dictator27

Fantastic!!! Terry

One Canadian province drove on the left side of the road until 1922, that being British Columbia. There is a 1913 Model T in the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria which has RHD. Terry

Steve That is certainly possible. If my car had one of those adapters on it, the cable would be considerably shorter than it is - probably as much as 2 feet. Terry

Hi Steve Simple question, Steve. If it is a 1:1 ratio, why is it required? My 27 Dictator does not have one, the cable screws directly into the transmission. There is a 26 Standard 6 here which had the rear axle ratio changed to the high speed ratio. It now needs one of those adapters because the speedometer reads low. Prior to the change it didn't have one. Terry

Hi Steve You might have better luck finding the proverbial hen's tooth than one of those coils with the side high tension terminal. According to my 1930 Chilton's interchange book, only three cars used it, all Studebakers. Standard 6 for 1925, and Big and Special 6's for 1926. Studebaker's part number was 106837. Terry

Darn! My trigger finger was too fast. The upper part of the intake manifold - the part with the heat riser in it - is probably natural finish on your car. They were an aluminum alloy. Terry

A couple more black items. The timing mark cover plate on the flywheel housing, the clutch inspection cover on the top of the transmission and the shift tower. Terry

Awesome!! Rocker assemblies are common to all Light/Standard/Dictator Sixes to 1928. Terry

Tom Oops. Didn't intend to imply anything, Tom. It's an EU engine, which is what counts. There are differences between early and late EU engines though, most of which are external (visual) and can be dealt with. I'm presuming the original engine is at least a source of parts. (That's where I was going when I asked the question.) Do you know what the engine number of the original one is? EU car serial #'s were 1346101 to 1410000, for a total EU production of 63899. Yours was built with 7579 to go, obviously close to the end of EU production. Internally there are two differences: Prior to engine EU54135, intake and exhaust valves were the same size 1 5/8 in. From that number the exhaust valves were reduced to 1 1/2 in. Don't know why. Up to engine EU39542 it seems Studebaker couldn't decide which timing chain supplier to use, sourcing them from Morse, Link Belt and Duckworth. :confused: Now you know why restorers of these Studes have less hair than restorers of other cars. From that number they used Whitney chains which required a change in the accessory shaft sprocket. Camshaft and crankshaft sprockets weren't changed. The Whitney chain can't be used on earlier engines. Whitney chains are easier to come by, so it might be expedient to swap the chain and gears out of your original engine into the "new" one. External differences are: At EU 51793 fan belt width increased to 1 in. from 3/4, requiring pulley change. (Flat leather belts are a PITA!) Carburetor changed at EU29674 from Stromberg OE-1 to Stromberg T-1. Temperature sensor bulb moved from front to rear of cylinder head at EU37731. Thermostat used after EU44263, larger water outlet at EU54134. Manifold heat control valve changed to a dash mounted lever at EU40909. For once, the chassis number also indicated 1385940. Prior to EU40799 Wagner electrical equipment was used. Wagner distributors do not have a manual spark advance. (Reference my hair comment above at this point!) From EU40799 to EU40909 Remy distributor Model 626K used. That's 110 cars! From EU40909, serial number 1385940, Remy Model 636P used. Remy distributors have a dash mounted spark lever. Remy 949-J generator after EU49210 and Remy starter 720N on Remy equipped cars. Incidentally, the 1925 Stude is still on Ebay. There must have been gremlins in the internet when you looked. The 1927 Stude has a good photo of the dashboard. Both the heat riser lever (Studebaker called it a hot spot valve) and the manual spark advance lever are missing from the panel directly in front of the steering column. The button in the middle is the choke. No thanks neede or required, Tom. What's the point of this hobby if we don't help each other? :) Terry

Tom Yes, the intake manifold is black and the exhaust manifold is natural finish. Terry

Tom The dipstick could do some physical damage if it was used as a weapon, couldn't it? The real reason is the end of the D shaped dipstick fits into a corresponding hole in the oil drain plug. To drain the oil a screwdriver or similar tool is put through the dipstick handle and used to turn the dipstick a couple turns to the left to open the oil drain. The original drain plug is pot metal, so I wouldn't do that until the plug is replaced though. Terry

Try a Fram C4P. They were used on Studebaker V8 engines. Terry

Tom Tool storage is under under the front seat. You might be surprised if you haven't looked. I missed the water pump housing and oil filler cover in the list of black items. There is a 1925 Stude on Ebay with a good picture of the right side of the engine. Also a 1927 with a left side picture, but a lot of it is in a shadow. Terry

Tom Have you looked at RSC They cater to prewar cars. Page 14 of their online catalog lists Alemite grease fittings and couplers. LUB090 or LUB071 should work. The engine isn't the original one for the car, right? Does the rest of the car have Zerk fittings? Studebaker changed from Alemite to Zerk late in 1927. The US serial number was 1,398,174. Terry

