Mark Huston

Looks like an early version of what we now call a brush hog for clearing heavy brush.

The firewall information is broken down as follows: FH – Indicates that this is the 125 inch wheelbase President C – Indicates the body style, State Victoria (4 passenger) 654 – Identifies this as the 654th State Victoria body built The chassis serial number starts for with 7,013,601 for the State Victoria, and is stamped into a metal plate that is riveted to the left front frame rail just behind the left front wheel.

My brother, and I, both have owned 1929 Studebaker Presidents for well over 20 years. What model President do you have, FE or FH, and body style. What kind of information are you looking for? There are some very knowledge people on this forum who can help you with whatever questions you have. Attached is a picture of my 1929 President FE Brougham.

1957 Oldsmobile

You may want to wait until your son has some miles under his belt before you turn him out on the road with the 65 Wildcat. At LEAST one year. I do not know of any new drivers that do not have an accident within the first year. I am sure the insurance companies are painfully aware of this also. Therefore, give it some time, one year or so, and then shop for a policy with a company that will insure the car with your son as an occasional user. This may require going with a traditional auto insurance company and not a collector car insurance policy.

I do not believe this roadster body is a Studebaker. Both the door, and the body, is missing the beltline that is typical of Studebakers of this era.

Sounds like they did not just randomly pick your garage to break into, you were specifically targeted. Get your garage alarmed, get a gun, and be selective about who knows what is in your garage.

1940_Dodge, I really do not think you have anything to worry about. The amount of asbestos that may be in your car is not enough to kill you. If it was, I would have been dead years ago from the amounts that I have breathed in. Back in the 1970s, when asbestos was still used in brake pads, I worked in a service station. One of my jobs was to remove the brake drums and blow everything out with the air hose. This was a messy job that the mechanic did not want to do and as the mechanic trainee I got the job. I have blown out hundreds of car's brake parts and still have healthy lungs. As a side note, after the brake dust was blown out of the brake parts, I got to clean the shop at the end of the day – more brake dust to breathe in. Another unsafe practice, by today’s standards, was a barrel of solvent that we cleaned parts in – using out bare hands. I wonder how much solvent I have absorbed through my skin.

The cowl tag FDW-1 is for a Studebaker and is broken down as follows: “FD” identifies a 1929-30 Studebaker Commander with a straight 8 engine “W” signifies a four door sedan body The number “1” is for a specific trim style, usually a wood wheel car, rear mounted spar tire and mohair interior. 6613 identifies the production number of the car body. Because the body number is in the six thousand range the car was most likely a 1930 model. The cowl and hood pictured do not look like they belong to any Studebaker I have ever seen.

I agree with everything that has already been said and will throw another thought out there. I would not restore any #4 condition car that will end up costing more than I would pay for a nice older restoration. Example: Model A Fords. Why restore one when the market is flooded with older restorations looking for a good home? I am sure there are many other older restorations coming on the market now that can be picked up at a fraction of the restoration cost.

I received my issue of the “BULLETIN” yesterday and was greatly disappointed by the comments of Al (club president’s message) regarding his belief that the majority of CCCA members favor excepting cars of the 50s. I strongly feel that the club should stick to the core beliefs that CCCA was founded on – Classic Era cars. The 50s were a lot of things but to say that some cars of the 50s are “Classic Era” is diluting the foundation of the club to nothing.

Steve, you are on track to become a very dangerous man – someone who has knowledge and is an independent thinker. By reading original literature, and trying to acquaint your self with as many kinds of cars as possible, you are gaining knowledge.

To change the status quo, as it now exists, will be the equivalent of trying to move a mountain. Most all collectors are conditioned to “over restore” their cars. I will venture to say, that “most” do not have the foggiest idea of what the car looked like when it was new. In my nearly 40 years in this hobby I have met very few collectors who even tried to obtain original factory literature, photos, or any kind of documentation that illustrated what was correct for their cars. I have known collectors who could not read a Studebaker cowl body tag on their 1929 Studebaker President. One of the earliest and simplest body tags to read. You cannot force someone to learn if they do not want to expand their knowledge and understanding about their own car. My occupation is that of a teacher, and I teach in a juvenile correctional facility. I am not the least bit delusional; you cannot force someone to learn. The same holds true to teaching collector car owners about what was, or was note, correct on their car when it was new. If their mind is made up that their convertible should be bright red, with four different kinds of accessories lights, wide white walls, fender skirts, radio, leather covered everything, wood grained dash, lighted Lalique mascot, exterior sun visor, and anything else that they can acquire, then they will do it. What the factory produced is immaterial. But there is hope. When I started in this hobby no one cared about original unmolested cars. Now, most every car collector group recognizes original cars by having at least one class for them on their show field. Maybe, someday, the same will be true for cars restored to the way the factory produced them, not how the owner believes they should look. The original post by Steve, that started this thread on judging, was about becoming a CCCA judge, not about how CCCA judges cars. If you are interest in learning about Full Classics by all means take advantage of the opportunity to become a certified CCCA judge. What better way to learn about all the different cars that are Full Classics.

Over compensating?

