eight roadster for over 50 years and done 400000 + miles. This amazing carburetor is widely used in all early 30's straight eight Bugatti's. Saw one recently for sale for $US10,000. Main jet size's range from 33 up to 55 depending on your location, quality of local gas, and your personal demands as to your power requirements.

Hi everyone. Does anyone know if it possible to purchase NOS distributor caps for Delco Remy 668C distributors. Also I am looking to re bush this distributor with "Scintred Bronze Bushes. my email address is <decostude@gmail.com> Appreciate any help .

Further to my comments regarding water and points problems with my 1930 President Eight, I also want to share one other issue that has plagued me for a number of years which resulted in an engine failure resulting in a rebuild. It is now becoming evident that many of our old engine blocks are becoming porous as they age. I have experienced a problem of tiny water droplets, (very visible to the naked eye) very slow in appearing, in the valve chamber area. These tiny droplets eventually gain weight and drop down into the sump. Because water is heavier than oil, it finally gathers at the lowest point, the sump plug. After the car has been stopped for say two weeks, I would crack open the sump plug very carefully holding a glass underneath and bingo, out came just an egg cup size of water. Obviously it was a very small amount but eventually left unchecked the engine oil was seriously compromised and in my case, eventually damaged the engine. The solution: Engine block had to be removed and stripped. The entire valve chamber was micro blasted and a product called BELZONA was applied as a coating. This product is a two pot application which can expand and contract as the engine heats and cools. The engine had to be rebuilt once again. The results were outstanding. Today (after 20 years) I still check the sump plug out of habit after the car has been stationary for a while. No more water. It appears that this problem is not just confined to Studebaker engines. I know of other cases in the 20’s through to the 40’s era where this problem has been discovered in different brands and subsequent resolved very successfully using BELZONA.

I have owned a 1930 President Eight FE Roadster for over 60 years and driven it as a daily runner running up over 350 000 miles during that time. I have experienced all the issues you speak of re water overflowing upon slowing down to fitting a pertronics distributor. For the electronics setup to work successfully one must have a near new cap. After the engine gets up to temperature, with the high spark voltage required , any sign of carbon tracking or a breakdown of the insulation inside the cap resulted in the Pertronics unit failing to preform. However if you are running the original Delco twin points ignition system, it is absolutely important that the correct Delco points be used. Each set is different in their heights. But once installed, with one set sitting on the adjustable sliding plate, the contact points must be absolutely in a straight line with one and other. Failure to achieve this by using “Jo blogs” El Cheepo points, will result in you never being able to achieve the correct “Dwell Angle”” Resulting in one half of the engine out of sync with the other. Half the engine will run hotter and often results in the hotter water surging from the back of the motor when braking towards the front with the result of hot water surging out of the top of the radiator. If you doubt this, simple check out your temperatures down the length of the block using a didital laser temp gauge. The rear cylinder should only be a few degrees hotter than number one. The final thing I did to resolve the overflow of hot water problem was to get the engine professionally tuned with the emphasis on reducing the “hydrocarbons” achieved by a sensor pipe up the exhaust pipe. The end result was no more water surging out of the radiator. Finally FYI an egg cup full of “Soluable Cutting Fluid” added to the water totally eliminates all sign of rusty water. Hope this helps. David Lane New Zealand.

Hi Buffalowed, My question was aimed at anyone who had experienced this and to offer feedback as to what I had to do repair this odd situation. I my case it was more than any condensation. Mine was caused by porosity or weeping through the cast iron itself. Searching the whole of the inside of the engine in situ, it didn’t take long to see the area where water was very slowly seeping through.

Forgive me as a new member, if this subject has already been discussed previously. I have a question to the forum regarding all of ourStudebaker motors. Has anyone experienced after cracking open the sump plug very slowly after the car has sat idle for a while, to discover a small amount of water proceeding out in front of the oil? Often no more than a teaspoon full.

Regarding the centre accelerator pedal, my 1930 LHD President chassis arrived in NZ with a centre button pedal confrigeration (different again from the one currently disscussed) and on the instructions of the owner to the builders of the body, requested that it be modified and shifted out to the right hand side of the foot brake pedal. His great fear was slamming hard down on the foot brake and possibily connecting with the accelerator pedal.

Your proportions to the height of the top bow as well as the placement of the rear bow is perfect. I always remembered the rule in making bows for tops. About 1922 the back bow was starting to move forwards. By 1930 it was approximately 1 inch forward of a vertical line. By 1935 the bow had moved forward by in some cases several inches. The rag top was following the fashion of the roof lines of coupes and by 1940 they had stopped there migration forward. So important to get this right.

It's an American Bald Headed Eagle which has a "Hall Mark" number stamped underneath the round ball. I have checked the "DR" catalogues and while they show eagles as accessories, they are not numbered. Many years ago I spoke to the original importer and owner (who has since passed on) and he confirmed that it was there but he couldn't remember exactly how it got there.

Hi Touts, I have just joined after following your quest for knowledge about your Studebaker President Eight. I have followed the blog and I am stunned at the amount of knowledge surrounding President Eight Roadsters. I agree with the contributors regarding the possible history of your car. Hence why I joined up today. I am from New Zealand and I believe that I might own one of the rare five chassis that Studebaker exported in 1930. As you will see, the bodywork is very different from the originals. It has a New Zealand colonial-built body (done in 1930) where the rear bodywork is wider than the original and there is no "bump" at the bottom of the rumble seat. Also, the guards (fenders) are not so exposed as in the original President Eight roadster. This car survived the devastating 1931 Napier earthquake. I have all the original shipping documents including landed price and final building costs. I have personally known this car for 70 years and while it is not in the original Studebaker colours of the time, this colour scheme was chosen by the previous owner 75 years ago. I purchased the car 60 years ago and decided to retain the exact colour scheme. I have driven it in excess of 350000 miles including taking it to Australia in 1970 for a big rally. Like your car, mine has also caused a lot of comment over the years. My philosophy is if you like it, then enjoy it and drive it like you love it. Good luck on your rebuild and if I can be of any assistance, please give me a call. David Lane <decostude@gmail.com>