HarryJ

1929Chrysler......Thanx for the pictures! Some of the wood seems to need replacement; other parts ,well, you might be opening a pandora's box. Number one I would square and align the doors and body before I touched the exsisting wood. Study the body and spend time taking some measurements. It has taken me almost two months to shim the left rear door of my car so it fits in the space properly. These composite bodies are quite complex. By the way, I bet they leaked the day they drove them off the lot. These bodies were built on "jigs" on the assembly lines by semi skilled labor. The original alignment was determined by these jigs. It is hard to get this alignment set today without some study.

1929Chrysler.....I am presently restoring a 1928 Chrysler sedan with a Fisher composite (wood and steel) body. If the wood you are refering to are the top bows and slats; these should be very easy for a woodworker to replicate. The curved bows are cut out of a flat board and not steam bent. If however, the damage is to the structural beams that brace and hold the body plumb and square; it is another story. I went to my local woodworking supply shop and obtained two different epoxy wood repair compounds, one of which could be painted on "punky" or slightly rotted wood greatly strengthing it, the other a type of putty would fill in bad wood screw holes and holes in the wood. Neither would fill in a gap where a section of timber was missing. I will say that working with replacement wood has the advantage of if you make a mistake you can get a new piece of wood as compared to making a mistake on a rare and hard to find original part. Can you post some pictures of your situation?

Is it actually a spark plug or does it have some type of heater coil on the end? Quite a few cars of this era had pre heaters on the intake. They were variously called electro-fog generators (Lincoln), fumers (Chrysler), etc.

Pacer...The "red head" designation refered to the engine option. My Royal Sedan has the red head option (see pic in current restoration forum). I believe all the roadsters, top and bottom, were equiped with the red head. The other engine option was the silver dome.The red head was a 6 to 1 compression special head. By the way, the "72" was equiped with a Pemberthy Ball & Ball SV37 carburetor. This was a dual throated unit set up to were the second throat would kick in at higher speeds. Unfortunately, these carbs were die cast zinc and have not survived. What kind of carb does your car have?

Stoic.....Have you got any pictures of this cursed Stutz?????

This is my series "72" Royal sedan.

Pacer.....Here are pictures of the two roadster bodies for the series "72". I just thought of something...did Chrysler chassis have Austrailian built bodies as did several other US designed and built chassis?

sldan....We are in the early stages of piecing together the rapid prototyping technology. I originally delved into this to reproduce early die castings. I am working with two engineering colleges to sort out and find the latest technologies available and techniques. The machinist I recruited to help me with the end frames is here in Atlanta. He made the two copies in about two weeks. Don't expect to get rich or even recoup your cost in this endevor; as there is not a significant demand for parts to fit a 80 year old car. Still, if I can read a part or drawing into a computer and then make a copy and or pattern using stereolithography or one or two other newer technologies we just might be able to produce parts at an affordable price and in a very short time frame. Since this is not my primary business, I am having to do this project in my spare time.

Someone wrote me a response to my private box/area of this site. Please excuse me as I looked at it while trying to learn how to operate this computer and I can't find it again I think they were from Va?? Please contact me again as I want to sell this stuff. This person ask me if I had an inventory. The answer is, no. There are too many parts to inventory. I hope to post pictures of all this junk when I become more proficient at operating this darn machine.

Folks I just closed a carburetor shop I have owned for the last few years. I sold the cores to a core recycler in Tenn. and and now left with about 200 rebuilt and NOS carb plus a small truck load of assorted parts including spark plugs, points, filters of various kinds,service manuals, gas caps, motor mounts, etc. I am looking to liquidate all of this for a cheap price. Let me know if you have any interest. The shop is located in Atlanta. I don't intend to pack or ship the stuff; you buy it you load and haul it.

sldan...I am the one who had the end frames machined for my '21 light six Studebaker and 32 Dictators' 24. These parts were originally die cast, not sand or investment cast; so making a pattern and sand casting copies will give you a copy that is as close as a machined part. Machining is probably more economical than casting then machining. I am presently working to develope a rapid prototyping technique that will allow parts such as these and others to be produced in a some sort of somewhat affordable fashion.

Pacer...great to hear another one of these cars has survived. Did you know two of the series "72"'s placed 3rd & 4th at Le Mans in 1928? For your info Chrysler corp. has original factory photos of the two body styles available in the "72" roadster. The historical data collection has these and a copy of the owners manual. Try to keep it original if you can; the roadsters are really sporty.

Steve, 32 dictator has my answer. The clogged vent line is one of the most common problems with vacuum tanks. These are simple and efficient units that are dependable when working properly. Remember it only takes approximately 3 inches of mercury to make them work. a normal engine of the 20's produces 14 inches of vacuum. Even with vacuum leaks the unit should function well.

I am presently in the process of restoring a 1928 series "72" Chrysler. This is proving to be a challenging project. The body is a composite (wood and steel) unit manufactured by Fisher; requiring the replacement of a good percentage of the wooden frame. I started this project some 35 years ago. For a period of the last 25 years the car was in storage; however, when I acquired my present shop I proceeded to restart my efforts to resurrect this survivor. My intention is to restore it to as close to it was when it rolled off the assembly lines at Chrysler in 1927 or 1928 (note production of the series "72 started in mid '27). I hope to keep this forum posted as to my progress and solicit aid and advice from those participating. When I master the ability to post pictures via this new fangled contrivance of which I am presently utilizing, I will hopefully post some of these for your review. In the mean time I would appreciate the attention and help of those members who have a knowledge of restoration practices and techniques relating to composite bodies of the 1920's.

