Dictator Registry

[Ron Lee]

Is there a registry for Studebaker Dictators?

Thanks, Ron

[Echo Robert]

Did you ever get an answer to this question? I'm purchasing a Dictator this month....

[Guest 1928DictatorGE]

I do not know of one, but would be willing to either join one or compile one. I have a 1928 GE 1st series Club Sedan.

Also looking to start a NY Metro or East Coast chapter of ASC if anyone is interested.

Keith

[Mark Huston]

The most recent registries that I am aware of have been for EMF/Flanders and the Rockne. Back in the early days of the ASC there were other registries, however; I believe they have all been inactive for years. I do not recall that there was a registry for the Dictator. I guess now would be a good time to start one if there is anyone willing to put the time and effort into the project.

[Studemax]

Check the Studebaker Drivers Club website for a list of Studebaker registries.

[Guest 1928DictatorGE]

Hi Everyone!

I have put in the question to Buzz Beckham and Larry Tholen of the Rockne Registry to see how best this can be done.

I will be looking to possibly set up a gallery of Dictators on the ASC website, as well as a running database of existing Dictators, whether whole, or pasrts cars. I may also set up an extant/extict portion of the database if someone has factual knowledge of a car that no longer exists (wrecked, etc.).

If anyone has any input, let me know. I am open to suggestions.

Regards,

Keith Gramlich

[Guest Good Old Days]

Hi Keith!

Great idea!:cool:

It will be nice to have a list of excisting Dictators in the world!

Will be a lot of work, I try to keep up a register from pre WW2 Studebakers down here, but is not easy! If I find any here I'll let you know.

Owners sometimes do not want to give any numbers on the car or they don't want to be on the list!

We have a 1928 GE Touring in restoration. You've seen the photos I think.

BTW, does anyone know what color the dashboard should be? I think black.

But the dash is different from the sedans.

Carine

[Mark Huston]

BTW, does anyone know what color the dashboard should be? I think black.

Carine, <O:p</O:p

Unless I am mistaken, I believe that open cars have a dash that is the same as the body color. This had to do with painting the cowl in one piece prior to assembly. The engine side of the cowl was then painted flat black, not the dash. <O:p</O:p

[Guest Good Old Days]

Thank you Mark!

We almost deceided to paint it black, but hesitated a bit.

My Touring is two tone blue, lower body blue and the upper body will be dark blue. So the most logic is dark blue for the dash.

I remember someone saying he didn't have much luck on the forum, but I disagree!

Here is a picture, we just painted a small part to see what the final result will be.

Again thank you,:cool:

Carine

[Mark Huston]

Corine,

Nice looking color combination. I am sure you will have a very sharp looking Dictator when you are done. Keep up the good work! And yes, I am jealous, my President still sports the original factory colors poking through the cheap old repaint. On my Christmas wish list is a new paint job for the old girl, maybe next year.

[studeboy]

Hi

I am very interested in being part of a Dictator registry. Some of the models like the 28's are very confusing because of running model changes. The Turning Wheels refused to print my letter when I wrote about an discrepancy running lights information in their article on the 1928 Dictators.

I own a very original, except cheap flaking repaint, 1928 type 2 royal 4 door. This is a mid model car with Roof overhang, Atalanta radiator mascot, chrome bumpers and head lights (without the extra bar for the 6), rear mounted spare and the later style large chrome running lights rather than the earlier style acorn lights. This is all original. The original paint codes from under the rear seat were : Dove grey, Spruce green, with that red that is like rustoleum primer for the belt line. The running boards were originally grey.

I would like to discuss these cars. I have an original august 1928 parts book for these cars.

The type 2 Royals changed from rear mounted spare to side mounts part way through the run. Why isn't it feasible that they switched to the larger running lights some time along the way too. Why won't Turning Wheels alow this idea to be aired?? They are doing the hobby a disservice by not letting the information be discussed. These cars are undervalued because of the lack of good information about them.

