Mark Huston

The 1927 ES President has a wheelbase of 127 inches.

Thank you Keiser, another mystery solved.

Here is a picture of my Great Grandmother (on the left) with her sisters, in western Pennsylvania. The picture is dated to October 1956. Can anyone identify the year, make and model of the car?

Today, I saw a news story about a car collector who lost his recently purchased 1962 Jaguar E-Series convertible to a California wildfire while on the car carrier which was hired to transport the car after it was purchased. The lesson I learned from this story is before you have the car transported have your own insurance policy in effect on the car. This buyer relied on the information from a car broker that the car carrier was required to have insurance. There is no record of the car carrier having an active policy. A very expensive lesson for this car collector and one we should all be aware of. http://www.aol.com/article/2015/08/21/man-receives-vintage-jaguar-he-purchased-before-it-was-scorched/21225879/?icid=maing-grid7%257Cmain5%257Cdl15%257Csec1_lnk2%2526pLid%253D603489756&intcmp=hplnws

This set up reminds of the way high school drivers ed cars used to be set up. Could this be an aftermarket drivers ed car conversion?

I just returned to California from Houston, TX on July 16th, one long road trip. Part of the route I drove was the I-10 portion that is now washed out. One of the alternate routes that is being suggested to motorists is to use route 95 which was previously part of the famous Route 66. I used 95 to go from I-40 to I-8. It is a very remote and lonely two lane road. Which makes me wonder how interesting it was to travel on back in the days when Route 66 was the established way of traveling from LA to the Chicago area? I have attached a couple of pictures that I took this past week on 95 near Needles, CA. I pity the person who breaks down out in this desolate area along 95 (previously Route 66).

This would be for a 1930. Thermostatic radiator shutters were not used on 1929 models. They are considered a 1930 model feature. This is one of the changes that marks the difference between a 1929 and a 1930 model President.

In the mid-1980s I saw an ad for a 1928 Studebaker President FB rumble seat roadster for sale in San Francisco. Both my brother, and I, were into Studebakers and this was a very desirable model. We decided to take a trip and check it out. We arrived in the heart of the city and sure enough the car was an older presentable restoration with the roadster top missing. The car had been part of the Bill Harrah collection that was recently sold. Whoever bought the car at the Harrah’s auction took the roadster top off and then resold the car to the guy in San Francisco who now wanted to sell it because he could not find a replacement roadster top for the car. The asking price was $25,000. We test drove the car in the streets of San Francisco and fell in love with it. We later learned that the roadster had the optional high compression head and high speed rear end. However, at the time, both my brother, and I, were newly married and starting families and between the two of us pooling our money we could not come up with the asking price. We had to walk away, kicking ourselves all the way home. Attached is a picture of the car and the friend who did buy it. He allowed me to drive it occasionally when we attend the same car meets in later years. He still has it nearly 30 years later.

About a year ago, my brother sold his 1929 Studebaker FE President touring on eBay to a guy in Finland. His complete eBay posting, with his contact name still listed, is now part of a UK web site listing for used and collector cars. They are using the same complete description and photos posted from the original eBay ad. The Finland buyer still has the car that was sold on eBay and this UK ad must be part of some kind of a scam. I wonder how many old eBay ads are still floating out there as part of an internet scam. I would not buy anything off of an ad on the internet that I could not inspect in person.

Bob, California has had a law on the books making it illegal to use a cell while driving. However, every day I see drivers violating the cell phone law, in addition to speeding, reckless driving, etc. Unfortunately, a law on the books does not motivate people to do what is safe and prudent.

The weather has been nice here in California (we are having a drought – so no spring rain equals nice driving weather) and last week I had my 1929 Studebaker out for a drive. As I was approaching a roundabout traffic was backed up. I had to come to a full stop; however, a 20 something female driver in a SUV nearly rear ended me. Now I am rethinking how safe it is to drive my Studebaker with just the one small stock factory taillight. I am looking into adding additional bright LED tail lights that can be taken on and off as needed so as to not alter the Studebaker’s originality. It is either that or never drive the car again.

I have had this problem with my 29 Studebaker. I solved the problem with balancing, and rebalancing, the tires. Also, tightening up the tie rod bolts. Since rebalancing the tires, and taking up the slack in the tie rod, I have not had another episode of the out of control shimming in the front end.

That attached photo is of a 1920s car in Ohio from a old family photograph taken during a parade. The car was in the background. Possibly a Buick? What do you think?

I prefer to drive my 1929 Studebaker President (337 cid straight eight) on back roads at 45-50 mph. However, it has a 3.56 ratio rear end that allows me to do 65 mph on the freeway, if necessary. Sometimes, you have no choice but to get out on the interstate freeways, especially in the San Francisco Bay area. When on the freeway I stay in the right lane and only move over to pass slower modern cars. It is enjoyable to watch their expression when I pass them by.