I am looking to purchase a type "48" Locomobilr. Must be in restored drivable condition. Prefer excellent original.

Pacer, The wheelbase of the series "72" is 120.5". The roadster came in two different bodies, one produced early in the series and the other in later production. Both had different doors. I believe the reason for the difference was that after the initial order of bodies were used up,a second order was made, maybe from a different supplier, thus the other design. Chrysler ordered bodies from outside suppliers at this time. I know they made large orders from Fisher at this juncture and I suspect LeBaron also supplied production bodies.

BBStude21.....Great car!....I'ved changed my mind as to the overheating issue on my'21. Since my last post, I've run some additional tests and thought about this issue from several perspectives. When I was testing the car prior to the original post I observed continuous bubbling in the radiator neck water throughout the test. This could indicate a breach between the combustion chamber and the water jackets; however, this phenom was not very prominent, so I noted it , but did not highly consider it . Upon further thought, I decided to research the overheating issue further before I turned a wrench, other than making a few obvious repairs and adjustments. I tested the car in front of a member of the SDC using a radiator from a 1928 Chrysler ( which I knew was good ) to substitute for the Stude unit. The SDC member independently noticed the bubbling ( without any notice or prompting from me ). So I proceeded to my local NAPA store and obtained a "block tester" device; subsequently running three test runs of the car. On all three of the tests, the royal blue colored fluid changed to a yellow/green color. I consulted with several people on these findngs, as I had never performed this testing proceedure. Given the '21 Light six was fitted with an aluminum head and, I checked the torque on several head nuts; with several nuts showing less than 20 lbs, I changed my mind and focused on a leak in the system, rather than the radiator. I have decided to remove the head and check for one of the following: Blown head gasket, crack or fault in the block, crack or fault in the head. With the propensity of aluminum heads to warp, coupled with the greater probability of a head gasket failure showing the noted results, I have decided to remove the head and proceed from there. This may require major surgery if the aluminum head refuses to release itself from the iron/steel studs. Once the head is removed from the engine, I plan to check for warpage and check the head gasket for leaks. I hope to perform these tasks in the next two or three weeks. Again thanks for your response.

Enough arguement already; how do we engineer our way out of this dilemma and move on?

I have a 1931 Plymouth "PA" with gas tank sending unit problems. The car I believe originally had a cork float on the gas tank sending unit; on a restoration in the 60's, someone replaced this cork float with a cobbled up brass carb float which subsequently sank. Now the gas guage will not work. Can I replace this with a cork unit or is there something better? Soldering up another brass unit is difficult and prone to the same malady as the present one. Will raw cork work or do I need to coat it with some coating?

I will hate to see the cost of painting a car when only the "professionals" can handle the job! Yes, we need to protect the environment; however laws are passed without thought as to how it will effect the market. Some years ago the Fed started to crack down on lead/acid batteries resulting in the closure of most of the lead smelters in the U.S.;this resulted in many batteries being disposed of by throwing them in rivers, lakes,and illegal trash heaps complicating the problem. The congress has gotten to where it passes laws on a knee jerk reaction without thinking. If we are to protect the environment and thrive we must engineer solutions that yield positive results that allow us to compete in the global market successfully.

bullitnose...If you have a vacuum guage you can also check the reading at the vacuum tank. A strong engine should yield approx. 16" of vacuum; however, only 3" is required to properly operate the Stewart Warner tank on an "L" Lincoln. One of the most common problems on these units is a clogged atmospheric vent. Check your fuel lines for clogs also. Note there is a fuel filter on the line mounted on the frame just under the drivers seat; check this as it could be full. If you have a Mityvac unit you could try to pull gas through the line (at the vacuum tank inlet point) and note the flow and vacuum required to produce said flow. Also, keep in mind the seal between the top and the inner tank needs to be air tight; although the seal between the inner tank and the outer tank does not ( note that gas may slosh up against this seal and leak out occasionly so sealing it is a good idea). By the way what is the serial number of your car and I would suggest joining the Lincoln Owners Club.

I have a 1921 Studebaker light six, which has been over heating. After some study of the problem I have determined the problem to be a clogged radiator. I am wondering where to find an exact duplicate of the radiator core for replacement. Does anyone have any suggestions? The hex cells are .333" accross, the height is 20", the width is 18.25", and it is 2.25" thick.

NO!!!!

Last weekend I attended the Concours at Hilton Head; and to my amazement there was a Continental Beacon on the show field. I must admit this was a suprise! I consider this a very rare car indeed. I have been to many shows but this is the first Continental I have ever seen. How many of these last vestiges of the Durant legacy have survived?

Rick....It really looks good!!!!! Just got my computer back up(it had crashed). How's it running? By the way, it turns out the '21 Studebaker has a clogged radiator. That is why it was overheating. When I finish putting new tires on the Lincoln and get the gas tank sending unit on the Plymouth working I intend to have the '21's radiator recored.