[Mark Huston]

Studeboy,

Your frustration with the folks at Turning Wheels is why I stopped my association with the Studebaker Drives Club many years ago. To be honest the true focus of the SDC has always been with the post WWII Studebakers. It used to make me so mad when they would have their once a year token article on a pre-war Studebaker and spend the other 11 issues of the year rehashing the post-war cars. The final straw for me was when they had a picture of the “BEST OF SHOW” Frankenstude on the cover of Turning Wheels one year from their Las Vegas National Meet. The SDC believes that accepting modified Studebakers is promoting the preservation of all Studebakers. I was hard pressed to see the connection between excessively modifying of a Studebaker and preservation. The same issues that I have were felt by others many years ago which is why there is an Antique Studebaker Club.

Let me stress that the preceding comments regarding the SDC are my personal opinion and it is not my intent to offend anyone in the SDC – so please reframe form flaming me because of my past negative experiences with the SDC.

In response to your original posting regarding the cowl lights on your car. Studebaker advertised in the 1920s that they would not hold changes to production cars to the next model year. If they felt a change was necessary they did it at any point during a production run. This is why 1928s are so difficult to restore. Bill Cannon broke them down to three distinct series based on significant running changes that started with the early 1928 to late 1928 production run. To add to this confusion I have in my possession a copy of a Studebaker Sales Department letter dated in the late 1920s that states that Studebaker does not want to lose sales over things like the factory colors. The letter went on to detail how a Studebaker dealer can make money by ordering a whole car, or parts, in primer to be painted at the point of delivery to the customer’s specifications. I believe this was also true for other features on 1928 Studebakers. My brother once owned a 1928 Studebaker FB President roadster with dual side mounts. We found out the car was purchased NEW in Bakersfield, CA with the dual side mounts as a custom order from the factory. FB roadsters did not come from the factory with side mounts unless it was a special order. Apparently it did not happen very often, but it COULD happen. Studebaker did not want to lose sales and did everything they could to make sure they were competitive which included making running changes on the assembly line and catering to special requests from the customer.

[Guest Good Old Days]

Mark, thank you for the compliment!

We agree about the sharp looking colors, they are original colors for as far as we know. The only car I found with the same colors is a 1928 Dictator Roadster from the the Lawrence family, which is also a great looking car!

About your wish for Christmas, I would say bring it over but thats far too much trouble!! I'll try to send your wish list to Santa, perhaps we live closer to the guy!

I like original cars, they have a patina and to see how they left the factory is so cool! We have an all original 28 President FB sedan and we don't want to restore it, just drive it like that! That cars deserves to be be original when it survived so many years!

But, about the Dictator Register, can we really get it going? I am willing to think about checking here in Europe for Dictators.

Be safe,

Carine:)

[Guest Good Old Days]

Hi

the later style large chrome running lights rather than the earlier style acorn lights. These cars are undervalued because of the lack of good information about them.

Hi Studeboy!

The chrome cowl lights (1st design) were before they went back to the acorn ones, we have a 2nd design GE-T with acorn lights and rear wheel on the back.

Try to get your hands on the article from Fred K. Fox in SDC (!)Turning Wheels, it's all about the model 28-29 GE Dictators, it's in the November 2007 issue.

I must admit that the Frankenstude was a bit too much for me as well, since I'm a big fan of all original cars, but I can understand why the SDC welcomes these cars, they are Studebakers!

The people who own them do this with much love and attention, like we do restore our cars! I have met several owners here and they are as dedicated as we are!

So, take a look on the bright side of it!

You know that the Dictator in Europe was called Director?

If you can't find the article, which should not be to difficult, let me know I will try to send you a copy. It answers most of your questions I hope.

But if you get in touch with the SDC they will help you for sure!

