dictator27

I'm not totally sure of this, bjc, but I believe the snubbers can be disassembled by compressing them enough in a vise that the two halves of the snubber can be turned slightly to separate them. There is a strong coil spring, two "shoes" and a number of turns of a heavy woven strap inside. The spring is placed horizontally between the shoes and exerts an outward pressure on the strap. If anyone can add more to this, please do. Terry

If requested by a dealer, Studebaker would ship cars in primer. I don't have it to hand, but I have seen documentation which stated Studebaker would paint vehicles in customer requested non factory colours. Studebaker didn't offer two tone colours for a number of years in the thirties. Terry

The cylinder head is unusual. Aside from the fact it is aluminum, the intake manifold is cast into the cylinder head and there are no water cooling passages in it. Studebaker called it a hot spot head. Ninety year old aluminum is not much better than pot metal. There is no cast iron equivalent for this head. Terry

The 41x277 is a 1/2 inch steel plain flat washer. 26x29 is a 6-32 plain hex nut. 40x31 is a #6 spring type lockwasher. 55x10 is an 8-7/16 round head machine screw. Terry

Just a thought Goran, but maybe worth a try. Modern gasoline is much more volatile and burns hotter. The next time you fill the gas tank, put a quart of auto trans fluid in then fill it. This will reduce the volatility of the gas and provide a top lube as a side benefit. Terry

Does anyone know what a 1927 Dictator engine weighs? Less cylinder head, flywheel, flywheel housing and manifolds. I need to make an adapter plate to mount it on my engine stand. Would 1/4 inch plate steel do or would 5/16ths be advisable? There is some concern that 1/4 inch might bend under the weight. Terry

Are you sure it isn't for your car? My 27 Dictator has one like that mounted on the firewall at the base of the steering column. You call your car a Director, are you in Europe? Terry

Hi Robert All of the advice/info here is good, but I think there is something else that needs mentioning. In the 80 years since my 27 and your 29 were built driving styles have changed. In those days cars were designed to do the majority of their work in high gear, including hill climbing. This was largely due to the unsynchronized transmissions and the realization that a lot of drivers of the day did not possess the skill to downshift without grinding. Do you have an owners manual for your car? If not, you might find it interesting reading. Studebaker was obviously assuming that the purchaser of a new 1927 Dictator was not an experienced driver and covers gear shifting in some detail in the manual for my car. The recommended upshift speed for the 1-2 shift is four to eight mph, and the 2-3 shift eight to fifteen mph. No doubleclutching needed, but a slight pause suggested in neutral on the 2-3 shift. The 3-2 downshift is not recommended until vehicle speed has dropped to eight mph! At this speed it says doubleclutching is not required but suggests revving the engine slightly with the clutch depressed. At speeds above eight mph it advises moving the shift lever from neutral to second as quickly as possible after revving the engine slightly with the clutch released. My car is presently completely dissassembled, but when I was driving it I had 90 weight mineral oil in the transmission and had no shifting problems. As Carinne says, don't worry about the modern traffic behind you. They will have to adjust to your speed. Trying to get an 80 year old car to do something it wasn't designed to do can have disastrous results. It might earn you the one-fingered salute occasionally, but most of the time you'll get the thumbs-up:). You mention living in an area of rolling hills. Where I am there are a number of hills between 6-10%. The 6% ones would slow my car to 25 from 30 mph. The 10% grades would reduce speed to 10-12 mph, but downshifting did nothing but increase revs, there was no gain in speed. I would just leave it in high gear, retard the spark to find the best power point and let it pull. Modern traffic be damned!:) Have you been retarding the spark when climbing hills? Leaving the spark fully advanced will not provide maximum power as the car slows down. It will take some experimentation and practice, but you should be able to find a point where the engine will pull strongly at slower speeds. I hope this is of some use. My apologies for being longwinded. Regards, Terry

Tevel 1925 Studebakers use Wagner ignition. They do not have a manual spark lever. Terry

No circulation at idle? Sounds like an impeller issue to me. Terry

There should be a tag on the passenger side firewall under the hood with the model number on it.

If the engine is a Northway it ca't be a Buick. They made their own engines.

Some questions, Dick. The new rings are on the original pistons? Were they standard size rings? Was there much cylinder bore wear? Were the pistons checked for clearance in the cylinders? Was a glaze buster run through the cylinders? Were the valves ground at the same time? How many miles on the engine since the work was done? Just trying to get a feel for things, not questioning whoever did the job. Terry

Are the points clean? Run a business card through them. Terry

If you squirt oil in the cylinders and a retest shows an increase in compression, that indicates weak, or stuck piston rings, possibly excessive cylinder bore wear. No increase in readings would indicate possible valve problems. Did you have the throttle fully open while doing the test? The compression gauge should be registering maximum obtainable pressure after about six engine rotations. A spread of 10 pounds between cylinders is acceptable. This is a low compression engine, so variations would be less noticeable. What were the readings? Terry

He's at 509 942-4572

I'm guessing, but I would think the door latches are the same as other Studebakers of the period. When you say crank parts, do you mean crank handles or window regulators? Terry

Colour chips from that period will be useless. The passage of time will alter the colour even if the chips have been in a closed book for many years. I am in the same position with my 27 Studebaker. Terry

Measure the inside diameter of the seal recesses and outside diameter of the shafts and get modern neoprene replacements that fit those dimensions. Terry

Cool!! Are you planning on keeping it the same colour? Even though it's well worn, that colour looks sharp. The fuel gauge did not have mercury in it (it's funny how many people think that). They used King-Seeley Telegauge fluid. There are two 1926 RHD Dictators here. I've driven both and found that the placement of the handbrake to the right of the driver is a real kneebasher for someone my height (6'5"). :mad: It seems to me that 28 was the first year for an adjustable front seat? Is the accelerator pedal between the brake and clutch or where you'd expect to find it? Terry PS I saw on our morning news that Perth was hit by a major rain/hail/windstorm yesterday. Did it bother you?

Brian in Oz The rim spreader is used to put enough tension on the rim to allow easy removal of the split rim pin. Once that is out, releasing the tension should result in the rim springing inward, disengaging it from the tire bead and allowing easy removal of the tube. It shouldn't take much effort to remove the tire. To replace, it is almost a case of putting the rim in the tire, not the tire on the rim. Use the spreader to to push the sprung part of the rim back into place and permit easy re-installation of the pin. They were a very common item in the teens and twenties and shouldn't be hard to find at a swap meet or on ebay(I have two of them, both of which found me!). They are heavy cast iron, so finding one in Oz would be plan A. Shipping costs might be steep. Terry

Definitely 13 Stude, but think it is a Model E6, six cylinder. Wheelbase is too long to be a four. Terry

Hood release handle p/n 266874W, 38 Comm./Pres. Terry

I'm not a Chev person, I'm into Studes, but Stude trucks of the late 30's that were sold in California had totally different headlights than those sold elsewhere in the US. They were much larger and placed lower on the fenders requiring different headlight stands. To comply with the California law Chev would likely have had to do something similar. Terry

Not positive, but I think the 29 Chev came out in the summer of 28 - trying to beat the Ford Model A off the mark.