FE is the model designation of the long wheel base (135 inches) 1929-30 Studebaker President. The 1929-30 FH President had the 125 inch wheel base. The 1929-30 FE President included the 7 passenger Limousine (with division window), 7 passenger Sedan (without division window), 7 passenger Touring, 5 passenger Brougham, and 5 passenger Victoria. Here is a picture of my 1929 FE President Brougham.

A local auction company is having an auction of the estate of Carl Wishek (Acampo, CA) on February 7, 2015 that includes: 30 Vintage vehicles to incl. 1922 Nash Roadster, 1929 Stutz M, (2) 1931 Nash sedans, 1929 Packard, 1930 Studebaker Commander, 1927 Nash Coupe, 1914 Studebaker 2 door, 1933 Packard Twelve, 1995 Lotus Esprit, 1995 Ferrari 456, 1973 Lamborghini Espada, plus Ford Mustangs, Model A’s, Lincolns, Mercedes, Cadillac, Maserati, & more. Large assortment of new & used auto parts, machine shop equipment, tractors, motorhome, etc. http://huismanauction.com/index.php?ap=1&pid=41261

My 1929 President has the red jewel in the drivers side of the headlamp and the green is on the passenger side.

In addition to the all of the good advice already given, I would recommend that you drop the oil pan and clean it out before starting the engine. Make sure the oil pump intake is not covered in crud. Just draining the oil from the pan will not remove all of the thick sludge that may have built up in the pan while sitting for the last 35 years. I have started many old cars that have been sitting for the same number of years and every one of them needed the oil pan cleaned out because of old oil turning to a thick sludge.

Another reason for the difference is the car could have been in an accident and when it was repaired they used a fender that was available – but not identical to the original. Many years ago my brother bought a 1929 Studebaker President sedan with dual side mounts. He eventually tracked down the son of the original owner and interviewed him for the history of the car. The son was the family chauffeur since his parents did not drive. The son told my brother about the time he was driving the 1929 Studebaker across the newly opened San Francisco Bay Bridge and was in the tunnel on Treasure Island when another vehicle crossed the center line and crashed into the Studebaker. This was in the 1930s and an original 1929 fender could not be located so one from a 1928 was used, very similar but not an exact match to a 1929 fender. We later checked out my brother’s car and sure enough, upon close examination, we confirmed that the front fenders are from different model years.

The 1929-30 FE President has the clock. The FH does not. I have attached a picture of the instruments in my 29 FE President.

There is a locksmith in Woodland, California that has been in business since 1947. In the past year they have worked on five of these spare tire locks and successfully got all five working including making keys for them. I have attached a picture of the three that he did for me. He also repaired and keyed two for another 29 President owner. Here is his information if you want to contact him and ship your locks to him for repair. Wallace Safe and Lock Co, 129 Court Street, Woodland CA, 95695 (530) 666-2454 The person I dealt with is Lauren Davis I hope this helps you solve your problem.

Bob, on their web site, http://www.OldWheel.com the car is listed as sold.

In 2003 I bought a new Toyota Tundra truck. I did not have it 6 months when a relative borrowed my truck to tow a trailer. The truck ended up with the tailgate dented and the bumper bent. I pointed out the damage and the response was “It’s just a truck. I broke it in for you”. To save on insurance I did not put in a claim and two years later I traded the Tundra in on a Ford F-150. The damage cost me big when I made the trade. Lesson learned.

I have had similar experiences with my 1929 Studebaker. Years ago I was with a large group of old car owners, 20s and 30s, various makes, and we parked our cars in a parking lot of the historic part of town with gold rush era buildings from the 1800s. After we returned to our cars from eating lunch I discovered fresh paint chips on the crown of the left front fender of my 1929 Studebaker that still had one of the finest original paint jobs of any original car. The paint was black and easily showed the deep scratches down to the bare metal all over the top of the fender – paint chips still lying next to the scratches. Someone who was hateful vandalized a nice original car. You can never get that nice original paint back. Another time I was showing two cars 1929 Studebaker and a 1958 Cadillac. I returned to the Studebaker after having checked on the Cadillac in time to see a family of five – mom, dad, and three small children climbing all over the car. One kid was hanging from a door trying to pull himself up while kicking the door. Another older boy was sitting on the hood looking in through the windshield. Mom and Dad standing there with the third kid acting like nothing was wrong while the kids are tearing up my car. I was direct and forceful in asking them to get their kids off my car. They told me I was rude. The car was on display – wants my problem? Last year, I was part of a display of CCCA cars parked in front of a large well known San Francisco Bay Area car museum. During the course of the event I left the museum to go out front to the plaza were our cars were parked. One of our members has a 1940 Cadillac convertible, parked with the top down, on display with our club’s cars. There were people sitting inside the car with friends taking pictures with a lineup of other spectators waiting their turn to get their picture taken sitting in the Cadillac convertible. The car’s owner was inside the museum and had no idea what was going on outside with is Cadillac. It is gotten so bad I almost don’t want to take my car out unless I can stay with it every minute until it is returned to the garage.

The person who was reproducing them is no longer able and discontinued making reproduction parts. I do not know if anyone is currently reproducing the part.