Carine

[Guest stude8]

This car 1929 Commander Touring was on Ebay recently and I believe it came back over from Norway with this Blue color scheme that was original factory export paint colors. Stude8

[Guest stude8]

Sorry but in my haste I forgot to insert the instrument panel for the 29 Commander on Ebay (In response to post #9 on this thread), it was a dark Blue as you can see. Also a better detail photo of belt line treatment. Stude8

[Guest Good Old Days]

This car 1929 Commander Touring was on Ebay recently and I believe it came back over from Norway with this Blue color scheme that was original factory export paint colors. Stude8

I've seen this car before, but didn't get the dashboard picture, so thank you!

This car is sligtly different to mine as it is a 1929 and a Commander. The belt line is not the same, mine's higher.

The Dictator was a bit cheaper and is a 1927 revised model for 1928.

The colour scheme is original, I don't know if it was export models only. My car is from Portugal and has RHD!

Scandinavia has (and had) quite some Studebakers, I have a 1928 FB President from Norway (1965) and it had original black fenders, which should be dark green with the green body. But colour schemes in these days are not so reliable I heard.

But I do like the blue dash!

Thank you for posting these pictures for me!

Carine

[Guest stude8]

This is a little more info for Carine. I have a 1928 Studebaker brochure and had scanned pages related to President models but not the others so yesterday I did scan the Commander and Dictator sections just to have them in digital form.

I'll attach a few items from Dictator you might be interested in, there is a small insert artwork showing the factory version of instrument panel painting. It looks like two tone Blue with yellow pin striping. There is also an image of a roadster with the Bright Blue paint scheme (they don't illustrate a Dictator Touring model). I reduced the scan size to be able to load here but you should be able to print a legible copy.

Stude8

[studeboy]

Hey Good Old Days,

You missed my point. It is the fred Fox article that I have problems with. I have an original parts book from Sep 1928 that shows the chassis changes for GE Dictators types I II and III. I offered to share it with Mr. Fox when I heard he was writing the article. He did not respond to my letter. When The article came out I wrote to Turning Wheels about the discrepancy and they refused to print the letter or respond. I guess the inner circle knows to much to look at information from commoners.

My car is a W2 , a royal sedan, top of the line extra chrome etc.

The type 2 w2 had the larger running lights part way through the Type 2 model run. This was my point. Their article states that none of these lights were used until Type3 (bustle type visor cars)

By the way my car is definitely not a type 1. An easy way to tell the type 2 4 drs in a picture or in person is, All the 4 door type 2's had interchangeable glass (same size)in the front and rear doors. The other two type of GE 4 drs didn't.

[Guest Good Old Days]

Studeboy,

Sorry I wasn't aware of the story behind you and the SDC when I pointed out that article!

I haven't got such bad stories to tell about the SDC, they always responded to me.

There are quite some photos in the article which are interesting to Dictator lovers.

The information I get mostly from several Studebaker friends in the USA.

Some of them have worked in the factory and still work on them.

What I heard is that 1928 was the last year where there was 'your wish is my command' policy.

Probably our GE-T is a mixture of a 1927 frame, a 1928 engine and a 1927 body, from which they had more left overs in 1927. It looks like to me that some cars are a mixture. And we will never be able to point it out exactly what is really the new design. Some had the changes made and others didn't.

But nevertheless I am very proud to be a Dictator owner and share the same interest with all posting down here!

We bring our car back to as original as possible. Whether it is 1st, 2nd or 3rd design!

Hope we once will have that registry!:cool:

Carine

[Guest Good Old Days]

This is a little more info for Carine. Stude8

Thank you Stude8, I really get to like you, posting such nice pictures for me!

Since I do collect brochures as well, I have the same brochure but with different pictures! Studebaker made their export brochures with other pictures then the US versions. I have 3 different 1928 color/ black & white brochures from the same version!

None of them has a picture from the Dictator Touring in them.

The only one I have is a folder from Switserland and there is a black and white photo in it. Have not found the same in US version.

