1939 Commander

[39Commander]

Hello all I have a 1939 Studebaker Commander and NEED help getting started what suggestions do you have?

[Rusty_OToole]

Your question is too vague and impossible to answer.

[39Commander]

well I am 24 years old and have an all original commander and I do not want to ruin it BUT I NEED HELP trying to find rebuild kits for the motor ect.. I want to keep it original but that almost seems impossible. I have searching for things for the past 3 years with no luck and today I found this website so I might strike some answers here I hope

[39Commander]

I really thought of selling it but Im not even sure what it is worth does anyone have any clue on that?

[Guest AntarcticDave]

Hi 39Commander. If you are looking at rebuilding the engine, Egge would have a complete rebuild kit for it: http://www.egge.com/ . As for value, it really depends on condition, but you can look up some prices at Manheim Gold http://www.manheimgold.com/car_lo.html or at NADA's classic guide http://www.nadaguides.com/SectionHome.aspx?LI=1-28-0-5000-502-504-50005&l=1&w=22&p=0&f=5003

Best of Luck with your 39.

Dave

[39Commander]

thanks a bunch that is at least somewhere to start!

[Jon37]

I may have missed something, but.... if I were in your shoes I would immediately join whatever car club represented the make of my car, and look there for further information. Are you aware of the Studebaker Driver's Club? http://www.studebakerdriversclub.com/ I would be surprised if you could NOT keep it original, in light of the fact that many reproduction parts are available for all makes of antique cars nowadays. I would be almost certain that all engine parts, for example, would still be available for your car.

My advice would be to join the club, and as soon as you can acquire the roster of members, look through it to find the nearest persons with a '39 of your model. (I am not in this club but I think their membership is 13,000 or more people.) I would then phone or e-mail these people to ask their advice on parts and service, and how they might go about coaxing a car out of hibernation.

One good rule of thumb for all cars which have "sat" for a number of years, is to drain the oil and drop the oil pan. Clean it out, clean the oil off the inside of the block (where it may be all caked up with age), and start out with fresh oil. Shoot some oil into the cylinders to make sure they're well lubricated, then turn the engine over by hand just to get everything moving and lubed up. Then fire it up -- you might find that it ran just fine, with only new spark plugs, points, condenser and rotor (and maybe spark plug wires).

One cautionj: if the car's sat for awhile the gas in the tank will be rancid. Drain that, and you might want to disconnect the gas line where it comes into the fuel pump (from the tank) and run a line into a can of fresh gasoline. There could be a lot of junk in those fuel lines that will clog everything up.

[58Packardman]

I can finally help someone on this forum. I have a number of Studebakers and Packards (those built by Studebaker). For general parts call Christof Kheim with Rocky Mountain Studebaker in Boulder CO. He is great to work with and knows a ton. Many times if he does not have it, he can send you in the right direction. Second on my list would be SASCO in South Bend, IN. Third vendor would be Studebaker Int'l in IN. For interiors I would only go to Phantom Auto Works in Salem OH.

Here are the links. Best of luck and take care

http://stores.ebay.com/Rocky-Mountain-Studebaker

http://www.studeparts.com/

http://www.phantomstudebakers.com/

http://www.studebaker-intl.com/