The President’s used 6.50 X 20 for the FH model, and 6.50 X 19 for FE model. One point to consider regarding the tires looking oversized has to do with today’s tire manufacturers. If you look at factory photos of your President carefully you will see that the 6.50 X 20 tire is the correct size and they did fit correctly in the side mount fender wells with the tire lock in place. However, most modern replacement 6.50 X 20 tires WILL NOT fit in your side mount fender well. This is because the modern replacement tires are not the exact same size as those used when your President was new. You need to be very careful in selecting replacement tires because some will not fit in your fender wells. I have found this out the hard way. Studebaker was not using synchromesh in 1929 and double clutching is the correct method of shifting.

I have experienced similar issues – can’t afford a perfect car, and cannot afford to do a full restoration. Instead of focusing on what you cannot do, look at what you can do. Buy the nicest car you can afford and then live with the imperfections you cannot afford to change. As time and money allows upgrade those items that are within your budget. In the mean time, enjoy the car, and the hobby, drive it as much as you can.

The driver appears to be in his late 30s or early 40s. I have never reported the drive for reckless driving because he goes by in a flash, I have not been able to get his license number.

For the last couple of months, every morning, I am passed on the freeway by guy driving what looks to be about a 1970 Plymouth Fury sedan. The guy drives the car hard, weaving in and out of traffic, flying down the freeway hitting the breaks when he encounters a slower car, and then cutting across three lanes of heavy traffic to exit the freeway. The car appears to be a very well preserved original that recently passed from the original owner to an Indy 500 driver in training. <O:p</O:p Two things concern me. First, this is a nice original that is quickly getting ruined. Second, when this lead-foot-driver finally exceeds the abilities of a 41 year old car and causes an accident the news will focus on “unsafe” collector cars in modern traffic. <O:p</O:p Now I am done venting. :mad:

For those interested here is the link to the list of cars: http://forums.aaca.org/f119/car-collection-314197.html

I can understand the desire to leave the car in its original condition; after all, they are only original once. The way to prepare the car for judging in the Touring Class, and to help preserve it, is to CLEAN. This is deep cleaning every square inch of the car, chassis, under the hood, and interior. Clean and then wax, and polish. Eliminate the dirt and then protect the finish with a good high quality wax. A second point is attention to detail. Items under the hood that have been replaced that do not fit the era of the car should be replaced with correct factory parts. Example, radiator hose clamps. Your car may have later style hose clamps that are fully functioning, but are not correct for a 1939 Buick. Correct replacement hose clamps are easy to buy, easy to install, and make a big difference in the appearance of your car when the hood is opened.

Depending on the model car, many cars in the 20s were capable of fast speeds and long distance driving. Some of the more light weight inexpensive cars may not have been able to do 280 miles in a one day. A big Buick could easily have accomplished those miles in a day, however; the problem in the 20s was not the inability of the cars to go the distance, is was the quality of the roads and having to drive through the center every little down along the way. This really slowed you down. So, 280 miles in a single day is about 45 mph over about 6 ½ hours – if you could maintain that speed for the entire 280 miles. Factoring the roads and towns along the way I am sure it was a long 12 hour day of driving. In the late teens and early 20s there was an outlaw gang of brothers called “The Newton Boys”. There is a book and movie by the same name that chronicles their achievements of robbing banks and trains throughout the Midwest and even into Canada. The Newton Boys drove Studebakers and loved the speed and endurance that they could achieve. Reading the book it is amazing the amount of ground they covered in those early cars on gravel and dirt roads.

You might want to shop around and try another chrome shop. I had the front and rear bumpers on my 1929 FE Brougham done last winter and they were very badly pitted. All of the bumpers turned out perfectly – despite how bad they started out. I have found that many of the chrome shops do not want to deal with any parts that require more than a little minor prep work before chroming. When I had the lock rings re chromed the first shop I went to asked me what river I found the rings in and refused to even consider re chroming them. I shopped around until I found the shop I am using now; they do take the time to prep the parts so they turned out beautifully.

Every car club, regardless of what they embrace, has a standard of admission, the CCCA is no different. Because it is impossible to get everyone to agree with what that criteria may be it is why we have literally hundreds of unique car clubs in this country. Some clubs are small, some large, each one serving a specific niche. Every car club that recognizes cars that pre-date power steering, high compression V8 engines, air-conditioning, stereos, and interstate capable, is suffering from an aging membership. If we are to believe these clubs will never be able to replace their aging membership we will have to wait and see which clubs are still around 20 to 30 years from now.

Like the AACA, the CCCA promotes original cars and has a display/judging class for those original cars at their Grand Classics. It is the car owner’s choice to either restore their car, or keep it original, just like in the AACA. <O:p</O:p In the many years I have been a member of the CCCA they have included pictures of original unrestored cars displayed at the Grand Classics many times in the club’s Classic Car magazine. Yes, the CCCA does embrace original cars, it is the owners who choose to restore them. <O:p</O:p My car, a 1929 Studebaker President Brougham, is not restored, it is a work in progress, and may never be completed, however, it is just as welcomed at CCCA events as any car that is restored.

For Sale: 1941 Dodge Military Recon vehicle, $30,000. Running condition, unrestored, driven in local parades. Solid body, no rust out. For more information, and additional pictures, contact Bill at 208-267-2154 (located in Northern Idaho)