Tom I can't locate the info at the moment, but if I remember correctly, it seems to me that all auto manufacturers used gloss black under the hood and on the chassis until about 1950. Later than I thought. The valve cover and water jacket cover on mine have never been refinished and the remaining paint is gloss. As far as I know, all under hood fasteners, including head bolts were natural finish. So was the dipstick. No cad plated parts under the hood. T Incidentally, have you found out why the dipstick is as heavy as it is? Terry

Not quite sure what you are referring to, Tom. The only fitting on mine is right on the top of the fan mount. Terry

Light grey except starter, generator, fan, air cleaner, valve cover, water jacket cover, accessory driveshaft, front engine mount which are black. Trans also grey. Terry

Hi Dave Darn! After some thought I might have another course of action. The illustration in my service manual indicates that the rocker arm support stud nuts are flush with the end of the studs when they're tight. It is just an illustrator's rendering, but hopefully it's accurate. It doesn't sound like that is the case on your engine Would this work? Put the nuts back on and just snug them up. Take a die grinder or Dremel tool with a small cut off disc in it and cut the projecting part of the stud off flush with the nuts. Remove the nuts and hopefully the rocker shaft. Failing that, taking the cylinder head off is about as easy as it gets. Is yours held on with bolts, or studs and nuts? Beyond that, there are some complications. Finding a valve spring compressor for a side valve engine might be a challenge. Presumably the illustrations in your manual are the same as mine. Note that the compressor has an arm that fits into the spring above the retainer plate so that the spring is compressed against itself when the compressor is closed. The ones available now likely won't have that feature. I have had the valves out of my car twice, but both times the engine was out of it. (I've owned it for 45 years.) I used an overhead valve spring compressor. To do that, the manifold had to come off and you have the added complication of the steering column. :mad: Even with the right compressor, you'll be standing on your head to get it in. The spring keepers are designed to stay in the retainer plate when they are removed from the slot in the valve, but it goes without saying that something should be put under the valves to prevent anything falling into the engine. As I mentioned earlier on this post, torque specs for engines of this age don't exist. For a 1/2 inch bolt with 13 or 20 threads/inch on a low compression engine using a composition type gasket - what virtually all old cars used - probably 40 pounds would do. The last time I had the head off mine I did it by feel. I hope my idea works. Keep me posted. Terry

Doug 1. Open priming cup on #1 cylinder or remove spark plug. With finger over priming cup or spark plug hole, turn engine until compression can be felt, then continue turning until UP-DC-1-6 mark on the flywheel is under the pointer on left side of flywheel houising. 2. Loosen the screw on Wagner equipment or nut on Remy equipment that holds distributor cam on the distributor shaft. Pry the cam up with a screwdriver. Turn the cam counterclockwise until the edge of the rotor is directly under #1 terminal in tyhe distributor cap. 3. Tighten the screw or nut and replace rotor and cap. 4. Firing order 153624. Rotor rotates ccw. Terry

Hi Dave Nothing like having a curve ball tossed at you, is there? Having said that, patience is a virtue so I'm told. Time to slow down, take a deep breath, have a beer(or two or three), and throw a stick of dynamite at the #&%@# thing! Seriously, it sounds like someone went to a lot of trouble replacing the studs. I'm having trouble trying to visualize what you've got. Give the shaft mounts a rap at the bottom with a brass or aluminum drift. If they were double nutted to put them in I can't see them being too tight, maybe they might come out the same way. Don't know what else to suggest, otherwise. Maybe the line of least resistance is removing the cylinder head. It's easy to do. Terry

Apparently the studs have been replaced at some time. Mine were replaced with bolts. Was there a gap between the nut and the rocker arm supports? Does that sleeve look crushed? Could be a problem. Terry

Model and body identification is on a tag under the hood on the passengers side of the firewall. Terry

I took a look at my 27 Dictator engine which is out of the car right now. It appears that the pin is a press fit which is staked in place. Definitely something a machine shop should be able to do. I've been involved with these engines for over forty years and haven't heard of any problems with the pins. Torque specs for engines of this age don't exist. If you want to go that route, any high school auto mech text book should have a chart listing maximum torque levels for different grades and sizes. The alternative is to run them up until they are tight and give them another half turn . Kiddin'. The lack of torque specs is one reason for the cotter pins. Terry

Studebaker made their own front axles at that time. Parts interchange is limited to 1928, 29, and 30 Dictators. (My interchange book only goes to 1930, though) I won't say NOS parts don't exist, but the possibility is remote. Terry

Hi Dave You need a crowsfoot wrench which should be available at most tool sales places. These are short wrenches which have a 3/8 drive square in them. Get the one with the open end the same as a normal wrench so it can be slid onto the nut from the side. Using a 6 inch 3/8 extension and a ratchet(and a little luck ), you should be able to break the nuts loose. Position the engine to reduce valve pressure as much as possible. It is slow, but if the stars are properly aligned, you may be able to remove them with your fingers once the tension is released. Good luck(BTDT). Terry