The roadster you show me has the same color combination as our car will have.

That's how I found the colors! With help of an other Dictator (roadster) owner, who had the same combination! Thanks to the color pics in the Review!

I follow the picture you posted, we will have a tan top and brown leather upholstery. Not to forget the blue dash! The dash in your post is from a closed car, which is different to mine. Looks nice with the pin striping!

Carine

[dictator27]

Mark

I'm not flaming you or going on a rant here. This is just counterpoint to your post. As you can see by my user name I own a 1927 Dictator Custom sedan. I use the same user name on the SDC forum. I've owned the car for 43 years and have been an SDC member for forty one. I've never had any problem getting any information about my car through the SDC. Because of that I've never found the need to join the ASC to this point. I'm keeping my options open, though.

Having said that, seeing AACA at the top of this page does not impress me. Why doen't the ASC have its own site? Nor am I impressed by "site under construction" or "last updated 02/03/09". That's 10 months ago for heavens sake. Surely something has happened in that time that is worthy of being put on the site.

Let me just reiterate that I'm not trying to raise anybody's blood pressure here, just making some observations.

Looking at the ASC photos of Cedar Rapids, there is nothing to identify them or who owns them. One photo is of a modified 1934 Stude. Should it be excluded from the ASC? It is still a prewar Studebaker, regardless of what is under the hood. Personally, I prefer to see the original iron providing the vehicular motivation.

Likewise, to say Frankenstude is heavily modified would be an understatement of classic proportions. It's not what I would do, but its origin is still recognizable, and that is the important part. It keeps the name Studebaker in front of people, many of them born after Studebaker quit making cars. As such, it should be in the SDC. If a modified car has obviously had a lot of thought and effort put into its creation, I have nothing but admiration for the person who did it. It may not be my preference, but that should not prevent it from being in the ASC or SDC. That hints at exclusivity and personally, I don't think that does the old car hobby any good.

As an aside, the person who looks after the custom and modified column in Turning Wheels has actually had his life threatened. More than once! There are obviously some strong opinions out there.

Anyway, 'nuff said. I'll shut up and go away. Thanks for reading this and indulging me.

One more thing. I am interested in the Dictator registry.

Terry

[Guest Good Old Days]

Mark

One more thing. I am interested in the Dictator registry.

Terry

Terry, I hope it is not 'under construction'!!

BTW, you didn't raise my blood pressure..! Just made me smile for such a honest comment on things!

Carine

[Mark Huston]

Nor am I impressed by "site under construction" or "last updated 02/03/09". That's 10 months ago for heavens sake. Surely something has happened in that time that is worthy of being put on the site.

The only thing I wanted to mention, as a point of possible explanation, is regarding the ASCs web site. The webmaster is now wearing two hats. He is not only the webmaster also the editor of the ASC Review. With the publication deadlines of the Review magazine it is apparent that keeping the website up to date has become a challenge. I do not know if another webmaster is in the works to help with the editor’s workload.

<O:p</O:p

My history with the SDC and ASC goes back 35 years. I am not going to debate the virtues or failings of the SDC. You have had your experiences, and I have had mine. Though they are polar opposites, they are what they are.

[dictator27]

Fair enough, Mark.

Thanks

Terry

[Guest Good Old Days]

Hi Mark!

Thank you for the kind words, next Friday is the paint job day!Take a look in my album for the updates! I have been looking forward so much for this car to be ready and now I'm not able any more to drive it after my stroke in December! Left side is out of order, so driving a RHD car will be a bit difficult I think! Luckily I survived a very dangerous bleeding according to my French doctor.

I'm very sad, the last old car I drove was my fathers 1928President.

I sincerely hope things get back in my limbs, I miss driving very much now and I don't mean my wheelchair!

If there will be a day, that will be THE DAY, I can drive this car I will post the picture asap!

Take care,

Carine:)

Edited July 6, 2010 by Good Old Days (see edit history)